Rutberg Stina, Henriksson Malin, Andersson Mathias, Palstam Annie, Lindqvist Anna-Karin
Luleå University of Technology, Luleå, Sweden.
The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, Linköping, Sweden.
Health Promot Pract. 2025 May;26(3):437-445. doi: 10.1177/15248399241255376. Epub 2024 Jun 6.
Active school travel (AST) is an effective approach for increasing children's physical activity and independent mobility, but policy supporting AST is lacking. This study aims to explore children's experiences of AST to inform a policy recommendation. Photovoice methodology with a qualitative approach was applied, with children taking pictures on their way to school. This was followed by focus groups where the children explored their experiences of AST based on their photos. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results show that the children valued independent mobility and wanted to be involved in decisions about their travels; they also expressed feelings of increased responsibility and personal growth as a consequence. Although the children recognized areas of improvement regarding infrastructure, especially regarding heavy traffic that jeopardized travel safety, they continued using AST. Finally, the children talked about the value of the health and environmental benefits of AST. Opportunities for friendship, play, and making decisions about their own time were highlighted as important incentives. The benefits from AST are many for children, as well as for society. The result has informed policy recommendations for AST, and the children's input will be used to communicate the recommendations. Listening to the voices of children could be a steppingstone toward forming future healthy mobility initiatives. In that process, it is key to include children's perspectives when formulating the AST policy for successful adoption and implementation.
积极的校园出行（AST）是增加儿童身体活动和独立出行能力的有效途径，但支持AST的政策却很缺乏。本研究旨在探索儿童的AST体验，为政策建议提供依据。采用了定性的摄影发声法，让孩子们在上学路上拍照。随后进行焦点小组讨论，孩子们根据照片探讨他们的AST体验。使用定性内容分析法对数据进行分析。结果表明，孩子们重视独立出行，希望参与有关出行的决策；他们还表示，因此责任感增强，个人也得到了成长。尽管孩子们认识到基础设施方面仍有改进空间，尤其是危及出行安全的繁忙交通问题，但他们仍继续采用AST出行方式。最后，孩子们谈到了AST对健康和环境有益的价值。他们强调，有机会结交朋友、玩耍以及自主安排时间是重要的激励因素。AST对儿童乃至社会都有诸多益处。研究结果为AST的政策建议提供了依据，孩子们的意见将用于传达这些建议。倾听孩子们的声音可能是形成未来健康出行倡议的垫脚石。在此过程中，制定AST政策时纳入儿童的观点对于政策的成功采纳和实施至关重要。
