Abstract
Outdoor play is one of the facilitators of children’s wellbeing and healthy development, contributing to better focus, resilience and lower stress. The international B-challenged project aims to stimulate children’s outdoor play by creating, implementing and evaluating interventions in cooperation with children and adult actors. Its starting point is the recognition of local stakeholders’ attitudes towards this action. We conducted in-depth individual interviews (IDI) with representatives of local government, district council, police, NGOs, representatives of sport and educational facilities, parents, architects (n=12) from the Warsaw district characterized by high concentration of social and economic problems. Key categories and sub-categories identified in IDIs: 1. Importance of the project - Dominant belief is that outdoor play protects against overuse of modern technologies; 2. Possibilities of implementation - Local needs and facilities for outdoor play; 3. Respondent’s roles and abilities – Current activities in the area of children’s education and leisure time; 4. Respondent’s potential - Ideas to increase outdoor play; 5. Barriers - administrative, financial and political factors, social attitudes, limited accessibility and infrastructure, threats related to road traffic and the high availability and visibility of alcohol and drugs in the neighborhood. Despite the general consensus on the importance of outdoor play for children’s health and development, implementing appropriate measures in underprivileged urban environments is difficult, often for reasons beyond the control of local stakeholders. However, with the involvement and good cooperation of various groups, positive changes are possible.
Presenters
Katarzyna Okulicz KozarynAssistant Professor, Department of Child and Adolescent Health, Institute of Mother and Child, Poland
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Health Promotion and Education
KEYWORDS
Outdoor play, Children, Adult stakeholders, Urban environment, Intervention planning
