Modelling the association between health indicators and commute mode choice: a cross-sectional study in southern Sweden

Publication date: December 2018Source: Journal of Transport & Health, Volume 11Author(s): Kristoffer Mattisson, Ahmed Osman Idris, Ellen Cromley, Carita Håkansson, Per-Olof Östergren, Kristina JakobssonAbstractThe impact of commuting on health depends, in part, on the mode of travel. A sizeable body of literature addresses associations between mode choice and health status, but little is known about how a person's health affects commuting mode choice. Stress, exhaustion and obesity are threats to public health that increase in modern societies. Understanding how these concerns impact mode choice is important in order to plan effective interventions. Differences in health status among different groups and geographical areas could influence the effectiveness of policy interventions to promote greater use of particular modes, such as public transit and cycling. We investigated associations between health and commuting mode choice using a cross-sectional population-based public health questionnaire data collected from 7574 commuters in southern Sweden in 2012, integrated with register data on residential and location, information on transportation networks, and other spatial data. Discrete Multinomial Logit (MNL) models were used to study the relationships between health indicators (everyday stress, vitality, long term illness, walking difficulties, and body mass index) and commuting mode (active, car and public transportation). Along with the health indicators, the models incl...
Source: Journal of Transport and Health - Category: Occupational Health Source Type: research