Promoting walking to school: results of a quasi-experimental trial

Abstract

Study objective: To assess the impact of a combined intervention on children's travel behaviour, stage of behavioural change and motivations for and barriers to actively commuting to school. Design: A quasi-experimental trial involving pre-and post-intervention mapping of routes to school by active and inactive mode of travel and surveys of ''stage of behaviour change'' and motivations for and barriers to actively commuting to school. Intervention: The intervention school participated in a school-based active travel project for one school term. Active travel was integrated into the curriculum and participants used interactive travel-planning resources at home. The control school participated in before and after measurements but did not receive the intervention. Setting: Two primary schools in Scotland with similar socioeconomic and demographic profiles. Participants: Two classes of primary 5 children and their families and teachers. Main results: Post intervention, the mean distance travelled to school by walking by intervention children increased significantly from baseline, from 198 to 772 m (389% increase). In the control group mean distance walked increased from 242 to 285 m (17% increase). The difference between the schools was significant (t (38) = 24.679, p,0.001 (95% confidence interval 2315 to 2795 m)). Post intervention, the mean distance travelled to school by car by intervention children reduced significantly from baseline, from 2018 to 933 m (57.5% reduction). The mean distance travelled to school by car by control children increased from baseline, from 933 to 947 m (1.5% increase). The difference in the change between schools was significant (t (32) = 4.282, p,0.001 (95% confidence interval 445 to 1255 m)). Conclusions: Intervention was effective in achieving an increase in the mean distance travelled by active mode and a reduction in the mean distance travelled by inactive mode on school journey.

Determinants of uptake and maintenance of active commuting to school

“…However these findings Evidence that interventions can be successful in improving active commuting rates is encouraging. These include promoting active commuting to school through education (McKee et al, 2007), provision of supports such as "walking school buses" (Mendoza et al, 2011) and changes to urban form such as pedestrian crossing improvements and construction of cycling paths (Staunton et al, 2003). In Ireland, the Active School Flag initiative (www.activeschoolflag.ie) and the Green Schools initiative (www.greenschoolsireland.org), known internationally as Eco-Schools, work with schools to increase the rate of walking and cycling to school.…”

The Walking School Bus and Children's Physical Activity: A Pilot Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

“…[1][2][3]19 These results also confirm positive associations reported from previous walking school bus intervention studies that relied on nonexperimental designs or had small sample sizes but have provided important preliminary data. [15][16][17]19,20 For example, in a quasi-experimental trial, walking school bus children attained ϳ11 more minutes/day of physical activity than control subjects. 17 Our walking school bus program achieved a relative increase of ϳ7 minutes/day more of MVPA using a higher threshold of 4 metabolic equivalents, which represents 11.7% of the recommended 60 minutes/day for MVPA.…”

“…12,13 The walking school bus-that is, a group of children led to and from school chaperoned by adultsaddresses parental concerns for safety and encourages active commuting. 14 Walking school buses have shown promise toward increasing children's active commuting and physical activity, [15][16][17][18][19][20] but most studies were not randomized controlled trials (RCTs), lacked an objective measure of physical activity, or have not focused on low-income or ethnic minority children, who are most affected by childhood obesity. 21 Applying a theoretical framework (eg, social cognitive theory) 22,23 that predicts obesity prevention behaviors could inform the design and evaluation of a behavioral intervention.…”

Towards an interdisciplinary science of transport and health: a case study on school travel

“…In a systematic review of interventions to promote walking (Ogilvie et al 2007) a small non randomised trial of an active commuting pack, found a significant increase in self-reported walking on the school journey amongst 9-year old school children (McKee et al 2007). The intervention included written curriculum materials on active travel for teachers to use during school classes as well as children and family information packs that aimed to support the planning of active journeys to school.…”