title: Impact of a pilot walking school bus intervention on children's pedestrian safety behaviors: a pilot study.
abstract: Walking school buses (WSB) increased children's physical activity, but impact on pedestrian safety behaviors (PSB) is unknown. We tested the feasibility of a protocol evaluating changes to PSB during a WSB program. Outcomes were school-level street crossing PSB prior to (Time 1) and during weeks 4-5 (Time 2) of the WSB. The protocol collected 1252 observations at Time 1 and 2548 at Time 2. Mixed model analyses yielded: intervention schoolchildren had 5-fold higher odds (p<0.01) of crossing at the corner/crosswalk but 5-fold lower odds (p<0.01) of stopping at the curb. The protocol appears feasible for documenting changes to school-level PSB.
authors.affiliation: USDA/ARS Children's Nutrition Research Center, 1100 Bates St, Houston, TX 77030-2600, USA. jason.mendoza@bcm.edu
authors.forename: Jason A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Mendoza
authors.forename: Kathy
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Watson
authors.forename: Tzu-An
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Baranowski
authors.forename: Theresa A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Nicklas
authors.forename: Doris K
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Uscanga
authors.forename: Marcus J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hanfling
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D010290:Parents; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012449:Safety; D012574:Schools / Q000458:organization & administration* / Q000592:standards; D014481:United States; D016138:Walking / Q000592:standards