Active Commuting to School among Spanish Preschool Children: A Temporal Change Study between 2013 and 2017

BACKGROUND

Active commuting to school may increase the total daily physical activity and achieve health benefits among preschool children. Rates of active commuting to school among Spanish children and adolescents have been widely analysed, while the rates of active commuting to school among Spanish preschool children are unknown.

AIM

The main objective of this study was to examine the changes in the rates of active commuting to school in a sample of Spanish preschool children between 3 and 6 years old from 2013 to 2017.

METHODS

Data were found from five studies carried out across Spain. The study sample comprised 4787 preschool children (4.59 ± 0.77 years old; 51% males). The overall changes in active commuting to school were assessed using multilevel logistic regression analysis.

RESULTS

The rates of active commuting to school in Spanish preschool children are around 52%, and the active commuting to school rates have stayed stable throughout the period assessed (odds ratio from 0.40 to 0.58, all p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

In preschool children, the present study obtained a favourable result on active commuting to school, showing a pattern stability in the examined period similar to other ages. It will be of great importance to promote this behaviour to obtain high levels of active commuting to school.

Higher independent mobility to school among adolescents: A secondary analysis using cross-sectional data between 2010 and 2017 in Spanish youth

AIM

To describe and to analyse the associations between independent mobility to school (IM) with gender and age in Spanish youth aged 6-18 years old from 2010 to 2017. Moreover, to study the changes in the rates of IM from 2010 to 2017 by gender and age.

METHODS

Cross-sectional data were obtained from 11 Spanish studies. The study sample comprised 3460 children and 1523 adolescents. Logistic regressions models (IM with gender and age) and multilevel logistic regressions (IM with time period) were used.

RESULTS

Boys had higher odds ratio (OR) of IM than girls in children (OR = 1.86; CI: 1.50-2.28, p < 0.01). Adolescents showed higher IM than children: 12-14 years old (OR: 6.30; CI: 1.65-23.97) and 14-16 years old (OR: 7.33; CI: 1.18-45.39) had higher IM than 6-8 years old for boys (all, p < 0.05). Moreover, 12-14 years old (OR: 4.23; CI: 1.01-17.81) had higher IM than 6-8 years old for girls (p < 0.001). IM was not associated with the time period.

CONCLUSION

The IM is higher in boys and in adolescents, highlighting the relevance to promote IM strategies targeting girls and children. In these strategies is essential the support of researchers, public health practitioners and families to achieve positive results.

Convergent Validation of a Self-Reported Commuting to and from School Diary in Spanish Adolescents

The aim of this study was to examine the convergent validity of self-reported diary times for commuting to and from school with device-measured positional data (Global Positioning System; GPS) in Spanish adolescents.

METHODS

Cross-sectional data were obtained from four Spanish public secondary schools in 2021, comprising 47 adolescents and 141 home-school and school-home trips. Participants self-reported the time they left and arrived at home and school through a commuting diary. They wore a GPS device recording the objective time during three trips (i.e., one home-school trip and two school-home trips). Agreement between commuting diary and GPS data regarding home-school trips and school-home trips was evaluated using Bland-Altman plots.

RESULTS

Total commuting time differed by 1 min (95% limits of agreement were 16.1 min and -18.1 min) between subjective and objective measures (adolescents reported 0.8 more minutes in home-school trips and 1 more minute in school-home trips compared to objective data). Passive commuters reported 0.7 more minutes and active commuters reported 1.2 more minutes in the total commuting time compared to objective data.

CONCLUSIONS

Self-reported commuting diaries may be a useful tool to obtain commuting times of adolescents in epidemiological research or when tools to measure objective times are not feasible.

O1-4 Validation of questions to assess the mode of commuting to/from school for children according to their parents: the PACO study

Background

The active commuting to school behaviour is an opportunity to increase the physical activity levels. The most frequent used tool to assess the mode of commuting to school is self-reporting by children or by their parents. However, there is a lack of information about the validity between both, children and parents. So, the purpose is to validate the questions of mode of commuting to go and come back from school of children according to their parents'.

Method

A total of 611 parents (mean age: 43.28±6.25 years old) and their children (mean age: 11.44±2.77 years old) from Granada (Spain) completed a family (mode of commuting of children reported by parents as part of the Family PACO questionnaire) and a student questionnaire validated (Chillon et al., 2017) (mode and frequency of commuting to and from school questionnaire), respectively, in two measurement points. The questions from the ‘Family PACO questionnaire' are: “How does your child usually go to school?” and “How does your child usually come back?”; and the questions from the ‘mode and frequency of commuting to and from school questionnaire' are: “How do you usually go to school?” and “How do you usually go from school?”. The validation between parents and childreńs questions was analysed using Kappa and Spearman correlation coefficients. The results of the kappa are considered as: poor agreement (0-0.20), acceptable agreement (0.21-0.40), moderate agreement (0.41-0.60), substantial agreement / good (0.61-0.80) and almost perfect / very good agreement (0.81-1.00) (Landis & Koch, 1977). The Spearman correlations coefficients were interpreted as low (&gt; 0.30), moderate (0.30-0.50), and high (&gt; 0.50) (Van Dyck, Cardon, Deforche, & De Bourdeaudhuij, 2015).

Results

The validity of questions from both questionnaires about mode of commuting presented high coefficients of validation (Kappa coefficient; 0.865 to school and 0.839 from school and Spearman correlation; rho=0.882 to school and rho=0.860 from school).

Conclusion

The questions about the mode of commuting to/from school from the ‘Family PACO questionnaire’ are valid method. Therefore, the use of the questions would be recommended to assess children's mode of commuting.

Parent's sociodemographic factors, physical activity and active commuting are predictors of independent mobility to school

Background

Independent mobility (IM) provides young people with many opportunities to increase their autonomy and physical activity (PA). This study aimed to analyse whether the parent’s PA, active commuting to work and sociodemographic factors serve as predictors of IM to school in children and adolescents.

Methods

A total of 684 parents (52.8% mothers) and their offspring (56.4% girls) were included in this study, which was performed in Granada (Spain) and Valparaíso (Chile). The parents self-reported their sociodemographic characteristics, PA and mode of commuting to work. The mode of commuting to and from school and the offspring accompaniment mode were reported. T-test and chi-square test were used to study quantitative and qualitative differences by parental gender, respectively. Binary logistic regression models (odds ratio = OR) and stepwise analysis were performed to study the association between the parents’ sociodemographic variables and IM to school.

Results

Adolescents showed higher IM to school than children (58.9% vs 40.2%; p < 0.001). No car availability and shorter distance to work were positively associated with higher IM to school in children (OR = 2.22 and 2.29, respectively). Mothers' lower salary/month (OR = 2.75), no car availability (OR = 3.17), and mother passive commuting to work (OR = 2.61) were positively associated with higher IM to school in adolescents. The main predictor of IM to school in children and adolescents was no car availability (OR = 6.53).

Conclusion

Parental sociodemographic factors, such as salary, distance to work and car availability, were associated more strongly with IM than parental PA and active commuting to work.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12942-021-00280-2.

Is children's health-related quality of life associated with physical fitness and mode of commuting? PREVIENE Project

AIM

The aims of this study were (1) to examine the associations between self-reported health-related quality of life (HRQoL), health-related physical fitness (cardiorespiratory fitness, muscular strength, and speed-agility), and mode of commuting to and from school in Spanish children, and separately by gender and (2) to analyse the difference in cardiorespiratory fitness by mode of commuting to and from school by gender.

METHODS

We conducted a cross-sectional analysis that included 415 children aged 8.47 ± 0.36 years from 14 schools in Granada, Spain. The HRQoL outcome was assessed using the valid and reliable KINDL-R questionnaire, which covers six life dimensions, children's physical fitness was assessed using the ALPHA fitness test battery, and while commuting to and from school was assessed using the valid, reliable, and feasible 'Mode and Frequency of Commuting To and From School Questionnaire'.

RESULTS

Cardiorespiratory fitness was positively correlated with all dimensions of HRQoL in boys, whereas higher muscular strength (standing long jump) was positively correlated with the emotional wellbeing dimension in girls. In addition, boys who actively commute to school (walking) presented better cardiorespiratory fitness. Moreover, children who actively commuted to school (walking) presented better scores for the emotional wellbeing, family, and school dimensions, as well as total scores (both, p < .05) of HRQoL.

CONCLUSION

In our study, HRQoL was positively correlated with cardiorespiratory fitness in boys (all dimensions), whereas muscular strength (standing long jump) was positively correlated with the emotional wellbeing dimension only in girls. Active commuting to and from school was associated with higher levels of cardiorespiratory fitness, school dimension, and KINDL-R total score. Improving cardiorespiratory fitness might be especially useful to improve HRQoL in children, and vice versa.

Psychometric Characteristics of a Commuting-to-School Behaviour Questionnaire for Families

The purposes of this study were: (a) to describe the patterns of modes of commuting to school (children) and to work (parents) separated by gender and age, (b) to validate the questions on children’s mode of commuting to and from school according to their parents, and (c) to analyse the reliability of a family questionnaire focused on commuting to school behaviours. A total of 611 parents (mean age: 43.28 ± 6.25 years old) from Granada (Spain) completed “Family commuting-to-school behaviour” questionnaire in two sessions separated by 14 days, (2016 and 2018). The validation between family and children’s questions was assessed using the Kappa and Spearman correlation coefficients, and the test–retest reliability within the family questions was assessed using the Kappa and the weighted Kappa. The children’s modes of commuting to school (mean age: 11.44 ± 2.77 years old) were mainly passive (57.7% to school) while parents’ modes of commuting to work were mainly active (71.6%). The validity of the mode of commuting was significant with high Kappa and Spearman coefficients. The test–retest reliability presented a good agreement for the mode of commuting to school in children, distance and time to school, and the mode of commuting to work in parents, while the questions on acceptable distance to walk or cycle to school showed a moderate to good agreement. The “Family commuting-to-school behaviour” questionnaire could be a useful tool to assess the mode of commuting of children, distance and time to school for researchers and practitioners.

School-Based Interventions for Promoting Physical Activity Using Games and Gamification: A Systematic Review Protocol

Games and/or gamification seem to be a promising area for educational and health research. These strategies are being increasingly used for improving health indicators, even in educational settings; however, there is little information about these terms within the school to promote physical activity (PA). Objective: the aim of this study is to describe a systematic review protocol of school-based interventions for promoting PA in pre-schoolers, children, and adolescent students using games and gamification. Methods: This review protocol is registered in International prospective register of systematic reviews (PROSPERO) (CRD42019123521). Scientific databases include PubMed, Web of Science, SportDiscus, Cochrane Library, ERIC, and PsycINFO. A standardized procedure will be executed following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses protocol (PRISMA-P) checklist for conducting systematic review protocols and the PICOS (Population, Interventions, Comparators, Outcomes, and Study design) tool to address an appropriate search strategy. Detailed information will be extracted, including a quantitative assessment using effect sizes to compare the interventions and a qualitative assessment using the Evaluation of Public Health Practice Projects (EPHPP) tool. Conclusion: This systematic review protocol contributes to establishing future systematic reviews using games and gamification strategies in school settings in order to examine their effect on PA outcomes among youth. Additionally, an update and clarification on the different terms in the school context have been included.

Feasibility and Reliability of a Questionnaire to Assess the Mode, Frequency, Distance and Time of Commuting to and from School: The PACO Study

Active commuting to and from school has several health implications. Self-reporting is the most common assessment tool, but there is a high heterogeneity of questionnaires in the scientific literature. The purpose of this study was to analyse the feasibility and reliability of the Spanish "New Version of Mode and Frequency of Commuting To and From School" questionnaire in children and adolescents. A total of 635 children (5-12 years old) and 362 adolescents (12-18 years old) filled out the questionnaire twice (14 days apart). Feasibility was evaluated using an observational checklist. The test-retest reliability of the "New Version of Mode and Frequency of Commuting To and From School" questionnaire and the distance and time to school were examined using the kappa and weight kappa coefficient (κ). No misunderstanding of questions was reported. The time to complete the questionnaire was 15 ± 3.62 and 9 ± 2.26 min for children and adolescents, respectively. The questionnaire showed substantial and almost perfect kappa coefficients for the overall six items (k = 0.61-0.94) in children and adolescents. The "New Version of Mode and Frequency of Commuting To and From School" questionnaire is a feasible and reliable questionnaire in Spanish children and adolescents.