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Promoting stair climbing in public-access settings: an audit of intervention opportunities in England

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journal contribution
posted on 2011-11-04, 10:54 authored by Oliver J. Webb, Lee Smith
Objective: Introducing message prompts at the ‘point-of-choice’ (POC) between stairs and escalators increases stair choice in ‘public-access’ settings (e.g. malls). For nationwide campaigns, plentiful POCs appear needed. We audited the availability of POCs in public-access settings across England. Methods: Boundaries for 25 urban areas (population=6,829,874) were verified using Ordinance Survey maps, which showed all airports and train/tram stations. Malls and bus stations were identified from commercial listings and local authority web-pages. From September 2010-March 2011 two investigators visually inspected all venues (N=410), counting ‘true’ POCs and ‘quasi’ POCs (i.e. instances where stairs were visible from, but not adjacent to, escalators). Results: 5% of venues had ≥1 true POC (quasi POC=3%). Aggregating across areas, there was a true and quasi POC for every 243,924 and 379,437 people, respectively. There were regional variations; one area had 10 true/quasi POCs, whilst 10/24 remaining areas had none. POCs were more common in airports (4/6 venues) than malls (11/85) and train stations (4/215). Conclusion: Although public-access POCs reach sizeable audiences, their availability in England is sporadic, precluding nationwide campaigns. Interventions should be considered locally, based on available POCs. Work/community venues (e.g. offices, hospitals), where pedestrians choose between stairs and elevators, may provide greater intervention opportunities.

History

School

  • Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences

Citation

WEBB, O. and SMITH, L., 2011. Promoting stair climbing in public-access settings: an audit of intervention opportunities in England. Preventive Medicine, 54 (4-5), pp. 321-324.

Publisher

© Elsevier Inc.

Version

  • AM (Accepted Manuscript)

Publication date

2011

Notes

This article was published in the journal, Preventive Medicine [© Elsevier Inc.] and the definitive version is available at: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2011.08.024

Language

  • en

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