Associations Between Perceptions of Health and Community Safety With Meeting the Healthy Vermonters’ 2020 Physical Activity Goals

Associations Between Perceptions of Health and Community Safety With Meeting the Healthy Vermonters’ 2020 Physical Activity Goals Jordan Keene, Alexandra Piccione, Gail Regan, Christian Taylor, and Victoria Hart Abstract Objective: The purpose of our Public Health team project was to examine the associations between Vermonters’ perceptions of their physical health, mental health, and community safety with meeting the Healthy Vermonters’ (HV) 2020 physical activity goals.1 Population demographic variables and social determinants of health that may influence individuals’ perceptions were considered using the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) for the year 2017.2,3 Methods: Predictor variables for logistic regression analysis were the 4,393 respondents’ self-reported 1) physical health, 2) mental health, and 3) community safety for walking. Outcome variables were achievement of the HV 2020 goals for 1) aerobic and muscle-strengthening activity and 2) engagement in leisure-time physical activity. These goals are identical to the CDC’s 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans.4 Results: Descriptive Statistics - Our sample was predominantly Non-Hispanic white, highly educated, and half with annual incomes of less than $50,000. The majority (76.5%) did not meet both HV 2020 physical activity guidelines; 60% met the aerobic goal and 31% met the muscle strengthening goal. More had positive self-perceptions of physical and mental health (63.4% and 66.3%, respectively) than did not. Most rated their community safe for walking, with 56% choosing “Extremely safe,” and 36.1% choosing “Quite safe.” Main Findings - The odds of meeting the HV 2020 guidelines for aerobic and muscle strengthening activity for those who ranked their community as “Extremely safe” (for walking were higher than for those who ranked their community as “Not at all safe” for walking (OR 2.48, p = .012). Similarly, the odds of engaging in leisure-time physical activity were higher for those who rated their community “Extremely safe” (OR 1.7, p = .046). Confounding effects of age, gender, BMI, smoking status, and disability status were adjusted for in our statistical analyses. Discussion: We found that perception of neighborhood safety was more influential on meeting physical activity guidelines than perceptions of health. Contrary to previous literature, our research revealed no association between physical and mental health status, and meeting the HV 2020 guidelines. We speculate that could be due to how the health status questions are posed, i.e., number of days when health is not good. Two other limitations were that BRFSS physical activity information is self-reported and it is impossible to know what features influenced community safety ratings (e.g., sidewalks, lighting). References 1. Vermont Department of Health. State health assessment plan 2012- Healthy Vermonters 2020. http://www.astho.org/accreditation/vermont-state-health-assessment/. Published December 2012. Accessed October 10, 2019. 2. Vermont Department of Health. Behavior Risk Factor Surveillance Survey 2017 Report. https://www.healthvermont.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pdf/HSVR_BRFSS_2017.pdf Accessed October 2, 2019. 3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey. https://www.cdc.gov/brfss/index.html. Last reviewed August 27, 2019. Accessed November 1, 2109. 4. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. https://health.gov/our-work/physical-activity/previous-guidelines/2008-physical-activity-guidelines Accessed September 25, 2019