Dataset Information

Active living in rural Appalachia: Using the rural active living assessment (RALA) tools to explore environmental barriers.

ABSTRACT: People residing in rural communities are more likely to be physically inactive and subsequently have elevated risks for chronic disease. Recent evidence has shown this could stem from environmental barriers, inadequate programming and policies directed at the promotion of physical activity (PA) in rural settings. The objective of this research was to assess active living features in rural towns and townships (n = 16) across seven counties in northwestern North Carolina (NC). The study utilized the Town-Wide and Street Segment components of the Rural Active Living Assessment (RALA) as well as the 2014 American Community Survey results. The assessments were conducted in the summer of 2016 in the rural Appalachia region of NC. Using the RALA town-wide assessment scoring system (0 - 100), the range of scores was 18-84, with the mean being 50.06. Three towns had no sidewalks, nine towns had sidewalks on only one side of the main streets, and four had sidewalks on both sides of the main streets. One town was rated as highly walkable, seven towns as moderately walkable, five towns as moderately unwalkable, and three towns as highly unwalkable. The rural Appalachia region of NC offers unique topographic, geographic and environmental barriers to PA. However, our findings indicate many rural towns offer common PA amenities. Future research should utilize qualitative methods and a community-based participatory research approach to more fully understand the challenges with increasing PA in the rural and often isolated Appalachia communities.

SUBMITTER: Hege A

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5704102 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Active living in rural Appalachia: Using the rural active living assessment (RALA) tools to explore environmental barriers.

Hege Adam A Christiana Richard W RW Battista Rebecca R Parkhurst Hannah H

Preventive medicine reports 20171122

People residing in rural communities are more likely to be physically inactive and subsequently have elevated risks for chronic disease. Recent evidence has shown this could stem from environmental barriers, inadequate programming and policies directed at the promotion of physical activity (PA) in rural settings. The objective of this research was to assess active living features in rural towns and townships (<i>n</i> = 16) across seven counties in northwestern North Carolina (NC). The study uti ...[more]

PMID: 29201632

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Project description:IntroductionDesign thinking is a creative problem-solving framework that can be used to better understand challenges and generate solutions in health professions education, such as the barriers to rural education. Rural education experiences can benefit students, providers, and patients; however, placement in and maintenance of rural education experiences offer unique challenges. Design thinking offers strategies to explore and address these challenges.MethodsThis study used a design thinking framework to identify barriers of student placement in rural locations; this was accomplished using strategies to empathize with users (eg, students, practitioners, and administrators) and define the problem. Data were collected from focus groups, interviews, and a design thinking workshop. Design activities promoted participant discussion by drawing pictures, discussing findings, and creating empathy maps of student experiences. Qualitative data were analyzed to identify salient barriers to rural experience selection and opportunities for support.ResultFocus group (n = 6), interview (n = 13), and workshop participants (n = 18) identified substantial advantages (eg, exposure to a wider variety of patients, less bureaucracy and constraints, more time with faculty) and disadvantages (eg, isolation, lack of housing, and commuting distances) of rural experiences. Participants identified physical, emotional, and social isolation as a significant barrier to student interest in and engagement in rural experiences. Workshop participants were able to generate over 100 ideas to address the most prominent theme of isolation.DiscussionDesign thinking strategies can be used to explore health professions education challenges, such as placement in rural settings. Through engagement with students, practitioners, and administrators it was identified that physical, social, and emotional isolation presents a significant barrier to student placement in rural experiences. This perspective can inform support systems for students, preceptors, and communities that participate in rural educational experiences.

Dataset Information

Active living in rural Appalachia: Using the rural active living assessment (RALA) tools to explore environmental barriers.

Publications

Active living in rural Appalachia: Using the rural active living assessment (RALA) tools to explore environmental barriers.

Similar Datasets

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