The paco&paca clm (cycle and walk to school and cycle and walk home in castilla-la mancha) project protocol

The PACOyPACA Project aims to explore the relationships of active commuting to school (ACS) in different settings (urban, semi-urban and rural) with physical environment characteristics, psychosocial factors and lifestyle (sleep patterns, screen time and nutritional aspects) within the adolescent population of Castilla-La Mancha. The PACOyPACA Project is a cross-sectional study with a sample of students in their 3rd year of Compulsory Secondary Education (ESO) (14-15 years old) from the five provinces of Castilla-La Mancha (Toledo, Ciudad Real, Albacete, Cuenca and Guadalajara), and their parents. To guarantee the representativeness of the sample, a stratified sampling was carried out according to the size of the population in the schools' localities, classifying them as urban, semi-urban and rural settings. Questionnaires have been created ad hoc for both adolescents and their parents/ legal guardians to gather information on the physical environment, psychosocial factors and lifestyle based on previously validated surveys. The PACOyPACA Project in Castilla-La Mancha will be useful to raise awareness on the current state of ACS in adolescence and the factors possibly associated with ACS. This knowledge will provide a better understanding of the current situation and will be useful for the design and creation of ACS promotion strategies in different environments of Castilla-La Mancha. Likewise, the evidence collected may justify the implementation of ACS promotion strategies within the Community in urban, semi-urban and rural settings.