Education Commons^™

Here For Good: Foundations Of Wellbeing, Darren Morton

Darren Morton

Here For Good is a podcast series from leading researchers at Avondale College of Higher Education. This episode features Senior Lecturer in Health and Exercise Science Dr Darren Morton from the Discipline of Education in conversation with Associate Dean (Research) Dr Carolyn Rickett.

The Influence Of Human Support On The Effectiveness Of A Web And Mobile App-Based Multimodal Lifestyle Intervention Targeting Mental Health: A Randomised Comparative Study, Mel Renfrew, Darren Morton, Jason K. Morton, Jason Hinze, Peter Beamish, Geraldine Przybylko

Darren Morton

Introduction: There is a need for efficacious lifestyle interventions that promote the mental health and emotional wellness of both healthy and clinical cohorts. Evidence regarding the usefulness of adding human support (i.e. guidance) to improve the outcomes of web- and mobile app-based psychological interventions for clinical populations is mixed,^1-3 however little is known about healthy cohorts.

Methods: 458 self-selected participants registered to join a 10-week, web- and mobile app-based, multimodal lifestyle intervention. The participants were randomised into three groups, differentiated by support mode: standard, who received automated emails only (S); standard plus personalised SMS messages (S+pSMS); standard plus online …

Protocol For A Study Investigating The Influence Of Graded Levels Of Human Support On Adherence And Outcomes Of An Online, Multimodal Lifestyle Intervention To Improve Mental Health, Mel Renfrew, Darren Morton, Lillian Kent, Peter Beamish, Jason Hinze, Geraldine Przybylko, Bevan Craig

Darren Morton

Introduction: Mental health is in global jeopardy and devising effective preventative and curative solutions are vital. Lifestyle interventions have been shown to be efficacious for improving mental health; however, in a progressively digital culture, face-to-face (F2F) interventions are being replaced by online and mobile options.¹ While online delivery can overcome ‘hurdles’ of inaccessibility and may also be more ‘scalable’, it poses unique challenges, as decreasing levels of human support can affect adherence to lifestyle interventions and associated outcomes.^2,3,4 Research is needed to better understand the importance of human support in online interventions and the type and dosage of …

Wellbeing Education For Educators, Jason Hinze, Darren Morton

Darren Morton

This study examined the impact of a 10-week multimodal wellbeing intervention (The Lift Project) on pre-service teachers’ personal wellbeing and their perceptions of the value of the intervention when embedded into their course of study. Ninety-two percent of the 103 students (20.1±3.0 yrs, 29 males/74 females) indicated that the intervention positively influenced their wellbeing. Significant improvements were observed in all domains of wellbeing measured, including: perceived physical health (5.1%, p<0.001), physical health behaviours (7.4%, p<0.001), mental health (16.3%, p<0.001), vitality (18.9%, p<0.001), spirituality (4.4%, p<0.01), and life satisfaction (7.1%, p<0.001). Further, significant reductions were recorded in symptoms of depression (-30.6%, p<0.001), anxiety (-34.9%, p<0.001) and stress (-23.3%, p<0.001). The pre-service teachers indicated that the intervention would equip them to support the wellbeing of their future students. The findings of the study suggest that meaningful improvements can be achieved in the wellbeing of pre-service teachers by embedding experiential studies of wellbeing into pre-service teacher education.

Treat The Cause: Evidence-Based Practice, James M. Rippe, Michael Greger, David L. Katz, John H. Kelly, Margaret Moore, Darren Morton

Darren Morton

Darren was invited by the board of the American College of Lifestyle Medicine to represent the Australasian Lifestyle Medicine perspective on the opening panel of the 2014 American College of Lifestyle Medicine conference in San Diego (Nov, 2014). The dialogue, intended for an international audience, was later published as the mentioned journal article.

The Impact Of A Physical Activity Session On Year Two Students' Subsequent Classroom Behaviour, Wendi Herman, Claire Beer, Darren Morton

Darren Morton

The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of a 30-minute physical activity (PA) session on Year Two students’ subsequent classroom behaviour. Forty-eight students from three Year Two classes at a NSW private school participated in the study. The number of disciplinary comments directed by the class teacher to individual students (Individual Disciplinary Corrections, IDC) and the class as a whole (General Disciplinary Corrections, GDC) were recorded during a 30-minute lesson with and without previous PA. Subsequent to PA, there were 40% fewer IDCs (p=0.008) and 59% fewer GDCs (p=0.003), amounting to a 49% overall reduction in disciplinary …

Optimizing The Intensity Of Lifestyle Medicine Interventions: Similar Outcomes For Half The Sessions, Darren Morton, Lillian Kent, Paul Rankin, Brett G. Mitchell, Karina Parker, John Gobble, Hans A. Diehl

Darren Morton

Lifestyle medicine interventions are typically intensive by design. This study explored the optimal “dosage” of a well-known lifestyle medicine intervention—the Complete Health Improvement Program (CHIP). A total of 2383 individuals (mean age = 61.0 ± 9.2 years; 34% males) participated in either an 8-session (N = 448) or 16-session (N = 1935) version of the CHIP intervention conducted over 4 weeks in community settings throughout North America. Both the 8- and 16-session groups experienced significant improvements in all the chronic disease risk factors measured. There was no difference between the changes experienced by the 8- and 16-session groups in lipid …

Acceptability Of A School-Based Incentivised Physical Activity Intervention: The B-Active Program, Wendi Herman, Darren Morton, Ross Grant

Darren Morton

The purpose of this study was to examine the acceptability to students, parents and teachers of a school-based intervention that incentivised students using prizes to be more physically active (the B-Active program). Three hundred and eighty-five children (54% boys, 46% girls) in Years 3 – 6 from five schools participated in the study. Six parents and three teachers were also interviewed about their perception of the B-Active program. Overall, the students enjoyed the B-Active program but the level of acceptability was lower for the parents and teachers. This study indicates that to increase acceptability, parents need to be well informed …

Don’T Stress Me Out! Anxiety, Information Processing And Learning, Klinton Neirinckx, Darren Morton, Wendi Herman, Jason Hinze

Darren Morton

High levels of arousal and anxiety can affect an individual’s ability to process information and learn new skills. The present study used a high platform lunge task to examine the effect of task repetition on state anxiety and how an individual’s ability to process visual and auditory information is affected by arousal level. Twenty-six females (21.8 ± 2.8 yrs) performed six lunges from a six-meter platform to a suspended trapeze. Measures of state anxiety were recorded during the 5-minute rest period between each attempt. During the 10-second countdown to jump, the subjects were exposed to five visual and five auditory …