This research delves into the dynamics of active school transport (AST) by utilizing a two-stage co-design process and leveraging persuasive technology within a game for promoting AST called Battleship-AST. The primary aim of this research is to thoroughly investigate the two-stage game co-design process employed in creating a Battleship-AST game. Moreover, our research aims to evaluate participants’ perceptions regarding the motivating and engaging potential of the persuasive technology and gamification features embedded within the final iteration of the game. This evaluation aims to understand how these features influence participants’ motivation to increase their usage of AST through gameplay. In pursuit of these objectives, the research builds upon the existing Battleship-AST prototype and actively engages school children in a collaborative two-stage co-design process. Their valuable insights and preferences were harnessed in refining the game, which was subsequently tested during a tech event in Skellefteå, Sweden. The findings shed light on various aspects of the game’s impact, from its reception to the gamification features integrated within. Notably, the research highlights the positive impact of the co-design process, with increased motivation and engagement observed among the participants. Their involvement in shaping the game’s design resulted in a more engaging and enjoyable experience. The persuasive technology features, encompassing competition, collaboration, auditory cues, a virtual reward system, and an emphasis on similarity, played a pivotal role in sustaining engagement and motivating players. Elements such as rewards, leaderboard progression, and badges proved highly effective in encouraging continued participation and fostering a positive feedback loop. However, the study also identifies areas for potential improvement, including the need to measure real-life progress and refine the game’s levelling system. The research indicates that refining feedback mechanisms and tailoring game content to individual preferences could create an even more engaging experience. Additionally, long-term playtesting is proposed to assess the game’s extended impact. The findings offer promising avenues for enhancing motivation and engagement in AST, which can contribute to the promotion of healthier and more sustainable transportation choices among school children.

Background: Over the last decades, the prevalence of AST has decreased significantly. Barriers to active school transport (AST) have been extensively examined in the literature, while psychosocial factors that facilitate AST have received less attention. To our best knowledge, there are currently no reviews on this subject. Therefore, the objective of this review was to scope the literature and identify published research about psychosocial factors related to AST.

Methods: Systematic searches conducted in PubMed, Web of Science, TRID, Scopus, and ERIC resulted in a total of 1933 publications, and 77 of them were considered eligible for this review.

Results: The results of the included articles were categorised into four psychosocial factors: confidence in ability, attitudes, social support, and social norms, which were all generally positively related to AST, with a few exceptions.

Conclusion: The findings of this review indicate that these psychosocial factors may be important to consider when developing interventions and highlight that both children and parents should be involved in the process. This knowledge can serve as a valuable guide for developing interventions to promote AST. However, the evidence base supporting these psychosocial factors requires further investigation to fully understand how and when to incorporate them to maximise AST efficacy.

Background

There is a growing need to invest in interventions that promote physical activity, such as active school transportation. Ideally, these interventions should be school-based to reach as many children as possible. However, school personnel have a heavy workload, and interventions must be feasible and sustainable. This study aims to explore the feasibility of a school-based intervention from the school personnel's perspective and increase knowledge about what makes an intervention in a school context feasible.

Methods

A qualitative design was applied with individual interviews with 19 participants, including principals, teachers, project coordinators, one school nurse, and one operation manager. The data were analyzed with qualitative content analysis.

Results

The result were formulated into one main theme “Crossing the threshold – enter and you might feel at home” and three subthemes “Flexibility for integration in the school context”, “Sensing meaningfulness is essential for being worth the effort” and “A supportive design to enhance enthusiasm”. These themes indicate that schools have a heavy workload and that there is a threshold for schools to invest time and effort into health promoting intervention. Flexibility, meaningfulness, and support were thus crucial elements for making an intervention in the school context feasible.

Conclusion

The results of this study outline a promising strategy to meet the needs of school personnel and can serve as a valuable guide for further research concerning school-based interventions aiming to promote health.

Active school travel (AST) is an effective approach for increasing children’s physical activity and independent mobility, but policy supporting AST is lacking. This study aims to explore children’s experiences of AST to inform a policy recommendation. Photovoice methodology with a qualitative approach was applied, with children taking pictures on their way to school. This was followed by focus groups where the children explored their experiences of AST based on their photos. The data were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results show that the children valued independent mobility and wanted to be involved in decisions about their travels; they also expressed feelings of increased responsibility and personal growth as a consequence. Although the children recognized areas of improvement regarding infrastructure, especially regarding heavy traffic that jeopardized travel safety, they continued using AST. Finally, the children talked about the value of the health and environmental benefits of AST. Opportunities for friendship, play, and making decisions about their own time were highlighted as important incentives. The benefits from AST are many for children, as well as for society. The result has informed policy recommendations for AST, and the children’s input will be used to communicate the recommendations. Listening to the voices of children could be a steppingstone toward forming future healthy mobility initiatives. In that process, it is key to include children’s perspectives when formulating the AST policy for successful adoption and implementation.

Ageing in place is an imminent concern for both older couples and communities. Identifying ways to support ageing in place is required to meet the needs and challenges of older couples and social services systems. Through focus groups with a total of 46 participants and a constant comparative methodology, this study aimed to explore and describe the experiences and reasoning of spousal carers, healthcare professionals, and stakeholders regarding possibilities for older couples to age in place. The findings consisted of one main category, ‘Facilitating ageing in place is a win-win situation with challenges’ and four interrelated categories, ‘Focus on older couples – building relationships and providing adequate services’, ‘Engaged civil society as a source of care and social inclusion,’ ‘Motivated professionals with competence and time,’ and ‘Services working together for a sustainable society,’ that present possibilities and challenges for ageing in place. This study suggests that facilitating ageing in place is possible but involves a complex series of challenges that can be linked to different contexts ranging from individuals and couples to civil society, services provided, organisational systems, and existing resources. All these aspects need to be considered and balanced to achieve a situation that contributes to older couples' possibilities to age in place as well as to a sustainable society.

Background

The absence of appropriate Swedish-language instrumentation to assess active commuting to school has largely hampered the study of the individual factors of the children, such as autonomy, competence, and relatedness to active commuting to school.

Purpose

Building upon self-determination theory, the objective of this research was to gather evidence of the validity and reliability of the Swedish version of the Basic Psychological Need Satisfaction in Active Commuting to and from School (BPNS-ACS) tool.

Methods

The cross-sectional and purposive sample included 273 children (51.28% girls) from urban areas.

Results

Confirmatory factor analysis underpinned the three-factor correlated model, which was invariant across gender. Evidence in support of discriminant and convergent validity and reliability was gathered. Criterion validity evidence was met by positive and significant predictions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness satisfaction on active commuting to and from school.

Conclusions

The Swedish version of the BPNS-ACS is a psychometrically robust measure of children’s perceptions of autonomy, competence, and relatedness satisfaction in active commuting to school and could be used to assess the effects of school-based interventions on need satisfaction for active commuting to school.

Insufficient physical activity among children is a critical issue and health promoting initiatives are required to reverse this trend. In response to the current situation, a school-based intervention aiming to increase physical activity with the aid of active school transportation (AST) was implemented in one municipality in northern Sweden. By adopting the framework of the Theory of Planned Behavior, we aimed to analyse beliefs among parents whose children were or were not involved in the AST intervention. All municipality schools were included. There were 1024 responses from parents, comprising 610 who responded either 'yes' or 'no' to participating in the intervention. An adjusted linear regression analysis showed that children's intervention participation was significantly associated with more positive beliefs towards AST among parents. These results indicates that it is possible to influence beliefs that are important in the parental decision-making process by the use of an AST intervention. Therefore, to make children´s active transport to school the more favorable choice for parents, it seems to be worthwhile to not only give children the opportunity to participate but also to involve parents and address their beliefs when designing interventions.Not enough physical activity among children is an important issue and health promoting initiatives are needed to reverse this trend. In response to the current situation, a school-based intervention aiming to increase physical activity using active school transportation (AST) was implemented in one municipality in northern Sweden. Using the Theory of Planned Behaviour framework, we aimed to analyse beliefs among parents whose children were or were not involved in the AST intervention. Children’s participation in the intervention was significantly associated with more positive beliefs towards AST among parents. These results indicate that it is possible to influence beliefs that are important in the parental decision-making process by the use of an AST intervention. Therefore, to make children’s active transport to school the more favourable choice for parents, it seems to be worthwhile to not only give children the opportunity to participate but also to involve parents and address their beliefs when designing interventions.

Våra barn blir alltmer stillasittande, vilket får livslånga konsekvenser. En av de enklaste lösningarna står föräldrar i vägen för – på grund av rädsla. Föräldrarnas välvilja är i själva verket ett tydligt hot mot barnens hälsa, både i trafiken och genom livet. Sverige behöver en ny nationell rekommendation för aktiva skolresor, skriver åtta forskare och organisationer.