2021 Speed Session Bundle: Health and Wellness

This bundle is worth 0.1 CEU and contains the following three speed sessions from NRPA's 2021 annual conference:

Integrating Mental Health Programs Into Traditional Park and Recreation Programming (Session 016)
Parks and recreation have long been considered the great 'connectors' throughout communities, linking quality recreational programming to relevant needs of our guests. As one of the Three pillars of NRPA's Strategic Plan, health and well-being are critical services that must be delivered to our residents. As connectors, we assessed our community needs, both pre- and post-COVID-19 pandemic, and determined that there's a significant need to integrate mental health services into our programming. We then developed Healthy U: A Series of Conversations, where we've partnered with local nonprofit mental health providers, to speak on serious, and yet relevant, topics, such as depression, anxiety, domestic violence, trauma informed care, suicide prevention and substance use disorder. This session will share the value of forming such partnerships and the intrinsic, positive contributions that having tough conversations on tough topics can bring to the community. As connectors, we assessed our community needs, both pre and post COVID-19 pandemic, and determined that there's a significant need to integrate mental health services into our programming. We then developed Healthy U: A Series of Conversations, where we've partnered with local non-profit mental health providers, to speak on serious and yet relevant topics, such as Depression, Anxiety, Domestic Violence, Trauma Informed Care, Suicide Prevention and Substance Use Disorder.  This session will share the value of forming such partnerships and the intrinsic positive contributions that having tough conversations on tough topics can bring to the community. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Establish partnerships in your community to join you as subject matter experts to share their expertise on mental health services. 
2. Maximize the time and resources available in your community to bring tough conversations about mental health front and center. 
3. Maximize the time and resources available in your community to bring tough conversations about mental health front and center.

Perceived Risk, COVID-19, and the Propensity for Participating in Recreation (Session 025)
This session will examine the effects of COVID-19 on recreation by studying the relationship between risk perception and willingness of individuals to engage in recreation services.  This study aims to answer the following question, does the perception of risk associated with participation in recreational activity during COVID-19 influence actual participation rates in recreation services? 

Learning Objectives:

1. Understand the relationship between risk perception and participation in recreation services recognize the unique relationship between risk perception, COVID-19, and recreation participation enhance public health messaging as it relates to recreation participation during COVID-19

Play to the crowd: A Case Study in Using a Weekly Social Media Campaign to Promote Inclusive Physical Activity in Public Parks (Session 032)
Social media is an excellent tool to promote the use of parks and engage with community members. A park promotion through this medium offers the opportunity to reach out to and attract the attention of individuals of all levels of ability, including those with physical disabilities. Visually representing a diversity of abilities through appealing, creative graphics and imagery can encourage all residents to safely achieve healthy living goals. This session will examine a recently successful eight-week social media campaign designed with New York City Department of Parks and Recreation to leverage a weekly Monday cue to promote easy and accessible physical activities that people of all levels of ability can do in public parks. This case study will highlight considerations for inclusive campaign design, provide practical implementation learnings, and offer resources for park agencies to conduct similar campaigns. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Know how to design and implement an inclusive social media campaign to engage a range of audiences. 
2. Be able to creatively communicate opportunities for people with a range of ability levels, including those with physical disabilities, to engage in physical activity.