Fitness in the Park: Community Awareness Julia Kirsten, Lindsay Euers, Amanda Merck, MPH The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio Introduction Results Obesity and diabetes are critical public health problems in Bexar Out of 120 respondents surveyed, 32 (27%) had heard of the County, Texas and risk factors for numerous other physical and Fitness in the Park program while 88 (73%) had not heard of the mental health conditions. In 2012, 65% of adults in Bexar County program. Out of the 32 respondents that were familiar with the were overweight or obese and 11.4% had diabetes. Unfortunately, program, only three (9%) had attended a class in the past month. disparities exist, with low-income and Latino populations being Out of those three, two were from District 4 while one was from disproportionately burdened. Twenty-four percent of people with District 1. annual income below $25,000 have diabetes compared to 8% for those with an annual income over $50,000. Meeting the national The biggest barriers to fitness in the population sampled was time guidelines of 150 minutes of physical activity per week can reduce (n=36), issues regarding childcare/caring for family members the risk of obesity, diabetes, and other chronic diseases. (n=21), safety concerns/scared of an injury (n=11), lack of motivation (n=8), lack of consistent In 2012, Fitness in the Park was created to promote physical activity transportation (n=5), and not knowing how to exercise (n=5). N=13 and health. The program provides free, year-round fitness classes in reported “other” barriers and n=18 reported working out at least 3-5 parks and community centers across the city. Fitness in the Park hours per week. Some respondents didn’t answer the question Classes include yoga, Zumba, and boot camp, CrossFit, water while others reported more than one barrier. aerobics and more. Attendance has grown dramatically since the program began, from 2,502 classes and 23,424 participants in 2013, to 6,452 classes and 61,287 participants in 2017. However, it is unclear if the most vulnerable populations in San Antonio are aware of or attending these classes. Objectives We sought to conduct surveys across San Antonio to better determine awareness of and participation in Fitness in the Park classes. We hoped this data would assist the Fitness in the Park Program manager and the Mayor’s Fitness Council to target populations most in need. Additionally, we hoped to discover some of the more common barriers preventing residents from participating in the program. Materials and Methods We surveyed 120 San Antonio residents aged 18 years and older at four locations across the city. Two were at local parks, Pearsall park (located in southwest San Antonio) and Phil Hardberger Park (located north), and the other two at churches (Bethany United Methodist Church located east and Travis Park Methodist Church in the downtown area) during Frontera de Salud, a free community health event. We asked the following questions: 1. Have you heard about Fitness in the Park? 2. If you have, have you attended a class? 3. Do you currently exercise at least 30 minutes a day? 4. If you don’t, what’s the biggest barrier preventing you from doing so? 5. How could a health care provider help you to exercise more? Conclusions Districts in which each person resided were collected (Figure 1) Many San Antonio residents are unaware of Fitness in the Park. In and the data is represented in graph form. addition to focusing promotional outreach to vulnerable populations, the Parks Department and Mayor’s Fitness Council should educate health professionals, community officials, and businesses about the program to help further spread the word. For example, health care providers should refer patients to the program and city council representatives should spread the word through their newsletters and social media channels. References 1. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. (2017). National Diabetes Statistics Report, 2017. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/pdfs/data/statistics/national- diabetes- statistics-report.pdf 2. Texas Department of State Health Services. (2017). Diabetes Data: Surveillance and Evaluation. Retrieved from Original image retrieved October 1, 2017, from https://www.ksat.com/news/politics/find-your-city-council- district-see-whos-running-in-each-district https://www.dshs.texas.gov/diabetes/tdcdata.shtm Figure 1. City of San Antonio Council Districts. Locations where surveys were collected are labeled as follows: Pearsall Park (PP), Phil Hardberger Park (PHP), Bethany United Methodist Church Acknowledgements (BUM), and Travis Park Methodist Church (TPM). Travis Davey, Program Manager of the City of San Antonio Parks and Recreation Department Amanda Merck, MPH, Research Area Specialist IHPR at UT Health San Antonio, for her guidance and support.