How Does the Campus Environment Influence Everyday Physical Activity? A Photovoice Study Among Students of Two German Universities

How Does the University Environment Relate to Student's Physical Activity Patterns in Ireland

BACKGROUND

Identifying factors related to physical activity in university students can aid the development of health promotion interventions, but there is limited research regarding the influence of university environments. This study examined the relationship between level of provision for university environments that aim to promote physical activity and self-reported physical activity patterns of students.

METHODS

An environmental audit tool was completed by universities (n = 28) on the island of Ireland to acquire information about physical activity opportunities, resources, and supports offered. Students (N = 6951; 50.7% male; 21.51 [5.55] y) completed an online survey, providing responses about their active transport and recreational physical activity behaviors. Binary logistic regressions were used to examine the associations between environmental factors that support physical activity and clustered physical activity patterns, while controlling for gender, age, and university size.

RESULTS

Universities with a high provision for organizational structures and internal partnerships, indoor facilities, and sport clubs increase the odds of their students having more active physical activity patterns. Increased provision of investment and personnel was seen to have a mixed relationship with students' physical activity engagement, highlighting the need to understand where resources are needed and not just increase them.

CONCLUSIONS

It is important for universities to have adequate organizational structures with internal partnerships to understand how resources can be maximized to support physical activity engagement across the whole student population. University campuses hold the potential for increasing student engagement in physical activity, and these findings can help inform campus-wide initiatives that foster active student populations for improving overall long-term health.

To move or not to move while on campus: Examining the influence of others

OBJECTIVE

To examine the influence of dynamic and trending descriptive norms on increasing physical activity and decreasing the sedentary behaviors of university students while on campus.

PARTICIPANTS

One-hundred fifty-six university students from a Canadian university completed this study.

METHODS

Participants were randomly assigned to receive one of four online messages containing normative information about the on-campus behavior of university students. On-campus physical activity and sedentary behavior were measured pre- and post-message.

RESULTS

The results revealed that students exposed to the trending norm reported a greater decrease in sedentary behavior than students in the control condition, p = .007.

CONCLUSION

Results provide preliminary experimental evidence that trending norm messages may serve to decrease the sedentary behavior of students while on campus.

Status of the Health Promoting University (HPU) globally and its relevance for emerging African HPUs: an integrative review and bibliometric analysis

BACKGROUND

The Health Promoting Universities (HPU) concept is undertheorized, with no African university belonging to the International Network of Health Promoting Universities (IHPU).

AIM

The study aimed to investigate the status of the HPU concept globally to inform emerging HPUs, more specifically in Africa, regarding its implementation.

METHODS

An integrative literature review of studies conducted between 1 January 2013 and 5 November 2023 was conducted from online databases (PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Lilacs, CINAHL and Medline). A VOS bibliometric analysis viewer was used to extract and analyze further relevant information that could have been missed in the review.

RESULTS

From 1128 records, 22 (N = 22) articles including two reports met the inclusion criteria. The main findings were that: (1) the HPU network is growing as a global network though undertheorized and less reported on, (2) the implementation of the HPU depends on a plethora of underpinning philosophies such as salutogenic and whole systems approach, and diverse programs and initiatives, 3) the terms HPU and healthy universities are often used interchangeably but the whole systems approach appears to be consistent in many HPU interventions. However, five contextual challenges that emanated from this review were discussed, including the definition of the HPU concept, theories for the HPU concept, measurement of the HPU concept, coordination and methods for measuring the HPU concept status. These challenges present obstacles to measuring the status of the HPU concept beyond the number of affiliated universities and HPU initiatives.

CONCLUSION

Despite the challenges, the HPU concept is gaining momentum globally, as evidenced by the growing list of universities (HPU network) involved and the proliferation of interventions/initiatives targeting university students.

Key influences on university students' physical activity: a systematic review using the Theoretical Domains Framework and the COM-B model of human behaviour

BACKGROUND

Physical activity is important for all aspects of health, yet most university students are not active enough to reap these benefits. Understanding the factors that influence physical activity in the context of behaviour change theory is valuable to inform the development of effective evidence-based interventions to increase university students' physical activity. The current systematic review a) identified barriers and facilitators to university students' physical activity, b) mapped these factors to the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF) and COM-B model, and c) ranked the relative importance of TDF domains.

METHODS

Data synthesis included qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods research published between 01.01.2010-15.03.2023. Four databases (MEDLINE, PsycINFO, SPORTDiscus, and Scopus) were searched to identify publications on the barriers/facilitators to university students' physical activity. Data regarding study design and key findings (i.e., participant quotes, qualitative theme descriptions, and survey results) were extracted. Framework analysis was used to code barriers/facilitators to the TDF and COM-B model. Within each TDF domain, thematic analysis was used to group similar barriers/facilitators into descriptive theme labels. TDF domains were ranked by relative importance based on frequency, elaboration, and evidence of mixed barriers/facilitators.

RESULTS

Thirty-nine studies involving 17,771 participants met the inclusion criteria. Fifty-six barriers and facilitators mapping to twelve TDF domains and the COM-B model were identified as relevant to students' physical activity. Three TDF domains, environmental context and resources (e.g., time constraints), social influences (e.g., exercising with others), and goals (e.g., prioritisation of physical activity) were judged to be of greatest relative importance (identified in > 50% of studies). TDF domains of lower relative importance were intentions, reinforcement, emotion, beliefs about consequences, knowledge, physical skills, beliefs about capabilities, cognitive and interpersonal skills, social/professional role and identity, and behavioural regulation. No barriers/facilitators relating to the TDF domains of memory, attention and decision process, or optimism were identified.

CONCLUSIONS

The current findings provide a foundation to enhance the development of theory and evidence informed interventions to support university students' engagement in physical activity. Interventions that include a focus on the TDF domains 'environmental context and resources,' 'social influences,' and 'goals,' hold particular promise for promoting active student lifestyles.

TRIAL REGISTRATION

Prospero ID-CRD42021242170.

Videos using different message strategies to promote the interruption of sedentary behavior in university students during online lectures - A pilot study

Background

Sedentary behavior (SB) is highly prevalent among university students and has increased during COVID-19 pandemic. As SB is associated with negative health outcomes, appropriate prevention measures in the university setting are needed.

Objective

This pilot study aimed at investigating the effects of videos using different message strategies to interrupt SB in the collective of university students during online lectures.

Methods

During online lectures, university students (N = 96) were shown one of three videos on the interruption of SB. The videos differed in their message strategies with regard to evidence type (statistical vs. narrative) and vividness (static vs. animated images). Demographics, health variables (SB intentions, SB attitudes) and selected media reception variables (identification, homophily, counterarguing) were examined as possible influence factors on the interruption of SB evoked by watching the video.

Results

Approximately half of the students interrupted sedentary behavior during watching the videos and students of the older age group (cut-off: median = 22 years) interrupted SB significantly more often (p = 0.046). The interruption of SB was predicted by SB intentions (p < 0.05). Identification with characters significantly predicted the intentions to reduce SB (p < 0.001), with a large effect of the overall regression model (R2corr = 0.47).

Conclusion

Considering the increased digitalization in general and restrictions due to COVID-19 pandemic, videos seem to be a useful tool to interrupt SB among university students during online lectures. Narrative formats could facilitate the intention to reduce SB, which in turn could have a positive impact on the interruption of SB. However, further research on effective communication and message strategies is needed.

Measuring “Nudgeability”: Development of a Scale on Susceptibility to Physical Activity Nudges among College Students

Background: The current college lifestyle create more opportunities for students to develop unhealthy behaviors, especially physical inactivity. Nudging could be an effective tool to improve physical activity behaviors by changing college settings. One-nudge-fits-all leads to ineffective nudges, so it is necessary to develop a reliable and valid instrument capable of measuring the “nudgeability” of physical activity nudges for college students, which is for a higher level of nudge efficacy. Method: Developing the College Physical Activity Nudges Susceptibility Scale (CPANSS) that integrated the nudge method with the Likert scale, which is the first attempt to measure the susceptibility to nudges directly by a scale. There are four steps for developing CPANSS, including Scale Dimensions, Item Generation, Exploratory Factor Analysis (n = 294), and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (n = 293) with appropriate procedures. Results: The five-factor 21-item CPANSS with good reliability and validity fitted the data reasonably well. Conclusion: The CPANSS was to provide a new tool for policymakers to design effective nudges in changing and promoting physical activity in college settings, and to provide a method for scholars to promote other healthy behaviors for different target groups.

Engagement in Health Risk Behaviours before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic in German University Students: Results of a Cross-Sectional Study

Tobacco and cannabis use, alcohol consumption and inactivity are health risk behaviors (HRB) of crucial importance for health and wellbeing. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on university students' engagement in HRB has yet received limited attention. We investigated whether HRB changed during the COVID-19 pandemic, assessed factors associated with change and profiles of HRB changes in university students. A web-based survey was conducted in May 2020, including 5021 students of four German universities (69% female, the mean age of 24.4 years (SD = 5.1)). Sixty-one percent of students reported consuming alcohol, 45.8% binge drinking, 44% inactivity, 19.4% smoking and 10.8% cannabis use. While smoking and cannabis use remained unchanged during the COVID-19 pandemic, 24.4% reported a decrease in binge drinking while 5.4% reported an increase. Changes to physical activity were most frequently reported, with 30.6% reporting an increase and 19.3% reporting a decrease in vigorous physical activity. Being female, younger age, being bored, not having a trusted person and depressive symptoms were factors associated with a change in HRB. Five substance use behavior profiles were identified, which also remained fairly unchanged. Efforts to promote student health and wellbeing continue to be required, also in times of the COVID-19 pandemic.