A cross-sectional examination of socio-demographic and school-level correlates of children's school travel mode in Ottawa, Canada

Richard Larouche, Jean-Philippe Chaput, Geneviève Leduc, Charles Boyer, Priscilla Bélanger, Allana G LeBlanc, Michael M Borghese, Mark S Tremblay, Richard Larouche, Jean-Philippe Chaput, Geneviève Leduc, Charles Boyer, Priscilla Bélanger, Allana G LeBlanc, Michael M Borghese, Mark S Tremblay

Abstract

Background: Active 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.

Methods: A 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.

Results: Individual 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.

Conclusion: These 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.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Joint association of safe routes to school and traffic calming measures with active school transport. Note: School administrators were asked whether their school identified safe routes for children to travel. The presence of traffic calming measures around the school was observed as part of a standardized audit performed by study staff. AST = Active school transport.

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