Partners at Play: Engaging Parks and Recreation Departments in Extension’s Health Promotion Work

Abstract

As Extension assumes a more prominent role in health promotion efforts at the national and local levels, it is increasingly important to build strong, sustainable partnerships with organizations that address health and health disparities across the socio-ecological model. Given the role that the built environment plays in fostering and impeding health and physical activity, we argue that state and local Extension staff should build and maintain strong partnerships with organizations that carry out this work at the national, state, and local levels, such as Parks and Recreation departments. This article presents a case study of how Extension staff in one North Carolina county built strong and sustainable partnerships with Parks and Recreation to create and enhance access to places to be active, particularly in low-income and communities of color. Drawing on this case study, we outline best practices that can facilitate these types of partnerships, based on experience from a two-year community-based research and Extension project at North Carolina State University.