Background: Active commuting to school provides regular exercise, which can improve asthma symptoms. Little is known about how children with asthma travel to school.
Objective: To identify travel patterns and parental perceptions surrounding mode of travel to school among children with asthma.
Methods: Cross-sectional study of 176 children with asthma aged 5 to 15 years. Parents completed questionnaires assessing mode of travel to school, physical activity, asthma control, physician counseling, and factors influencing parental decisions. Data analysis included descriptive and bivariate statistics.
Results: Few (16%) children with asthma actively commute to school. Active travelers lived closer to school, and "distance" was the most frequently reported factor influencing a parent's decision regarding travel mode to school. Parents reported few concerns about pollution and little physician counseling on active travel.
Conclusion: Few children with asthma actively travel to school. Asthma-specific concerns do not appear to guide parental decisions on travel mode to school.