PARC Study Ezine

Hot off the press! We have produced the first issue of the PARC Study ezine.  You can read a copy of this ezine by going to the Connswater Community Greenway website (http://www.communitygreenway.co.uk/).

Park Usage

This week the PARC study team along with the help of 16 volunteers from East Belfast are out along the Connswater Community Greenway route collecting information on the number of people using the parks and green spaces in the area.  This part of the study will finish on Sunday 6th February.

The PARC study team would like to say a big thank you to all those volunteers who have come back to help us again and to the new volunteers who have joined the team.  Thanks to you all for braving the cold, wind and rain to help us out.

PARC Household Survey

Exciting news! On Monday 31st January we finished the year long data collection of our large household survey of residents in East Belfast.  The PARC study team would like to say a big thank you to Perceptive Insight Marketing Research for all their hard work in completing the feedback. Over the next few weeks we will be busy analysing the data and will report back on our findings soon.

Walk Score

 

Check out our new Walk Score app added to the end of the page.

Walk Score allows anyone to calculate how walkable their neighbourhood is.

http://www.walkscore.com/ 

Living in a walkable environment has been linked to wellbeing, obesity, physical activity, diet and the list continues to grow!

Good to see the CCG office is in a very walkable area

UK Society of Behavioural Medicine Conference

Researchers working on the PARC study recently attended the UK Society of Behavioural Medicine 6th Annual Scientific Meeting in Leeds (http://uksbm.org.uk/).


Prof Frank Kee delivered a key note lecture on new paradigms in public health medicine.


Dr Alberto Longo presented his work on the influence of safety, ease of access to local facilities and aesthetics on changes in physical activity. 

Dr Ruth Hunter presented a poster on physical activity and deprivation.

Claire Cleland presented her work on  community leaders' experiences of physical activity interventions in a socio-economically disadvantaged area.

Latest article about physical activity from the PARC team

There is a lot of interest in using objective monitors to promote and measure physical activity.
Here is a link to a recent article on the subject

http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/maney/ptr/2010/00000015/00000003/art00001

It is an editorial article as part of a special edition on the use of activity monitors in clinical populations.

Santa Cycle

The Connswater Community Greenway team are hosting a Santa Cycle on Sunday 5th December 2010. The aim is to set a Guiness World Record for the largest number of cycling Santas! The cycle is due to start from Titanic Quarter at 11am.


The Connswater Community Greenway team are looking for volunteers. You can take part as a cyclist or if you're not feeling so energetic, marshalls are needed to help the day run smoothly. One small catch...you have to wear a Santa suit!

We are looking for a number of people involved in the PARC study to support this event. If you are interested can you please contact the organisers using the details provided.

http://www.greenwaysantacycle.co.uk/