Travel to School Patterns and Perceptions of Walking to School in New Zealand Adolescents Before Versus During the COVID-19 Pandemic

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aut.relation.articlenumber101803
aut.relation.endpage101803
aut.relation.journalJournal of Transport and Health
aut.relation.startpage101803
aut.relation.volume36
dc.contributor.authorMandic, S
dc.contributor.authorGarcía Bengoechea, E
dc.contributor.authorCoppell, KJ
dc.contributor.authorKeall, M
dc.contributor.authorSmith, M
dc.contributor.authorHopkins, D
dc.contributor.authorSandretto, S
dc.contributor.authorWilson, G
dc.contributor.authorKidd, G
dc.contributor.authorFlaherty, C
dc.contributor.authorMindell, JS
dc.contributor.authorStephenson, J
dc.contributor.authorKing, K
dc.contributor.authorKentala, K
dc.contributor.authorRolleston, A
dc.contributor.authorSpence, JC
dc.date.accessioned2024-04-30T00:10:38Z
dc.date.available2024-04-30T00:10:38Z
dc.date.issued2024-05-01
dc.description.abstractBackground: In many countries, adolescents' active school travel rates were declining prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Subsequent changes in active school travel have not yet been investigated systematically. This study compared school travel modes and adolescents' perceptions of walking to school 5–6 years before (period 1 (P1)) and 1–2 years after (period 2 (P2)) the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Adolescents from Dunedin, New Zealand, completed an online questionnaire about their school travel and perceptions of walking to school in 2014–2015 (P1; n = 1463; 55.2% female) and 2021–2022 (P2; n = 1421; 44.4% female). Home-to-school distance was calculated using Geographic Information Systems. Data analysis included Chi-square tests, logistic regression and ordinary least squares regression. Results: The odds of adolescents walking to school ‘all the time’ or ‘most of the time’ versus ‘never’, ‘sometimes’ or ‘rarely’ were significantly lower in P2 compared with P1. The odds following the pandemic onset were only 0.58 of those pre-pandemic (95% CI: 0.43–0.79), controlling for differences between the two samples. During the same period the proportion of adolescents living in households with ≥2 vehicles increased from 69% to 78%. Adolescents' attitudes towards walking to school indicated significantly lower intentions and higher perceived barriers to walking to school in P2 versus P1, although differences were smaller among those living within walking distance to school. Conclusions: These findings highlight the need for renewed and extended efforts from cross-sectoral actors to support active school transport among adolescents during COVID-19 pandemic recovery efforts and in future similar events.
dc.identifier.citationJournal of Transport and Health, ISSN: 2214-1405 (Print), Elsevier BV, 36, 101803-101803. doi: 10.1016/j.jth.2024.101803
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.jth.2024.101803
dc.identifier.issn2214-1405
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10292/17485
dc.languageen
dc.publisherElsevier BV
dc.relation.urihttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2214140524000495
dc.rights© 2024 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccess
dc.rights.urihttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.subject4206 Public Health
dc.subject42 Health Sciences
dc.subjectPediatric
dc.subject1117 Public Health and Health Services
dc.subject1205 Urban and Regional Planning
dc.subject1507 Transportation and Freight Services
dc.subject3304 Urban and regional planning
dc.subject3509 Transportation, logistics and supply chains
dc.subject4206 Public health
dc.titleTravel to School Patterns and Perceptions of Walking to School in New Zealand Adolescents Before Versus During the COVID-19 Pandemic
dc.typeJournal Article
pubs.elements-id545706
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