Trends in Australian children traveling to school 1971–2003: Burning petrol or carbohydrates?

Objective. To determine how Australian children traveled to and from school between 1971 and 2003. Methods. The 1971 (n=4284), 1981 (n=4936), 1991 (n=662) and 1999–2003 (n=816) Household Travel Surveys from the New South Wales Government Department of Planning were used to determine the mode of transport kids (5–14 years) took to and from school in the area of Sydney (Australia). Results. The results showed that the percentage of children aged 5–9 that walked to school was 57.7, 44.5, 35.3 and 25.5 in 1971, 1981, 1991 and 1999–2003, respectively. The percentage of children aged 5–9 that were driven to school by car in the four surveys was 22.8, 37.3, 53.9 and 66.6, respectively. The results for children aged 10–14 were similar, walking decreased from 44.2% to 21.1% and car use increased from 12.2% to 47.8% over the study period. Similar results were found for travel from school and there were no major differences between boys and girls. Conclusion. Between 1971 and 2003, Australian children's mode of travel to and from school has markedly shifted from active (walking) to inactive (car) modes

Early Childhood Education: A Curriculum Review and Critical Analysis

In a more contemporary approach, th

Walking in Sydney : trends in prevalence by geographic areas using information from transport and health surveillance systems

Monitoring the population prevalence of walking is important to both the health and transportation sectors. To determine population trends in walking over the past decade, and whether these trends differed by geographical area, we examined population trends from surveillance systems of both sectors in the urban and peri-urban regions of Sydney Greater Metropolitan, Australia. Methods: We used serial cross-sectional survey questions on walking in the past week from the Health Departments annual New South Wales (NSW) Adult Population Health Surveys (Health Survey), and pooled estimates by 5-year periods of walking using 24-hour trips data from the Transport Departments NSW Household Travel Survey (Travel Survey). Samples included six regions in the health surveys and 42 local areas within these regions in the travel survey. Data were compared using population indicators of 'any walking' (Health Survey: ≥1 walk/week; Travel Survey: ≥1 walk trip/day), sufficient walking for meeting health recommendations (Health Survey: ≥150 minutes/week; Travel Survey: ≥30 minutes/day), and 'regular walking' (Health Survey; ≥150. mins/week & ≥5 times/week; Travel Survey: ≥30. mins/day by trips ≥10 minutes duration). Results: Between 2002 and 2012, in the Health Survey, rates of any walking (from 79.2 to 83.1%), sufficient walking (from 36.8% to 45.3%) and regular walking (from 30.4% to 38.4) all significantly increased. Urban and peri-urban areas showed similar trends. The Travel Survey showed significant increases in any walking and in regular walking in only 57% and 17% of the local areas. Substantial differences in regular walking were noted between local areas and regions in both surveillance systems, and these differences remained. Conclusion: trend data are not identical at the local level, but are concordant in many areas. This approach of incorporating data from different sectors identifies areas where transport planning and health promotion needs might intersect and provides benchmarks with respect to the State plan, which has explicit policy indicators on active travel

[In Press] Got sick of surveys or lack of social capital? : an investigation on the effects of the COVID-19 lockdown on institutional surveying

The use of surveys to better understand students’ experiences and teaching quality in higher education has a long history of implementation and critical review. Although research on student feedback surveys has highlighted a number of areas of concern, a well-designed student survey on teaching and learning will produce a strong foundation of evidence to inform action by academics and universities. Prior to the pandemic of 2020, analysis of the student surveys on teaching and learning high-lighted lower rates of participation than in previous decades. This article examines the impacts of COVID-19 on the uptake of student surveys on teaching and learning within an Australian university. While students are affected by survey fatigue, some are more affected than others, especially those who are suffering from lack of academic and peer interaction. Using Bourdieu’s concept of social capital, this article finds that first year students who started university during COVID-19 had a higher drop in response rate than other cohorts, highlighting the importance of interactions with peers when completing surveys. This article also complements the expanding literature on the impacts of COVID-19 on the experiences of higher education students

Public health perspectives on household travel surveys : active travel between 1997 and 2007

Background: Active travel is beneficial to public health, but longitudinal population surveillance data on this behavior are limited. Purpose: This study aims to monitor active travel at different health-enhancing thresholds and to identify trip purposes that contributed to health by using transport survey data. Methods: The continuous Sydney Greater Metropolitan Area Household Travel Survey (19972007) was analyzed in 2009. Each year, approximately 3250 households were randomly sampled (67% average response rate). All trips undertaken for a nominated 24-hour period were recorded for every household member during a face-to-face interview. Trips were coded by mode, purpose, duration, and street distance. The yearly prevalence and temporal change for adults (<15 years) were calculated for any walking and cycling (i.e., <1 trip per day) and by health-enhancing indicators dependent on trip duration (<10 minutes) and amount (i.e., <30 minutes/day). Results: Significant increasing trends were observed for all walking indicators, with a peak in 2005, where 39.2% walked, 24.7% walked <1 trip of <10 minutes, and 14.3% or 17.8% achieved the recommended 30 minutes a day with or without stipulation on trip duration, respectively. Health-enhancing walking increased in most population subgroups. Cycling prevalence was low (<1.5%) but with significant increasing trends in all indicators and in selected subgroups. Utilitarian cycling trips were of long duration (medians=1015 minutes) whereas utilitarian walking trips were shorter (medians=57 minutes). Conclusions: Transportation surveys can be used to assess the contribution of active travel to changes in physical activity levels assessed by public health surveillance and to identify subgroups for active travel interventions

From 'car-dependency' to 'desirable walking' : 15 years trend in policy relevant public health indicators derived from Household Travel Surveys

Reducing car dependency in favour of health-enhancing active travel can address the issues of prolonged sitting and physical inactivity. This study utilises transportation-sector population surveys to develop interdisciplinary policy relevant indicators for benchmarking and progress tracking. The continuous Sydney Greater Metropolitan Household Travel Survey (2000-June 2015) was analysed in 2017. The prevalence of adults (≥15 years old) who i) travelled by car for distances amenable for health-enhancing walks (≤ 1.5 km,≤2.0kms); ii) only drove a car and did not walk, including no walks that link to other modes (i.e, CD: 'car-dependency'); and iii) walked≥30 min, or≥3 kms, or>3 walking trips (i.e., DW: 'desirable walking') in the past 24 hours were examined including prevalence ratios for CD/DW by population sub-groups (e.g., age, gender, employment status, income and household structure) and by statistical districts located within short (30kms) driving distance from Sydney Central District.The adjusted yearly decline in the prevalence of CD was small (0.3%) but significant, from 40.3% (95% CI: 39.6 - 41.1) in 2000/3 to 39.3% (38.1-40.1) in 2012/14. DW remained unchanged, from 20.6% (95% CI: 20.0; 21.2) to 21.2% (95%CI: 20.6-21.9). The CD/DW prevalence ratio varied greatly by distance from Sydney city, with medians ratios 0.86, 1.86 and 3.25 in short, medium and long distance categories, respectively, and by demographic sub-group (range from 0.64 to 2.67). The yearly prevalence ratios of CD/DW presented a declining trend from 1.42 to 1.13, after adjustment for population demographic characteristics. Across all periods 21% travelled by car for≤1.5kms, of those travellers 44% were car dependent. These indicators can serve both transportation and health sectors wherever transport surveys exist, for benchmarking, monitoring and setting area- specific goals that are aligned with public health and transport policies

Prolonged sitting in cars: Prevalence, socio-demographic variations, and trends

BACKGROUND: Prolonged sitting is detrimentally associated with health outcomes. However, the prevalence and characteristics of those who sit in cars for long periods are not well understood. This study examined the population prevalence, socio-demographic variations, and trends for prolonged sitting in cars among adults. METHODS: Using the Sydney Greater Metropolitan Area Household Travel Survey, the prevalence of prolonged sitting time in cars (≥2 h/day) was calculated for four 3-year periods (1997-99, 2000-02, 2003-05, and 2006-08) for each population subgroup. Trends were calculated as the mean change in prevalence between adjacent survey periods. RESULTS: Cars were used for 66% of the total trips recorded (n=336,505). The prevalence of prolonged sitting time in cars was 16-18% in men, and 10-12% in women. Relatively higher prevalence rates were found among middle-age groups (men: 20-22%, women: 12-15%), full-time workers (men: 21-24%, women: 14-15%), those with higher income (men: 21-25%, women: 14-16%), couples with children (men: 20-21%, women: 12-14%), and those living in outer suburbs (men: 20-23%, women: 12-13%). Trends were stable in men, but increasing in women. Several subgroups (older age; living in regional suburbs) also showed increasing trends. CONCLUSIONS: These findings provide evidence to inform integrated approaches to measurement and policy development on prolonged car use among the public health, urban planning, and transport sectors