Inequities in neighborhood public park use for schoolchildren’s physical activity: multilevel evidence from Cordoba, Argentina

ABSTRACT: Introduction: The complexity of urbanization processes across Latin American societies encourages investigating its implications in health conditions, especially during childhood. One of the possible links between them is recreation, a component of the daily life of children and, therefore, essential to produce health and life itself. The objective of this study was to examine the associations between neighborhood context and active public park use among school-aged children in Cordoba, Argentina. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 1466 children, aged 9 to 11, attending 19 schools and living in 110 neighborhoods. Multilevel models with Poisson distribution were used for the analyses, stratified by gender. Socio-demographic, behavioral, and physical covariates were included at the individual level, and socioeconomic neighborhood conditions at second level. Results: Girls residing in neighborhoods with a worse socioeconomic context were less likely to report frequent public park use for physical activity, while those from neighborhoods with better socioeconomic conditions were more likely to, regardless of individual characteristics. Conclusion: This study suggests that socioeconomic conditions of neighborhoods are associated with public park use for physical activity in school-aged girls, demonstrating gender inequality in the use and appropriation of public spaces.

摘要：
引言：拉丁美洲各国社会的城市化进程日趋复杂，这促使学界探究其对健康状况，尤其是儿童健康状况的影响。二者之间的潜在关联之一为休闲活动——这是儿童日常生活的组成部分，亦是维系健康与生命本身的必要因素。本研究旨在探究阿根廷科尔多瓦市学龄儿童的社区环境与主动使用公共公园情况之间的关联。
方法：本研究纳入1466名9至11岁的学龄儿童，他们就读于19所学校，居住于110个社区，采用横断面研究设计。分析采用泊松分布多层模型，并按性别进行分层。个体层面纳入社会人口学、行为学与身体相关协变量，第二层则纳入社区社会经济状况指标。
结果：居住在社会经济状况较差社区的女童，报告其频繁使用公共公园进行体育活动的概率更低；而居住在社会经济状况较好社区的女童，该概率则更高，且该关联不受个体特征影响。
结论：本研究表明，社区社会经济状况与学龄女童使用公共公园开展体育活动的行为存在关联，这揭示了公共空间使用与占用方面存在的性别不平等问题。