On the way to and from school (OWS)

This three-year implementation research project will assess the acceptability and impact of active mobility to and from school interventions (AMTS) for promoting healthy lifestyle practices and mental well-being among secondary-school adolescents aged 11 to 16. The project focuses on healthy lifestyle practices such as walking and cycling regularly to and from school as catalysts for reducing risks of non-communicable diseases (NCD). In doing so, the project will adopt a life course approach to implementation research underpinned by principles of diversity, inclusive stakeholder participation, and health equity. Such an approach will be instrumental in highlighting the health impact of active mobility policies targeting this critical life stage in different urban contexts in low and middle-income countries.

Urban public health measures in response to the pandemic have reconfigured physical and social spaces for adolescents, constraining their movements through lockdowns and social distancing measures. The research seeks to document how adolescents have adapted to such areas and managed such constraints. It will demonstrate how active travel to and from school might impact positively (or negatively) their mental health and self-perceptions of well-being.

Project outline

OWS will explore the links between active mobility, healthy lifestyle practices, and well-being in underserved adolescent communities from transdisciplinary, intersectional, and distributional perspectives emphasising diversity and inclusive stakeholder participation.

 

The project focuses on two (2) contrasting case studies in different global regions (Africa and Latin America) to shed light on the complexities and opportunities of the implementation, adaptation, and scalability of active mobility interventions and the applicability of such interventions in a different social, cultural, economic, and governance context. By comparing these case studies, the research will seek to make inferences on how such differences might be correlated with mental health outcomes and well-being among adolescents in different societies.

 

The project will be divided into four Work Packages that will run throughout the project's duration:

 

Work Package 1: Unpacking existing AMTS interventions; Work Package 2: Assessing health and equity impacts of AMTS interventions; Work Package 3: Piloting AMTS interventions; Work Package 4: Building equitable collaborations.

 

 

They will be developed and implemented throughout the 36 months of the project

For full Work Packages details, please visit: https://www.onthewaytoschoolproject.org/#

Project team

OWS is working with an extended group that can be found worldwide. Our primary investigators are around four countries and ten partners in Colombia, Mozambique, the UK, and the United States. This project would not be possible without GACD and the UK Medical Research Council.

The OWS team is divided into three working groups, all led by Associate Professor Dr Daniel Oviedo Hernandez:

Lead Investigators comprise co-investigators, co-leads, and guides across the four core work packages. Associated Investigators comprise other research team members and will support all four-work package development. 3 dedicated Boards will oversee the project’s progress through three different lenses. These boards will include the participation of diverse international members from academic, non-governmental and public sectors, students and beneficiaries of the programs and a group of experts in Mozambique.

 

For full team and partner details, please visit: https://www.onthewaytoschoolproject.org/#

Additional resources

Website: https://www.onthewaytoschoolproject.org/#

Email: onthewaytoschoolproject@gmail.com

Instagram: @ows_school

Twitter: @ontheway_school

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/user202299288

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