November 2012 - Parks & Recreation - 43

" Couch potatoes can do this.
The only requirement is that
you can stand for 10 minutes
without pain. "
-Jeannine Galloway,
National Arthritis Foundation,
on the " Walk with Ease " program
have shown improvements in balance, strength,
walking pace, and pain reduction.
Best of all, Galloway remarks, there's a " builtin synergy " between the expanding trails and
greenways in our country and the population's
growing need for low-impact exercise programs.
The National Recreation and Park Association
will be responsible for implementing the Arthritis Foundation Exercise Program (AFEP) and Walk
With Ease (WWE) intervention in 30 park and
recreation agencies selected through a competitive RFA process. This will be conducted in two
phases. The programs will initially be piloted in
15 agencies in the ﬁrst phase and then pilot in
the remaining 15 agencies in the second phase
with a total reach of at least 1,500 persons with
arthritis. NRPA will collect data from participating agencies on a semi-annual basis to demonstrate overall program success. NRPA will also
disseminate successes from the studies by producing resources and materials that
highlight key successes, challenges,
and lessons learned from grantees. A
best-practices document and a webinar will be produced that encourage replication of the interventions by
other park and recreation agencies.

changes to the built environment.
The HIA process generates a collage of health
recommendations from across a community.
Typically, local government officials, residents,
and health, economic, and environmental groups
form the representative core. Participants identify project speciﬁcs and relevant health issues,
develop concrete recommendations, report to
decision-makers, and monitor and evaluate actions taken.
Kara Vonasek-Blankner, an ArlingTREND
ton, Virginia, volunteer leader under
#
the CDC's ACHIEVE (Action Communities for Health, Innovation, and EnVironmental ChangE) grant to her city,
describes the HIA as " a great tool for engaging community members and bringing critical
information to policymakers at timely intervention points. "
What do park agencies bring to HIAs? While
roles vary and park input might range from operations insights to public-outreach strategies,
Vonasek-Blankner illustrates this with a walkingtrail discussion: " During stakeholder input meetings, [park leaders] might say, 'Of course, this trail
Health impact studies
is good for health-and sure, we can build it there.
are helping boost usage
But unless we install lighting, increase entrance
of cycling trails in
and exit points, and increase patrols, it won't get
Haywood County,
North Carolina.
the use we're hoping for.' "

Weighing the Pros
and Cons: Health
Impact Assessments
See your doctor before beginning this
program.
It's the standard advice accompanying any new self-improvement
regimen. A Health Impact Assessment (HIA) might be considered the
community health equivalent of " seeing your doctor ﬁrst. " It is a structured discovery-and-reporting tool
for maximizing the potential health
beneﬁts-and lessening the risks-of
WWW.NRPA.ORG | NOVEMBER 2012 |

Parks & Recreation

November 2012 - Parks & Recreation

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