60
B. A. Balogun
wholesome community health in Nigeria requires a multidisciplinary approach and
significant investment from all stakeholders, not only in the health institutions but
also in the SDoH (Braveman 2002, cited in Kusimo 2015).
Access to leisure activities and recreational facilities has been established as one
of the viable means of promoting community health. Leung and Lee (2005) found
that a major determinant of life quality in a community is the volume of leisure
activities taking place. Omodior and Ramos (2019) pointed out that engagement
in recreational activities by members of a community enhanced their health-related
quality of life. The provision of parks in communities, coupled with ease of accessibility and use, significantly improves the leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) of
members. Higgerson et al. (2018) recommended the creation and provision of accessible and free recreation parks and leisure facilities to support increased community
levels of physical activity. Jennings et al. (2016) cautioned, however, that accessibility of recreation centres ought to be backed by evidence of social accessibility
before optimal engagement of leisure facilities by community members can be more
certain. Social accessibility is a function of community ties or a SOC, because we feel
safer in a neighbourhood where everyone cares for and protect one another. Humans
are social beings and do not tolerate isolation for long; humans are wired for regular
social interactions. If a person perceives that his use of outdoor recreation facilities in
the community exposes him to some form of danger or discriminatory treatment, he
will most likely back off. On the other hand, such leisure facilities potentially provide
avenues to develop a deeper SOC among community members. In essence, leisure
facilities for recreation and physical activities contribute to wholesome community
health due to inherent physical, mental and social benefits (Friedman 2020).
Nigerians have gradually embraced that leisure activities and outdoor exercises
are contributory factors to health and good quality of life. Perception about recreation services is positive. Following his survey carried out in some communities of
Kwara State, Nigeria, Asagba (2007) established that leisure activities were viewed
by community members as important indicators of their present and future health
status. Lawal and Bilesanmi (2013) discovered that two of every three persons
surveyed in South West Nigeria saw outdoor recreation as an important tonic for
health living; only less than 10% of respondents claimed that no correlation existed
between recreation and health. Olaitan et al. (2012), Bakare (2013) and Dantata
(2014) are other researchers who reported similar findings. Nevertheless, Adedotun
et al. (2019) discovered that Nigerian adults loved frequent outdoor recreation, but
the interest in sedentary activities such as drinking and chatting was higher than in
physical activities such as jogging, swimming and football. It is apparent that a lot
of awareness campaigns need to be done by stakeholders to promote routine and
regular LTPA among Nigerian adults. The emphasis of WHO is on getting communities engaged in physical activities because of associated diverse health benefits
and redressing health equity imbalance (World Health Organisation 2018). VincentOnabajo and Blasu (2016) opined that health benefits were derivable from leisure
participation as part of the post-management regimen of cases of stroke. About 90%
of the study group participated in communal leisure activities, even though more
social interactions and less physical exercises were involved. This gives an insight
B. A. Balogun
wholesome community health in Nigeria requires a multidisciplinary approach and
significant investment from all stakeholders, not only in the health institutions but
also in the SDoH (Braveman 2002, cited in Kusimo 2015).
Access to leisure activities and recreational facilities has been established as one
of the viable means of promoting community health. Leung and Lee (2005) found
that a major determinant of life quality in a community is the volume of leisure
activities taking place. Omodior and Ramos (2019) pointed out that engagement
in recreational activities by members of a community enhanced their health-related
quality of life. The provision of parks in communities, coupled with ease of accessibility and use, significantly improves the leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) of
members. Higgerson et al. (2018) recommended the creation and provision of accessible and free recreation parks and leisure facilities to support increased community
levels of physical activity. Jennings et al. (2016) cautioned, however, that accessibility of recreation centres ought to be backed by evidence of social accessibility
before optimal engagement of leisure facilities by community members can be more
certain. Social accessibility is a function of community ties or a SOC, because we feel
safer in a neighbourhood where everyone cares for and protect one another. Humans
are social beings and do not tolerate isolation for long; humans are wired for regular
social interactions. If a person perceives that his use of outdoor recreation facilities in
the community exposes him to some form of danger or discriminatory treatment, he
will most likely back off. On the other hand, such leisure facilities potentially provide
avenues to develop a deeper SOC among community members. In essence, leisure
facilities for recreation and physical activities contribute to wholesome community
health due to inherent physical, mental and social benefits (Friedman 2020).
Nigerians have gradually embraced that leisure activities and outdoor exercises
are contributory factors to health and good quality of life. Perception about recreation services is positive. Following his survey carried out in some communities of
Kwara State, Nigeria, Asagba (2007) established that leisure activities were viewed
by community members as important indicators of their present and future health
status. Lawal and Bilesanmi (2013) discovered that two of every three persons
surveyed in South West Nigeria saw outdoor recreation as an important tonic for
health living; only less than 10% of respondents claimed that no correlation existed
between recreation and health. Olaitan et al. (2012), Bakare (2013) and Dantata
(2014) are other researchers who reported similar findings. Nevertheless, Adedotun
et al. (2019) discovered that Nigerian adults loved frequent outdoor recreation, but
the interest in sedentary activities such as drinking and chatting was higher than in
physical activities such as jogging, swimming and football. It is apparent that a lot
of awareness campaigns need to be done by stakeholders to promote routine and
regular LTPA among Nigerian adults. The emphasis of WHO is on getting communities engaged in physical activities because of associated diverse health benefits
and redressing health equity imbalance (World Health Organisation 2018). VincentOnabajo and Blasu (2016) opined that health benefits were derivable from leisure
participation as part of the post-management regimen of cases of stroke. About 90%
of the study group participated in communal leisure activities, even though more
social interactions and less physical exercises were involved. This gives an insight