Active Travel in Rural New Zealand: A Study of Rural Adolescents’ Perceptions of Walking and Cycling to School

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aut.relation.issue1
aut.relation.journalActive Travel Studies
aut.relation.volume2
dc.contributor.authorHopkins, Debbie
dc.contributor.authorBengoechea, Enrique García
dc.contributor.authorCoppell, Kirsten
dc.contributor.authorSpence, John C
dc.contributor.authorMandic, Sandra
dc.contributor.authorCalverley, Jessica
dc.contributor.authorSpence, John C
dc.date.accessioned2023-10-15T22:04:22Z
dc.date.available2023-10-15T22:04:22Z
dc.date.issued2022-11-17
dc.description.abstractBackground: Walking and cycling to school have been extensively studied in urban settings, whereas data from rural areas remain sparse. This study examined perceptions of walking and cycling to school amongst adolescents living within 4.8 km of school in rural New Zealand. Methods: Adolescents (n=62; 53.2% females; 15.6±1.5 years; five schools) residing and attending a secondary school in a rural settings (population <1,000) completed an online survey about their perceptions of walking and cycling to school. Home-to-school distance was calculated using Geographic Information Systems shortest network path analysis. Results: Overall, 73% of adolescents walked and 11% cycled to school. Compared to cycling, adolescents reported a greater desire (57% vs 26%) and intention (74% vs 13%) to walk to school, and perceived more support from friends (37% vs 30%), parents (81% vs 40%), and schools (61% vs 34%) (all p<0.001). Adolescents also reported better physical infrastructure (presence/availability of footpaths vs cycle lanes) for walking versus cycling to school (86% vs 36%, p<0.001). Over 95% of adolescents perceived both walking and cycling to school as safe. Conclusions:Compared to cycling, walking to school was a more common and preferred transport mode, with greater social support and physical infrastructure, whereas both modes were perceived to be safe by rural adolescents living within 4.8 km of their school. The findings suggest that supportive social and built environments appear to encourage walking to school in rural areas. Mode-specific approaches may be required to encourage cycling to school for rural adolescents.
dc.identifier.citationActive Travel Studies, ISSN: 2732-4184 (Print), University of Westminster Press, 2(1). doi: 10.16997/ats.1222
dc.identifier.doi10.16997/ats.1222
dc.identifier.issn2732-4184
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10292/16775
dc.publisherUniversity of Westminster Press
dc.relation.urihttps://activetravelstudies.org/article/id/1222/
dc.rights.accessrightsOpenAccess
dc.rights.urihttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0
dc.subject32 Biomedical and Clinical Sciences
dc.subject4206 Public Health
dc.subject42 Health Sciences
dc.subject44 Human Society
dc.subject4406 Human Geography
dc.subjectPediatric
dc.subjectRural Health
dc.subjectBehavioral and Social Science
dc.subjectClinical Research
dc.subject3 Prevention of disease and conditions, and promotion of well-being
dc.subject3.2 Interventions to alter physical and biological environmental risks
dc.subjectCardiovascular
dc.subjectCancer
dc.subjectStroke
dc.titleActive Travel in Rural New Zealand: A Study of Rural Adolescents’ Perceptions of Walking and Cycling to School
dc.typeJournal Article
pubs.elements-id526203
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