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U.S. active school travel in 2017: Prevalence and correlates.

ABSTRACT: Active transportation to school (ATS), denoting walking and biking, is crucial to promote physical activity for youth. This study uses data from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) to report on the most recent and nationally representative school transportation patterns. Binary logit modeling determines significant factors associated with school travel mode choices. Spatial differences on school mode choices across the US are explored. In 2017 9.6% of the students of 5-17 years old usually walked and 1.1% biked to school. For students who usually walk to school, 77.5% of their school trips were less than one mile and, among usual bikers to school, 82.8% of trips were less than two miles. Student rates of walking to school decreased as the distance to school increased and biking rates peaked when distance to school was between 0.5 and 1 miles. When distance to school was <0.5 miles, walking was the most common mode for urban and rural regions. When the trip was shorter than or equal to one mile, factors such child's school grade, household vehicles per driver, and household income were associated with the decision to walk or bike to school. Other demographic characteristics like race and gender were not significantly related to ATS. While comparison across NHTS years should be viewed with caution due to changes in survey methodology, the decline of ATS rates indicate that more effective and higher reaching efforts for local, regional, and national interventions should be prioritized.

SUBMITTER: Kontou E

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6948264 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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U.S. active school travel in 2017: Prevalence and correlates.

Kontou Eleftheria E McDonald Noreen C NC Brookshire Kristen K Pullen-Seufert Nancy C NC LaJeunesse Seth S

Preventive medicine reports 20191210

Active transportation to school (ATS), denoting walking and biking, is crucial to promote physical activity for youth. This study uses data from the 2017 National Household Travel Survey (NHTS) to report on the most recent and nationally representative school transportation patterns. Binary logit modeling determines significant factors associated with school travel mode choices. Spatial differences on school mode choices across the US are explored. In 2017 9.6% of the students of 5-17 years old ...[more]

PMID: 31921574

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Project description:IntroductionDespite the health benefits, a large proportion of girls and boys in Europe do not travel to school actively. A better understanding of the correlates associated with this behavior could guide interventions. This study examines perceived social and environmental correlates of active travel to school (ACTS) from the 2017/18 Health Behavior in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey in four European countries, with a special emphasis on gender differences (n = 22,023).MethodsLogistic regression was conducted to analyze associations between the perceived importance of each correlate and ACTS behavior for 11-, 13-, and 15-year-old girls and boys from Germany, Czechia, Poland, and Slovakia. All models were adjusted for age, family affluence, and meeting World Health Organization recommendations for moderate-to-vigorous physical activity.ResultsRates of ACTS significantly differed between girls and boys. In Czechia, 65% of girls and boys traveled to school actively, followed by Slovakia (61.4% girls and 58.4% boys), Poland (57.7% girls and 60.2% boys), and Germany (42.6% girls and 48.6% boys). Girls were less likely to actively travel to school compared to boys (odds ratio [OR]: 0.92, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.87-0.97). Increasing age (OR: 0.95, 95% CI: 0.93-0.97) and a greater distance to school index (OR: 0.89, 95% CI: 0.88-0.90) were both negatively associated with ACTS. The perceived importance of living closer to school and of road and neighborhood safety was positively associated with ACTS, with a stronger association in boys than in girls for neighborhood safety. On the contrary, the perceived importance of having people to walk with was negatively associated with ACTS, with a stronger association in girls (OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.65-0.84) than in boys (OR: 0.77, 95% CI: 0.66-0.88).DiscussionThis study provides insights into perceived social and environmental correlates associated with ACTS behavior. Future research should include gender-specific perceptions and more in-depth investigations of correlates encouraging ACTS, especially considering social aspects, safety issues, and the structuring of the environment in different cultural settings.

Project description:BackgroundInterpersonal violence among adolescents is a serious public health issue across the globe and has been one of the leading causes of death among Paraguayan adolescents. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of physical fighting among adolescents in Paraguay in order to identify problematic fighting behaviour. We also aim to examine the correlates of physical fighting and the extent to which previously identified factors correlate with physical fighting.MethodsWe used the Paraguay 2017 Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS). This survey collects health-related information on school-attending adolescents aged 13-17 years. We defined physical fighting as having participated in at least two physical fights in the previous 12 months. We chose 16 independent variables: 12 individual-level variables and four social-level variables. Multivariable logistic regression models were developed to identify factors associated with physical fighting. One of the limitations of this study is that it only captured the responses of the students who attended school on the day of the survey.FindingsA total of 3,149 students completed the survey questionnaire, with the response rates for the school, student, and total response being 100%, 87%, and 87%, respectively. In 2017, 8% of the survey participants (11.4% of the males, and 4.7% of the females) had been involved in two or more physical fights during the past 12 months. In the multivariable model, having been physically attacked, male gender, physical activity, alcohol use, early sexual debut, and suicide planning were significantly associated with involvement in physical fighting. Having helpful peers and supportive parents was not statistically significant in the model adjusted for all variables.ConclusionsAlthough Paraguay shows relatively lower prevalence of physical fighting than other countries, the high association between physical fighting and having been physically attacked is noteworthy. Considering the serious interpersonal violence among Paraguayan adolescents, preventive attributes should be considered, and further assessment of other types of interpersonal violence should be made.

Dataset Information

U.S. active school travel in 2017: Prevalence and correlates.

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U.S. active school travel in 2017: Prevalence and correlates.

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