emic performance.
- Students participate in much of their physical activity through physical education classes, but schools can help increase students’ activity levels by strengthening curriculum and increasing opportunities outside these classes.
- State and school district wellness policies should include stronger goals and requirements for daily physical activity.
- Joint use agreements can encourage physical activity after school and on weekends, especially in low-income, inner-city, and rural areas with fewer recreational facilities.
- This research synthesis summarizes evidence about different ways schools can promote physical activity.
Ward, D.S. (2011). School Policies on Physical Education and Physical Activity: A Research Synthesis. Active Living Research.
- Measuring the built environment can help assess needs and set priorities for creating healthy community design.
- The built environment includes buildings, roads, sidewalks, utilities, homes, transit, fixtures, parks and all other man-made entities that form the physical characteristics of a community.
- The BE Tool assess as core set of features selected by research experts: built environment infrastructure (e.g., road type, curb cuts/ramps, intersections/crosswalks, traffic control, transportation), walkability (e.g. sidewalk/path features, walking safety, aesthetics & amenities), bikeability (e.g., bicycle lane/path features), recreational sites and structures, and the food environment (e.g., access to grocery stores, convenience stores, farmers markets, etc.).
- The built environment can influence health by affecting rates of physical activity, air pollutants such as ozone and particulate matter that can exacerbate asthma and respiratory disease, and emissions of carbon dioxide that contributes to climate change.
- The manual provides background on the importance of the built environment and health and describes data collection and analysis processes for the BE Tool. The tool, instructions, and a data coding and scoring table are included.
- The BE Tool was created by ICF International through a contract with the CDC.
- Kids are more active when walking and biking are safe, and Safe Routes to School programs can increase safety and active transportation to school.
- Traffic speed and volume and lack of sidewalks are major barriers to active travel to school.
- Active commuting can provide an estimated 16 of the 60 minutes of daily physical activity recommended for children, as found by a meta-analysis.
- Implementing Safe Routes to School programs has been connected with a 44% reduction in injury rates.
- This infographic summarizes highlights from the research brief “Impact of Safe Routes to School Programs on Walking and Biking” published by Active Living Research in May 2015.
BEST PRACTICES AND RECOMMENDATIONS (2015)
- Collaborative partnerships between schools and communities and multi-level strategies are key components of SRTS programs.
- The review identified benefits, challenges and lessons learned from SRTS partnerships across studies:
- Benefits: “coordination of projects, programs, and policies to avoid duplication; mobilization of partners; builds lasting and trusting relationships; increases credibility and community support; partners bring unique perspectives, which increases knowledge and capacity to problem solve; builds greater sense of community; and provides opportunity for internal and external funding”
- Challenges: “inexperience of volunteers; lack of time for outreach and support; difficulties to integrate programs and policies; lack of staff/volunteers; reactive responses and pushback from the community; lack of and dependence on funding support; loss of credibility; difficulties to maintain partnership; and absent stakeholders slows progress”
- Lessons learned: “communication and consideration of viewpoints; partner with schools early to identify champions and establish support; implement multiple project, program and policies strategies for greater participation; expect slow progress and gradual change; target children for long