The final report of the Commuting and Health in Cambridge study has now been published.
The report, Health impacts of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway: a natural experimental study, represents the culmination of several years of research that has generated important new findings about how our towns and cities can shape behaviour and health.
The study has generated 30 academic papers (and counting). As well as findings specific to the use and impact of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway, the study has revealed more about:
- the measurement and patterns of active commuting
- relationships between active commuting, physical activity, health and wellbeing
- the role of social and environmental factors in influencing commuting behaviours
- how commuting can be an important target for public health intervention.
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It has also allowed us to develop and refine our scientific methods for evaluating the impact of new transport infrastructure in particular, and complex public health interventions in general.
A summary of the main findings can be found at www.cedar.iph.cam.ac.uk/research/directory/cahic/, or you can download a pdf here.
Jenna Panter, lead researcher on the study, has also blogged about the research at www.nihr.ac.uk/newsroom/blog/buses-bicycles-and-building-for-health.htm.
The full report Health impacts of the Cambridgeshire Guided Busway: a natural experimental study can be read at www.journalslibrary.nihr.ac.uk/phr/volume-4/issue-1.
Funding for this study was provided by CEDAR and the Public Health Research programme of the National Institute for Health Research.