Effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on active transportation among Canadian children: results from two national surveys
Oral Presentation C8.4
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.14288/hfjc.v14i3.688Keywords:
Children, Physical Activity, Active Travel, Independent Mobility, Social Determinants of HealthAbstract
Background: Children’s active transportation (AT) and independent mobility (IM) are associated with higher physical activity. COVID-19 restrictions have drastically reduced opportunities for physical activity, but their effects on AT and IM remain unknown. Purpose: Using two national surveys of parents across Canada conducted by separate survey firms in October and December 2020, we examined changes in AT and IM since the COVID-19 pandemic. We assessed potential disparities in changes by gender, household income, and disability status. Methods: Survey 1 included 1,568 parents of 5- to 17-year-olds and Survey 2 included 2,291 parents of 7- to 12-year-olds. We assessed changes associated with COVID-19 retrospectively on 5-point scales ranging from a lot less to a lot more. Changes in IM were only assessed in survey 2. We summarized changes in AT and IM with descriptive statistics and examined disparities with linear regression models. Results: In surveys 1 and 2 respectively, 33.4 and 37.5% of parents reported a decline in AT, 48.9 and 48.4% reported no change, and 16.8 and 14.0% reported an increase. 32.8% of parents reported a decline in IM, 56.5% reported no change and 10.7% reported an increase. In both surveys, decreases in AT were significantly larger among children from households earning CAD$ 20,000-79,999 versus >$100,000 with no disparities related to gender or disabilities (p>0.05). We obtained similar results for IM in survey 2. Conclusions: These findings emphasize the need for public health authorities and policymakers to promote AT and IM as activities that can comply with physical distancing requirements. Funding: Study 1 was funded by Dalhousie University, the Province of Nova Scotia, and ParticipACTION. Study 2 was funded by the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (grant # G-19-0026216).
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Copyright (c) 2021 Richard Larouche, Sarah A. Moore, Mathieu Bélanger, Mariana Brussoni, Guy Faulkner, Katie Gunnell, Mark S. Tremblay
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