A social-ecological framework to explore factors associated with transportation walking for rural American adults using case of Mississippi

Objective

Transportation walking (TW) offers an opportunity to elevate historically low physical activity levels in Mississippi. This study aims to investigate the TW habits of Mississippians by investigating individual, interpersonal, community, built environment, and policy-related factors, particularly new ones related to culture and rural context.

Methods

Following the social-ecological model, this study employed data from an online cross-sectional survey involving 229 adult Mississippians. Bivariate analysis and a series of logistic regression models were conducted to identify significant factors associated with TW. Additionally, the hierarchical regression technique was used to explore the varying degrees of influence across different levels of factors on TW.

Results

Both bivariate and logistic regression analyses revealed significantly lower odds of TW among individuals perceiving walking as more leisure-oriented than a mode of transportation, those assuming a person who walks needs a ride, and those who like driving. Higher odds of TW are associated with people who reported strong influence from family and friends regarding the choice of walking, who live where many people walk for transportation, and where coffee shops or restaurants are within a 20-min walking distance from home. The hierarchical regression model highlighted that only individual factors like general attitude, positive beliefs, and negative beliefs about TW contributed significantly to the unique variance, rather than external factors related to interpersonal influence, community norms, built environment, and policy.

Conclusions

The study findings suggest potential actions for policymakers in a rural state like Mississippi: 1) emphasizing education on walking as a mode of transportation rather than solely a leisure activity; 2) promoting a positive perception of individuals who walk for transportation purposes; 3) implementing advocacy campaigns or educational initiatives in smaller, close-knit groups like workplaces, churches, or schools; and 4) enhancing walking accessibility to daily destinations through mixed-land use planning or improved transit services.