BACKGROUND:
Physical activity has numerous
health benefits, but participation is lower in disadvantaged
communities. 'parkrun' overcomes one of the main barriers for disadvantaged
communities, the
cost of activities, by providing a free, regular
community-based
physical activity event for
walkers, runners and
volunteers. This study assesses
equity of access (in terms of distance to the nearest parkrun) stratified by socioeconomic deprivation, and identifies the optimal
location for 100 new events to increase
equity of access.
METHODS:
We combined information about
population location and socioeconomic deprivation, with information about the
location of 403 existing parkrun events, to assess the current level of access by deprivation quintile. We then used a two-step
location-allocation
analysis (minimising the sum of deprivation-weighted distances) to identify optimal regions, then optimal towns within those regions, as the ideal locations for 100 new parkrun events.
RESULTS:
Currently, 63.1% of the Australian
population lives within 5 km of an event, and the average distance to an event is 14.5 km. A socioeconomic gradient exists, with the most deprived
communities having the largest average distance to an event (27.0 km), and the least deprived
communities having the best access (living an average 6.6 km from an event). Access improves considerably after the introduction of new event locations with around 68% of the
population residing within 5 km of an event, and the average distance to the nearest event approximately 8 km. Most importantly, the improvement in access
will be greatest for the most deprived
communities (now an average 11 km from an event).
CONCLUSIONS:
There is a socioeconomic gradient in access to parkrun events. Strategic selection of new parkrun locations
will improve
equity of access to
community physical activity events, and could contribute to enabling greater participation in
physical activity by disadvantaged
communities.