Assessing Physical Activity in Temporary Spaces: Application of SOPARC / iSOPARC® for Play Streets

ABSTRACT

Purpose: The System for Observing Play and Recreation in Communities (SOPARC) is a valid, reliable method for understanding how people engage in physical activity (PA) in various permanent settings (e.g., parks) and contexts. However, its utility, reliability, and validity in temporary spaces has not been examined. Temporary spaces can provide PA opportunities often absent in low-income communities due to inadequate safe permanent PA spaces. Play Streets involve temporary closure of streets or other publicly accessibly spaces (e.g., parking lots, open-fields) to create safe play spaces for a specified time-period. We describe the utility, reliability, and validity of using SOPARC to assess PA in temporary spaces like Play Streets. Method: Trained SOPARC/iSOPARC (iPad App) research staff completed systematic observations during Play Streets occurring in four diverse low-income rural U.S. communities during summer 2017. Results: We successfully used iSOPARC to document PA and how spaces were used at Play Streets (n = 16), confirming its utility, reliability, and validity. Unlike observations of permanent spaces, target areas could not be pre-established since play spaces often changed during set-up, requiring time onsite to identify target areas and boundaries. Play areas frequently appeared and/or disappeared during Play Streets, and this was systematically addressed by using physical target area boundaries instead of activities. Conclusions: Understanding how temporary spaces are used for PA is critical for promoting their use. SOPARC/iSOPARC methods are useful in a Play Streets’ context; however, systematic methods and training are needed to address inherent unpredictable and dynamic changes within and across target areas.

KEYWORDS:

• Methods
• systematic observation
• rural
• active play
• measurement

Support/Funding Source

Support for this research was provided by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The views expressed here do not necessarily reflect the view of the Foundation. This paper was a result from ongoing collaborations with the Physical Activity Research Center (PARC) multi-university research team. PARC aims to build the evidence base for policy changes and practices that will help make physical activity part of everyday life for all children, with a special focus on children who typically have fewer opportunities to be active (http://paresearchcenter.org).

IRB Approval

Approval was received by Baylor University and Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health IRBs prior to the commencement of data collection.

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Gramercy Research Team members Tiffany Williams, Yashonda Mobley, and George Bailey for their assistance completing SOPARC observations, our community partners, and the Play Streets participants.