Parks as Social and Cultural Spaces Among U.S.- and Foreign-Born Latinas.

Parks provide opportunities for people to engage in activities that can promote physical and emotional well-being. Using focus groups and personal interviews conducted in select neighborhoods of a Northeastern city with a high rate of obesity, we examined perceptions of barriers and facilitators regarding the use of parks and park features that would promote physical activity among Latina women ( N = 39). Foreign-born Latinas emphasized the environmental characteristics of parks and the types of amenities that can support preferred cultural and social activities, while U.S.-born Latinas emphasized the use of parks for physical activity and weight management. Most striking were the different ways in which foreign-born participants conceptualized parks as sociocultural family centers, extending more common conceptualizations centered on exercise or individual health gain. These findings suggest the need for new policies that incorporate culturally specific park programming to promote national goals of increasing levels of physical activity for health.

The transformational role of nursing in health care reform.

Successful health care reform will require more than insuring 32 million additional Americans. It will demand that our expensive, hospital and provider-driven model of care adopt a community-driven wellness model that emphasizes disease prevention. Nursing is perfectly situated to lead this transformation. By educating students in ways that build on nursing's legacy of health promotion and disease prevention, nurse educators can prepare nursing students to partner with underserved communities to offer low-cost, prevention-based services that meet local needs. This article uses preliminary data from the Jordan & Harris Community Health Center in Newark, New Jersey, to demonstrate how nurses can serve as role models in microsystem health care, while still following the Institute of Medicine's recommendations for health care reform.