Psychosocial and environmental determinants of active transport to school in Austrian rural communities: a cross-sectional study among schoolchildren and their parents

Background: Active transport to school (ATS) is an effective health-promoting intervention to integrate physical activity into children’s everyday lives. While previous studies have examined environmental and behavioural determinants on ATS in urban areas, evidence on rural areas is rare. Method: This study examined whether environmental and psychosocial characteristics are associated with ATS in two rural communities in Austria. Participants from four schools (two primary / two secondary schools) returned a self-reported questionnaire on individual and environmental determinants of ATS consisting of one section for parents and one for children, with 382 of the 467 total responses being included in the analysis. Results: Bivariate analyses showed a significant association of psychosocial characteristics of parents and children (intention, attitude, social norm, perceived behavioural control: p < 0.001), one environmental item (walking and cycling network: p ≤ 0.001) as well as distance and duration for walking to/from school between ATS. In a multiple regression model, the chances of participating in ATS were higher among children who have higher perceived behavioural control, walk between 5 to 10 minutes to school, and whose parents have a higher commitment to ATS. Conclusions: Future initiatives to enhance ATS in rural areas should focus on the control beliefs of parents and children, and should involve parents in order to increase parents’ commitment to ATS. Additionally, measures should explore the effects of active transport promotion in the context of public transport and school buses. Above all, further opportunities for ATS should be considered in spatial and community planning

Health Literacy and Active Transport in Austria: Results from a Rural Setting

Health literacy (HL) has been determined for the general population and for subgroups, though the relationship between HL and active transport in rural areas was not explored. The aim of our study is to investigate HL among citizens in an Austrian rural region and to explore the associations between HL and active transport. This cross-sectional telephone survey included 288 adults (171 women) with a mean age of 57.8 (SD 0.9). HL was assessed using the HLS-EU-Q16 questionnaire. Active transport was measured as the minutes per week spent on walking or cycling from A to B. After descriptive analysis, the association between HL and active transport was assessed using linear regression models. The mean HL score for all participants was 37.1 (SD 7.7). Among all subjects, 6.9% showed inadequate HL, 25.7% problematic HL, 38.9% sufficient HL, and 28.5% excellent HL. HL was significantly higher among citizens with high education (p = 0.04) and training/employment in healthcare (p = 0.001). Active transport was not associated with HL (p = 0.281). Active transport in rural areas might be influenced by other predictors like distance to work, street connectivity, and accessible facilities for walking and biking. This needs to be explored further for rural areas

Holistic physical exercise training improves physical literacy among physically inactive adults: a pilot intervention study

Abstract Background Physical literacy (PL), given as a multidimensional construct, is considered a person’s capacity and commitment to a physically active lifestyle. We investigated the effect of a holistic physical exercise training on PL among physically inactive adults. Methods A non-randomised controlled study was conducted. Thirty-one physically inactive adults in the intervention group (IG; 81% females, 44 ± 16 years) participated in a holistic physical exercise training intervention once weekly for 15 weeks. A matched, non-exercising control group (CG) consisted of 30 physically inactive adults (80% female, 45 ± 11 years). PL, compliance and sociodemographic parameters were measured. PL was evaluated by a questionnaire, covering five domains: physical activity behaviour, attitude towards a physically active lifestyle, exercise motivation, knowledge and self-confidence/self-efficacy. Data were analysed using ANCOVA models, adjusted for age, gender and BMI at baseline. Results At post-training intervention, the IG showed significant improvements in PL (p = 0.001) and in the domains physical activity behaviour (p = 0.02) and exercise self-confidence/self-efficacy (p = 0.001), with no changes overserved for the CG regarding PL and those domains. No intervention effect were found for the other three domains, i.e. attitude, knowledge and motivation. Additionally, for the IG baseline BMI was identified to be positively correlated with physical exercise-induced improvements in PL (β = 0.51, p = 0.01). Conclusions The results from this study are very useful for further public health activities, which aim at helping physically inactive adults to adopt a physically active lifestyle as well as for the development of further PL intervention strategies. This pilot-study was a first attempt to measure PL in inactive adults. Yet, a validated measurement tool is still not available. Further research is necessary to determine the psychometric properties for this PL questionnaire. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register (DRKS), DRKS00013991, date of registration: 09.02.2018, retrospectively registered