Dataset Information

Mechanisms underpinning use of new walking and cycling infrastructure in different contexts: mixed-method analysis.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND:Few studies have evaluated the effects of infrastructural improvements to promote walking and cycling. Even fewer have explored how the context and mechanisms of such interventions may interact to produce their outcomes. METHODS:This mixed-method analysis forms part of the UK iConnect study, which aims to evaluate new walking and cycling routes at three sites - Cardiff, Kenilworth and Southampton. Applying a complementary follow-up approach, we first identified differences in awareness and patterns of use of the infrastructure in survey data from a cohort of adult residents at baseline in spring 2010 (n?=?3516) and again one (n?=?1849) and two (n?=?1510) years later following completion of the infrastructural projects (Analysis 1). We subsequently analysed data from 17 semi-structured interviews with key informants to understand how the new schemes might influence walking and cycling (Analysis 2a). In parallel, we analysed cohort survey data on environmental perceptions (Analysis 2b). We integrated these two datasets to interpret differences across the sites consistent with a theoretical framework that hypothesised that the schemes would improve connectivity and the social environment. RESULTS:After two years, 52% of Cardiff respondents reported using the infrastructure compared with 37% in Kenilworth and 22% in Southampton. Patterns of use did not vary substantially between sites. 17% reported using the new infrastructure for transport, compared with 39% for recreation. Environmental perceptions at baseline were generally unfavourable, with the greatest improvements in Cardiff. Qualitative data revealed that all schemes had a recreational focus to varying extents, that the visibility of schemes to local people might be an important mechanism driving use and that the scale and design of the schemes and the contrast they presented with existing infrastructure may have influenced their use. CONCLUSIONS:The dominance of recreational uses may have reflected the specific local goals of some of the projects and the discontinuity of the new infrastructure from a satisfactory network of feeder routes. Greater use in Cardiff may have been driven by the mechanisms of greater visibility and superior design features within the context of an existing environment that was conducive neither to walking or cycling nor to car travel.

SUBMITTER: Sahlqvist S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4340230 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Mechanisms underpinning use of new walking and cycling infrastructure in different contexts: mixed-method analysis.

Sahlqvist Shannon S Goodman Anna A Jones Tim T Powell Jane J Song Yena Y Ogilvie David D

The international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity 20150221

<h4>Background</h4>Few studies have evaluated the effects of infrastructural improvements to promote walking and cycling. Even fewer have explored how the context and mechanisms of such interventions may interact to produce their outcomes.<h4>Methods</h4>This mixed-method analysis forms part of the UK iConnect study, which aims to evaluate new walking and cycling routes at three sites - Cardiff, Kenilworth and Southampton. Applying a complementary follow-up approach, we first identified differen ...[more]

PMID: 25889383

Similar Datasets

Project description:IntroductionWalking and cycling bring health and environmental benefits, but there is little robust evidence that changing the built environment promotes these activities in populations. This study evaluated the effects of new transport infrastructure on active commuting and physical activity.Study designQuasi-experimental analysis nested within a cohort study.Setting/participantsFour hundred and sixty-nine adult commuters, recruited through a predominantly workplace-based strategy, who lived within 30 kilometers of Cambridge, United Kingdom and worked in areas of the city to be served by the new transport infrastructure.InterventionThe Cambridgeshire Guided Busway opened in 2011 and comprised a new bus network and a traffic-free walking and cycling route. Exposure to the intervention was defined using the shortest distance from each participant's home to the busway.Main outcome measuresChange in weekly time spent in active commuting between 2009 and 2012, measured by validated 7-day recall instrument. Secondary outcomes were changes in total weekly time spent walking and cycling and in recreational and overall physical activity, measured using the validated Recent Physical Activity Questionnaire. Data were analyzed in 2014.ResultsIn multivariable multinomial regression models--adjusted for potential sociodemographic, geographic, health, and workplace confounders; baseline active commuting; and home or work relocation-exposure to the busway was associated with a significantly greater likelihood of an increase in weekly cycle commuting time (relative risk ratio=1.34, 95% CI=1.03, 1.76) and with an increase in overall time spent in active commuting among the least active commuters at baseline (relative risk ratio=1.76, 95% CI=1.16, 2.67). The study found no evidence of changes in recreational or overall physical activity.ConclusionsProviding new sustainable transport infrastructure was effective in promoting an increase in active commuting. These findings provide new evidence to support reconfiguring transport systems as part of public health improvement strategies.

Project description:ObjectivesHealth information sharing continues to play a crucial yet underappreciated role in humanitarian settings, to guide evidence-based disease prevention, detection and response. We conducted a mixed-methods study to investigate and analyse existing approaches and practices to health information sharing across humanitarian settings over the past 20 years.SettingWe sought to identify studies from any self-described humanitarian setting worldwide, and also targeted experts familiar with refugee settings, specifically long-term camps in Kenya, Jordan and Bangladesh, for key informant interviews.ParticipantsThe systematic review did not directly involve participants. The identified reports were largely retrospective and observational, and focused on populations affected by humanitarian crises worldwide. Participants in the key informant interviews were experts with either broad geographical expertise or direct experience in refugee camp settings.Primary and secondary outcome measuresOur study was qualitative, and both the systematic review and analysis of key informant interview responses focused on identifying themes related to barriers, tools and recommendations used between stakeholders to share health information, with a particular emphasis on infectious disease and surveillance data.ResultsWe identified logistical challenges, difficulties with data collection and a lack of health information sharing frameworks as the most significant barriers to health information sharing. The most important tools to health information sharing included the use of third-party technologies for data collection and standardisation, formalised health information sharing frameworks, establishment of multilevel coordination mechanisms and leadership initiatives which prioritised the sharing of health information.ConclusionsWe conclude that health information sharing can be strengthened in humanitarian settings with improvements to existing frameworks, coordination and leadership tools, in addition to promotion of health information communication. Furthermore, specific recommendations for improving health information sharing should be pursued according to the nature of the humanitarian setting and the efficacy of the health system present.

Dataset Information

Mechanisms underpinning use of new walking and cycling infrastructure in different contexts: mixed-method analysis.

Publications

Mechanisms underpinning use of new walking and cycling infrastructure in different contexts: mixed-method analysis.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets