Dorien Simons

Environmental factors influencing older adults’ walking for transportation: a study using walk-along interviews

BackgroundCurrent knowledge on the relationship between the physical environment and walking for transportation among older adults (≥ 65 years) is limited. Qualitative research can provide valuable information and inform further research. However, qualitative studies are scarce and fail to include neighborhood outings necessary to study participants’ experiences and perceptions while interacting with and interpreting the local social and physical environment. The current study sought to uncover the perceived environmental influences on Flemish older adults’ walking for transportation. To get detailed and context-sensitive environmental information, it used walk-along interviews.MethodsPurposeful convenience sampling was used to recruit 57 older adults residing in urban or semi-urban areas. Walk-along interviews to and from a destination (e.g. a shop) located within a 15 minutes’ walk from the participants’ home were conducted. Content analysis was performed using NVivo 9 software (QSR International). An inductive approach was used to derive categories and subcategories from the data.ResultsData were categorized in the following categories and subcategories: access to facilities (shops & services, public transit, connectivity), walking facilities (sidewalk quality, crossings, legibility, benches), traffic safety (busy traffic, behavior of other road users), familiarity, safety from crime (physical factors, other persons), social contacts, aesthetics (buildings, natural elements, noise & smell, openness, decay) and weather.ConclusionsThe findings indicate that to promote walking for transportation a neighborhood should provide good access to shops and services, well-maintained walking facilities, aesthetically appealing places, streets with little traffic and places for social interaction. In addition, the neighborhood environment should evoke feelings of familiarity and safety from crime. Future quantitative studies should investigate if (changes in) these environmental factors relate to (changes in) older adults’ walking for transportation.

Psychosocial and Environmental Correlates of Walking, Cycling, Public Transport and Passive Transport to Various Destinations in Flemish Older Adolescents.

Background Active transport is a convenient way to incorporate physical activity in adolescents’ daily life. The present study aimed to investigate which psychosocial and environmental factors are associated with walking, cycling, public transport (train, tram, bus, metro) and passive transport (car, motorcycle, moped) over short distances (maximum eight kilometres) among older adolescents (17–18 years), to school and to other destinations. Methods 562 older adolescents completed an online questionnaire assessing socio-demographic variables, psychosocial variables, environmental variables and transport to school/other destinations. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were performed. Results More social modelling and a higher residential density were positively associated with walking to school and walking to other destinations, respectively. Regarding cycling, higher self-efficacy and a higher social norm were positively associated with cycling to school and to other destinations. Regarding public transport, a higher social norm, more social modelling of siblings and/or friends, more social support and a higher land use mix access were positively related to public transport to school and to other destinations, whereas a greater distance to school only related positively to public transport to school. Regarding passive transport, more social support and more perceived benefits were positively associated with passive transport to school and to other destinations. Perceiving less walking and cycling facilities at school was positively related to passive transport to school only, and more social modelling was positively related to passive transport to other destinations. Conclusions Overall, psychosocial variables seemed to be more important than environmental variables across the four transport modes. Social norm, social modelling and social support were the most consistent psychosocial factors which indicates that it is important to target both older adolescents and their social environment in interventions promoting active transport. Walking or cycling together with siblings or friends has the potential to increase social norm, social modelling and social support towards active transport.

Psychosocial moderators of associations between life events and changes in physical activity after leaving high school

OBJECTIVES To examine 1) associations between life events and changes in leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) in school leavers and 2) whether these associations are moderated by psychosocial factors. METHODS Final year students (n=440) from high schools in rural Western Australia completed annual telephone interviews on three occasions; baseline (T1), one-year follow-up (T2; n=440) and two-year follow-up (T3; n=374). LTPA was measured using the Minnesota Leisure-time Physical Activity Questionnaire. Life events included moving out of home, working full-time and studying full-time. Psychosocial factors included enjoyment, self-efficacy, outcome expectations, club membership, and support from family and friends. Mixed linear regression models examined the effect of life events on changes in LTPA from T1 to T2 and T1 to T3. RESULTS A decline in LTPA across all time points was observed. Those who continued full-time education had a smaller LTPA decline than those who did not. Those who were not a member of a sporting club at T1 had greater LTPA decline if they worked full-time at T2. CONCLUSIONS There is a need for interventions to prevent declines in LTPA among school leavers, especially those who do not enter tertiary education. Encouraging sporting club membership during high school might be important.

Psychosocial and environmental correlates of active and passive transport behaviors in college educated and non-college educated working young adults

Background This study aimed to examine potential differences in walking, cycling, public transport and passive transport (car/moped/motorcycle) to work and to other destinations between college and non-college educated working young adults. Secondly, we aimed to investigate which psychosocial and environmental factors are associated with the four transport modes and whether these associations differ between college and non-college educated working young adults. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 224 working young adults completed an online questionnaire assessing socio-demographic variables (8 items), psychosocial variables (6 items), environmental variables (10 items) and transport mode (4 types) and duration to work/other destinations. Zero-inflated negative binomial regression models were performed in R. Results A trend (p<0.10) indicated that more college educated compared to non-college educated young adults participated in cycling and public transport. However, another trend indicated that cycle time and public transport trips were longer and passive transport trips were shorter in non-college compared to college educated working young adults. In all working young adults, high self-efficacy towards active transport, and high perceived benefits and low perceived barriers towards active and public transport were related to more active and public transport. High social support/norm/modeling towards active, public and passive transport was related to more active, public and passive transport. High neighborhood walkability was related to more walking and less passive transport. Only in non-college educated working young adults, feeling safe from traffic and crime in their neighborhood was related to more active and public transport and less passive transport. Conclusions Educational levels should be taken into account when promoting healthy transport behaviors in working young adults. Among non-college educated working young adults, focus should be on increasing active and public transport participation and on increasing neighborhood safety to increase active and public transport use. Among college educated working young adults, more minutes of active transport should be encouraged.

A Smartphone App to Promote an Active Lifestyle in Lower-Educated Working Young Adults: Development, Usability, Acceptability, and Feasibility Study

Background Physical activity (PA) levels are problematic in lower-educated working young adults (18-26 years). To promote PA, smartphone apps have great potential, but there is no evidence for their effectiveness in this population. To increase the likelihood that a newly developed app will be effective, formative research and user testing are required. Objective The aim of this study was to describe the development, usability, acceptability, and feasibility of a new theory- and evidence-based smartphone app to promote an active lifestyle in lower-educated working young adults. Methods The new app was developed by applying 4 steps. First, determinants important to promote an active lifestyle in this population were selected. Second, evidence-based behavior change techniques were selected to convert the determinants into practical applications. Third, a new smartphone app was developed. Fourth, volunteers (n=11, both lower and higher educated) tested the app on usability, and lower-educated working young adults (n=16) tested its acceptability and feasibility via (think aloud) interviews, a questionnaire, and Google Analytics. The app was accordingly adapted for the final version. Results A new Android app, Active Coach, was developed that focused on knowledge, attitude, social support, and self-efficacy (based on outcomes from step 1), and that applied self-regulation techniques (based on outcomes from step 2). The app consists of a 9-week program with personal goals, practical tips, and scientific facts to encourage an active lifestyle. To ensure all-day and automatic self-monitoring of the activity behavior, the Active Coach app works in combination with a wearable activity tracker, the Fitbit Charge. Issues detected by the usability test (eg, text errors, wrong messages) were all fixed. The acceptability and feasibility test showed that participants found the app clear, understandable, and motivating, although some aspects needed to be more personal. Conclusions By applying a stepwise, user-centered approach that regularly consulted the target group, the new app is adapted to their specific needs and preferences. The Active Coach app was overall positively evaluated by the lower-educated working young adults at the end of the development process.

Promoting Active Transport in Older Adolescents Before They Obtain Their Driving Licence: A Matched Control Intervention Study.

Background Active transport has great potential to increase physical activity in older adolescents (17–18 years). Therefore, a theory- and evidence-based intervention was developed aiming to promote active transport among older adolescents. The intervention aimed to influence psychosocial factors of active transport since this is the first step in order to achieve a change in behaviour. The present study aimed to examine the effect of the intervention on the following psychosocial factors: intention to use active transport after obtaining a driving licence, perceived benefits, perceived barriers, subjective norm, self-efficacy, habit and awareness towards active transport. Methods A matched control three-arm study was conducted and consisted of a pre-test post-test design with intervention and control schools in Flanders (northern part of Belgium). A lesson promoting active transport was implemented as the last lesson in the course ‘Driving Licence at School’ in intervention schools (intervention group 1). Individuals in intervention group 2 received this active transport lesson and, in addition, they were asked to become a member of a Facebook group on active transport. Individuals in the control group only attended the regular course ‘Driving Licence at School’. Participants completed a questionnaire assessing socio-demographics and psychosocial variables at baseline, post (after one week) and follow-up (after eight weeks). To assess intervention effects, multilevel linear mixed models analyses were performed. Results A sample of 441 older adolescents (56.8% female; 17.4 (0.7) years) was analysed. For awareness regarding the existence of car sharing schemes, a significant increase in awareness from baseline to post measurement was found within intervention group 1 (p = 0.001) and intervention group 2 (p = 0.030) compared to the control group in which no change was found. In addition, a significant increase in awareness from baseline to follow-up measurement was found within intervention group 1 (p = 0.043) compared to a decrease in awareness from baseline to follow-up measurement within the control group. Conclusions Overall, the intervention was not effective to increase psychosocial correlates of active transport. Future intervention studies should search for alternative strategies to motivate and involve this hard to reach target group.

Effect and Process Evaluation of a Smartphone App to Promote an Active Lifestyle in Lower Educated Working Young Adults: Cluster Randomized Controlled Trial

Background Mobile technologies have great potential to promote an active lifestyle in lower educated working young adults, an underresearched target group at a high risk of low activity levels. Objective The objective of our study was to examine the effect and process evaluation of the newly developed evidence- and theory-based smartphone app “Active Coach” on the objectively measured total daily physical activity; self-reported, context-specific physical activity; and self-reported psychosocial variables among lower educated working young adults. Methods We recruited 130 lower educated working young adults in this 2-group cluster randomized controlled trial and assessed outcomes at baseline, posttest (baseline+9 weeks), and follow-up (posttest+3 months). Intervention participants (n=60) used the Active Coach app (for 9 weeks) combined with a Fitbit activity tracker. Personal goals, practical tips, and educational facts were provided to encourage physical activity. The control group received print-based generic physical activity information. Both groups wore accelerometers for objective measurement of physical activity, and individual interviews were conducted to assess the psychosocial variables and context-specific physical activity. Furthermore, intervention participants were asked process evaluation questions and generalized linear mixed models and descriptive statistics were applied. Results No significant intervention effects were found for objectively measured physical activity, self-reported physical activity, and self-reported psychosocial variables (all P>.05). Intervention participants evaluated the Active Coach app and the combined use with the Fitbit wearable as self-explanatory (36/51, 70.6%), user friendly (40/51, 78.4%), and interesting (34/51, 66.7%). Throughout the intervention, we observed a decrease in the frequency of viewing graphical displays in the app (P<.001); reading the tips, facts, and goals (P<.05); and wearing the Fitbit wearable (P<.001). Few intervention participants found the tips and facts motivating (10/41, 24.4%), used them to be physically active (8/41, 19.6%), and thought they were tailored to their lifestyle (7/41, 17.1%). Conclusions The lack of significant intervention effects might be due to low continuous user engagement. Advice or feedback that was not perceived as adequately tailored and the difficulty to compete with many popular commercial apps on young people’s smartphones may be responsible for a decrease in the engagement. A stand-alone app does not seem sufficient to promote an active lifestyle among lower educated working young adults; therefore, multicomponent interventions (using both technological and human support), as well as context-specific sensing to provide tailored advice, might be needed in this population. Trial Registration ClinicalTrials.gov NCT02948803; https://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/results/NCT02948803 (Archived by WebCite at http://www.webcitation.org/71OPFwaoA)