BackgroundActive commuting to school (ACS) can be a significant source of physical activity and provide many health benefits.ObjectiveThis study identified the potential to increase physical activity levels by promoting ACS in Finnish schools and evaluated the effects of season, distance and age on ACS.DesignData were collected with a questionnaire from 5,107 students, aged 10–16, in 45 comprehensive schools in Finland. The distance and the mode of transport to school in different seasons were self-reported.ResultsThe prevalence of ACS was over 80% during spring/fall for those living 0–5 km from school. ACS was inversely associated with the distance to school and was lower in winter compared to spring and fall. Cycling is less common in winter, especially among girls and younger students. The potential for increasing students’ physical activity levels via ACS seems to be largest in winter, especially among students living 1–5 km from school. The variation in the prevalence of ACS between schools was large, especially in winter.ConclusionsWhen planning interventions to promote ACS, one is encouraged to acknowledge and evaluate the potential in the selected target schools in different seasons. The potential varies largely between schools and seasons and is highly dependent on students’ commuting distances.
In Finland, gender equality has been promoted through several sport policy initiatives, taking into account issues of multiple discrimination and social segregation and, lately, also non-binary gender identity implications. In this study, we report on the development of the legal basis and policies of gender equality promotion in Finnish sport since the 1990s. The emphasis is on documentation of the proportion of women in leadership and decision-making roles in national governing bodies of sport and the recommendations as well as policies and actions to even out disparities. The policies and actions include recommendations, government programmes, gender impact assessments, introduction of quotas and the requirement for gender equality policies to apply for funding. Policy changes, turning points and key events are also identified by interviewing persons who have been in leadership positions during the previous two decades. We found that the number of women in leadership positions has increased slightly. The institutions acting as policy drivers have been in the minority, which has weakened the agenda setting when considering macro policy and outcomes. Overall, as a policy process, gender equality promotion has been more in the development phase than it has been applied in practice.
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