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We examined whether multiple domains of baseline cognitive performance were associated with prospective physical activity (PA) adherence in the Lifestyle Interventions and Independence for Elders Pilot study (LIFE-P). The LIFE-P study was a ...

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 ensured millions of American students had a legal right to free and appropriate physical education. Yet, there is confusion about who delivers appropriate adapted physical education (APE). This article reflects on the half century of legally defined APE and a country’s response to preparing teachers for the disability-related demands of the job. A critical perspective is offered with the hope of improving physical educational outcomes for students with disabilities.

Purpose: To explore the relationships between weight status, weight perceptions, and perceptions of the body positivity movement on social media. Design: Cross-sectional. Setting: Online through the Qualtrics platform. Subjects: Participants (N = 521; mean 26.6 ± 5.1 years) were recruited using Qualtrics online panels. Measures: The study survey included questions about participant demographics, weight status, and weight perception. Subjects rated 6 study-specific viewpoint questions about the body positivity movement on a 5pt Likert scale. Analysis: Multinomial logistic regression models adjusted for relevant confounders assessed the associations between objective weight status, perceived weight status, and perceptions of the body positivity movement. Results: Objective weight status was not associated with perceptions of the body positivity movement. Perceptions of weight status were associated with perceptions of the body positivity movement in young women, with those that perceived themselves as overweight more likely (OR = 1.67, P < 0.05) to disagree with the statement that “the body positivity makes people less likely to lose weight.”. However, young women that perceived themselves as having a lower weight status were less likely (OR = 0.54, P < 0.05) to agree with the statement that “the body positivity movement empowered women” as well as “being inclusive of people of all sizes” (OR = 0.56, P < 0.05). Conclusion: Weight perception, rather than objective weight status, may be a stronger predictor of weight bias and views of the body positivity movement. © The Author(s) 2024.

Introduction: Government and insurance sponsored exercise programs have demonstrated decreased hospitalizations, but it is unclear if this is the case for self-referred programs. Methods: In this retrospective cohort study from 2013 to 2020, older adults who participated for at least three months at a community-based exercise center (participants) were compared with those who did not (nonparticipants). Each completed a baseline physical assessment and periodic reassessments thereafter. These data were paired with regional hospital data and a national mortality database. Statistical analysis and modeling were performed from 2020 to 2023. Survival to all-cause hospitalization was assessed with a priori subgroup comparison by gender and cox proportional hazard modeling by age, gender, and comorbidities. Results: The cohort included 718 adults, mean age 69.5 years (SD 8.4), with 411 (57.2%) participants and 307 nonparticipants. Mean follow-up was 26.7 months. Participants had similar baseline measures of fitness (p>0.05) but were more likely to be retired and less likely to have diabetes or prior stroke than nonparticipants. Sustained participation was associated with a reduced rate of all-cause hospitalization (9.0% vs. 12.7%, p=0.02), even when adjusted (HR 0.54; 95% CI 0.34, 0.87, p=0.01). This decrease was noted only in women (p=0.03) but not in men (p=0.49), gender was nonsignificant after adjustment for comorbidities (p=0.15). Conclusions: Exercise program participation was independently associated with decreased risk of all-cause hospitalization, with possible differential effects by gender. Further randomized trials of the benefits of personalized exercise programs are warranted to assess sex- and gender-specific effects. © 2024 Elsevier Inc.

Background: The relationship between physical activity (PA) and bullying behaviors is unclear among adolescents with overweight/obesity (OW/OB). The current study examined the likelihood of engaging in bullying behaviors by differing physical activity behaviors in adolescents with OW/OB. Method: Analyses included 9114 adolescents with OW/OB, ages 10–17 years, from the combined 2018–2019 National Survey of Children’s Health. Adolescents were grouped by PA level (0 days, 1–3 days, 4–6 days, every day); outcome variables included bullying behaviors (perpetrator, victim, both, or neither), sport participation, behavioral conduct problems, depression, difficulty making new friends, and excessive arguing. Separate adjusted logistic regression models assessed the odds of each outcome comparing differing PA levels. Results: Compared to their inactive peers, adolescents with OW/OB that engaged in at least 1 day of PA were significantly less likely to be victims of bullying (OR = 0.80; 95% CI (0.68, 0.93)) and to be both a bully perpetrator and victim (OR = 0.77; 95% CI (0.64, 0.94)). Participation in sports significantly increased the likelihood of being a bully perpetrator (OR = 1.50; 95% CI (1.06, 2.11)) and decreased the likelihood of being a bully victim (OR = 0.83; 95% CI (0.75, 0.92)) in adolescents with OW/OB. Additionally, adolescents with OW/OB that participated in PA were less likely to experience adverse psychosocial outcomes. Conclusions: Findings suggest PA participation (≥ 1 day/week) may reduce the likelihood of bully victimization and both (perpetration and victimization) and attenuate adverse psychosocial outcomes in adolescents with OW/OB. However, sport participation may increase bully perpetration while decreasing bully victimization in adolescents with overweight/obesity. © The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2024.

How physical education teachers approach standards-based assessment of the new National Physical Education Standards is yet to be determined. But the use of technology for assessments may be one way to support and empower students in the education process toward physical literacy. This article focuses on the ways in which educators have adopted a particular technology, called Plickers, and how its use as an assessment tool can move physical education teachers’ practice forward. © 2024 SHAPE America.

This study assesses the acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and efficacy of a novel asynchronous video-based intervention for teaching respiratory physiology and anatomy to medical students in resource-limited settings. A series of short video lectures on pleural anatomy, pulmonary physiology, and pathophysiology was created using Lightboard and screen capture technology. These were uploaded to YouTube and Google Drive and made available to 1st-3rd year medical students at two Latin American universities for 1 week. Employing a parallel-convergent mixed methods design, we conducted surveys, focus groups, interviews, and pre/post testing for qualitative and quantitative data. Thematic Analysis was used to analyze qualitative data and McNemar's test for quantitative analysis. Seventy-six students participated. The videos' short format, interactivity, and Lightboard style were highly valued for their flexibility, time efficiency, and educational impact. Students recognized their clinical relevance and trusted their content, suggesting potential applicability in similar settings. Despite infrastructure and connectivity challenges, the use of flexible streaming and downloadable options facilitated learning. Survey results indicated high levels of feasibility (99%), appropriateness (95%), and acceptability (95%), with significant knowledge gains observed (37% correct pre-test answers vs. 56% post-test, p < 0.0001). Our findings demonstrate high acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility, and efficacy of a targeted asynchronous education centered on short-format videos in resource-limited settings, enabling robust learning despite local barriers. Flexible access is key for overcoming localized barriers. Taking an adaptive, learner-centered approach to content creation and delivery to address constraints was pivotal to success. Our modular videos could serve as versatile models for flexible education in resource-constrained settings. © 2024 American Association for Anatomy.

Health coaching could be an innovative approach to develop student coaches' cultural competence (CC) among future health professionals. The current mix-method study design explored the impact of an 8-week peer health coaching intervention among college students on CC, from both student health coaches (i.e., students majored in health sciences who completed health coaching training and acted as health coach) and student clients' perspective. Nine student coaches and 24 student clients participated in the study. The quantitative analysis showed an increase in the clients' perceived level of coaches' CC between the pre- and posttest. The qualitative analysis revealed three themes, including varying levels of awareness, respectful and culturally responsive coaching, and cultural connection. Implications and recommendations for educators and researchers are discussed.

Person-centered care (PCC) is a term used to describe an individualized approach to patient care that engages patients and families as partners in meaningful ways to create a comprehensive, collaborative, and customized plan and experience of care. Although some healthcare fields of study, such as the Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) model, have adopted and integrated person-centered care concepts and competencies into their curricula, there remains a critical gap in higher education to systematically integrate person-centered care into the curricula and assessment of interprofessional healthcare fields of study. While the delivery of person-centered care by healthcare professionals requires education and training in PCC concepts, this training has primarily occurred on the job, without a standardized and comprehensive curriculum to systematically teach and assess PCC competencies to students in interprofessional healthcare and medical degree programs. Until recently, the educational foundations for healthcare disciplines were drawn primarily from biomedical, business, and nursing models, not from patients' points of view. In this article, we consider why teaching and evaluating PCC concepts should be the foundation of all interprofessional health education. We first review the perspectives of relevance to our argument and then advocate for a person-centered paradigm shift for interprofessional healthcare and medical education and training. Next, we argue that integrating and evaluating students' understanding and application of PCC concepts in all healthcarerelated disciplines will ensure that graduates receive the most current and relevant preparation for careers in healthcare and that this aligns with the expectations of patients as consumers.

ABSTRACT BACKGROUND State policies influence the quantity and quality of educational programs delivered in schools. This study examined state physical education policy changes from 2001 to 2016 by analyzing data reported in The Shape of the Nation Report . METHODS Policies related to state mandates for physical education, time/credit requirements, assessment and fitness testing requirements, adoption of state standards, and allowance of substitutions were analyzed over 5 editions of the report using repeated measures statistics. RESULTS A majority of state physical education‐related policies have not changed over the past 15 years despite calls by numerous public health agencies for enhanced physical education in schools. There was, however, a significant increase in the number of states adopting teaching standards and requiring assessment and fitness testing in physical education, mirroring a broader shift in education toward standards, assessment, and accountability. CONCLUSIONS Despite improved rigor in physical education through the adoption of standards and assessment practices, physical education continues to be marginalized in schools by a lack of curricular time and inappropriate substitution policies. Stronger policies are needed for physical education to have a substantial impact on school health.

As novel approaches to post-graduate education emerge and professional learning concepts evolve, there is a need for additional research investigating the processes by which physical education teacher education (PETE) faculty and administrators conceptualise and launch non-traditional graduate programming. The purpose of this study was to investigate stakeholders’ perceptions of the factors influencing the diffusion of a one-year, contextually based, full-immersion master’s degree in PE. Six stakeholders, including individuals from a mid-sized university, a global fitness corporation, and a rural K-12 school district all located within the United States, participated in semi-structured interviews. Deductive content analysis methods were used to analyse the data. Utilising Roger’s Attributes of Innovation, eleven sub-themes emerged. Findings represent stakeholders’ perceptions of facilitators and barriers to the implementation and diffusion of an innovative effort to deliver graduate education. Challenges and lessons learned provide insight for PETE faculty and administrators seeking to expand graduate education beyond bricks and mortar.

This article expands previous recommendation to “be proactive” by providing practical examples that have the potential to encourage stakeholders to value HPE programs before these programs are threatened with reduction or elimination. The aim is to capitalize on positive aspects of programs that are already in place to maximize publicity within communities.

Educational technologies have been known to positively impact teaching and learning in physical education. This rapid development of new technologies has encouraged physical education teacher education (PETE) programs to prepare preservice physical education teachers (PPETs) with experiences rooted in technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK). This study aimed to understand current PPET experiences with technology in a secondary methods course. A total of 14 participants from two PETE programs participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted and later analyzed using a grounded theory methodology. Two themes were discovered: (a) PPETs used technology to plan, instruct, and/or assess their secondary physical education classes, and (b) PPETs encountered barriers when using technology. Future research should examine the levels of technology understanding among PPETs.

Public school secondary physical education needs support. One approach in assisting is to improve the next generation of preservice physical education teachers (PPETs). The purpose of the study was to explore PPET secondary physical education training through the secondary teaching methods course offered in two universities in the US. A total of 14 PPETs participated in the study. Qualitative methods were employed through a phenomenological framework. Semi-structured interviews were analyzed using constant comparative methods [Kolb (2012). Grounded theory and the constant comparative method: Valid research strategies for educators. Journal of Emerging Trends in Educational Research and Policy Studies, 3(1), 83–86]. Two themes emerged: (a) PPETs have a stronghold on management, as they displayed feelings of high importance towards this topic, and (b) preparing for quality instruction when cooperating teachers are not, resulting in PPETs’ questioning the importance of lesson planning. PPETs views on the misalignment of university and district practices are troubling and suggest university and K-12 partnerships to be formed. Future research should examine ways to improve field experiences associated with these courses.

Introduction/Purpose  Athletic administrators (AA) in U.S. high schools are uniquely positioned to provide guidance and endorsement for the prevention and management of common sport-related catastrophic injuries, such as the development of a spinal cord injury management (SCIM) policy. The purpose of this project was to evaluate AA’s knowledge of comprehensive SCIM policies in U.S. high schools. Secondarily, we aimed to investigate the factors, facilitators, and barriers to the development and adoption of comprehensive policies. Methods  An online questionnaire was distributed to 6423 AA working in U.S.-based high school athletics, with 366 included in the final data analysis. The questionnaire evaluated AA’s knowledge of comprehensive SCIM policies addressing components of adoption, documentation, and communication. The questionnaire was developed based on the 2002 “National Athletic Trainers’ Association Position Statement: Acute Management of the Cervical Spine-Injured Athlete.” The questionnaire also inquired about facilitators and barriers to developing and adopting comprehensive policies. Proportions were calculated for policy adoption, and independent-samples t-tests evaluated the influence of athletic training services on comprehensive SCIM policies. Results  About half of AA (49.2%, n = 180/366) reported having all recommended components of a written SCIM policy. AA who had access to an athletic trainer (yes = 62.9%, no = 18.1%, unknown = 19%) were more likely to have a comprehensive SCIM policy compared with those without access (80.6% vs 19.4%, χ21 = 7.091, P = 0.008, prevalence ratio = 1.24, 95% confidence interval = 1.03–1.50). The most commonly reported facilitator (49.9%) was “having a medical professional at the school,” and the main barrier (30.2%) was “my school would need more information, resources, assistance, etc.” Conclusions  The findings identify areas for improvement in supporting the health and safety of children in high school participating in interscholastic athletics. Future dissemination and implementation research should develop strategies tailored to individual school community and need to improve SCIM policy adoption and implementation.