Effect of Australia's Walk to Work Day Campaign on Adults' Active Commuting and Physical Activity Behavior
In: American journal of health promotion, Band 19, Heft 3, S. 159-162
ISSN: 2168-6602
Purpose. To determine whether Australia's Walk to Work Day media campaign resulted in behavioral change among targeted groups. Methods. Pre- and postcampaign telephone surveys of a cohort of adults aged 18 to 65 years (n = 1100, 55% response rate) were randomly sampled from Australian major metropolitan areas. Tests for dependent samples were applied (McNemar χ2 or paired t-test). Results. Among participants who did not usually actively commute to work was a significant decrease in "car only" use and an increase in walking combined with public transport. Among those who were employed was a significant increase in total time walking (+16 min/wk; t [780] = 2.04, p < .05) and in other moderate physical activity (+l20 min/wk; t [1087] = 4.76, p < .005), resulting in a significant decrease in the proportion who were "inactive" (χ2 (1) = 6.1, p < .05). Conclusion. Although nonexperimental, the Walk to Work Day initiative elicited short-term changes in targeted behaviors among target groups. Reinforcement by integrating worksite health promotion strategies may be required for sustained effects.