Feasibility and effectiveness of drop-off spots to promote walking to school

Griet Vanwolleghem, Sara D’Haese, Delfien Van Dyck, Ilse De Bourdeaudhuij, Greet Cardon

BackgroundDrop-off spots are locations in the proximity of primary schools where parents can drop off or pick up their child. From these drop-off spots children can walk to and from school. This pilot study aimed to investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of drop-off spots and to evaluate how drop-off spots are perceived by school principals, teachers and parents of 6-to-12-year old children.MethodsFirst, a feasibility questionnaire was completed (n¿=¿216) to obtain parental opinions towards the implementation of drop-off spots. A drop-off spot was organized (500¿800 m distance from school) in two primary schools. A within-subject design was used to compare children¿s (n¿=¿58) step counts and number of walking trips during usual conditions (baseline) and during implementation of a drop-off spot (intervention). Three-level (class-participant-condition) linear regression models were used to determine intervention effects. After the intervention, 2 school principals, 7 teachers and 44 parents filled out a process evaluation questionnaire.ResultsPrior to the intervention, 96% expressed the need for adult supervision during the route to school. Positive significant intervention effects were found for step counts before/after school hours (+732 step counts/day; X2¿=¿12.2; p¿<¿0.001) and number of walking trips to/from school (+2 trips/week; X2¿=¿52.9; p¿<¿0.001). No intervention effect was found for total step counts/day (X2¿=¿2.0; p¿=¿0.16). The intervention was positively perceived by the school principals and parents, but teachers expressed doubts regarding future implementation.ConclusionThis pilot study showed that implementing drop-off spots might be an effective intervention to promote children¿s walking to school. Implementing drop-off spots does not require major efforts from the schools and schools can choose how and when they organize drop-off spots. However, motivating teachers and involving other volunteers (e.g. parents, grandparents) may be needed. Future studies should investigate the feasibility and effectiveness of drop-off spots in a larger sample of schools.