IN-PERSON London. Section A
Abstract
The livable city is a complex phenomenon, considered differently depending on the lens through which it is considered. For children, being active out and about in their neighbourhood is fundamental to what constitutes a livable city. Yet, children are increasingly designed out of environments, including through the everyday activity of getting to and from school. Power Up Schools (Power Up) was a temporary intervention involving a range of activities aimed at increasing children’s active school travel (AST) with a focus on physical and social aspects of schools and their surrounding environs. We evaluated the impact of Power Up on children’s AST and how multiple stakeholders (children, school representatives, parents, residents) perceived the overall intervention and its components. This was a multiple methods evaluation study with four primary (elementary) schools in Auckland and their wider communities. The study involved longitudinal data collection (daily travel modes reported by children), repeat cross-sectional surveys with parents, single time-point cross-sectional surveys with residents, post intervention focus groups with children and parents, and post intervention interviews with school representatives. Findings showed evidence for increased AST; general support for Power Up by children, parents, and school representatives; mixed support by residents for some components; the importance of considering diverse needs and preferences in future interventions; the need for more comprehensive communication across stakeholders; and the value of streamlining processes for schools and parents. Comprehensive approaches that are embedded within, and accepted by, the wider school community are recommended for sustainable and effective AST interventions.
Melody Smith: My research and supervision activities focus on understanding how environments can support wellbeing across the lifespan through facilitating active travel modes, mobility, physical activity, connections with nature, and social connectivity. I am particularly interested in ecological and systems approaches to understanding the complexity of environment-health relationships, using mixed methods, integrating objective measures, and person-centred methods (participatory approaches, online mapping), and employing creative methods to activate community voice.
Dr Niamh Donnellan is a health geography researcher passionate about understanding how the environment in which we live, work and play influences child health, health behaviours and resulting health inequalities. Her research is at the intersection of child, health, cultural, geospatial and urban geographies and draws on participatory, community, qualitative, quantitative and evaluative research methodologies.
Dr Alana Cavadino is a Biostatistician with expertise in statistical analysis for health research. She has experience working on a wide variety of public health and medical studies, and applying and advising on a range of statistical methods. Alana carries out statistical analyses and provides advice on all aspects of research study design, data collection, data management, application of appropriate statistical methods, interpretation, and presentation of findings. She collaborates with and advises academic staff and postgraduate students at the university about study design and statistical analysis.
Matt van Roijen’s background is in social science, geography, and environmental planning. He has extensive expertise working with and for stakeholders to strengthen strategic partnerships and achieve sustainable community outcomes.
Dr. Hayley McGlashan (Te Aupōuri) is a lecturer in health and physical education at the Faculty of Education and Social Work at the University of Auckland. She teaches and researches in health education, physical education, gender and sexuality and critical ethnography. Hayley has a background teaching health and PE in secondary schools and teaches within the Graduate Diploma in Teaching (Secondary) Programme as well as the Bachelor of Sport, Health and Physical Education.
9:00 am - 10:30 am
Thursday 27th June, 2024