trendSCAN - May 2018

trendSCAN May 2018

In this version:

Takeaways
Did You Know?
Emerging/Evolving Models
Parks and Recreation – its Economic Impact
Loneliness and Mortality – the Cigna Report
Loneliness – Added Conclusions from USA Today
Stress Levels – State by State

Takeaways

Takeaways, a set of quick comments or questions as to how a particular trend or innovation potentially impacts parks and recreation. It is featured right at the beginning of every trendSCAN so that readers and innovators can quickly identify trends and ideas and then move on to added insight identified in the body of information.

We are the Bright Spots. Can you say parks and recreation? Loneliness is truly in the forefront. The recent Cigna survey reinforced the social nature of humans and the importance of having communities. Why so important? People who are less lonely are more likely to be in good overall physical and mental health; achieved balance in daily activities; employed and have good relationships with their coworkers. Consider the many ways in which our resources can be used to erode loneliness. Parks and recreation has the potential to an important impact on this societal issue. (Loneliness and Mortality – the Cigna Report)

Spreading the Economic Impact Word. Make sure that you alert local media to the findings in NRPA’s economic study. The information and the way in which it is presented is intended for just that purpose. Don’t miss the opportunity. (Parks and Recreation – Its Economic Impact)

Youth Sports Change Areas. The eight change areas identified by the Aspen Institute’s Project

Play are specified in Emerging /Evolving Models. If your community is interested in involving more young people and retaining them in sports and physical activity, review these 8 action areas and select one or two that you choose to implement or pilot.

Crumbling Infrastructure. It always seems to be a bit more difficult to secure funding for repairs and existing facilities while brand new facilities seem a bit easier to sell. Have your list of infrastructure needs compiled in a concise and persuasive manner, i.e. picture of infrastructure most extreme need, followed by concise stats, i.e. year built, record of repairs, safety/legal concerns, and attendance and usage figures as well as the amount of investment needed. Send them to media one facility at a time or see if you can find a local reporter interested in writing about the total infrastructure deficit in parks and recreation.

Branding Parks and Facilities. We are hardly likely to build a concept car as Super 8 did to promote its $100 million-dollar hotel renovations, but we can take a clue from them about branding. Many of our parks and facilities are named after its location or person of prominence. These names don’t necessarily reflect or express the main focus or usage of that area. Consider one of the following: Create a tag line for various categories of parks such as Active Action or Nature Connection to reflect the primary focus of the park OR Design a graphic that would communicate to potential users the primary uses of that area. It is important that the same tag line or graphic be used for all facilities and areas within the focus category. These changes should not replace or supplant the use of your agency’s logo. (Concept Cars?)

Incentives for Summer and Part-time Workers. If some cities are offering cash for younger workers to locate in their community, then the challenge of hiring and retaining part-time and summer workers is likely to continue increasing as well. What incentives, other than wage increases, can you possibly offer them? Ask staff what would incentivize them other than pay increases to continue working with you. It may be scheduling a day off that is particularly important to them off or modifying work time to accommodate another responsibility or providing them with a pre-determined schedule so they can plan in advance, many part-times or some other ‘doable’ preference that we would never recognize as an incentive. You need to be sure to ask all staff in a program or facility and be transparent with incentives granted. (Towns with jobs are offering cash)

Time/Price Differential. Hotels have in-season and offseason rates. It is cheaper to go to the movies on a Tuesday or before 4 p.m. Some agencies for certain facilities, i.e. tennis, fitness, etc. have utilized variations in prices and fees based upon peak periods of use. Take a look at your usage patterns and fee schedule to see if there are instances where price differential might apply. (Santa Cruz and Smart Parking Meters)

Did You Know?

Are Guns a Public Health Issue? Seven governors, primarily Democrats from the Northeast, have formed a consortium to study whether guns are a public health issue. (Governing)

Amazon Price Increase. With over 100 million prime members, Amazon is raising its annual prime fee by approximately 20% to $119 per year. (emarketer). Amazon has also moved forward with a new approach to deliver online purchases in the trunks of customer cars. This service is available in 37 cities for two makes of cars, Volvo and GM. (Oracle)

Walmart Keeps Pace with Amazon. Walmart is currently delivering on demand groceries in some areas of the country through various services, i.e. Instacart, Uber, Deliv, and DoorDash to join the delivery competition. (Oracle)

Instagram Unhurt by Facebook Woes. Even with Facebook’s issues related to privacy policies and Cambridge Analytica, Instagram owned by Facebook has remained unhurt by this scandal. Even though Instagram ran 150 ads that were part of the Russian disinformation campaign, it is not seen as an enemy as Facebook branded them entirely separate from them. (USA Today)

Crumbling Infrastructure. In a recent Governing survey, over one-half of state and local leaders indicated that crumbling public infrastructure is hurting the quality of life in their communities. Infrastructure ranked 53% followed by public safety at 45%, economic development at 42%, the environment at 32% and public health at 24% in the survey results. (Governing)

Santa Cruz and Smart Parking Meters. City officials in Santa Cruz are planning to move forward with smart parking meters that would charge rates for parking based on peak demands and slow times. This may result in parking fees ranging from 75 cents to $5 per hour (San Cruz Sentinel)

The Pot Tax’s Money Pot. New Frontier Data, a DC-based cannabis analytical company, predicts that taxes on pot may exceed $2.1 billion through 2020 (based on 15% state excise tax). To put the amount of dollars in perspective, the firm cited that it takes approximately $1 billion annually to run the City of Sacramento.

Towns with jobs are offering cash. The Wall Street Journal reports a “modern day” Homestead Act where towns that lost younger workers during the economic downturn are attempting to get that group back by offering financial incentives such as help paying student loans or with a down payment on a home. The original Homestead Act offered free land to people willing to move West to develop the country.

Emerging/Evolving Models

This is a relatively new category for trendSCAN that illuminates activities and actions that reflect the trends surfacing in society; especially organizational models that do a “180” by taking an existing product, service, and or facility and changing it a somewhat rather than doing away with the basic concept entirely. These models don’t usually specify parks and recreation but rather ways to change a system, the way we do business in an organization.

There’s no such thing as a new idea… We simply take a lot of old ideas and put them into a sort of mental kaleidoscope. Mark Twain

Youth Sports in the United States.

The youth sports model that was cited in the April version of trendSCAN (How Norway Won the Olympics?) is indeed both an emerging and evolving model for the United States.

Editor’s Note: Thanks Justin for requesting additional information on this topic. As a reminder to other readers, please make specific requests and trendSCAN will try to address what you need.

What then are the changes in our current model that are being recommended by the Aspen Sports Institute’s Project Play that speak to this evolution?

There are 8 areas of change identified in this report as follows:

Youth sports is organized by adults. Ask children what they want.
Most youth sports experiences are overstructured. Reintroduce free play.
Most youth specialize in one sport at an early age. Encourage sports sampling.
The rising cost and commitment of youth sports. Revitalize In-town Leagues.
Inadequate places to play. Think smaller and simpler spaces especially for younger children.
The challenge of too much, too soon. Youth sports should be designed for youth development.
Well-meaning but untrained volunteers. Train all coaches.
Safety concerns among parents. Emphasize prevention especially of injuries common to various sports.

For more information and examples, visit aspenprojectplay.org

Emergencies and Mental Health Care.

There is so much discussion about mental health care needs in the United States, yet such care is often not available. The number of psychiatrists in the U.S. is shrinking and communities across the country are having issues with both inpatient and outpatient options for people with these needs.

Evidence of the growing need and shortage include:

One in five Americans experience a mental health disorder every year (American Psychiatric Association)
Between 2006 and 2013, ER visits increased by more than 50%for psychoses and bipolar disorders, depression, anxiety and stress reactions (Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project)
Between those same years the number of visits climbed from 3,448 visits to 5,330 per 100,000 U.S. patients ages 15 and older. (Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project)

Nationwide, hospitals are struggling to provide services for people with psychiatric emergencies. What adds to the complexity of this struggle is that most emergency rooms are set up to deal with physical medical issues not psychiatric issues. Psychiatric patients’ conditions are often made worse by the noise and chaos of emergency rooms.

Mental health patients wait 2 hours longer for medical attention than patients there for physical ailments (University of Pennsylvania)
One in five patients with mental issues wait 2 days or more to receive in-patient treatment (American College of Emergency Physicians)

What’s an Emergency Room to do?

There is at least one such example that addresses these needs. At St. Joseph’s Hospital in Southern California, doctors have created an emergency room alternative for those with mental health illnesses. This special section of the emergency room enables mental health patients to secure a bed in a more suitable setting and be seen in a timelier fashion. The setting is usually quieter with less severe lighting. Psychiatric specialists have been added to the emergency room team. (CNBC)

Concept Cars?

What do hotel chains have to do with cars? Many customers use cars to arrive at their hotel destination, but this concept car from the Super 8 hotel chain is believed to be the first ever based on overnight accommodations. Super 8 recently completed a major renovation of its price-friendly establishments. The hotel chain was looking for an innovative way to get the word out about their $100 million investment?

Make way for ROADM8 (road mate), a 2017 Jeep Wrangler that was outfitted to resemble key elements of their new guest rooms that are better-equipped and more comfortable similar to upgrades at the hotel. The car’s exterior is red and yellow reflecting the look of the Super 8 signage and the dashboard acts as a night stand. Other amenities include a built-in coffee machine, a mini-fridge, and touch screen entertainment for riders in the back seat.

Source: PFSK

Parks and Recreation – its Economic Impact

Advocates of parks and recreation have long prided themselves on the broad personal, environmental and social benefits provided for individuals, communities, societies and the environment. That same group of advocates and professionals are always looking for the economic impact of their services.

Enter the National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) that directed its resources to this critical area, economic impact. Some of the findings include

NRPA found that for the year 2015, public parks generated…

…more than $154 billion in U.S. economic activity

…supported more than 1.1 million jobs that boosted labor income by $55 billion through operations and capital spending.

Also

…operations spending by parks and recreation agencies generated nearly $91 billion in total economic activity

…boosted real gross domestic product (GDP) by $49 billion

…supported more than 732,000 jobs, which accounted for nearly $34 billion in salaries, wages and benefits across the nation.

Plus

…an estimated $23 billion on capital programs leading to an additional $64 billion in economic activity

…contributed $32 billion to GDP, $21 billion in labor-related income and nearly 378,000 jobs.

BIG numbers for sure as the role of parks and recreation in the nation’s economy is compiled. It is also of great interest that Amazon when touring city ‘candidates’ for its new headquarters list access to quality of life amenities as of the three considerations.

The report also features a state-level analysis for parks that delineates the economic impact of local parks in all states as well as DC. The top 10 states with the highest economic impact in 2015 were as follows:

California - $15.9 billion
Illinois - $10.6 billion
Texas - $7.7 billion
Florida - $7.2 billion
New York - $5.2 billion
Colorado - $4.0 billion
Ohio - $3.4 billion
Virginia - $3.2 billion
North Carolina - $2.7 billion
Washington - $2.6 billion

More information as well as useful infographics about the economic impact of parks can be found in a variety of formats at nrpa.org

Source: NRPA 2018

Loneliness and Mortality – New Cigna Study

Recent versions of trendSCAN have reported on the growing recognition of loneliness in the United States. This trend is increasing to the point that global health service company, Cigna conducted a national survey in partnership with Ipsos, a markret research firm.

The survey of more than 20,000 U.S. adults ages 18 years and older revealed the following:

Nearly half of Americans report sometimes or always feeling alone (46 %) or left out (47 %).
One in four Americans (27 %) rarely or never feel as though there are people who really understand them.
Two in five Americans sometimes or always feel that their relationships are not meaningful (43 %) and that they are isolated from others (43 %).
One in five people report they rarely or never feel close to people (20 %) or feel like there are people they can talk to (18 %).
Living Alone. Americans who live with others are less likely to be lonely (average loneliness score of 43.5) compared to those who live alone (46.4). However, this does not apply to single parents/guardians (average loneliness score of 48.2)
One half of Americans (53 %) have meaningful in-person social interactions, such as having an extended conversation with a friend or spending quality time with family on a daily basis.
Generation Z (adults ages 18-22) who report the highest levels of loneliness also self-report being in worse health than older generations.
Social media use alone is not a predictor of loneliness. Respondents defined as very heavy users of social media have a loneliness score (43.5) that is not markedly different from the score of those who never use social media (41.7).

The Bright Spots

The survey also revealed several important bright spots. These findings reinforce the social nature of humans and the importance of having sense of community.

Specifics with a more positive outlook include

Sleep: Those who say they sleep just the right amount have lower loneliness scores than those who sleep less than desired or those who sleep more than desired.
- People are significantly less likely to feel as though they lack companionship (37 % vs. 62 % of those who oversleep) and are significantly more likely to feel like they have someone they can turn to (85 % vs. 71 %).

Spending time with family: Those individuals who spend more time than desired with their family and those who report spending less time than desired are on par with one another when it comes to experiencing feelings of loneliness.
- Those who report spending too much time with family stand out as being more likely than those who don’t say they spend too much time with family that they feel as though they are part of a group of friends (73 % vs. 64 %) and they can find companionship when they need it (74 % vs. 67 %).

Physical activity: People who say they get just the right amount of exercise are considerably less likely to be lonely.
- The loneliness score of those who exercise more than desired increases by 3.5 points, while a similar uptick is seen for those who exercise less than desired (3.7 points).
- Those who exercise more than desired and those exercising for just the right amount are on par when it comes to feeling as though they are part of a group of friends (79 %, each), have a lot in common with others (75 % of those who exercise more vs. 79 % who exercise just right), and can find companionship when they want it (76 % vs. 80 %).

The workplace: Those who say they work just the right amount are least likely to be lonely.
- Not surprisingly, those who report working less than desired are less likely to report having feelings associated with being less lonely (e.g., feeling outgoing and friendly, there are people you can talk to, etc.), compared to those who work more than desired.

About the Study. The evaluation of loneliness was measured by a score of 43 or higher on the UCLA Loneliness Scale, a 20-item questionnaire developed to assess subjective feelings of loneliness, as well as social isolation. The UCLA Loneliness Scale is a frequently referenced and acknowledged academic measure used to gauge loneliness.

Source, Cigna 2018

Loneliness – Added Conclusions from USA Today

Following the release of the Cigna Study, USA Today augmented the report with other facets and views of the study. Some of the highlights featured in this coverage included:

Loneliness has the same effect on mortality as smoking 15 cigarettes a day, which makes it even more dangerous than obesity

Former Attorney General Murthy indicates that loneliness creates a biological response that leads to chronic inflammation, damaged tissue and blood vessels, and an increased risk of heart disease, arthritis, and diabetes.

The well-regarded Robert Wood Johnson Foundation has worked with the non-profit project Measure of America to publicize the problem because disconnection in young people is such a predictor of poor health and early death.

National Loneliness

20,000 Americans reported being lonely and in poor health; young people are more likely than older adults to report this condition

The overall national loneliness score was 44 on a scale of 20 to 80

Younger Americans

The prevalence of social isolation among those ages 18 to 22 raises even more concern. The younger people, part of Generation Z, had loneliness scores of about 48 compared with nearly 39 for those 72 and older.

Young people with the highest rates of social media use reported very similar feelings of loneliness to those who barely use social media.

More than half of these 18- to 24-year-old members of Gen Z identified with 10 of the 11 feelings associated with loneliness.

Older Adults

Older people reported being less lonely than the youngest respondents, the Cigna study confirmed earlier studies that showed more than 40% of people over 65 reported being occasionally lonely.

More than 90% of people 72 years and older reported feeling close to others, having people to turn to and talk to, and feeling “in tune with others."

…Seniors often report loneliness, especially as they age, step out of the workplace and lose family and friends (Mary Durell, chief operating officer of CICOA, Indiana’s largest Area Agency on Aging)

…Moving closer to family can actually make matters worse as seniors lose social connections beyond the family. (Dana Robinson, CICOA’s director of marketing and communications)

…Caregivers of seniors with cognitive impairment often experience loneliness and isolation, whether they are seniors themselves or an adult child caring for a parent with dementia Spouses may have an enhanced sense of loneliness because their partner is still physically present but can no longer interact as he or she might have in the past. (Nicole Fowler, a Regenstrief Institute investigator at the Indiana University School of Medicine who studies the caregiver experience)

Recap of Loneliness by the Numbers

The loneliness picture of Americans

47% Feel left out

46% Sometimes or always feel alone

43% Feel their relationship are not meaningful

43% Feel isolated from others

27% Rarely or never feel there are people who really understand them

20% Rarely of never feel close to people

18% Have people they can talk to

Sources: Cigna survey of 20,000 Americans and George Petras/USA Today

Stress Levels – State by State

While stress is a likely part of everyone’s life from time to time or more chronically, WalletHub in recognition of April being Stress Awareness Month released its findings of the 2017 list of least and most stressed countries.

How was the ranking determined? The website compared the states and D.C. across four areas of significance: work-related, money-related, family-related, and health and safety related stresses. The specifics of some of the metrics which included median income, cost of child care, average hours worked per week can be found on the WalletHub websire. These metrics were used to create a 100-point scale that placed the top score of 100 reflecting the higher levels of stress.

The most stressed states included

Alabama
Louisiana
Mississippi
West Virginia
Kentucky
New Mexico
Nevada
Georgia
Tennessee
Arkansas

Alabama’s score of 56.91 out of 100, ranked second for low credit scores, fourth for the highest percentage of adults in fair/poor health, second for fewest psychologists per capita, and fourth for the fewest average hours of sleep per night. Two other Southern states, Louisiana and Mississippi, rounded out the top three with scores of 56.22 and 55.62 respectively.

The least stressed states are as follows:

Minnesota
North Dakota
Iowa
South Dakota
Utah
Nebraska
New Hampshire
Vermont
Colorado
Wisconsin

Minnesota is the least stressed state with a score of 31.07. It ranked in the top five for highest credit scores, one of the lowest divorce rates, had one of the lowest percentages of adults in fair/poor health, in the top five for number of psychologists per capita, and came in the top three for average number of hours slept

What about California?

California fell right in the middle ranking 25^th out of 51 for stress levels with an overall score of 42.62. Its ranking in the four significant areas included:

Work related stress 21

Money related stress 14

Family related stress 29

Health and Safety related stress 33

The complete listing of state rankings as well as specifics on the 33 metrics can be found at wallethub.com/edu/most-stressful-states/322128

trendSCAN is created by Dr. Ellen O’Sullivan for the California Park & Recreation Society. Ellen welcomes your comments, questions, and feedback and can be reached at Ellenosull@gmail.com

trendSCAN - May 2018