Physical activity and the environment update. Effectiveness and Cost-Effectiveness. Evidence Review 1: Public Transport

National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (2017)

NICE - N/A

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Evidence Categories

• Care setting: Environmental Setting
• Population group: General Population
• Intervention: Environment / Policy Intervention
• Intervention: Transport / Active Travel
• Outcome: Change in physical activity
• Outcome: Uptake of, or change in active travel

Type of Evidence

NICE Underpinning Review

Overview

"A review of NICE guideline PH8 on physical activity and the environment identified that some sections of the guideline were in need of update as new evidence was available (see review decision). The update also has a particular focus on those who are less able to be physically active (see scope). The update focuses on interventions in the following environments:  “Built environment” including roads, pavements, the external areas of buildings and open 'grey' space, such as urban squares and pedestrianised areas.  “Natural environment”, including 'green' and 'blue' spaces. Green spaces include: urban parks, open green areas, woods and forests, coastland and countryside, and paths and routes connecting them. Blue spaces include: the sea, lakes, rivers and canals. A series of evidence reviews was undertaken to support the guideline development. This evidence review focuses on the effectiveness and cost effectiveness of public transport interventions."

 

Recommendations

"Overall, the quality of the studies was poor. As noted in section 3.3, only 2 of the studies were graded [++] and 5 studies were graded [+]. The remaining 12 studies were graded [-]. No economic evaluations were identified. Consistent themes do emerge across the studies:

 Improvements to public transport may increase opportunities for incidental physical activity, particularly among those who have previously travelled by car or who are less active at the outset.

 Improvements to public transport are more likely to impact on people living close by.

 Practical issues – such as increasing opportunities to access (e.g. ease of ticketing, bus frequency, sufficient bus stops or access points to walkways and cycleways) may be important for the success of interventions. While changes to provision may be welcomed by those not currently using public transport, they may not always be welcomed by existing users."