ERIC Number: EJ1337886
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 13
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0965-4283
EISSN: N/A
Segmenting Children's Active School Travel Behaviour: Insights on Caregivers' Perceived Risks and Social Norms
Health Education, v122 n4 p456-468 2022
Purpose: Active school travel (AST) programmes aim to change commuting behaviour to improve children's physical and mental health. However, very limited health education programmes for children use segmentation to create tailored solutions that understand the specific characteristics of each group of children and their caregivers in order to yield better results. The aim of this study is to use a statistical segmentation analysis (two-step cluster analysis) to gain insights on the examination of specific groups to design future health education interventions and campaigns that can improve children's health. Design/methodology/approach: Guided by the Ecological and Cognitive Active Commuting (ECAC) framework, a market segmentation analysis was performed. An online survey was designed to collect data from caregivers of children between 5 and 12 years attending school and responsible for taking the child to and/or from school in Victoria and Queensland, Australia. Using 3,082 responses collected from Australian caregivers of primary school children, a two-step cluster analysis was performed. Findings: Analysis revealed the most important variables for group formation were previous child walking behaviour, distance from school and caregiver income. Perceived risk of the physical environment was the most important psychographic segmentation variable for group formation, followed by social norms. Four distinct groups with different characteristics were identified from the analysis. Originality/value: This is the first study that applies the ECAC framework to perform market segmentation in the AST context. Results revealed four market segments that demand different tailored solutions. Findings shed light on how to better design AST interventions and campaigns to promote children's health using segmentation techniques.
Descriptors: Travel, Foreign Countries, Student Transportation, Commuting Students, Health Education, Child Health, Children, Preadolescents, Student Behavior, Proximity, Family Income, Socioeconomic Status, Risk, Environmental Influences, Social Behavior, Physical Activities, Physical Activity Level, Health Behavior, Physical Environment
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A