Nowhere to Go: Parents' Descriptions of Children's Physical Activity During a Global Pandemic

Background: Schools and outdoor public spaces play a substantial role in children's physical activity. Yet, the COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates bound many children to their available home spaces for learning, movement, and development. The exact effect this mandate had on children's physical activity may vary among families.Objective: To understand, from the perspective of parents, how the COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates affected children's physical activity, while also considering families' socioeconomic status.Design: Open-ended survey.Setting: Online.Method: Data were collected from 321 parents living in the United States of America. Parents answered an open-ended prompt to describe their children's physical activity during COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates. Following data collection, inductive and deductive content analysis examined patterns in the data.Results: Analyses indicated that shelter-in-place mandates restricted children's opportunities for physical activity. However, if families had access to outdoor spaces or equipment, they could encourage and support more physical activity opportunities than those without. Families in the lower-income bracket had less access to outdoor space and subsequently those children had fewer opportunities to be physically active. Parents supported their children's physical activity through their involvement and encouragement.Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of access to outdoor spaces and equipment for increasing children's physical activity. Findings can be used by educators and policymakers to equitably support families of lower socioeconomic status who reported less access to outdoor spaces.

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Nowhere to go: Parents' descriptions of children's physical activity during a global pandemic

10.31234/osf.io/n36hd ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Deanna Perez ◽

Janelle Thalken ◽

Emmanuel N. Ughelu ◽

Camilla J. Knight ◽

William V Massey

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

The United States ◽

Lower Income ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Physically Active ◽

Policy Makers ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

Outdoor Spaces ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Children’S Physical Activity

Objective: The purpose of the study was to understand, from the perspective of parents, how the COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates affected children’s physical activity.Design: Open-ended surveySetting: Online Method: Data were collected from 335 parents living in the United States of America. Parents answered an open-ended prompt to describe their children's physical activity during COVID-19 shelter-in-place mandates. Following data collection, inductive and deductive content analysis examined patterns in the data. Results: Analyses indicated that shelter-in-place mandates restricted children’s opportunities for physical activity. However, if families had access to outdoor spaces or equipment, they could encourage and support more physical activity opportunities than those without. Families in the lower-income bracket had less access to outdoor space and subsequently those children had fewer opportunities to be physically active. Parents supported their children’s physical activity through their involvement and encouragement.Conclusion: These findings underscore the importance of access to outdoor spaces and equipment for increasing children’s physical activity. Findings can be used by educators and policy makers to equitably support families of lower socioeconomic status who reported less access to outdoor spaces.

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The Acceptability of Physical Activity to Older Adults Living in Lower Socioeconomic Status Areas: A Multi-Perspective Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182211784 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (22) ◽

pp. 11784

Author(s):

Angela Devereux-Fitzgerald ◽

Rachael Powell ◽

David P. French

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Older Adults ◽

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Facility Management ◽

Physical Activities ◽

Limited Resources ◽

Structured Interviews ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Physically Active ◽

Lower Socioeconomic

Older adults in lower socioeconomic status (SES) areas are the least active of all adult groups but are often absent from physical activity research. The present study aimed to elicit perspectives on acceptability of physical activity from older adults and physical activity providers in lower SES areas. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 19 older adults and eight physical activity trainers/providers in lower SES areas. An inductive, multi-perspective Thematic Analysis was conducted. Eight themes were identified that covered one or both groups’ perceptions of what was important in ensuring acceptability of activity provision. Older adults perceived a lack of value that was reinforced by lack of resources and unequal provision. Acceptability was hindered by centralisation of facilities and lack of understanding of needs by facility management. Facilitating social interaction within physical activities appeared key, thereby meeting multiple needs with fewer resources. In conclusion, to increase acceptability of physical activity for older adults in low SES areas, providers should address the lack of perceived value felt by many older adults. Equitable provision of physical activities addressing multiple needs may allow older adults with limited resources to be physically active without sacrificing other needs. Facilitating creation of social bonds may foster maintenance of physical activities.

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Why Is Infant Mortality Higher in the United States than in Europe?

American Economic Journal Economic Policy ◽

10.1257/pol.20140224 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 8 (2) ◽

pp. 89-124 ◽

Cited By ~ 34

Author(s):

Alice Chen ◽

Emily Oster ◽

Heidi Williams

Keyword(s):

United States ◽

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Infant Mortality ◽

Birth Outcomes ◽

The United States ◽

Similar Data ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

The Us ◽

Differential Reporting

The United States has higher infant mortality than peer countries. In this paper, we combine microdata from the United States with similar data from four European countries to investigate this US infant mortality disadvantage. The US disadvantage persists after adjusting for potential differential reporting of births near the threshold of viability. While the importance of birth weight varies across comparison countries, relative to all comparison countries the United States has similar neonatal (<1 month) mortality but higher postneonatal (1–12 months) mortality. We document similar patterns across census divisions within the United States. The postneonatal mortality disadvantage is driven by poor birth outcomes among lower socioeconomic status individuals. (JEL I12, I14, I32, J14)

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Screen time in the COVID era: International trends of increasing use among 3- to 7-year-old children

10.31234/osf.io/nx9ew ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Andrew David Ribner ◽

Linsah Coulanges ◽

Samantha Friedman ◽

Melissa Libertus

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Online Survey ◽

Media Use ◽

Negative Consequences ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Socioeconomic Characteristics ◽

International Trends ◽

Global Pandemic ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Screen Use

Objective: To evaluate changes in electronic screen-based media use in 3- to 7-year-old children across six countries as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.Methods: Between April and July 2020, parents and/or guardians of 2516 children completed online survey measures reporting current (“now”) and retrospective (“before the pandemic”) screen-based media use for the purposes of entertainment, educational app use, and socializing with family and friends. Parents also reported family socioeconomic characteristics and impacts of the pandemic to their physical wellbeing (e.g., whether a family member or friend had been diagnosed with COVID-19) and social disruption (e.g., whether family experienced a loss of income or employment due to the pandemic).Results: On average, children engaged with screens over 50 minutes more during the pandemic than before. This was largely driven by increases in screen use for entertainment purposes (nearly 40 minutes) and for use of educational apps (over 20 minutes). There was no overall change in screen use for socializing with family and friends. Children from lower socioeconomic status households increased screen use both for entertainment and educational app use more so than did children from higher socioeconomic status households. Conclusions: The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has affected young children’s lives in almost every way, including increasing overall electronic screen-based media use. As children’s lives become increasingly digital by necessity, further research is needed to better understand positive and negative consequences of electronic screen-based media use.

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First Comes Cohabitation and then Comes Marriage?

Journal of Family Issues ◽

10.1177/019251302237303 ◽

2002 ◽

Vol 23 (8) ◽

pp. 1065-1087 ◽

Cited By ~ 92

Author(s):

WENDY D. MANNING ◽

PAMELA J. SMOCK

Keyword(s):

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Initial Step ◽

The United States ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Lower Odds ◽

Factors Associated ◽

Family Growth ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Cohabiting Couples ◽

Race Ethnicity

Recent evidence indicates an overall retreat from marriage. Cohabitation has contributed to this trend as cohabiting unions are increasingly not resulting in marriage. As an initial step in understanding why some cohabiting couples do not marry, the authors examine factors associated with cohabitors' marriage expectations. The authors focus particularly on the effects of socioeconomic status and race/ethnicity because prior research has suggested that the retreat from marriage in the United States has been more marked among Blacks than among non-Hispanic Whites or Hispanics and also for those of lower socioeconomic status. Using the 1995 National Survey of Family Growth, we find Black cohabiting women have lower odds of expecting marriage. However, for all race and ethnic groups the probability of expecting to marry depends on men's socioeconomic position.

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Abstract 15131: National Rates and Trends of Tobacco and Substance Use Disorders Among Atrial Fibrillation Hospitalizations in the United States

Circulation ◽

10.1161/circ.142.suppl_3.15131 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 142 (Suppl_3) ◽

Author(s):

devina adalja ◽

Rajkumar P Doshi ◽

Mihir Dave ◽

Monil Majmundar ◽

Ashish Kumar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Atrial Fibrillation ◽

Substance Abuse ◽

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Substance Use ◽

Substance Use Disorder ◽

The United States ◽

P Value ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Increased Risk

Introduction: Atrial Fibrillation (AF) has been associated with various behavioral risk factors such as tobacco, alcohol, and/or substance abuse. Hypothesis: The main objective is to describe the national trends and burden of tobacco and substance abuse in AF hospitalizations. Methods: The National Inpatient Sample database from 2007 to 2015 was utilized and the hospitalizations with AF were identified using the international classification of disease, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM) code 427.31 in the primary diagnosis column. They were stratified into without abuse, tobacco use disorder (TUD), substance use disorder (SUD), alcohol use disorder (AUD), and drug use disorder (DUD). We used the Jonckheere-Terpstra trend test to analyze the trend in this study. Results: Out of 3,631,507 AF hospitalizations, 852,110 (23.46%) had TUD, 1851,170 (5.1%) had SUD, 155,681 (4.29%) had AUD and 42,667 (1.17%) had DUD. The trends of all increased substantially during the study period (Figure) . The prevalence of TUD, SUD, AUD, and DUD was substantially increased across all age groups, races, and gender during the study period. Female sex was associated with lower odds TUD (0.57 (0.56-0.57), P-value <0.001), SUD (0.27 (0.26-0.27), P-value <0.001), AUD (0.22 (0.22-0.22), P-value <0.001), and DUD (0.51 (0.5-0.52), P-value <0.001). Among AF hospitalizations, the black race was associated with higher odds of SUD (1.12 (1.1-1.14), P-value <0.001), and DUD(1.42 (1.38-1.47), P-value <0.001). The younger age group (18-35 years), male, Medicare/Medicaid as primary insurance, and lower socioeconomic status were associated with increased risk of both TUD and SUDs. Conclusions: Tobacco and substance use disorder among hospitalized AF patients in the US mainly affects males, younger individuals, white more than black, and those of lower socioeconomic status which demands the development of preventive strategies to address multilevel influences.

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Conflating Time and Energy: Views From Older Adults in Lower Socioeconomic Status Areas on Physical Activity

Journal of Aging and Physical Activity ◽

10.1123/japa.2017-0283 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (3) ◽

pp. 506-513 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Angela Devereux-Fitzgerald ◽

Rachael Powell ◽

David P. French

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Older Adults ◽

Socioeconomic Status ◽

Time Frame ◽

Physical Activities ◽

Framework Analysis ◽

Lower Socioeconomic Status ◽

Lower Socioeconomic ◽

Seasonal Impact ◽

Time And Energy

Perceptions of time and energy and their role in physical activity engagement were examined in older adults living in lower socioeconomic status areas. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 19 participants aged 67–94 years. A thematic framework analysis identified four themes: Time is Energy (older adults conflate time and energy in relation to physical activity), Reduced Day (engaging in activities outside a certain time frame is deemed unacceptable), Being Given Enough Time (need for time to socialize and go at own pace), and Seasonal Impact (seasonal differences affecting access). Enjoyment appears to mitigate the perceived energy drain and increase the capacity for physical activities for many. Conflation of time and energy may explain observed discrepancies between older adults’ actual and perceived available time. Having locally based physical activities means less time/energy is required to attend, leaving more resources for physical activity itself. A limited availability of resources in lower socioeconomic status areas is therefore problematic.

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