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Abstract
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Introduction
Even though active travel to/from school is a major form of physical activity, and indispensable in improving the health and well-being of children, research on children's active travel to/from school is underdeveloped in Sub-Sahara Africa. This study reports findings of the factors influencing active travel to/from school in Ghana, which has not been examined in previous studies. The novelty of this study is that it highlights and discusses key differences in the findings between children and teenagers in association with environmental factors, children and characteristics of their parents.
Methods
Primary data for this study were drawn from a cross-sectional survey consisting of 1236 respondents from 97 schools in Tamale, Ghana. A univariate logistic regression model was first fitted to preliminarily identify and select the factors statistically correlated with active travel to/from school followed by a combined logistic model to provide deeper understanding of the key underlying factors and their correlation effects on walking and cycling.
Results
The results show that children's age, home ownership and the employment status of mothers are negatively associated with active travel to/from primary school but not to secondary school. Conversely, frequency of walking and cycling on the part of the parents, distance to school and living in inner core areas are positively correlated with active travel to/from both primary and secondary schools. Differences in gender only exist in the secondary school trips, suggesting that female teenagers are less likely to actively travel to school.
Conclusion
Urban planners and policy makers should take the findings of this study into consideration in developing educational programmes and in planning for a more active travel supporting environment to encourage more walking and cycling to/from school.
Language: en |