Outdoor Time in Childhood: A Mixed Methods Approach to Identify Barriers and Opportunities for Intervention in a Racially and Ethnically Mixed Population
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Theoretical Framework
2.2. Setting and Participants
2.3. Procedures
2.4. Measures
2.4.1. Qualitative
2.4.2. Quantitative
2.5. Data Analysis
2.5.1. Qualitative
2.5.2. Quantitative
2.5.3. Mixed Methods
3. Results
3.1. Challenges to Outdoor Time
3.1.1. Safety, Weather, and Financial Challenges
3.1.2. Access to Nature and Outdoor Spaces
3.1.3. Lack of Time and Competing Priorities
3.1.4. Lack of Parks and Playgrounds
3.2. Solutions to Increase Outdoor Time
3.2.1. Increasing Outdoor Time during the School Day
3.2.2. Increasing Access and Availability to Outdoor Schools
3.2.3. Organized, Accessible, and Diverse Outdoor Activities
3.2.4. Community Networks, Communication, and Raising Awareness about Outdoor Time
3.2.5. Inclusivity, Safety, and Access
3.3. Perceived Importance of Outdoor Time
3.4. Cultural Norms and Traditions toward Outdoor Time
3.5. Home, Neighborhood, Built Environment, and Children’s Outdoor Time
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Race | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
POC (n = 11) | White (n = 34) | |||
Age, mean years (SD) | 35 | (5) | 33 | (7) |
Female sex assigned at birth, n (%) | 11 | (100%) | 31 | (91%) |
Currently married or partnered, n (%) | 8 | (73%) | 22 | (65%) |
Currently employed, n (%) | 7 | (64%) | 29 | (85%) |
Completed education, n (%) | ||||
High school/GED | 4 | (36%) | 3 | (9%) |
Technical/vocational, associate, or bachelor’s degree | 3 | (27%) | 17 | (50%) |
Post-graduate or professional degree | 4 | (36%) | 14 | (41%) |
Annual household income, n (%) | ||||
<USD 50,000 | 4 | (36%) | 11 | (32%) |
USD 50,000–89,999 | 3 | (27%) | 8 | (24%) |
USD 90,000 or more | 4 | (36%) | 15 | (44%) |
Main Topics | Quantitative Results | Qualitative Results | Mixed Methods Comparison |
---|---|---|---|
Identified Barriers to Outdoor Time | |||
General | Safety, lack of time, lack of gear, access (see statistics in rows below). | Safety, weather, time, competing priorities, gear and other financial challenges, access, electronics, destruction of natural places. | Confirmation and expansion While quantitative data provide insights into four barriers to outdoors, the qualitative data explore more barriers and capture why each barrier is a challenge to outdoor time. Quantitative data are stratified by race, therefore providing important insights into how the racial identity of the participants influences barriers to outdoors. |
Safety | A total of 27% of POC participants and 3% of White participants disagreed with the statement, “I feel safe in outdoor spaces in my community”. | Safety was one of the main barriers to outdoor time. Participants mentioned worries regarding the danger of people in public parks, the danger of the place itself, and safety concerns for POC in outdoor spaces. Differences in perception of safety also varied by generation and urban versus rural settings. | Confirmation and expansion While the survey question asked participants about their own feelings of safety in outdoor spaces in their communities, during focus groups, the participants talked mainly about safety for their children. POC participants shared feeling unsafe in public green spaces across both data sets. Qualitative findings further expanded multiple layers and reasoning of feelings of unsafety. |
Lack of gear and/or financial challenges | A total of 45% of POC and 15% of White participants did not have all the gear needed to do outdoor activities. | Gear as a barrier to outdoors was mentioned by participants mostly in relation to inclement weather. Three main barriers related to gear were discussed: financial burden, time burden on parents, and hardship of selecting adequate gear. | Confirmation and expansion Quantitative and qualitative results align. Qualitative results provide insight into the rationale (e.g., financial burden) behind gear being a barrier to the outdoors. |
Access | Outdoor spaces were easier to access for White vs. POC participants—3% of White participants vs. 18% of POC disagreed with the statement, “It is easy to access outdoor spaces in my community”. For detailed results regarding access to community outdoor resources. | Travel distance was the primary access barrier discussed. Some participants said parks are too far for them to walk to if they do not have a car, or the roads are unsafe for kids to bike or walk. Only a few participants mentioned a lack of parks and playgrounds in their neighborhoods as a barrier. Participants more often discussed parks needing to be properly equipped. | Confirmation and expansion Quantitative and qualitative results align. Both provide different insights into outdoor accessibility. Quantitative data expose differences in outdoor accessibility between POC and White participants and in relation to community outdoor resources. Qualitative data provide insights into accessibility to more outdoor spaces than listed in a survey and into difficulties with access in the context of other challenges participants (especially parents) face while wanting daily outdoor time for their children. |
Lack of time | A total of 36% of POC participants and 18% of White participants reported finding time to spend outside was hard. | Participants often talked about competing priorities parents are experiencing in their everyday life that result in a lack of time for the outdoors. | Confirmation and expansion Quantitative and qualitative results align. Qualitative results bring insights into the rationale (e.g., competing priorities) behind the lack of time being a barrier to the outdoors. |
Identified Solutions to Outdoor Time | |||
Solutions to outdoor time | Not asked. | Solutions to outdoor time often mirrored the discussed challenges. The most proposed solutions included: (1) incorporating outdoor time in school settings; (2) increasing the availability of outdoor schools, organized activities, community networks, and diversity of outdoor activities; (3) raising awareness about the importance of outdoor time; and (4) increasing safety in parks, access to parks, and free or accessible gear and equipment. | Not Applicable We did not include questions about solutions to outdoor time in the questionnaire due to the explorative character of our research which caused an inability to use a mixed methods comparison of this theme. |
Other Influences on Outdoor Time | |||
Ideal vs. actual amount of outdoor time | POC and White participants reported they would ideally get ~3 h and ~4 h of outdoor time daily, respectively. POC and White participants reported they actually get ~2 h and ~3 h of outdoor time daily, respectively. | There was overall unanimity that children should be spending time outdoors. Opinions on how much time children should spend outside varied widely, from 2 h to “as much as possible”, based on the child and individual needs. Although all the participants agreed that outdoor time was beneficial for children, the overwhelming majority said that children nowadays do not routinely spend enough time outdoors. For some participants, this included their own children. | Confirmation and expansion Outdoor time was found important among all participants and across both data sets. Quantitative findings show differences between ideal vs. actual hours of daily outdoor time. Qualitative results provide more nuanced insights into the ideal amount of outdoor time and whether it is achievable. |
Outdoor time and mental and physical health | It was found that 100% of participants agreed that outdoor time promotes health and wellness. A total of 100% of POC and 94% of White participants agreed that their physical health was better when spending time outside. A total of 100% of POC and 97% of White participants agreed that their mental health was better when spending time outside. | Participants talked about outdoor time improving children’s physical health by being physically active, burning off energy, and improving tolerance to allergens. They also talked about the positive impacts of outdoor time on their own and their children’s mental health by promoting learning, encouraging independence, gaining emotional intelligence, overcoming obstacles, dealing with discomfort, and bringing joy. | Confirmation Outdoor time was found to have positive impacts on mental and physical health and well-being across both data sets. |
Cultural perspectives and traditions on outdoor time | A total of 50% of POC and 79% of White participants believed that outdoor time was an important value in their culture. A total of 18% of POC and 76% of White participants agreed that a lot of people in their culture spend time outside. | Perceptions of nature and outdoor time were influenced by cultural values and family traditions of the participants. Participants in a focus group where everyone self-identified as a POC discussed the need to better inform POC communities about the importance and positive outcomes of children’s outdoor time, such as through social media, because considering other competing priorities their communities face daily (see barriers to outdoor time), outdoor time is often perceived as a luxury and not a necessity. | Confirmation and expansion Quantitative and qualitative results align. Each data set provides a deeper understanding of cultural distinctions in experiences and perspectives of the outdoors. |
Built environment and children’s outdoor time | For 100% of POC and 94% of White participants, neighborhood parks were a very important community resource. Home-based activity, such as playing outside, was very important for 91% of POC and 76% of White participants. For detailed results regarding the importance of community outdoor resources. | Many participants shared how their neighborhood environment shaped outdoor time for their children or children in their community. Participants living in apartment buildings without direct access to the outdoors talked about additional challenges in accessing outdoor spaces. Different characteristics of the urban environment and the effects these environments have on children’s health were discussed. Favorite activities for parents and their children included playing at a playground, jumping in puddles, biking, walking around the neighborhood, camping, hiking, exploring in the woods or the beach, playing soccer, swimming, and jumping on a trampoline. | Confirmation and expansion Quantitative and qualitative results align. The quantitative questions about the importance of outdoor community resources revealed that outdoor spaces are very important for both POC and White participants. A higher proportion of POC participants indicated outdoor spaces were very important across all outdoor space domains compared to White participants. Qualitative findings provided insights into popular activities that parents like to do outdoors with their children. The qualitative results also convey perspectives about the impacts of different characteristics of the built environment on outdoor time. |
Race | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
POC (n = 11) | White (n = 34) | |||
Safety and weather | ||||
I feel safe in outdoor spaces in my community, n (%) | ||||
Strongly disagree/Disagree | 3 | (27%) | 1 | (3%) |
Neutral | 3 | (27%) | 12 | (35%) |
Strongly agree/Agree | 5 | (45%) | 21 | (62%) |
I do not have all the gear I need to do outdoor activities, n (%) | ||||
Strongly disagree/Disagree | 2 | (18%) | 23 | (68%) |
Neutral | 4 | (36%) | 6 | (18%) |
Strongly agree/Agree | 5 | (45%) | 5 | (15%) |
Access to nature and outdoor spaces | ||||
It is easy to access outdoor spaces in my community, n (%) | ||||
Strongly disagree/Disagree | 2 | (18%) | 1 | (3%) |
Neutral | 2 | (18%) | 6 | (18%) |
Strongly agree/Agree | 7 | (64%) | 27 | (79%) |
Neighborhood parks, n (%) | ||||
No access | 0 | (0%) | 0 | (0%) |
Difficult to access | 3 | (27%) | 0 | (0%) |
Somewhat easy to access | 2 | (18%) | 11 | (32%) |
Easy to access | 6 | (55%) | 23 | (68%) |
Home-based activity (playing outside), n (%) | ||||
No access | 1 | (9%) | 0 | (0%) |
Difficult to access | 2 | (18%) | 5 | (15%) |
Somewhat easy to access | 3 | (27%) | 12 | (35%) |
Easy to access | 5 | (45%) | 17 | (50%) |
Forested parks in your city or state, n (%) | ||||
No access | 0 | (0%) | 0 | (0%) |
Difficult to access | 2 | (18%) | 3 | (9%) |
Somewhat easy to access | 6 | (55%) | 19 | (56%) |
Easy to access | 3 | (27%) | 12 | (35%) |
Trails for hiking, n (%) | ||||
No access | 0 | (0%) | 0 | (0%) |
Difficult to access | 2 | (18%) | 6 | (18%) |
Somewhat easy to access | 5 | (45%) | 21 | (62%) |
Easy to access | 4 | (36%) | 7 | (21%) |
Community/family garden, n (%) | ||||
No access | 1 | (9%) | 1 | (3%) |
Difficult to access | 5 | (45%) | 5 | (15%) |
Somewhat easy to access | 4 | (36%) | 20 | (59%) |
Easy to access | 1 | (9%) | 8 | (24%) |
Water access for swimming, n (%) | ||||
No access | 0 | (0%) | 1 | (3%) |
Difficult to access | 5 | (45%) | 6 | (18%) |
Somewhat easy to access | 3 | (27%) | 21 | (62%) |
Easy to access | 3 | (27%) | 6 | (18%) |
Lack of time and competing priorities | ||||
It is hard for me to find time to be outside, n (%) | ||||
Strongly disagree/Disagree | 6 | (55%) | 20 | (59%) |
Neutral | 1 | (9%) | 8 | (24%) |
Strongly agree/Agree | 4 | (36%) | 6 | (18%) |
Race | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
POC (n = 11) | White (n = 34) | |||
Outdoor time promotes health and wellness, n (%) | ||||
Strongly disagree/Disagree | 0 | (0%) | 0 | (0%) |
Neutral | 0 | (0%) | 0 | (0%) |
Strongly agree/Agree | 11 | (100%) | 34 | (100%) |
I am more physically active when I spend time outside, n (%) | ||||
Strongly disagree/Disagree | 0 | (0%) | 0 | (0%) |
Neutral | 0 | (0%) | 0 | (0%) |
Strongly agree/Agree | 11 | (100%) | 34 | (100%) |
My physical health is better when I spend time outside, n (%) | ||||
Strongly disagree/Disagree | 0 | (0%) | 0 | (0%) |
Neutral | 0 | (0%) | 2 | (6%) |
Strongly agree/Agree | 11 | (100%) | 32 | (94%) |
My mental health is better when I spend time outside, n (%) | ||||
Strongly disagree/Disagree | 0 | (0%) | 0 | (0%) |
Neutral | 0 | (0%) | 1 | (3%) |
Strongly agree/Agree | 11 | (100%) | 33 | (97%) |
Ideal outside time, mean minutes (SD) | ||||
Typical weekday | 177 | (90) | 264 | (174) |
Typical weekend | 390 | (156) | 394 | (238) |
Actual outside time, mean minutes (SD) | ||||
Typical weekday | 127 | (150) | 203 | (143) |
Typical weekend | 161 | (91) | 217 | (146) |
Race | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
POC (n = 11) | White (n = 34) | |||
A lot of people in my culture spend time outside, n (%) | ||||
Strongly disagree/Disagree | 3 | (27%) | 1 | (3%) |
Neutral | 6 | (55%) | 7 | (21%) |
Strongly agree/Agree | 2 | (18%) | 26 | (76%) |
Outdoor time is an important value in my culture, n (%) | ||||
Strongly disagree/Disagree | 3 | (30%) | 2 | (6%) |
Neutral | 2 | (20%) | 5 | (15%) |
Strongly agree/Agree | 5 | (50%) | 27 | (79%) |
Race | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
POC (n = 11) | White (n = 34) | |||
Importance of resources for outdoor time for people in your community: | ||||
Neighborhood parks | ||||
Not/Not very important | 0 | (0%) | 0 | (0%) |
Somewhat important | 0 | (0%) | 2 | (6%) |
Very important | 11 | (100%) | 32 | (94%) |
Forested parks in your city or state | ||||
Not/Not very important | 0 | (0%) | 0 | (0%) |
Somewhat important | 1 | (9%) | 6 | (18%) |
Very important | 10 | (91%) | 28 | (82%) |
Home-based activity (playing outside) | ||||
Not/Not very important | 0 | (0%) | 1 | (3%) |
Somewhat important | 1 | (9%) | 7 | (21%) |
Very important | 10 | (91%) | 26 | (76%) |
Trails for hiking | ||||
Not/Not very important | 0 | (0%) | 0 | (0%) |
Somewhat important | 1 | (9%) | 11 | (32%) |
Very important | 10 | (91%) | 23 | (68%) |
Water access for swimming | ||||
Not/Not very important | 0 | (0%) | 3 | (9%) |
Somewhat important | 2 | (20%) | 11 | (32%) |
Very important | 8 | (80%) | 20 | (59%) |
Community/family garden | ||||
Not/Not very important | 0 | (0%) | 0 | (0%) |
Somewhat important | 3 | (27%) | 15 | (44%) |
Very important | 8 | (73%) | 19 | (56%) |
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Haakenstad, M.K.; Butcher, M.B.; Noonan, C.J.; Fyfe-Johnson, A.L. Outdoor Time in Childhood: A Mixed Methods Approach to Identify Barriers and Opportunities for Intervention in a Racially and Ethnically Mixed Population. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2023, 20, 7149. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20247149
Haakenstad MK, Butcher MB, Noonan CJ, Fyfe-Johnson AL. Outdoor Time in Childhood: A Mixed Methods Approach to Identify Barriers and Opportunities for Intervention in a Racially and Ethnically Mixed Population. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2023; 20(24):7149. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20247149
Chicago/Turabian StyleHaakenstad, Magdalena K., Maria B. Butcher, Carolyn J. Noonan, and Amber L. Fyfe-Johnson. 2023. "Outdoor Time in Childhood: A Mixed Methods Approach to Identify Barriers and Opportunities for Intervention in a Racially and Ethnically Mixed Population" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 20, no. 24: 7149. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20247149