Activity in nature mediates a park prescription intervention's effects on physical activity, park use and quality of life: a mixed-methods process evaluation.

Background: This process evaluation explored the implementation and mechanisms of impact of a Park Prescription Intervention trial (PPI), including the effects of hypothesised mediators (motivation, social support, recreational physical activity [PA], park use and park PA) on trial outcomes.

Methods: Participants from the community were randomly allocated to intervention (n = 80) or control (n = 80) group. The intervention included baseline counselling, a prescription of exercise in parks, materials, three-month follow-up counselling and 26 weekly group exercise sessions in parks.

A Tale of 3 Asian Cities: How is Primary Care Responding to COVID-19 in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Beijing.

Hong Kong, Singapore, and Beijing have some of the highest numbers of international arrivals and densest living spaces globally, yet these cities have reported low numbers of deaths amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak. Primary care has played different roles in each of the health systems in combatting the pandemic. Both Hong Kong and Singapore have a 2-tiered health system with the majority of primary care provided in the private sector.

Effectiveness of prescribing physical activity in parks to improve health and wellbeing - the park prescription randomized controlled trial.

Background: Programs promoting population health through physical activity (PA) and exposure to nature are popular, but few have been evaluated in randomized-controlled trials (RCTs).

Objective: To investigate the effectiveness of a park prescription intervention (PPI) for improving total moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA), other PA related behaviors, quality of life (QoL) and cardio-metabolic health among adults.

Methods: Healthy individuals aged 40 to 65 years were recruited through community health screenings and randomly assigned to 1) PPI: face-to-face Park Prescription + invitation to weekly exercise sessions in parks, or 2) control: standard PA materials.

The Park Prescription Study: Development of a community-based physical activity intervention for a multi-ethnic Asian population.

This mixed-methods study aims to inform the development of a 'Park Prescription' intervention, including face-to-face counseling on physical activity and park use and providing weekly structured exercise sessions in the park to promote physical activity. Participants aged 40-65 years were recruited from regional health screening events in Singapore where they completed a questionnaire (N = 97) and consented to focus group (FG) participation (N = 16). The questionnaire assessed current park use, and the type, duration, and intensity of park-based activities that would be of interest.

Prescribing Physical Activity in Parks to Improve Health and Wellbeing: Protocol of the Park Prescription Randomized Controlled Trial.

Previous studies in primary care settings showed that brief advice prescribing physical activity for inactive patients could be an effective way to promote physical activity. Park prescription interventions confer health benefits associated with exposure to nature and increased physical activity by recommending park use specifically to increase physical activity in parks. The purpose of this trial is to evaluate the effectiveness of a park prescription intervention for increasing time spent in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) assessed by accelerometry.