Predictors of initiating and maintaining active commuting to work using transport and public health perspectives in Australia.
OBJECTIVE
To identify predictors for initiating and maintaining active commuting (AC) to work following the 2003 Australia's Walk to Work Day (WTWD) campaign.


METHODS
Pre- and post-campaign telephone surveys of a cohort of working age (18-65 years) adults (n=1100, 55% response rate). Two dependent campaign outcomes were assessed: initiating or maintaining AC (i.e., walk/cycle and public transport) on a single day (WTWD), and increasing or maintaining health-enhancing active commuting (HEAC) level (> or = 30 min/day) in a usual week following WTWD campaign.


RESULTS
A significant population-level increase in HEAC (3.9%) was observed (McNemar's chi(2)=6.53, p=0.01) with 136 (19.0%) achieving HEAC at post campaign. High confidence in incorporating walking into commute, being active pre-campaign and younger age (<46years) were positively associated with both outcomes. The utility of AC for avoiding parking hassles (AOR=2.1, 95% CI: 1.2-3.6), for less expense (AOR=1.8, 95% CI: 1.1-3.1), for increasing one's health (AOR=2.5, 95% CI: 1.1-5.6) and for clean air (AOR=2.2, 95% CI: 1.0-4.4) predicted HEAC outcome whereas avoiding the stress of driving (AOR=2.6, 95% CI: 1.4-5.0) and the hassle of parking predicted the single-day AC.


CONCLUSIONS
Transportation interventions targeting parking and costs could be further enhanced by emphasizing health benefits of AC. AC was less likely to occur among inactive employees.
Merom
Dafna
D
Centre for Physical Activity and Health (CPAH), School of Public Health, Level 2, Medical Foundation Building K25, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia. dafnam@health.usyd.edu.au
Miller
Yvette D
YD
van der Ploeg
Hidde P
HP
Bauman
Adrian
A
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001334:Automobile Driving / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009043:Motor Activity; D016272:Occupational Health; D010299:Parking Facilities / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011634:Public Health; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors; D014186:Transportation; D016138:Walking; D017132:Workplace; D055815:Young Adult