Peer-reviewed article
Supporting children’s participation in active travel: developing an online road safety intervention through a collaborative integrated knowledge translation approach
Adrian N. Buttazzoni, Julia Pham, Kendra Nelson Ferguson, Emma Fabri, Andrew F. Clark et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study describes the development of a 4-module online road safety education intervention designed to help children learn about active travel such as walking and cycling. Researchers worked with 50 community experts including health, safety, school, and transportation professionals to design the intervention using a collaborative approach. The intervention modules cover active travel knowledge, pedestrian safety, road signs and infrastructure, and wheeling safety skills. The study presents the development process and intervention structure but does not evaluate its effectiveness.
Key points
- Most children do not achieve recommended physical activity guidelines, and active travel is identified as an accessible way to promote physical activity
- Lack of education and training about road safety is reported as a common barrier to children engaging in active travel
- The intervention was developed through collaborative input from 50 community stakeholders with expertise in health promotion, public safety, school administration, and transportation planning
- Four themes were identified: Active Travel Knowledge, Pedestrian Safety and Skills, Signs and Infrastructure, and Wheeling Safety and Skills
- Each module includes explicit learning objectives, knowledge activities, resources, and skill development exercises
Limitations
This paper describes the development process and structure of an intervention but does not test or evaluate whether the intervention actually improves children's road safety knowledge, confidence, or active travel participation. No outcome data or effectiveness evidence is presented.
Abstract
Even though regular engagement in physical activity (PA) among children can support their development and encourage the adoption of healthy lifelong habits, most do not achieve their recommended guidelines. Active travel (AT), or any form of human-powered travel (e.g., walking), can be a relatively accessible, manageable, and sustainable way to promote children’s PA. One common barrier to children’s engagement in AT, however, is a reported lack of education and training. To support children’s participation in AT, this paper presents the development of a comprehensive 4-module online road safety education intervention designed to improve children’s knowledge and confidence regarding AT. Using a qualitative integrated knowledge translation (iKT) approach undertaken with community collaborators (n = 50) containing expertise in health promotion, public safety, school administration, and transportation planning, our inductive thematic analysis generated fourth themes which constituted the foundation of the intervention modules: Active Travel Knowledge: Awareness of Benefits and Participation; Pedestrian Safety and Skills: Roles, Responsibilities, and Rules; Signs and Infrastructure: Identification, Literacy, and Behaviour; Wheeling Safety and Skills: Technical Training and Personal Maneuvers. Each theme/module was then linked to an explicit learning objective and connected to complementary knowledge activities, resources, and skill development exercises. Implications for research and practice are discussed.