Melbourne School of Population and Global Health - Research Publications
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ItemThe impact of parents' fear of strangers and perceptions of informal social control on children's independent mobility(ELSEVIER SCI LTD, 2014-03)Declines in children's independent mobility are commonly attributed to parents' fear of strangers, yet few empirical studies have investigated this relationship. We examined: (1) the impact of parents' fear of strangers on children's independent mobility; and (2) whether informal social control (i.e., parents' confidence that other residents would look out for local children) mitigated any association. Gender stratified logistic regression models tested these associations for 10-12 year-olds and their parents (n=1231) in Perth, Australia. For girls, parental fear of strangers was associated with lower odds of independent mobility (OR=0.71, p=0.002), and informal social control and other social and built environment variables had little attenuating influence. This pattern was consistent for boys; however odds ratios were lower and statistical significance weaker. Initiatives that target parental fears combined with interventions that normalise children's walking may help increase independent mobility.
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ItemInitiating and maintaining recreational walking: A longitudinal study on the influence of neighborhood green space(ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE, 2013-09)OBJECTIVE: This study examined prospective relationships of green space attributes with adults initiating or maintaining recreational walking. METHODS: Postal surveys were completed by 1036 adults living in Adelaide, Australia, at baseline (two time points in 2003-04) and follow-up (2007-08). Initiating or maintaining recreational walking was determined using self-reported walking frequency. Green space attributes examined were perceived presence, quality, proximity, and the objectively measured area (total and largest) and number of green spaces within a 1.6 km buffer drawn from the center of each study neighborhood. Multilevel regression analyses examined the odds of initiating or maintaining walking separately for each green space attribute. RESULTS: At baseline, participants were categorized into non-regular (n = 395), regular (n = 286), and irregular walkers (n = 313). Among non-regular walkers, 30% had initiated walking, while 70% of regular walkers had maintained walking at follow-up. No green space attributes were associated with initiating walking. However, positive perceptions of the presence of and proximity to green spaces and the total and largest areas of green space were significantly associated with a higher likelihood of walking maintenance over four years. CONCLUSION: Neighborhood green spaces may not assist adults to initiate walking, but their presence and proximity may facilitate them to maintain recreational walking over time.
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ItemAccess to commercial destinations within the neighbourhood and walking among Australian older adults(BMC, 2012-11-20)BACKGROUND: Physical activity, particularly walking, is greatly beneficial to health; yet a sizeable proportion of older adults are insufficiently active. The importance of built environment attributes for walking is known, but few studies of older adults have examined neighbourhood destinations and none have investigated access to specific, objectively-measured commercial destinations and walking. METHODS: We undertook a secondary analysis of data from the Western Australian state government's health surveillance survey for those aged 65-84 years and living in the Perth metropolitan region from 2003-2009 (n = 2,918). Individual-level road network service areas were generated at 400 m and 800 m distances, and the presence or absence of six commercial destination types within the neighbourhood service areas identified (food retail, general retail, medical care services, financial services, general services, and social infrastructure). Adjusted logistic regression models examined access to and mix of commercial destination types within neighbourhoods for associations with self-reported walking behaviour. RESULTS: On average, the sample was aged 72.9 years (SD = 5.4), and was predominantly female (55.9%) and married (62.0%). Overall, 66.2% reported some weekly walking and 30.8% reported sufficient walking (≥150 min/week). Older adults with access to general services within 400 m (OR = 1.33, 95% CI = 1.07-1.66) and 800 m (OR = 1.20, 95% CI = 1.02-1.42), and social infrastructure within 800 m (OR = 1.19, 95% CI = 1.01-1.40) were more likely to engage in some weekly walking. Access to medical care services within 400 m (OR = 0.77, 95% CI = 0.63-0.93) and 800 m (OR = 0.83, 95% CI = 0.70-0.99) reduced the odds of sufficient walking. Access to food retail, general retail, financial services, and the mix of commercial destination types within the neighbourhood were all unrelated to walking. CONCLUSIONS: The types of neighbourhood commercial destinations that encourage older adults to walk appear to differ slightly from those reported for adult samples. Destinations that facilitate more social interaction, for example eating at a restaurant or church involvement, or provide opportunities for some incidental social contact, for example visiting the pharmacy or hairdresser, were the strongest predictors for walking among seniors in this study. This underscores the importance of planning neighbourhoods with proximate access to social infrastructure, and highlights the need to create residential environments that support activity across the life course.