Citation

Berry NM, Coffee NT, Nolan R, Dollman J, Sugiyama T. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2017; 14(9): e14090965.

Affiliation

Institute for Health and Ageing, Australian Catholic University, Melbourne 3000, Victoria, Australia. takemi.sugiyama@acu.edu.au.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2017, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph14090965

PMID

28846597

Abstract

Although the health benefits of walking are well established, participation is lower in rural areas compared to urban areas. Most studies on walkability and walking have been conducted in urban areas, thus little is known about the relevance of walkability to rural areas. A computer-assisted telephone survey of 2402 adults (aged ≥18 years) was conducted to determine walking behaviour and perceptions of neighbourhood walkability. Data were stratified by urban (n = 1738) and rural (n = 664). A greater proportion of respondents reported no walking in rural (25.8%) compared to urban areas (18.5%). Compared to urban areas, rural areas had lower walkability scores and urban residents reported higher frequency of walking. The association of perceived walkability with walking was significant only in urban areas. These results suggest that environmental factors associated with walking in urban areas may not be relevant in rural areas. Appropriate walkability measures specific to rural areas should be further researched.

Language: en

Keywords

environment; rural; urban; walkability; walking