Road safety, health equity, and the built environment: perspectives of transport and injury prevention professionals in five Canadian municipalities

Background Concerns regarding health equity (HE) and the built environment (BE) are well established in the Canadian urban context. Transport and injury prevention professionals across sectors, such as transportation and public health, are involved in designing and implementing BE interventions that enhance the safety of vulnerable road users (VRUs). Results from a larger study examining barriers and facilitators to BE change are used to illustrate how transport and injury prevention professionals perceive HE concerns in their work in five Canadian municipalities. Broadening our understanding of how HE influences the professional BE change context is crucial when advocating for modifications that enhance the safety of equity-deserving VRUs and groups who experience marginalization. Methods Interview and focus group data were gathered from transport and injury prevention professionals working in policy/decision-making, transport, police services, public health, non-profit organizations, schools/school boards, community associations, and private sectors across five Canadian urban municipalities: Vancouver, Calgary, Peel Region, Toronto, and Montréal. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis (TA) to illustrate how equity considerations were perceived and applied in participants’ BE change work. Results The results of this study illustrate transport and injury prevention professionals’ awareness of the varying needs of VRUs, as well as the inadequacies of current BEs in the Canadian urban context and consultation processes utilized to guide change. Participants emphasized the importance of equitable community consultation strategies, as well as specific BE changes that would support the health and safety of VRUs. Overall, the results highlight how HE concerns inform transport and injury prevention professionals’ BE change work in the Canadian urban context. Conclusion For professionals working in urban Canadian transport and injury prevention sectors HE concerns influenced their perspectives of the BE and BE change. These results illustrate a growing need for HE to guide BE change work and consultation processes. Further, these results contribute to ongoing efforts in the Canadian urban context to ensure that HE is at the forefront of BE policy change and decision-making, while promoting existing strategies to ensure that the BE, and related decision-making processes, are accessible and informed by a HE lens.