Increasing Active Travel to School: Are We on the Right Track? A Cluster Randomised Controlled Trial from Sydney, Australia

This article reports on a study undertaken to evaluate the effectiveness of a program to increase walking to and from school. The cluster randomized controlled trial included 24 primary public schools in inner west Sydney, Australia. The participants were 1,996 students aged 10–12 years and their parents. A two-year multi-component program included classroom activities, development of school Travel Access Guides, parent newsletters and improving environments with local councils. Two measures were used: a survey completed by students on how they traveled to and from school over five days, and a survey completed by their parents on how their child traveled to and from school in a usual week. The percentage of students who walked to and from school increased in both the intervention and control schools. Data from parent surveys found that 28.8% of students in the intervention group increased their walking, compared with 19% in the control group (a net increase of 9.8%, p = 0.05). However this effect was not evident in the student data. The study produced a mixed result, with a high variation in travel patterns from school to school. Intervention research should address the complexity of multiple factors influencing student travel to school with a focus on changing local environments and parents' travel to work.

• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/issn/00917435
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Abstract reprinted with permission of Elsevier.
• Authors:
  • Wen, Li Ming
  • Fry, Denise
  • Merom, Dafna
  • Rissel, Chris
  • Dirkis, Helen
  • Balafas, Angela
• Publication Date: 2008-12

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 612-618
• Serial:
  • Preventive Medicine
  • Volume: 47
  • Issue Number: 6
  • Publisher: Elsevier
  • ISSN: 0091-7435
  • EISSN: 1096-0260
  • Serial URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00917435/55/1

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Accessibility; Commuting; Parents; Promotion; School children; School trips; Walking
• Geographic Terms: Sydney (Australia)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Pedestrians and Bicyclists; Safety and Human Factors; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01130650
• Record Type: Publication
• Files: TRIS
• Created Date: Jun 22 2009 2:02PM