Preventive Medicine 52 (2011) 281–282
Contents lists available at ScienceDirect
Preventive Medicine j o u r n a l h o m e p a g e : w w w. e l s e v i e r. c o m / l o c a t e / y p m e d
Letter to the Editor Parental awareness of elementary school travel programs Keywords: School transport initiatives Awareness Correlates Active school transport
Dear Editor: There has been a consistent decline in the use of active school transport (AST; e.g., walking, and biking) in Canada's largest and most culturally diverse metropolitan region (Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area [GTHA])(Buliung et al., 2009). Successful implementation of initiatives to promote AST requires the support and collaboration of a range of stakeholders including parents (Mathews et al., 2010). We examined the prevalence and correlates of elementary school travel program awareness among parents and guardians living in the GTHA. Computer-aided telephone interviews were conducted with 1001 parents or guardians of children attending elementary school in the GTHA. The sample was drawn from Harris/Decima's ASDE Survey Sampler database based on Census Division (CD) from the 2006 Census and data was weighted by the child's gender, grade and CD. Response rate for the survey was 33.88%. More than half of the respondents (52%) were between 35 and 44 years of age, female (63%), employed (72%),
and reported English as the primary language spoken in the household (82%). Surveyed households had an average of 1.5 children attending elementary school. Mean age of eldest child was 8.46± 2.91 years, with half (50%) of all children being female. 39% and 41% of children engaged in AST to and from school. Parental awareness of school travel programs was low (11%), with the most commonly recognized program being IWALK (53%; see Fig. 1). The child's school was the most commonly cited source through which parents learned about school travel programs (42%). Additional analyses revealed significant differences in the number of children attending elementary school (χ2(2) = 6.50, p b .04), employment status (χ2(2) = 8.41, p b .02), AST to school (χ2(1) = 34.23, p b .001), AST home from school (χ2(1) = 35.85, p b .001), and distance between home and school (χ2(2) = 42.55, p b .001) for parents who were aware of school travel programs in their area (n = 84) vs. those who were unaware (n = 640). A higher proportion of parents who were aware had three or more children attending elementary school (16% vs. 7%, respectively); were stayat-home parents, students, or on parental leave (19% vs. 9%); were more likely to report that their children engaged in AST both to (70% vs. 36%) and home from (74% vs. 39%) school; and lived b1 km from their child's school (69% vs. 33%). This is the first study to examine parental awareness of elementary school travel initiatives. Parental guidance and buy-in are seen as critical to the success of such initiatives and programs (Davison et al., 2008). Our findings suggest that parental awareness of elementary school travel programs is low despite the presence of
Fig. 1. Parental awareness of school travel programs in the GTHA (September/October, 2009) (International Walk to School Day or Month (IWALK; http://www.iwalktoschool.org/), Walking School Bus or Bicycling School Bus (http://www.walkingschoolbus.org/), Carpool Zone (https://www.carpoolzone.smartcommute.ca/en/my/index.php), and CAN-BIKE (http://www.canbike.net/). Unaided program recognition for CAN-BIKE and Carpool Zone was 1%. Sample included only the 11% (n = 113) of parents who indicated being aware of school travel programs in their area. 0091-7435/$ – see front matter © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2010.12.011
282
Letter to the Editor
several national programs. Parental support for AST initiatives may be currently under-utilized if initial awareness is assumed to be the basis for behaviour change (Eyler et al., 2008). It may be necessary to incorporate messaging about AST within broader social marketing campaigns promoting physical activity and environmentfriendly habits and lifestyles. Those parents who were aware of AST programs were more likely to have children who walked to and from school. While our study used a cross-sectional design, this finding provides tentative support that increasing parental awareness of AST programming might be an important basis for successful intervention. Awareness was also higher for those who lived within 1 km from school. Current AST initiatives, such as walking bus schemes, are likely targeting households within a reasonable walking distance from school. Alternatively, parents who do not perceive that their children are close enough to walk may not find advertising and promotion salient. Future research is required to examine how to increase such awareness and engage parents in efforts to promote more active and sustainable forms of transport to and from school.
Conflict of interest statement The authors have no conflict of interests to declare.
Acknowledgments This document was prepared as part of the Stepping it Up pilot project, in partnership with Metrolinx, Green Communities Canada, the City of Hamilton, the Region of Peel, and the University of Toronto, with funding provided by Transport Canada's ecoMOBILITY program and Metrolinx.
References Buliung, R., Mitra, R., Faulkner, G., 2009. Active school transportation in the Greater Toronto Area, Canada: an exploration of trends in space and time (1986–2006). Prev. Med. 48, 507–512. Davison, K.K., Werder, J.L., Lawson, C.T., 2008. Children's active commuting to school: current knowledge and future directions. Prev. Chronic Dis. 5, A100. Eyler, A., Baldwin, J., Carnoske, C., et al., 2008. Parental involvement in active transport to school initiatives: a multisite case study. Am. J. Health Educ. 29, 138–147. Mathews, A.E., Pluto, D., Ogoussan, O., Banda, J., 2010. Active travel to school: policies and attitudes of school and district leaders. J. Phys. Act. Health 7, S13–S19.
Kelly Arbour-Nicitopoulos Guy E.J. Faulkner⁎ Faculty of Physical Education and Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada ⁎Corresponding author. University of Toronto, Faculty of Physical Education and Health, 55 Harbord Street, Toronto, ON Canada M5S 2W6. Fax: +1 416 971 2118. E-mail address:
[email protected] (G.E.J. Faulkner). Ron N. Buliung Department of Geography, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Jennifer Lay Metrolinx, Toronto, Canada Michelle Stone Faculty of Physical Education and Health, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada Available online 4 January 2011
