DOI: 10.51250/jheal.v3i1.57">
 

Parental perceptions and perceived environmental influences on active transport to school in U.S. inner-city neighborhoods: Through the lens of health equity

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2023

Department/School

Nursing

Publication Title

Journal of Healthy Eating and Active Living

Abstract

ntroduction:Physical inactivity remains high amongst Asian American (AA) children. The Safe Routes to School (SRTS) Program is a viable approach for increasing levels of physical activity by encouraging active transport to school (ATS). The objective of this study was to investigate the factors that affect ATS among Asian American children in inner-city schools.

Methods: An adapted version of the national SRTS survey that measures socio-demographics, environmental factors, and parental perceptions toward school routes and transportation modes were administered in eight public schools in Hamtramck, MI.

Results: Multinominal logistic regression results indicated that the age of children, distance to school, perceived school encouragement, and parents’ perceptions on safety were the predominant factors associated with Asian American children participating in ATS.

Conclusion: The study is among the first underserved environmental and access factors that influence Asian American children’s ATS patterns. Particularly, findings showed that the safety perceptions of parents play a key role in affecting their decisions about ATS and should be considered in future interventions and programming designs to promote ATS.

Comments

T.-W. Wu is a faculty member in EMU's School of nursing.

X. Yang is a faculty member in EMU's Department of Geography and Geology.

M. Hu is a staff member with EMU's Center for Health Disparities Innovations and Studies.

Link to Published Version

DOI: 10.51250/jheal.v3i1.57

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