Background/Purpose
University students represent a unique population that is especially prone to developing behaviors that lead to obesity and sedentary lifestyles, thus it is important to understand what influences students to make physical activity related choices including campus transportation. This qualitative study investigates current patterns, perceived facilitators and constraints to active transportation in a group of university students.
Method One-on-one, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with a convenience sample of 26 students (14 males and 12 females; 19 graduate, 7 undergraduate) at a large Midwestern University. The questionnaire, developed using Social Cognitive Theory, consisted of 13 questions and encompassed the following thematic areas: transit use, patterns of active transport, facilitators and barriers to both motorized and active transport use, and attitudes about different modes of transportation.
Analysis/Results
The research team reached consensus on prominent themes in the data. Five major themes arose around students' use of active transport: health benefits “I want to lose weight” or “I'm injured”, enjoyment “I like being outdoors” or “It's too cold”, safety “Icy sidewalks” or “Crime alerts”, convenience “The bus stops a block from my house” or “It's faster to walk”, and money “Parking is expensive” or “I already pay for the bus”.
Conclusions
Students cited controllable factors such as infrastructure as barriers to using active transportation. Campus environment must facilitate active travel by both alleviating constraints to active transport and supporting individual motivation. These findings may help may help better understand how to promote active transportation on university campuses.