{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,2]],"date-time":"2026-04-02T10:11:38Z","timestamp":1775124698190,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":44,"publisher":"MDPI AG","issue":"1","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,22]],"date-time":"2026-01-22T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1769040000000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"name":"National Institutes of Health, National Institute of General Medical Sciences","award":["P20 GM103446"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["P20 GM103446"]}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["IJERPH"],"abstract":"<jats:p>Accessible and inclusive community environments support physical activity and health equity for people with disabilities, yet gaps in design, maintenance, and communication limit safe, independent use. This statewide cross-sectional audit assessed park accessibility and usability and playground safety in publicly accessible, non-fee-based Delaware community parks with playgrounds. Fifty stratified sites were evaluated using the Community Health Inclusion Index and the America\u2019s Playgrounds Safety Report Card by trained raters with strong interrater reliability. Descriptive analyses summarized accessibility, usability, communication, and safety features by county, with exploratory urban-suburban\/micropolitan contrasts. Most sites provided wide, smooth paths, shade, and strong playground visibility, but foundational accessibility varied. Only 30% had a nearby transit stop, fewer than 10% of crossings included auditory or visual signals. Curb-ramp completeness was inconsistent, with detectable warnings frequently absent. Restrooms commonly lacked low-force doors or operable hardware, and multi-use trails often had obstacles or lacked wayfinding supports. Playground accessibility features were present at approximately two-thirds of sites, and 62% were classified as safe, although 10% were potentially hazardous or at-risk. Higher playground accessibility scores were strongly associated with lower life-threatening injury risk. Overall, gaps in transit access, pedestrian infrastructure, amenities, and communication support limit equitable, health-supportive park environments and highlight priority improvement areas.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.3390\/ijerph23010139","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,23]],"date-time":"2026-01-23T10:41:34Z","timestamp":1769164894000},"page":"139","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.3390\/mdpi_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Statewide Assessment of Public Park Accessibility and Usability and Playground Safety"],"prefix":"10.3390","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-6098-453X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Iva","family":"Obrusnikova","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Behavior and Nutrition Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19713, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cora","family":"Firkin","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Health Behavior and Nutrition Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19713, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Riley","family":"Pennington","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19713, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"India","family":"Dixon","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Medical and Molecular Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19713, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]},{"given":"Cole","family":"Bilbrough","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"English Department, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA"}],"role":[{"role":"author","vocabulary":"crossref"}]}],"member":"1968","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,1,22]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref_1","unstructured":"Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2023). 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