Background. In Pima County, twenty-four percent of the population is obese, and this figure has steadily increased over the past ten years. A major cause is lack of regular exercise, which is a factor for other chronic health illnesses as well. An important intervention for improvement has been identified as regular, moderate-intensity physical activity. Proper surveillance is necessary to identify health disparities and barriers. The purpose of this scholarly practice inquiry (PI) was to use the American College of Sports Medicine American Fitness Index (ACSM-AFI) instrument to identify personal and community health disparities in Pima County, using the Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (DPAS) as a framework. Additionally, the purpose was to identify pertinent stakeholders who would benefit from these findings. Methods. This was a descriptive cross-sectional study that used publicly available surveillance data. The analysis of the ACSM-AFI instrument results for Pima County, Arizona yielded personal health indicators, community/environment indicators, county advantages, and challenges in comparison to national averages, and identification of pertinent stakeholders. The sample population for this study was comprised of the residents of Pima County, Arizona as determined by publically available surveillance data. Results. Pima County, compared to the national average, has a higher percent of moderately physically active residents, a lower percent of obese residents, more park-related expenditures, more swimming pools, more recreational centers, and more golf courses. Pima County has a lower percent of residents with health insurance, a higher death rate from diabetes and cardiovascular disease, lower parkland in city land area, a lower level of state requirements for Physical Education classes, fewer primary care providers, fewer dog parks, baseball diamonds, acres of parkland, and more violent crime. Conclusions. The major deficits, which should be the focus for community leaders, were health care coverage, cardiovascular and diabetes mortality, and environmental safety. These findings are relatable to obesity, metabolic syndrome, and socioeconomic barriers, which were identified in the initial literature review conducted for this PI. Examples of four major areas of pertinent stakeholders were the Pima County Health Department, the Pima County Business Community, the Arizona Daily Star, and The University of Arizona.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:arizona.edu/oai:arizona.openrepository.com:10150/319894 |
| Date | January 2014 |
| Creators | Ralls, Kevin Thomas |
| Contributors | Taylor-Piliae, Ruth, Taylor-Piliae, Ruth, Russell-Kibble, Audrey, May, Kathleen |
| Publisher | The University of Arizona. |
| Source Sets | University of Arizona |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | text, Electronic Dissertation |
| Rights | Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author. |
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