Feasibility of a school-based intervention to promote active school transportation – The school personnel's perspective

Background

There is a growing need to invest in interventions that promote physical activity, such as active school transportation. Ideally, these interventions should be school-based to reach as many children as possible. However, school personnel have a heavy workload, and interventions must be feasible and sustainable. This study aims to explore the feasibility of a school-based intervention from the school personnel's perspective and increase knowledge about what makes an intervention in a school context feasible.

Methods

A qualitative design was applied with individual interviews with 19 participants, including principals, teachers, project coordinators, one school nurse, and one operation manager. The data were analyzed with qualitative content analysis.

Results

The result were formulated into one main theme “Crossing the threshold – enter and you might feel at home” and three subthemes “Flexibility for integration in the school context”, “Sensing meaningfulness is essential for being worth the effort” and “A supportive design to enhance enthusiasm”. These themes indicate that schools have a heavy workload and that there is a threshold for schools to invest time and effort into health promoting intervention. Flexibility, meaningfulness, and support were thus crucial elements for making an intervention in the school context feasible.

Conclusion

The results of this study outline a promising strategy to meet the needs of school personnel and can serve as a valuable guide for further research concerning school-based interventions aiming to promote health.