Socioeconomic and Racial/Ethnic Disparities in Physical Activity Environments in Georgia Elementary Schools

This study aimed to characterize physical activity (PA) environments in Georgia public elementary schools and to identify socioeconomic status (SES) and racial/ethnic disparities in PA environments.

A school setting PA survey was launched in 2013 to 2014 as a cross-sectional online survey assessing PA environment factors, including facility access and school PA practices, staff PA opportunities, parental involvement in school PA, and out-of-school PA opportunities.

All 1333 Georgia public elementary schools were recruited.

A total of 1083 schools (81.2%) responded. Survey respondents included school administrators, physical education (PE) teachers, and grade-level chairs.

Physical activity environment factors were assessed via an online questionnaire adapted from school PA surveys and articles.

The chi-square and Fisher exact analyses were conducted to examine the reporting of PA environment factors overall and by school SES, as measured by free/reduced lunch rate, and/or racial/ethnic composition.

Overall, many PA environment factors were widely prevalent (ie, gym [99%] or field [79%] access), although some factors such as some PA-related programs (ie, a structured walk/bike program [11%]) were less widely reported. Disparities in school PA environment factors were largely patterned by SES, though they varied for some factors by racial/ethnic composition and across SES within racial/ethnic composition categories. For example, lower SES schools were less likely to report access to blacktops and tracks ( p-value < .0001), and higher SES schools were less likely to report access to playgrounds ( p-value = .0076). Lower SES schools were also less likely to report "always/often" giving access to PE/PA equipment during recess ( p-value < .01). Lower SES and majority nonwhite schools were less likely to report having joint use agreements with community agencies ( p-value < .0001).

This study highlights SES and racial/ethnic disparities in PA environments in Georgia public elementary schools.