The intervention design to promote active travel mode among children and adolescents: A systematic review

Background: Walking and cycling are examples of active travel modes or nonmotorized modes that rely on human physical power rather than fossil fuel consumption. In the context of short-distance journeys, active travel modes are advocated as feeder modes to reduce energy consumption and CO₂ emissions. However, in Thailand and many other developing countries, these modes of transportation have not been widely adopted or effectively promoted. The absence of comprehensive campaigns and interventions to promote and facilitate the use of active travel modes has become a major barrier to their adoption, particularly among adolescents who will be future global citizens. Therefore, a campaign or intervention targeting adolescents is imperative to introduce and persuade them to adopt active travel modes. This study aims to provide guidelines for developing a robust intervention strategy to promote active travel modes among adolescents.

Methods: This study performed a systematic review to achieve the research goal using a particular search and selection approach. The search strategy has focused on published studies in the English language since 2014 to highlight the most recent trends. The selection process focused on articles relevant to promoting active travel mode among children and adolescents (up to 18 years old) through intervention.

Conclusions: A total of 16 studies were included. The findings reveal that successful interventions to promote active travel modes consist of an educational program and activities incorporating gamification to encourage their use. Furthermore, the intervention should last longer than one month to be effective.