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Abstract
BackgroundActive school transport (AST) is an important source of children’s daily physical activity (PA). However, decreasing rates of AST have been reported in multiple countries during the last decades. The purpose of the present study was to examine the socio-demographic and school-level correlates of AST.MethodsA stratified sample of children (N = 567, mean age = 10.0 years; 57.8% female) was recruited in the Ottawa area. Four sources of data were used for analyses: 1) child questionnaire including questions on school travel mode and time; 2) parent questionnaire providing information on household socio-demographic characteristics; 3) school administrator survey assessing school policies and practices pertaining to PA; and 4) school site audit performed by the study team. Generalized linear mixed models were used to identify socio-demographic and school-level correlates of AST while controlling for school clustering.ResultsIndividual factors associated with higher odds of AST were male gender (OR = 1.99; 95% CI = 1.30-3.03), journey time <5 minutes vs. >15 minutes (OR = 2.26; 95% CI = 1.17-4.37), and 5–15 minutes vs. >15 minutes (OR = 2.27; 95% CI = 1.27-4.03). Children were more likely to engage in AST if school administrators reported that crossing guards were employed (OR = 2.29; 95% CI = 1.22-4.30), or if they expressed major or moderate concerns about crime in the school neighbourhood (OR = 3.34; 95% CI = 1.34-8.32). In schools that identified safe routes to school and where traffic calming measures were observed, children were much more likely to engage in AST compared to schools without these features (OR = 7.87; 95% CI = 2.85-21.76). Moreover, if only one of these features was present, this was not associated with an increased likelihood of AST.ConclusionThese findings suggest that providing crossing guards may facilitate AST. Additionally, there was a synergy between the identification of safe routes to school and the presence of traffic calming measures, suggesting that these strategies should be used in combination.
Highlights
Active school transport (AST) is an important source of children’s daily physical activity (PA)
Previous systematic reviews indicate that children and youth using active modes of transportation such as walking or cycling to travel to/from school accumulate more daily physical activity (PA) than those who are driven by car or bus [1,2]
Children were more likely to engage in AST if administrators reported that the school identified safe routes to school (OR = 3.63; 95% CI = 1.39-9.44) or that crossing guards were employed (OR = 5.75; 95% CI = 2.52-13.10)
Summary
Active school transport (AST) is an important source of children’s daily physical activity (PA). Current theoretical models that seek to predict AST are typically based on the social ecological approach [13,14] which posits that behaviour is determined by the interactions between multiple levels of influence. These include characteristics of the individual, the social environment, the built environment, public policies, and the physical environment [15,16]. Rooted in a social ecological approach, such investigations have the potential to unravel interactions between multiple levels of influence and to identify promising intervention strategies [20]
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