Quantitative and qualitative aspects of barriers to bicycle use for adults from Curitiba, Brazil

<div><p>Abstract The implementation of bicycling promotion programs should consider the barriers to this behavior. The aim of this study was to quantitative and qualitatively characterize barriers to leisure and commuting bicycle use for adults from Curitiba, Brazil. The first phase comprised a cross-sectional household survey involving 677 adults (53% women). Of these, 16.7% and 11.2% reported leisure and commuting bicycle use, respectively. Then, 24 bicycle users (50% women) were recruited and participated in focus group interviews. The content of answers was analyzed with a conceptual matrix. The most reported barriers to leisure bicycle use were “bad weather” (65.5%), “heavy traffic” (53.1%), “lack of bike lanes” (48.7%) and “lack of security “(44.2%). In commuting, the most reported were “bad weather” (69.7%), “heavy traffic”, “lack of safety” and “fear of accidents” (51.3% each). The comparative analysis between barriers reported in the survey and those reported in the focus groups showed a combination of seven of the 11 barriers reported in questionnaires. Some of the barriers identified in the survey were not mentioned in the focus groups (“poor street quality”, “pollution”, “not having a bicycle”, “lack of parking”, “distance to destinations”). The main barriers to bicycle use are related to physical environment and safety aspects, regardless of approach adopted and purpose of use.</p></div

Physical activity opportunities in public and private schools from Curitiba, Brazil

<div><p>Abstract The school represents an space with opportunities for physical activity (PA)practice in children and adolescents. However, there is still limited evidence on local strategies, structures and policies for PA in the school environment in Brazil. The aim of the study was to identify PA opportunities in public and private schools in Curitiba, Brazil. A total of one hundred sixty one schools were identified from a household survey conducted with adolescents from Curitiba, Brazil from which 107 (72.6% publics) participated in this study. One physical education teacher from each participant school was interviewed. Nearly all schools offered two weekly PE classes (97.1%), lengthing 45 to 50 minutes (95.7%). PE annual training was more frequent among public schools (92.9%). Most schools offered one recess interval (92.3%). However, recess interval of 16-30 minutes (75.0%), supervised (65.6%) and with PA equipment (65.6%) were more frequent among private schools. After school activities were offered in eight out of ten schools, and PA opportunities in other contexts were more frequent in private schools (40.0% vs. 14.3%, p = 0.003). However, more public schools participated in state sponsored programs (57.6% versus 31.2%, p = 0.011). Opportunities for PA in the investigated schools is offering by insufficient frequency and length for promoting PA at the recommended levels in this context.</p></div