Multiple deprivation and geographic distance to community physical activity events - achieving equitable access to parkrun in England.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate geographic access to free weekly outdoor physical activity events ('parkrun') in England, with a particular focus on deprived communities, and to identify optimal locations for future events to further maximise access. STUDY DESIGN: This study is a cross-sectional ecological analysis of the socio-economic disparities in geographic access to parkrun events in England in late 2018. METHODS: We combined geolocation data on all English Lower Layer Super Output Areas and parkrun events to calculate geodesic distances to the nearest event for more than 32,000 communities in England. We use this measure of geographic access to summarise the relationship between access and socio-economic deprivation, measured using the index of multiple deprivation. We then used geographic coordinates of public green spaces in England to conduct a simple location-allocation analysis to identify 200 locations for future event locations that would maximise access. RESULTS: In England, 69% of the population live within 5 km of one of the 465 parkrun events. There is a small negative correlation between distance and deprivation, indicating that access is slightly better in more socio-economically deprived areas. Setting up an additional 200 events in optimal locations would improve access: the average distance to the nearest parkrun event would improve by 1.22 km, from 4.65 km to 3.43 km, and approximately 82% of the English population would live within 5 km of a parkrun event. CONCLUSION: Over two-thirds of the English population live within 5 km of a parkrun event, and contrary to our expectation, we find that geographic access is slightly better for those living in more deprived communities. Creating additional events may improve geographic access, but effective strategies will still be needed to increase engagement in new and existing events by those living in socio-economically deprived areas.

A qualitative synthesis of the perceived factors that affect participation in physical activity among children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

AIMS: To explore the qualitative literature on the perceived factors, positive and negative, affecting participation by children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes in physical activity, from the perspective of children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes, their family members, teachers or sports coaches, and healthcare professionals. METHODS: MEDLINE, SPORTDiscus, PsycINFO, CINAHL and Scopus were systematically searched in July 2019. Eligible studies included any that reported qualitative findings on the perceived factors that affect participation in physical activity from either the perspective of children or adolescents with type 1 diabetes, their family members, teachers or coaches, and healthcare professionals. RESULTS: The literature search yielded a total of 7859 studies, of which 14 (13 qualitative studies and one mixed-methods study) met the review inclusion criteria. In total there were 12 unique populations containing 270 individuals, 105 children or adolescents with type 1 diabetes,108 family members, 37 teachers and 20 healthcare professionals. The main factors thought to influence physical activity for this population were the individual characteristics of children and adolescents, the requirement for self-blood glucose regulation, support systems including friends, family, teachers and professionals, education and knowledge, and communication. CONCLUSIONS: This review synthesizes views on the perceived factors from several different perspectives. The findings suggest that it is important to consider the needs of the wider support network, as well as the child's or adolescent's concerns and preferences, when developing new or existing strategies and programmes to promote physical activity in children and adolescents with type 1 diabetes.

Physical activity interventions in children and young people with Type 1 diabetes mellitus: a systematic review with meta-analysis.

AIMS: To synthesize evidence from randomized and non-randomized studies of physical activity interventions in children and young people with Type 1 diabetes so as to explore clinically relevant health outcomes and inform the promotion of physical activity. METHOD: We conducted a search of CINAHL Plus, the Cochrane Library, EMBASE, MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SCOPUS, SportDiscus and Web of Science between October and December 2012. Eligible articles included subjects aged ≤18 years with Type 1 diabetes and a physical activity intervention that was more than a one-off activity session. Physiological, psychological, behavioural or social outcomes were those of interest. RESULTS: A total of 26 articles (10 randomized and 16 non-randomized studies), published in the period 1964-2012, were reviewed. Although there was heterogeneity in study design, methods and reporting, 23 articles reported at least one significant beneficial health outcome at follow-up. Meta-analyses of these studies showed potential benefits of physical activity on HbA1c (11 studies, 345 participants, standardized mean difference -0.52, 95% CI -0.97 to -0.07; P = 0.02), BMI (four studies, 195 participants, standardized mean difference -0.41, 95% CI -0.70 to -0.12; P = 0.006) and triglycerides (five studies, 206 participants, standardized mean difference -0.70, 95% CI -1.25 to -0.14; P = 0.01).The largest effect size was for total cholesterol (five studies, 206 participants, standardized mean difference -0.91, 95% CI -1.66 to -0.17; P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Physical activity is important for diabetes management and has the potential to delay cardiovascular disease, but there is a lack of studies that are underpinned by psychological behaviour change theory, promoting sustained physical activity and exploring psychological outcomes. There remains a lack of knowledge of how to promote physical activity in people with Type 1 diabetes.