Congratulations to HALO Senior Scientist Dr. Mark Tremblay on his contributions to a new paper titled “Parent-perceived changes in active transportation and independent mobility among Canadian children in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic: Results from two national surveys” led by former HALOite Dr. Richard Larouche! The article was just published in Children, Youth and Environments. Citation details and a summary of the paper are below.

Larouche, R., Moore, S.A., Bélanger, M., Brussoni, M., Faulkner, G., Gunnell, K., … Tremblay, M.S. (2022). Parent-Perceived Changes in Active Transportation and Independent Mobility among Canadian Children in Relation to the COVID-19 Pandemic: Results from Two National Surveys. Children, Youth and Environments 32(3), 25-52. doi:10.1353/cye.2022.0029.

ABSTRACT 

Children’s active transportation (AT) and independent mobility (IM) can provide benefits for health and social development. Using data from two national surveys, we assessed parent-perceived changes in AT and IM among 5-to 17-year-oldsin Canada since the outbreak of COVID-19. About half of parents reported no changes, but two to three times more parents reported declines compared to increases in AT and IM. We explored many potential correlates of changes in AT and IM. Changes in IM were the strongest correlate of changes in AT. Strategies to minimize unintended negative impacts on children’s physical activity from policies to prevent infectious disease transmission should be developed.

The full article can be found here.