Quantifying active travel among people with disabilities in the US

Yochai Eisenberg; Amy Hofstra; Erica Twardzik

doi:10.1016/j.dhjo.2024.101615

Quantifying active travel among people with disabilities in the US

Disabil Health J. 2024 Mar 16:101615. doi: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2024.101615. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Yochai Eisenberg¹, Amy Hofstra², Erica Twardzik³

Affiliations

¹ Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois- Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1640 Roosevelt Road, Chicago, 60608, United States. Electronic address: yeisen2@uic.edu.
² Department of Disability and Human Development, University of Illinois- Chicago, Chicago, IL, 1640 Roosevelt Road, Chicago, 60608, United States; College of Urban Planning and Public Affairs, University of Illinois-Chicago, Chicago, IL, 412 S. Peoria St., Chicago, 60607, United States. Electronic address: ahofst3@uic.edu.
³ Department of Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, 21205, United States. Electronic address: etwardz1@jh.edu.

PMID: 38565481
DOI: 10.1016/j.dhjo.2024.101615

Abstract

Background: People with disabilities have higher rates of physical inactivity than people without. Active travel (e.g., walking/wheeling to nearby destinations or transit) is a recommended approach to increasing total physical activity (PA) but limited research has examined active travel among people with disabilities.

Objective: To describe active travel among a nationally representative sample of people with disabilities, analyze variation between sub-groups, and examine factors associated with active travel.

Methods: Using the 2017 National Household Travel Survey, our cross-sectional analysis summarized counts and duration of walking/wheeling trips for people with four different types of disabilities. We examined which factors were associated with doing any active travel and the duration of active travel, using zero inflated negative binomial regression models.

Results: Our analysis identified that 14.55% of people with disabilities took a mean of 2.56 (95%CI = 2.42-2.69) walking/wheeling trips per day. Compared to non-active travelers, a higher proportion of active travelers were low-income, lived alone, had no-vehicle, and were Black or Hispanic. For active travelers, daily walking minutes, on average, were 46.41 (95%CI = 40.25-52.57) among people who used ambulatory devices, 41.55 (95%CI = 24.61-58.49) among people who were blind/low-vision, 39.93 (95%CI = 35.41-44.45) among people who used no device, and 29.58 (95%CI = 23.53-35.64) among people who used chair devices. Our analysis identified individual, household, and community factors associated with the likelihood and duration of walking/wheeling for travel and variation across disability types.

Conclusions: Understanding the multiple identities of active travelers with disabilities can inform walking/wheeling intervention strategies. Infrastructure improvements that support less reliance on automobiles could increase active travel among people with disabilities.

Keywords: Active travel; Assistive device; Disability; Transportation; Walking/wheeling.