Abstract
As part of the undergraduate curriculum, the Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) requires all students to take an undergraduate course in physical activity, health and wellness in their third year of study. This capstone course allows students to integrate concepts from their program regarding physical activity, fitness, and wellness. While students have anecdotally indicated that this course has improved their knowledge of health and wellness, this data had not been quantitatively assessed previously. The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of the course on students’ views of the impact of physical activity on disease and overall health and wellness. A survey was administered to the students enrolled in the course at the beginning and again at the end of the semester. The survey requested data in four categories; 1) the demographics of the student, 2) students’ knowledge of health agencies and guidelines, 3) students’ physical activity, health and wellness awareness and 4) students’ self-assessment of their knowledge of physical activity and chronic disease. The data showed that, at the end of the course, students felt that they improved in three areas; 1) their knowledge of health agencies and guidelines, 2) their awareness of physical activity and its impact on health and wellness and 3) their knowledge of physical activity and chronic disease. The results of this work provided information on the impact of a required health and wellness course on students’ knowledge of health and suggested that the material in the course helped their overall understanding of health.
Highlights
The Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) requires that all students enrolled in the bachelor’s of science degree complete a required course in health and wellness in their third year. The focus of this course is on the impact of physical activity on health and wellness and, in particular, the complications that can arise due to chronic disease
Students showed significant improvement in ratings in their self-assessment of knowledge of physical activity and chronic disease suggesting a positive change in their perceptions and attitudes towards healthy behaviours
They found that the lifetime health and physical education course did have a positive effect on selected health knowledge; attitudes and behaviors compared to those were not exposed
Summary
The Faculty of Kinesiology at the University of New Brunswick (UNB) requires that all students enrolled in the bachelor’s of science degree complete a required course in health and wellness in their third year. The focus of this course is on the impact of physical activity on health and wellness and, in particular, the complications that can arise due to chronic disease. Pearman et al (1997) reported four major influences on health status: environment, the healthcare system, human biology, and lifestyle They continued that one aspect of promoting a healthy lifestyle has been the presence of required lifetime health and physical education classes at colleges and universities
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