Investigation of intervention methods based on different leading roles in family regarding child road safety education: An experimental study.

Children are vulnerable to traffic injuries due to their low hazard perception. Previous studies have indicated that both parents and children have potential leading roles in safety education within the family. However, the effects of different leading roles (parents or children) on the hazard perception of children have not yet been revealed, and interactive education with children in the leading roles could also be an important means to enhance children's road safety. To fill this gap, based on constructivism theory and the Feynman learning method, this study proposed two methods of enhancing children's hazard perception based on different leading roles in the family regarding child road safety education and investigated the effectiveness of the above intervention methods. Thirty sets of parents and children participated in this experiment and were divided into three groups. The children received one of three different road safety interventions: a constructivism intervention, a parental guidance intervention or a children's Feynman learning intervention. Compared with the constructivism intervention, the hazard perception of children who received road safety educations within the family were significantly improved; these children were more sensitive to potential traffic hazard factors and presented better visual search patterns. A comparative analysis showed that the two educational interventions based on different leading roles in the family regarding child road safety education were not identical with respect to effectiveness. The children's Feynman learning intervention had a more significant effect than the parental guidance intervention. The findings of this study provide insightful information for safety education researchers, governments, educators and families with children.

Associations between Children's Physical Activity and Neighborhood Environments Using GIS: A Secondary Analysis from a Systematic Scoping Review.

Regular participation in physical activity is essential for children's physical, mental, and cognitive health. Neighborhood environments may be especially important for children who are more likely to spend time in the environment proximal to home. This article provides an update of evidence for associations between children's physical activity behaviors and objectively assessed environmental characteristics derived using geographical information system (GIS)-based approaches. A systematic scoping review yielded 36 relevant articles of varying study quality. Most studies were conducted in the USA. Findings highlight the need for neighborhoods that are well connected, have higher population densities, and have a variety of destinations in the proximal neighborhood to support children's physical activity behaviors. A shorter distance to school and safe traffic environments were significant factors in supporting children's active travel behaviors. Areas for improvement in the field include the consideration of neighborhood self-selection bias, including more diverse population groups, ground-truthing GIS databases, utilising data-driven approaches to derive environmental indices, and improving the temporal alignment of GIS datasets with behavioral outcomes.

Transport and Mobility Needs for an Ageing Society from a Policy Perspective: Review and Implications.

The world population is ageing, and many countries in the world are confronted by significant challenges in adapting their health and social systems to meet the requirements of this demographic change. It is well-accepted that mobility is often closely linked to a person's independence, wellbeing and quality of life. Interest has increased across the world with regard to how the mobility needs of an ageing society can be addressed, since an ageing population is confronting nations across the globe and poses long-term challenges on a nation's many aspects, including transport. Questions of how future policies can better respond to the mobility needs of an ageing population and how these policies can be delivered have emerged as major concerns for transport planners, operators and decision-makers. This review explores the way in which implemented policies have addressed the mobility needs of an ageing society, focusing on the provision of accessible, safe and affordable transport. More specifically, the paper reviews legislative and institutional approaches of addressing the mobility needs of an ageing population. The paper discusses the outcomes of these approaches and the remaining challenges in this policy area that relate to elderly people's mobility and provides future research directions. Based on the discussion, clear conclusions about the effectiveness of particular policies are difficult to make. Alternative approaches (e.g., technological innovations) need to be considered in addressing older people's mobility needs.

Research on intervention methods for children's street-crossing behaviour: Application and expansion of the theory of "behaviour spectrums".

Due to immaturity in their physical and cognitive development, children are particularly vulnerable to road traffic injuries as pedestrians. Child pedestrian injury primarily occurs in urban areas, with a significant share at crosswalks. The aim of this study is to explore whether an intervention programme based on the theory of "behaviour spectrums" can improve the street-crossing skills of primary school children. Children were recruited near a local primary school through invitation letters and were randomly divided into two groups: a control group (n = 10, no intervention) and an experimental group (n = 10, intervention). The children in the experimental group received 30-45 min of training. The child participants were asked to wear an eye tracker and performed a crossing test in a real-world street environment; in this test, they were required to successively pass through an unsignalised intersection, an unsignalised T-intersection and a signalised intersection on a designated test route. A high-definition camera was used to record the children's crossing behaviour, and the Tobii Pro Glasses 2 eye tracker was used to derive indicators of the children's visual behaviour in the areas of interest (AOIs) in the street. The evaluation was conducted on children's crossing behaviour in the control group (which received no intervention) and the experimental group (tested at two time points after the intervention: children tested immediately after the intervention and children retested one month after the intervention). The results showed that compared with the control group, the children in the experimental group no longer focused on the small area around the body (e.g., the zebra crossing area) and the area in front of the eyes (e.g., the sidewalk area), which increased their visual attention to the traffic areas on the left and right sides of the zebra crossing; thus, unsafe crossing behaviour was reduced in the experimental group. Compared with the experimental group immediately after the intervention, the intervention effect on some indicators showed a significant weakening trend in the retest of the experimental group one month later. Overall, the results show that an intervention programme based on the theory of "behaviour spectrums" can improve children's crossing skills. This study provides valuable information for the development and evaluation of intervention programmes to improve children's street-crossing skills.

Objective measurement of children's physical activity geographies: A systematic search and scoping review.

This study aimed to systematically identify, map out, and describe geographical information systems (GIS)-based approaches that have been employed to measure children's neighborhood geographies for physical activity behaviors. Forty studies were included, most were conducted in the USA. Heterogeneity in GIS methods and measures was found. The majority of studies estimated children's environments using Euclidean or network buffers ranging from 100 m to 5 km. No singular approach to measuring children's physical activity geographies was identified as optimal. Geographic diversity in studies as well as increased use of measures of actual neighborhood exposure are needed. Improved consistency and transparency in reporting research methods is urgently required.