Environmental and Mobility Strategies During Early COVID-19: Insights From an Empirical Study Focusing on Park Visitations in El Paso, TX.

OBJECTIVES: We explored the importance of environmental and mobility strategies during early COVID-19 by age and ethnicity and investigated predictors of park visitations considering the COVID-19 impacts. BACKGROUND: Parks are safe and accessible venues to stay active and reduce social isolation, which is especially important considering COVID-19 and the associated lockdowns. METHODS: We analyzed online survey data from 683 residents (collected July 2020) of El Paso, TX, and objective measures of neighborhood park characteristics. Chi-square tests and mixed-effects logistic regression analyses were performed to examine the environmental/mobility strategies, personal and environmental factors, and park visitations, considering the COVID-19 impacts. RESULTS: The percentage of those who visited (1+ times/week) parks or trails/paths in the neighborhood dropped from 41.7% to 19.5% since the start of COVID-19 (OR = 0.015, p < .001). Before COVID-19, middle-aged and older adults were less likely to visit parks than younger adults, while this difference became insignificant during early COVID-19. Hispanic adults were more likely to visit parks than non-Hispanics both before and during early COVID-19. Positive environmental predictors of park visitations included park availability in the neighborhood, proximity to the closest park, seeing people being physically active in the neighborhood, and neighborhood aesthetics. CONCLUSIONS: Proximately located parks, trails, and paths well integrated into residential communities, and high aesthetic quality of the neighborhood are the potential features of pandemic-resilient communities and should be considered an important national priority to maintain and promote the health and well-being of the population, especially during pandemics like COVID-19.

Perceived risks of transit use during COVID-19: Correlates and strategies from a case study in El Paso, Texas.

Introduction: COVID-19 has led to public transportation ridership plummeting and thus created fiscal crises and operational difficulties for transit operators. Although transit services remain essential for people with limited access to alternative transportation modes, the unfavorable public view keeps potential riders from transit. The public transportation industry is in dire need of restoring trust and recovering ridership. Methods: In July 2020, we conducted an online survey in El Paso, Texas, to investigate COVID-19 risk perceptions related to transit use. A total of 712 valid responses, consisting of 613 English and 99 Spanish responses, were included in the analyses. Results and conclusions: Descriptive and bivariate analyses showed many choice transit riders changed their mobility patterns by abandoning public transportation. Survey participants reported that social distancing and cleaning services were very important in encouraging them to return to transit. The free fare policy was also a stimulus for the existing riders to continue their transit use during the pandemic. The multivariable analysis results highlighted that public knowledge plays a vital role in COVID-19 risk perceptions and transit use decisions. Major opportunities exist in terms of public awareness campaigns that inform the public about the COVID-19 related safety measures transit operators are implementing. We further suggest some practical strategies to enhance public communication and help transit operators recover from COVID-19. This study offers timely insights for public policy stakeholders, including transit agencies, to better utilize their resources to protect public health, regain public confidence, and bring passengers back.

Differential Effects of a Global Public Health Crisis on Physical Activity: Evidence From a Statewide Survey From the United States.

AIM: We aimed to identify how the COVID-19 lockdown affected changes, including the potential for longer term sustained changes, in physical activity, as compared to immediately prior to the pandemic. BACKGROUND: Physical activity's significant role in overall health is known to be influenced by the surrounding environment, such as one's neighborhood, prompting this study of physical activity and its relationship with individual-level and neighborhood-level factors within the pandemic timeline. METHODS: A statewide online survey assessed adults' self-reported weekly minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) comparing a typical week immediately prior to the pandemic and during the pandemic (prewidespread vaccination) using negative binomial models. RESULTS: Overall, MVPA decreased during the pandemic, though the decrease was driven largely by the reduction in MVPA outside one's neighborhood. In contrast, MVPA done within one's neighborhood increased over time. This change in MVPA done within one's neighborhood was not uniform across several characteristics including income level favoring those with the highest income (p < .05) and race/ethnicity favoring those self-reporting as non-Hispanic White (p < .05). While several factors, including higher Walk Scores, were associated with higher levels of MVPA without evidence of change over time, evidence of a differential effect over time was seen for other key indicators of social and structural determinants of health including income and race/ethnicity. CONCLUSIONS: This study can add to the existing literature surrounding not only COVID-19 but also neighborhood built environmental research seeking to identify factors associated with changes in MVPA, a known indicator of overall health and health-related outcomes.

Health-related consequences of the type and utilization rates of electronic devices by college students.

BACKGROUND: College students are leading an evolution of device use both in the type of device and the frequency of use. They have transitioned from desktop stations to laptops, tablets, and especially smartphones and use them throughout the day and into the night. METHODS: Using a 35-min online survey, we sought to understand how technology daily usage patterns, device types, and postures affect pain and discomfort to understand how knowledge of that pain might help students avoid it. Data were analyzed from 515 students (69.5% male) who completed an internet-delivered survey (81.3% response rate). RESULTS: Participants ranked smartphones as their most frequently used technology (64.0%), followed by laptops and tablets (both 53.2%), and desktop computers (46.4%). Time spent using smartphones averaged over 4.4 h per day. When using their devices, students were more likely to adopt non-traditional workplace postures as they used these devices primarily on the couch or at a chair with no desk. CONCLUSION: Recent trends in wireless academic access points along with the portability of small handheld devices, have made smartphones the most common link to educational materials despite having the least favorable control and display scenario from an ergonomic perspective. Further, the potential impact of transitions in work environments due to COVID-19 may further exacerbate ergonomic issues among millions highlighting the need for such work to be carried out.