Supporting children's participation in active travel: developing an online road safety intervention through a collaborative integrated knowledge translation approach

Int J Qual Stud Health Well-being. 2024 Dec;19(1):2320183. doi: 10.1080/17482631.2024.2320183. Epub 2024 Mar 3.

Abstract

Even though regular engagement in physical activity (PA) among children can support their development and encourage the adoption of healthy lifelong habits, most do not achieve their recommended guidelines. Active travel (AT), or any form of human-powered travel (e.g., walking), can be a relatively accessible, manageable, and sustainable way to promote children's PA. One common barrier to children's engagement in AT, however, is a reported lack of education and training. To support children's participation in AT, this paper presents the development of a comprehensive 4-module online road safety education intervention designed to improve children's knowledge and confidence regarding AT. Using a qualitative integrated knowledge translation (iKT) approach undertaken with community collaborators (n = 50) containing expertise in health promotion, public safety, school administration, and transportation planning, our inductive thematic analysis generated fourth themes which constituted the foundation of the intervention modules: Active Travel Knowledge: Awareness of Benefits and Participation; Pedestrian Safety and Skills: Roles, Responsibilities, and Rules; Signs and Infrastructure: Identification, Literacy, and Behaviour; Wheeling Safety and Skills: Technical Training and Personal Maneuvers. Each theme/module was then linked to an explicit learning objective and connected to complementary knowledge activities, resources, and skill development exercises. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Keywords: Active school travel; education; intervention development; questionnaire; school travel planning; travel behaviour.

MeSH terms

  • Child
  • Exercise
  • Humans
  • Schools
  • Translational Science, Biomedical*
  • Transportation
  • Travel*

Grants and funding

Authors A.B. and K.N.F would like to thank Dr. Jason Gilliland, Director of the Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, for supporting their postdoctoral research associate positions which made this research possible. Financial support was provided through a Project Grant (#426684) from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research. Additional funding for K.N.F. was provided through a trainee award from the Children’s Health Research Institute.