Community Park-Based Programs for Health Promotion: The Fit2Lead Prospective Cohort Study

The Fit2Lead prospective cohort study examines the effects of a park-based youth mental health and resilience afterschool program on youth physical and mental health and resilience, communication, and problem-solving skills training for underserved youth aged 12 to 17 years through an interdisciplinary collaboration among Miami-Dade Department of Parks, Recreation and Open Spaces (MDPROS) Miami-Dade County (MDC) Juvenile Services Department, MDC Public Schools, MDC Police Department, University of Miami, Florida International University, and other community-based partners. Fit2Lead consists of 2 phases initiated simultaneously in 2015. For youth aged 12 to 14 years, Fit2Lead is offered after school Monday through Friday from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm at 12 MDC parks for participants in under resourced neighborhoods and based on area-level youth crime and neighborhood poverty. Fit2Lead runs September through June at no charge, and provides daily academic support, sports and recreation, meditation, stress resilience, and life skills-focused workshops. Each park serves anywhere from 2 to 9 feeder schools within these neighborhoods (a target population of 34 000 youth residents aged 12-17 years), and transportation from schools to parks is provided at no cost within a 3-mile radius of a program park. Fit2Lead participants can also enroll in the MDPROS youth summer camp at no charge. Phase II of Fit2Lead is for youth aged 15 to 17 years and entails a year-round paid internship and 3-hour weekly enrichment, resilience, and life skills workshops. Daily entry-level part-time interns receive $9 per hour (approximately 500 total paid hours per year; total salary approximately $4000 per participant, per year). Work assignments support MDPROS operations and recreation staff. Interns rotate every 8 weeks for exposure to different job opportunities, supervisors, and mentors. Phase 1 participants who reach age 15 years and are awaiting an internship placement can remain in phase 1 until a position opens or can be transferred to another internship program within the MDPROS.