Health and Physical Education Commons^™

An Evaluation Of Aquatic Interventions To Support Increased Physical Fitness Levels For Children With Cerebral Palsy, Grace Kasberger

Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects

This study was designed to determine the most appropriate aquatic interventions to best improve physical fitness levels in children with cerebral palsy (CP). Children with CP often experience reduced aerobic capacity, muscular strength, and functional mobility, which can limit participation in traditional land-based physical activities such as walking and playing. Aquatic environments provide safe and resistance-based environments that can reduce joint loading, spasticity, and provide training. This systematic review examined a variety of different aquatic interventions (e.g. HIIT, aerobic based, strength training, flexibility, and the Halliwick Method) to improve physical fitness in children with CP. Data collection focused on outcomes …

A Chronic Pain Self-Management Quality Improvement Bundle For Veterans, Srijana D. Baniya

Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) Scholarly Projects

Introduction: Veterans often face challenges accessing care services due to limited awareness of available resources for support, Self-care, and mental health (Harding et al., 2019; Patel et al., 2024). Given the high prevalence of Chronic pain and opioid use in this population, Self-management (SM) education and non-pharmacologic interventions are required to address the biological, psychological, and social effects of pain (Bair et al., 2015; Mumba et al., 2024; Nahin, 2017; Higgins et al., 2020). This Quality improvement project aims to determine whether implementing an evidence-based SM bundle for chronic pain improved Pain severity scores and increased understanding of SM strategies. …

Competitive Dance And The Adolescent’S Body: Considering Pedagogical Approaches To Teaching Competitive Dancers, Catri E. G. Barba

Dance (MFA) Theses

Diving into the past and researching for the future, this thesis explores the development and perpetuation of hyper-sexualized adolescent bodies through the competitive dance scene. Drawing on dance theorists, educational theorists, and embodied research (i.e., the author’s body archive), this thesis explores how the competition gaze is performed for and by a capitalist patriarchy. Specifically, this thesis critically reflects on the author’s career as a young competitive dancer in the greater Los Angeles, California, area during the 1990s and 2000s, as well as a competition dance instructor and K-12 educator for two decades, and how those personal experiences have shaped …

Creating An Effective Video Case-Based Teaching Tool To Enhance Undergraduate Clinical Skills, Tyler Kam

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Occupational Therapy Education In Cancer Rehabilitation​, Elizabeth A. Dorn

Entry-Level Occupational Therapy Doctorate - Doctoral Capstone Symposium

This doctoral capstone project aimed to enhance entry-level occupational therapy (OT) education by developing and evaluating evidence-based instructional materials addressing musculoskeletal and oncology rehabilitation within a doctorate curriculum. Designed as an oncology-focused experience, the project involved a two-phase approach: (1) testing educational techniques by implementation and evaluation of an elbow pathology lecture and lab, and (2) development of an asynchronous oncology rehabilitation unit informed by outcomes from the initial phase. The project was guided by the ASSURE instructional design model and emphasized active, visual, and case-based learning strategies to support clinical reasoning.

Student outcomes were assessed using pre- and post-lecture …

Competencies, Knowledge, And Skills Of Effective School Nutrition Program Directors, Kymberle Gordon Phd, Jane Peterson Phd Rdn

Institute of Child Nutrition, Applied Research Division

Abstract
School nutrition program directors play a vital leadership role in ensuring school meal programs operate efficiently, effectively, and in compliance with federal, state, and local requirements. Competencies, knowledge, and skills (CKS) frameworks support these professionals by defining performance expectations, guiding professional development, and strengthening leadership capacity. The most recent CKS resource for school nutrition program directors was published in 2010, and substantial changes in regulatory requirements, operational complexity, workforce conditions, and leadership expectations have created a need for revision.

This study aimed to identify and validate the competencies, knowledge, and skills required for effective school nutrition program directors in …

Examining Any Differences Between Genders’ Activity Levels During Recess, Kara M. Wells

2026 Honors Symposium

Physical activity in children is significant for all aspects of their development, including cognitive, physical, emotional, and social aspects. Recess is important for children to be given a designated time to exercise and get physical activity. For some children, recess is the only time they get to exercise in a day. This study aims to examine differences in activity levels between genders at Leverett Elementary School. It is important to know if there is a disparity between boys and girls at recess, so that educators, parents, and administrators can work to bridge any gaps and ensure that all kids are …

Health Matters: Advancing Pediatric Health Equity Through Accessible And Engaging Health Literacy Activity Books, Lorraine Sheldon

2026

This poster describes the development and implementation of the Health Matters activity book series, a health literacy initiative designed to provide engaging, accessible, and developmentally appropriate health education for pediatric patients and their families. Through multidisciplinary collaboration, audience-centered design, and distribution across more than 30 departments, the project demonstrates how interactive educational materials can advance pediatric health equity, support family engagement, and improve health literacy outcomes.

Visual Aids And Numeracy In Healthcare: Leveraging The Drawing Effect, Zephyr J. Markley

Capstone Showcase

Healthcare decisions often require patients to interpret numerical risk information under stress, yet many struggle with low numeracy, which can distort comprehension and undermine informed consent. Well-designed visual aids can improve diagnostic inference, calibrate confidence, and support better choices, especially for patients with limited numeracy, but their impact depends on whether users can actually interpret the format accurately. Drawing may further enhance these tools by adding a tactile, generative layer that engages visual, semantic, and motoric processing while helping patients organize information into concrete models.

Passive visual aids appear useful but limited because they often position patients as observers rather …

Promoting Postpartum Maternal Self-Efficacy Through Prenatal Pelvic Floor Health And Sensory Modulation Education, Cate Smith

Occupational Therapy | OTD Capstone Projects

Pelvic floor therapy, also called pelvic floor health care, is an emerging field for occupational therapy practitioners. Pelvic floor dysfunction (PFD) is a common health outcome after pregnancy and childbirth. Although most women receive consistent prenatal health care, they do not receive the education they need to manage symptoms of PFD such as incontinence, pain, and sensory dysregulation during the postpartum period. Occupational therapy can play a meaningful role in educating and supporting women during the prenatal period, postpartum healing, and role acquisition. This doctoral capstone project researched educational strategies to improve self-efficacy among perinatal women. Albert Bandura defines self-efficacy …

Exploring Youth Soccer Coach Recruitment Practices, Han-Earl Lim

Graduate Theses, Dissertations, and Problem Reports (ETD)

This qualitative single-case study examined how a private-interest, nonprofit youth soccer club in the Midwestern United States recruits coaches, what coach qualities are prioritized in hiring, and how organizational and sociocultural conditions shape those practices. The study was guided by three research questions focused on (a) recruitment and early support processes, (b) hiring criteria and decision rationales, and (c) the organizational and sociocultural contexts influencing recruitment. Data were generated through five semi-structured interviews with four participants who were involved in recruitment practices (the Executive Director, the Assistant Director, and two full-time head coaches). Additional sources included an organizational mapping survey …

Understanding Motivations And Health Outcomes Of College-Aged Triathletes During Covid-19: A Mixed-Methods Study, Patrick Wilson, Eddie Hill, Justin Haegele, Xihe Zhu

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

A triathlon is a multi-sport event that consists of three simultaneous events: swimming, biking, and running. This sport has experienced significant growth in the past few decades, with colleges and universities now participating. This exploratory mixed-methods study examined the motivations and perceived health benefits of college triathletes during the COVID-19 pandemic, using the Means-Ends of Recreation Scale and the Perceived Health Outcomes of Recreation Scale (N = 29), as well as semi-structured interviews (N = 4). Results indicate no difference in motives or health outcomes between male and female survey respondents. The thematic analysis of open-ended interview questions highlighted lived …

Can We Talk? A Correspondence Study To Examine Responsiveness Of Physical Educators To Requests For A Phone Call From Parents Of Children With Disabilities, Sean Healy, Justin A. Haegele, Steven K. Holland

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (2004) mandates that parental input be considered when making educational decisions for children with disabilities, including in physical education. However, parents of children with disabilities often report suboptimal communication experiences with physical educators. The purpose of the current study was to examine if the initiation of a parent–physical educator relationship is influenced by whether students have a disability or not. An online message correspondence study methodology was used to detect potential disparities in the responsiveness of a sample of 320 physical educators to electronic message requests for a phone call to discuss physical …

Epistemic Injustice In Physical Education And Sport: A Critical Disability Studies Perspective, Janine Coates, Justin A. Haegele, Anthony J. Maher, Maria Luiza Tanure Alves, Martin Giese, Sebastian Ruin, Lesley Sharpe

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

This paper examines epistemic injustice as a valuable epistemological lens for critical disability studies (CDS) researchers examining issues of equity and social justice in physical education (PE) and sport. Drawing on the work of Miranda Fricker, we examine the ways in which knowledge production related to PE and sport for disabled youth may perpetuate injustices through affording excess credibility to those in positions of power who may have no lived, embodied experience of disability. We argue that disabled young people are frequently marginalised in knowledge production about PE and sport, with non-disabled adults often afforded greater epistemic authority. Building on …

Questioning Body-Normativity Dominance In Inclusive Physical Education: A Transgressive Analysis Through Bell Hooks' Perspectives, Maria Luiza Tanure Alves, Justin A. Haegele, Anthony Maher, Sebastian Ruin, Lesley Sharpe, Martina Giese, Janine Coates

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

Grounded in Critical Disability Studies, this study examines how mechanisms of oppression are recurrently legitimized in relation to Disabled students in Physical Education (PE). Drawing on bell hooks’ perspective, this study explores recurring logics of domination, thereby deepening understandings of how oppression is produced and sustained in PE. Using a post-structuralist approach, we conducted qualitative interviews with nine PE teachers to examine the dominant beliefs and pedagogical practices that shape PE in relation to disability. Interview data were analyzed through interpretative discourse analysis, guided by Critical Disability Studies and informed by hooks’ critical insights on oppression. The findings suggest …

From Intention To Enactment: Action Planning And Habit Automaticity Distinguish Successful From Unsuccessful Intenders To Engage In Regular Leisure-Time Moderate-To-Vigorous Physical Activity, Yaogang Han, Yubing Wang, Pan Li, Binn Zhang

Human Movement Studies & Special Education Faculty Publications

University students often intend to exercise regularly but fail to translate intention into action. The present study tested which post-intentional processes distinguish successful from unsuccessful intenders in self-reported regular leisure-time moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) enactment. Chinese undergraduates from 10 universities completed a three-wave survey administered at roughly two-week intervals. Habit automaticity was assessed at Wave 1, intention together with action planning and coping planning at Wave 2, and self-reported regular-exercise status at Wave 3. Because the dependent variable was assessed using a single stage-based self-report item, the findings should be interpreted as explaining self-reported regular-exercise status rather than objectively measured …

Association Of Aerobic Performance With Balance, Anaerobic Power, Agility, And Visual Reaction Time In Fencers, Aysel Gökçe Kurt, Manolya Acar

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background: The study aimed to investigate the effects of aerobic performance on balance, anaerobic power, agility, and visual reaction in fencers and was designed as a prospective cohort study. Materials and methods: This study involved 26 fencing athletes (age = 20.35 ± 5.12 years, sports experience: 8.44 ± 4.33 years). The 20-m shuttle test, the vertical jump test, the Y-balance test, the fencing-specific 4-2-2-4 forward-back step method, and the Nelson hand reaction test were used to evaluate aerobic performance, anaerobic performance, balance, agility-change of direction, and visual reaction, respectively. Results: The maximum oxygen consumption determined with a use of the …

Pengaruh Pendidikan Pencegahan Kekerasan Seksual Berbasis Animasi Terhadap Pengetahuan Dan Sikap Remaja, Lulu Lutpia Muharomah, Irma Darmawati, Asih Purwandari Wahyoe Puspita

Perilaku dan Promosi Kesehatan : Indonesian Journal of Health Promotion and Behavior

Background. Sexual violence is a major problem that impacts the physical and psychological health of adolescents. Prevention efforts are needed through health education that is in accordance with the characteristics of adolescents. Animation media is considered effective because it can convey messages audio-visually and attractively.

Purpose. This study aims to assess the influence of Animation-Based Education on adolescents' knowledge and attitudes regarding the prevention of sexual violence.

Method. The study used a one-group pretest–posttest design with 59 student respondents in Cimahi City. The intervention was in the form of an educational animated video on sexual violence prevention of ±5 minutes …

Precision Education In Health Sciences Education: A Call-To-Action For Developing An Interprofessional Strategy, Arvie Vitente, Jennifer Bosworth, Robert Sweet, Rebecca Cozzi, Christopher Galloway, Piotr Szczurek, Melanie Obispo-Young, Eron Bozec, Erica Brkovic, Tina Bobo, Jennifer Lubinski

Philippine Journal of Physical Therapy

Introduction. Growing learner diversity, expanding biomedical knowledge, and rapid clinical digitization have exposed the limits of on-size-fits-all health sciences training. Competency-Based Education (CBE) has sharpened the focus on outcomes, yet many programs still move learners through fixed sequences, infrequent assessments, and retrospective remediation. Precision Education (PE) offers a complementary, data-enabled approach that uses learning analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), and continuous feedback loops. Embedded within CBE, PE converts competencies from static milestones into dynamic trajectories that can be measured, visualized, and adjusted in real time across the curriculum. This abstract highlights the need for an interprofessional strategy to design, fund, and …

Effectiveness Of Rehabilitation In Patients After Covid-19: Example Interventions And Recommendations, Adam Łątka, Tomasz Król, Michał Kuszewski, Piotr Król, Alicja Kasprzak, Anna Brzęk

Baltic Journal of Health and Physical Activity

Background: Rehabilitation after COVID-19 plays a vital role in the lengthy treatment process, contributing to the acceleration of recovery and minimizing the effects of the disease. This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of rehabilitation in patients after COVID-19. An attempt was made to assess whether the rehabilitation changed spirometric indices, cardiopulmonary efficiency and the subjective quantification of dyspnea. Material and methods: The study, conducted from March to May 2022, involved 52 individuals aged 25 to 71 years (50.48 ± 11.6) divided into the study group, undergoing three weeks of outpatient rehabilitation, and the control group. Both groups underwent the …