Active Commuting among K-12 Educators: A Study Examining Walking and Biking to Work

Background. Walking and biking to work, active commuting (AC) is associated with many health benefits, though rates of AC remain low in the US. K-12 educators represent a significant portion of the workforce, and employee health and associated costs may have significant economic impact. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the current rates of AC and factors associated with AC among K-12 educators. Methods. A volunteer sample of K-12 educators (n = 437) was recruited to participate in an online survey. Participants responded about AC patterns and social ecological influences on AC (individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental factors). t-tests and ANOVAs examined trends in AC, and Pearson correlations examined the relationship between AC and dependent variables. Multiple regression analysis determined the relative influence of individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental levels on AC. Results. Participants actively commuted 0.51 ± 1.93 times/week. There were several individual, interpersonal, institutional, community, and environmental factors significantly related to AC. The full model explained 60.8% of the variance in AC behavior. Conclusions. This study provides insight on the factors that determine K-12 educators mode of commute and provide some insight for employee wellness among this population.