Perceived barriers for active commuting to school among adolescents from Curitiba, Brazil

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyze the association between perceived barriers for active commuting to school in the form of displacement of adolescents from Curitiba, Brazil. Interviews were conducted in six schools (three public and three private) with 741 adolescents aged 11-18 yrs. Perceived barriers for active commuting were assessed through a questionnaire with seventeen questions. Active commuting was defined as walking or bicycling to or form school at least one day per week. The associations were tested by Poisson regressions with 5% significance level. The prevalence of active commuting was of 42.9% (50.0% in boys and 37.2% in girls, p<0,001). For boys the barriers: "It is too far" (PR: 0.71; CI_95%: 0.60- 0.86), "Route as boring" (PR: 1.30; CI_95%: 1.04-1.62) and "Too much traffic" (RP: 1.27; CI_95%: 1:04 to 1:56) were associated with active commuting. For girls, the barriers: "It is easier to go by car or bus" (PR: 0.70; CI_95%: 0.56-0.88) and involve "It requires too much planning" (PR: 0.60; CI_95%: 0.42-0.86) were associated with active commuting. Environmental and psychological barriers were associates with active commuting among adolescents to school. Efforts to promote active commuting, should consider gender specific actions. Providing safe routes and organize group activities for girls, and indicate faster routes for boys could help increasing this behavior among adolescents.