Grant: Operating Grant: Population Health Intervention Research

Strathcona County, AB (total pop. 87,998) is a large community that includes an urban centre (City of Sherwood Park, pop. 61,660), and significant rural territory (8 rural hamlets, collective pop. 26,338). Given the tremendous growth of the community, and increasing demand for physical activity opportunities, the Strathcona County Council approved the Open Space and Recreation Facility Strategy (OSRFS). Specific to this proposal, the goal of the OSRFS is to meet a variety of user needs and ensure equitable access while maintaining current service quality levels. To do this, the County will reinvest in existing facilities to maximize use (before new infrastructure is constructed) and will partner with other sectors to offer equitable access, shared benefits, and efficient use of community resources. The County has invested $40M in Phase 1A to revitalize existing indoor recreation and outdoor facilities. Groundbreaking for Phase 1A has occurred; facilities revitalized during Phase 1A will re-open in Fall 2011. This presents a time-sensitive opportunity to evaluate the impact of this investment. We will evaluate the OSRFS implementation by examining barriers to access across the profile of current users relative to non-users in Strathcona County, in comparison to user and non-users of a community similar size and facility profile (Spruce Grove/Stony Plain/Parkland County). Stage 1 will involve a before-and-after (facility re-opening) telephone survey of residents in each community. Stage 2 will involve before-and-after focus groups of (1) current users, (2) potential users, and (3) non-users in both communities. Focus groups will explore issue of who uses facilities (why/why not), preferences for and barriers to use, how people get to facilities, etc. Data collected in Stages 1 and 2 will be supplemented by facility use statistics, user-group profiles made, and maps of where in the community users are coming from.