Neighborhood Walkability, Personal Active Travel, and Health in Asian Americans: Does English Proficiency Matter?

Parental Perceptions and Perceived Environmental Influences on Active Transport to School in U.S. Inner-City Neighborhoods: Through the Lens of Health Equity

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. 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, Michigan. 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. The study is among the first to investigate underserved environmental and access factors that influence Asian American children's ATS patterns. Particularly, these 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.

Health Impacts of the Built and Social Environments, and Travel Behavior: The Case of the Sunshine State

As physical inactivity statistics for the U.S. population show an alarming trend, many health problems have been increasing among Americans in recent decades. Thus, identification of the factors that influence people’s physical activity levels and health outcomes has become ever more essential to promote public health. The built envSFironment is among the main factors that impact individuals’ health outcomes. However, little is known about the health impacts of built environment factors at large geographical scales such as those of the metropolitan area of residence. Further, the health impacts of travel behavior such as telecommuting and teleshopping remain unclear. This study uses an ecological model framework to probe the roles of travel behavior and built as well as social environments at different spatial levels in health. Instrumental variable binary probit models have been developed to examine the complex interlinks between measures of travel behavior, physical activity levels, built and social environment characteristics, and individuals’ health outcomes. Findings indicate that built and social environment factors at different spatial levels, including the metropolitan area, are correlated with individuals’ health outcomes. Additionally, the findings suggest that increased levels of telecommuting and teleshopping within communities may lead to unfavorable health outcomes. The findings shed light on the most promising policy interventions that can promote public health through modifications targeting people’s travel choices as well as the built and social environments within urban areas.