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Children's perceptions of their home and neighborhood environments, and their association with objectively measured physical activity: A qualitative and quantitative study

journal contribution
posted on 2005-01-01, 00:00 authored by Clare Hume, Jo SalmonJo Salmon, Kylie BallKylie Ball
Environmental factors may have an important influence on children’s physical activity, yet children’s perspectives of their home and neighborhood environments have not been widely assessed. The aim of this study was to investigate children’s perceptions of their environments, and to examine associations between these perceptions and objectively measured physical activity. The sample consisted of 147, 10-year-old Australian children, who drew maps of their home and neighborhood environments. A subsample of children photographed places and things in these environments that were important to them. The maps were analyzed for themes, and for the frequency with which particular objects and locations appeared. Physical activity was objectively measured using accelerometers. Six themes emerged from the qualitative analysis of the maps and photographs: the family home; opportunities for physical activity and sedentary pursuits; food items and locations; green space and outside areas; the school and opportunities for social interaction. Of the 11 variables established from these themes, one home and two neighborhood factors were associated with children’s physical activity. These findings contribute to a broader understanding of children’s perceptions of their environment, and highlight the potential importance of the home and neighborhood environments for promoting physical activity behavior.

History

Journal

Health education research: theory & practice

Volume

20

Issue

1

Pagination

1 - 13

Publisher

Oxford University Press

Location

Oxford, England

ISSN

0268-1153

eISSN

1465-3648

Language

eng

Notes

Advance Access publication 14 July 2004

Publication classification

C1 Refereed article in a scholarly journal

Copyright notice

This is a pre-copy-editing, author-produced PDF of an article accepted for publication by Health Education Research: Theory & Practice following peer review. The definitive publisher-authenticated version Hume, Clare, Salmon, Jo and Ball, Kylie 2005, Children's perceptions of their home and neighborhood environments, and their association with objectively measured physical activity: A qualitative and quantitative study, Health education research: theory & practice, vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 1-13., is available online a http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/her/cyg095.