PRACTICE OF ACTIVE MOBILITY IN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS: AN INTEGRATIVE REVIEW

Abstract

Faced with the social, structural and environmental problems related to people's mobility, there is a need to look for initiatives that reduce inequalities and promote human and planetary health. Active mobility, or non-motorized transport, is a practice that promotes individual, collective and environmental health and is in line with global public health agendas. The article aims to synthesize evidence on the practice of active mobility and its determinants in university students. This is an integrative review carried out using Medline and Lilacs databases, SciELO and Capes electronic journals and the Brazilian Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, using the terms: mobility, commuting, transport (active or sustainable or non-motorized), walking, cycling, bicycle, university, academic. Theses, dissertations and original articles in Portuguese and English, published online, free of charge and in full, between 2008 and 2023 were included. Studies that did not present stratified data for university students or that did not report commuting were excluded. Of the 18 studies analyzed, most were cross-sectional quantitative studies using questionnaires. It can be seen that production on the subject is scarce, but active mobility is frequent in the daily lives of university students from different institutions around the world, and its main determinants are time, distance, climate and infrastructure. Its practice has been linked to physiological, behavioral and social benefits, such as an increase in physical activity, a feeling of safety and a sense of community, as well as a reduction in atmospheric pollution, favoring the promotion of health and healthy environments. Based on the publications analyzed, it can be concluded that the determining factors of active mobility, both barriers and facilitators, are related to political, economic, environmental and cultural aspects. More research is needed on the subject, with a variety of designs, to broaden knowledge about determinants and possibilities for encouraging active mobility.