Clinical trial · Interventional
Use of Shade in U.S. and Australian City Parks
Norms and Built Environment: Use of Shade in U.S. and Australian City Parks
- Source
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- Retrieved
- Sep 8, 2026
- Layer
- normalized (units and labels harmonized; values unchanged)
- Run
- ING-CLINICALTRIALS-20260908-000001
Summary
Brief summary (as posted)
Use of shade when outdoors is recommended by health authorities worldwide to reduce overall exposure to ultraviolet radiation. However, expensive physical environment changes are often required to provide shade and may be effective only when health education has created a social environment that motivate shade use. A multi-national research team will explore the use of built shade in passive recreation areas within public parks and compare use of built shade between the United States and Australia. The specific aims of the project are to: a) introduce built shade structures (i.e., shade sails) in public parks in Denver and Melbourne; b) compare the use of passive recreation areas with and without built shade; c) compare the change in use of the passive recreation areas in Denver and Melbourne after introduction of built shade, and d) examine the relationship among social environment and physical features of the environment and built shade.
Conditions
Conditions (1)
Free-text conditions as registered, with the CancerIndex entity they were reconciled to and the match type.
| Condition (as posted) | Mapped entity | Match | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Skin Cancer | Malignant Skin Neoplasm | ALIAS | 0.90 |
Interventions
Interventions (1)
| Intervention | Type | Mapped drug | Match |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shade Sail | Behavioral | — | UNRESOLVED |
Design
Arms and outcomes
Arms (2)
- type
- EXPERIMENTAL
- label
- Shade Sail
- description
- Shade sails were constructed over passive recreation areas in public parks between pretest and posttest. Shade sails maximized available shade in the passive recreation areas from 11 am to 3 pm in the summer.
- interventionNames
- Behavioral: Shade Sail
- type
- NO_INTERVENTION
- label
- Unshaded Control
- description
- Passive recreation areas in public parks that remained unshaded at pretest and posttest.
Primary outcomes (1)
- measure
- Observed Use of Passive Recreation Area by Adults
- timeFrame
- One-year
- description
- Any use of each passive recreation, assessed by observing each passive recreation areas for 30 minutes on four weekend days between 11 am and 3 pm when forecast high temperatures were had forecast high temperature were between 72°F/22°C and 95°F/35°C over a 20-week period during two summers (pretest summer, posttest summer) by trained research assistants. Observations were suspended during rain.
Eligibility
Eligibility (as posted)
- Sex
- All
- Minimum age
- 18 Years
Show eligibility criteria text
Inclusion Criteria: * Passive recreation areas had to be located in public parks in Denver, Colorado USA or Melbourne, Victoria Australia metropolitan area. * Parks had to contain at least two unshaded PRAs and be administered by the study municipalities, * Passive recreation areas had to meet the definition of a passive recreation area, i.e., areas for sitting/standing while socializing, preparing/eating a meal, watching or coaching sports, watching a concert, taking a class, or waiting, or areas where people stroll (walk slowly) for sightseeing while observing outdoor displays (e.g., festivals, gardens, zoo exhibits). * Passive recreation areas had to be in full sun (i.e. no shade) at pretest. * Passive recreation areas had to contain a space where a shade sail could be constructed, i.e., free from underground or above ground obstructions, relatively level, and large enough to accommodate the shade sail. * Passive recreation areas had to be approved by parks department staff for shade sail construction. * Adults had to appear to be 18 years of age or older. * Adults had to be in the public parks. Exclusion Criteria: * Passive recreation areas where major construction/ redevelopment of the parks was planned within the study period.
References
Publications (1)
- DERIVEDBuller DB, English DR, Buller MK, Simmons J, Chamberlain JA, Wakefield M, Dobbinson S. Shade Sails and Passive Recreation in Public Parks of Melbourne and Denver: A Randomized Intervention. Am J Public Health. 2017 Dec;107(12):1869-1875. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.2017.304071. Epub 2017 Oct 19. PMID 29048958