Developing and testing the senior park environment assessment in Korea (SPEAK) audit tool

Given the rapidly aging population in Korea and the critical role of neighborhood parks in the health of seniors, it is essential to understand how park environments impact physical activity in this age group. This study outlines the development and testing of an audit tool, Senior Park Environment Assessment in Korea (SPEAK), to assess park characteristics and culture-specific features that may promote physical activity in Korean seniors. Additionally, it investigated disparities in park quality and characteristics in high- and low socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhoods. The 36-item, single-page audit tool was developed and field-tested in 42 parks in four districts of two Korean cities, purposely selected for their differences in SES. Cohen’s kappa and percent agreement assessed the inter-rater reliability of each item. The Kruskal–Wallis test and a Mann–Whitney test evaluated differences in the percent scores among five domains (Access, Amenities, Safety, Aesthetics, and Recreation) and compared scores between the two SES areas. SPEAK was generally reliable: 72% of the items had over 75% agreement, and 70.4% had kappa coefficients between 0.4 and 1. Access to parks had the lowest scores among the five domains. Results indicated a significant disparity in three domains (Access, Amenities, and Safety) regarding parks between the two SES areas, suggesting that parks in low-SES areas are of lower quality and less safe than high-SES park areas. SPEAK would provide Korean municipalities with a feasible park assessment of factors impacting physical activity in the elderly.