Toowoomba Healthy Towns: A Citizen Science Initiative on Active Transport in Regional South East Queensland, Australia

Engaging in active transport will enable individuals across the life course to increase their habitual levels of physical activity. The aim of this study was to engage citizen scientists (CS) to identify factors that influence active transport in their community. The Our Voice citizen science method...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of physical activity & health p. 1
Main Authors Kolbe-Alexander, Tracy, Gardiner, Paul A, Banchoff, Ann, Schmidt, Adam, Covey-Hansen, Melinda, King, Abby C
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States 01.11.2024
Subjects
Online AccessGet more information

Cover

Loading…
Abstract Engaging in active transport will enable individuals across the life course to increase their habitual levels of physical activity. The aim of this study was to engage citizen scientists (CS) to identify factors that influence active transport in their community. The Our Voice citizen science methodology developed at Stanford University was employed. CS completed a "discovery walk," taking photos of things that help or hinder active transport. Three groups were recruited: children aged 10-12 years (n = 11), adults (n = 12), and older adults >65 years (n = 10). CS rated each photo and provided a narrative explaining their reason for taking the photo. Once all CS in a specific age group had completed the walk, they met for a group discussion. The CS worked together to analyze the data, arranging them into themes and identifying priority actions. Two CS representatives from each age group presented their findings to the local council decision makers. Children highlighted the need for safer crossings, especially from their school to the local park, and suggested zebra crossings as a solution. The adults highlighted that road signs prioritized vehicles, not pedestrians, and requested that this be reversed. Older adults noted that the poor condition of the pavements made it harder for people in wheelchairs to navigate. The CS recommendations have informed the council's walking and cycling network program. Engaging with citizen science provided the community with an opportunity to advocate for meaningful yet realistic improvements in the built environment that could promote neighborhood active transport and physical activity across the lifespan.
AbstractList Engaging in active transport will enable individuals across the life course to increase their habitual levels of physical activity. The aim of this study was to engage citizen scientists (CS) to identify factors that influence active transport in their community. The Our Voice citizen science methodology developed at Stanford University was employed. CS completed a "discovery walk," taking photos of things that help or hinder active transport. Three groups were recruited: children aged 10-12 years (n = 11), adults (n = 12), and older adults >65 years (n = 10). CS rated each photo and provided a narrative explaining their reason for taking the photo. Once all CS in a specific age group had completed the walk, they met for a group discussion. The CS worked together to analyze the data, arranging them into themes and identifying priority actions. Two CS representatives from each age group presented their findings to the local council decision makers. Children highlighted the need for safer crossings, especially from their school to the local park, and suggested zebra crossings as a solution. The adults highlighted that road signs prioritized vehicles, not pedestrians, and requested that this be reversed. Older adults noted that the poor condition of the pavements made it harder for people in wheelchairs to navigate. The CS recommendations have informed the council's walking and cycling network program. Engaging with citizen science provided the community with an opportunity to advocate for meaningful yet realistic improvements in the built environment that could promote neighborhood active transport and physical activity across the lifespan.
Author Gardiner, Paul A
Schmidt, Adam
Banchoff, Ann
Kolbe-Alexander, Tracy
Covey-Hansen, Melinda
King, Abby C
Author_xml – sequence: 1
  givenname: Tracy
  orcidid: 0000-0002-5025-3204
  surname: Kolbe-Alexander
  fullname: Kolbe-Alexander, Tracy
  organization: UCT Research Centre for Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport (HPALS), Division of Research Unit for Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa
– sequence: 2
  givenname: Paul A
  orcidid: 0000-0002-8072-2673
  surname: Gardiner
  fullname: Gardiner, Paul A
  organization: School of Public Health, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia
– sequence: 3
  givenname: Ann
  surname: Banchoff
  fullname: Banchoff, Ann
  organization: Department of Epidemiology & Population Health and of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
– sequence: 4
  givenname: Adam
  surname: Schmidt
  fullname: Schmidt, Adam
  organization: School of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich, QLD, Australia
– sequence: 5
  givenname: Melinda
  surname: Covey-Hansen
  fullname: Covey-Hansen, Melinda
  organization: School of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich, QLD, Australia
– sequence: 6
  givenname: Abby C
  orcidid: 0000-0002-7949-8811
  surname: King
  fullname: King, Abby C
  organization: Department of Epidemiology & Population Health and of Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
BackLink https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39304175$$D View this record in MEDLINE/PubMed
BookMark eNo1kMtOwzAUBS0Eog_YskT-AFJ8Hbup2UVVoUiVEDSsK8e5oa5SO4qdVuXrQTxWZzSLWZwROXfeISE3wCYAPL3ftXo74YyLhAGoMzIEKdJEikwMyCiEHWM8U4xdkkGqUiYgk0NyKLw_er8vNV2ibuL2RAt_dOGB5nRuo_1ER9fGojNIn9230NEekHpHc_NDRaddaH0XqXX0DT-sd7qha9_HLV3oEOlrj-hCo111R_M-xE43Vl-Ri1o3Aa__dkzeHxfFfJmsXp6e5_kqMTBjMVEAIgWppiCw5hkaXQpl0opLrIUWlalkWc-EqWtVg0RuslQJKYDjTEwlAh-T299u25d7rDZtZ_e6O23-D-BfkvpedA
ContentType Journal Article
DBID NPM
DOI 10.1123/jpah.2024-0119
DatabaseName PubMed
DatabaseTitle PubMed
DatabaseTitleList PubMed
Database_xml – sequence: 1
  dbid: NPM
  name: PubMed
  url: https://proxy.k.utb.cz/login?url=http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed
  sourceTypes: Index Database
DeliveryMethod no_fulltext_linktorsrc
Discipline Recreation & Sports
EISSN 1543-5474
ExternalDocumentID 39304175
Genre Journal Article
GroupedDBID ---
..I
0R~
36B
53G
5GY
ABDNZ
ABIVO
ACHQT
AEILP
ALMA_UNASSIGNED_HOLDINGS
DXH
EBS
EJD
F5P
HZ~
NPM
O9-
P2P
RHK
UPT
YCJ
ID FETCH-LOGICAL-c180t-91143159614ef27ecab49c3d25ef4a4dcd5bf84cff9f15e2c73945412e8465e12
IngestDate Sat Nov 02 12:30:10 EDT 2024
IsPeerReviewed true
IsScholarly true
Keywords built environment
walking
Our Voice
life course
Language English
LinkModel OpenURL
MergedId FETCHMERGED-LOGICAL-c180t-91143159614ef27ecab49c3d25ef4a4dcd5bf84cff9f15e2c73945412e8465e12
ORCID 0000-0002-5025-3204
0000-0002-7949-8811
0000-0002-8072-2673
PMID 39304175
ParticipantIDs pubmed_primary_39304175
PublicationCentury 2000
PublicationDate 2024-11-01
PublicationDateYYYYMMDD 2024-11-01
PublicationDate_xml – month: 11
  year: 2024
  text: 2024-11-01
  day: 01
PublicationDecade 2020
PublicationPlace United States
PublicationPlace_xml – name: United States
PublicationTitle Journal of physical activity & health
PublicationTitleAlternate J Phys Act Health
PublicationYear 2024
SSID ssj0027900
Score 2.418662
Snippet Engaging in active transport will enable individuals across the life course to increase their habitual levels of physical activity. The aim of this study was...
SourceID pubmed
SourceType Index Database
StartPage 1
Title Toowoomba Healthy Towns: A Citizen Science Initiative on Active Transport in Regional South East Queensland, Australia
URI https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/39304175
hasFullText
inHoldings 1
isFullTextHit
isPrint
link http://utb.summon.serialssolutions.com/2.0.0/link/0/eLvHCXMwnV1ba9VAEF5OK0hfitZbvTEP4ssxmsumOdu3IpUqWFBb6FvJ7s7WI57kYKNif0l_bmcv2cTSivoSQpaEkO_b2dnJfDOMPUtnShS6xiSbpZjQei0ToTKdVCbFXJcVly6g_35_a--QvzsqjyaT81HW0vdOvlRnV-pK_gdVuka4WpXsPyAbH0oX6JzwpSMhTMe_w7htf5LjK3s10a-pCxYHtfm8m5_hMHvf2jQhX-a7tV0i3FmsbW7jHh_xxAcGXV-96W592k0_uI1uTH_sIyPX-LTLHnUrl3BdKSyzvNYymvb2q8QkCmscYb7VasgqtZwNMhybtziOtjZkrEMZySay-pP6vJhrXz5B14txHCPnQdDnlqFge7nN06j4yJ5mV1t5V23iy7K2f5Nym0Xjze4I8uXCYV6IIuWZ783y59FLVbf7oRW2Us1sS5B9GwXqN_IiTUMBUHqVV7-_yBq72d98aaviXJaDW2w94AI7nji32QSbDbYxbBTgObgm96d32I9IJQhUAkelbdiBQCQIRIKBSEDP8ESCSCSYN9ATCRyRwBIJBiK9gEiju-zwze7B670ktORIFE3mzi6N5HGWgpw6NHmFqpZcqELnJRpec610Kc2MK2OEyUrMVVUIXvIsR_JzS8zye2y1aRt8wABTXmAly8LgFkdeS8G1TZlU0iC5Vtkmu-8_3vHS11057j_rw2tHHrG1gVqP2Q1DEx2fkNfYyacOwgtbdm9P
link.rule.ids 780
linkProvider National Library of Medicine
openUrl ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&ctx_enc=info%3Aofi%2Fenc%3AUTF-8&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fsummon.serialssolutions.com&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Toowoomba+Healthy+Towns%3A+A+Citizen+Science+Initiative+on+Active+Transport+in+Regional+South+East+Queensland%2C+Australia&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+physical+activity+%26+health&rft.au=Kolbe-Alexander%2C+Tracy&rft.au=Gardiner%2C+Paul+A&rft.au=Banchoff%2C+Ann&rft.au=Schmidt%2C+Adam&rft.date=2024-11-01&rft.eissn=1543-5474&rft.spage=1&rft_id=info:doi/10.1123%2Fjpah.2024-0119&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F39304175&rft_id=info%3Apmid%2F39304175&rft.externalDocID=39304175