College undergraduate students’ self-rating of their physical activity involvement over a 7-day period

Purpose: To establish the college undergraduate students’ self-rated physical activity involvement over a 7-day period. Methodology: The study utilized the survey method using the International Physical Activity Short Version of the Questionnaire (IPAQ). The purpose of the questionnaires is to provide a common instrument that can be used to obtain internationally comparable data on health-related physical activity. The study was undertaken at a medium sized campus in the South Western part of U.S.A., with respondents drawn from the College of Nursing and Health Sciences. Results: A total of 220 students responded to the questionnaire. Most of the respondents, 182 (82.73%) commuted to campus; most, 128 (58.18%) were aged between 21 and 30; and the majority, 137 (62.27%) were females, 9 (4.09%) were freshmen, 39 (17.73%) sophomores, 114 (51.82%) juniors and 58 (26.36%) senior undergraduate students. Regarding the frequency of engaging in vigorous physical activity, the study established that 75 (34.09%) students did it less than two times a week, with 19 (8.64%) of them reporting zero involvement, 107 (48.64%) did between 3 to 5 days and 38 (17.27%) did it almost daily ie. more than six times a week. Regarding participation in moderate physical activity, 89 (40.45%) reported only for less than two days with 13 (5.91%) indicating zero participation; 96 (43.64%) reported participation between 3 to 5 days; and 35 (15.91%) did for more than six days a week. Students were also asked to indicate the number of days they managed to walk for at least 10 minutes at a time, and 47 (21.36%) indicated less than two times with 19 (8.64%) indicating no time at all; 66 (30%) indicated 3 to 5 days and 107 (48.64%) indicated doing it more than six times a week. Conclusions: Overall, the majority of the respondents regularly engaged in walking, moderate and vigorous physical activity on most days of the week. One limitation of this study is the fact that the data was self-reported by the participants. Self-reporting could entail either under-reporting or exaggerating. Additionally, there is need to study a more diverse student population drawn from multiple institutions and where possible drawn from different states and countries

Students\u27 perspectives on online and face-to-face components of a blended course design in Health and Kinesiology at a South Western Public University in the USA

Introduction: The current higher education environment in the United States of America (USA) and worldwide is focused on providing people an opportunity to access a quality education at a competitive price and one that is flexible enough to meet the needs of a diverse student demographic. It is therefore necessary for course delivery methods to accommodate these diverse needs without sacrificing rigor necessary for accreditation due to the diverse backgrounds, occupations, and time constraints of students in today’s environment Purpose: The purpose of this study was to establish the students’ perception of the online and face-to-face components of a blended course design at a South Western Public University in the USA. Methods and material: The sample of this study consisted of 200 students drawn from four different blended courses in the Department of Health and Kinesiology at a medium sized public university in South West of USA. A modified questionnaire from Sitter et al., (2009) with 19 questions was used to collect responses from students. The survey instrument employed a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree (5), to strongly disagree (1). Results: Majority of the students have a positive view of the blended learning including the online and face-to-face components. A consistent minority of the students expressed disagreement especially pertaining to technology-based communication, preferred mode of delivery, online discussion participation and grade scores. Discussion: Although the majority of students perceived blended learning and its components positively, there is need for instructors to address the communication, technology, and online learning facilitation challenges if all learners are to learn effectively. Conclusions and recommendations: It is clear that the majority of students are ready and have accepted blended learning course designs at this medium sized public university in south west of the United States of America and therefore there is room for expansion of the initiative to benefit more students

Students’ perspectives on online and face-to-face components of a blended course design in Health and Kinesiology at a South Western Public University in the USA

Introduction: The current higher education environment in the United States of America (USA) and worldwide is focused on providing people an opportunity to access a quality education at a competitive price and one that is flexible enough to meet the needs of a diverse student demographic. It is therefore necessary for course delivery methods to accommodate these diverse needs without sacrificing rigor necessary for accreditation due to the diverse backgrounds, occupations, and time constraints of students in today’s environmentPurpose: The purpose of this study was to establish the students’ perception of the online and face-to-face components of a blended course design at a South Western Public University in the USA.Methods and material: The sample of this study consisted of 200 students drawn from four different blended courses in the Department of health and Kinesiology at a medium sized public university in South West of USA. A modified questionnaire from Sitter et al., (2009) with 19 questions was used to collect responses from students. The survey instrument employed a 5-point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree (5), to strongly disagree (1). Results: Majority of the students have a positive view of the blended learning including the online and face-to-face components. A consistent minority of the students expressed disagreement especially pertaining to technology-based communication, preferred mode of delivery, online discussion participation and grade scores.Discussion: Although the majority of students perceived blended learning and its components positively, there is need for instructors to address the communication, technology, and online learning facilitation challenges if all learners are to learn effectively.Conclusions and recommendations: It is clear that the majority of students are ready and have accepted blended learning course designs at this medium sized public university in south west of the United States of America and therefore there is room for expansion of the initiative to benefit more students

Walkability in upper east Texas cities and implications for physical activity and health

Introduction: Physical activity is an important intervention strategy against the increasing cases of overweight and obesity in the USA and many other parts of the world. Walking has been identified as a component of physical activity that can easily be incorporated into one’s lifestyle. Recent studies on physical activity have focused on promoting walking as a health enhancing endeavor. Purpose: This study examined the walkability of the environments in 57 cities drawn from 22different counties in upper east Texas within the USA. Methods and materials: The data for all the 57 key cities in upper east Texas were collected from the Walkscore.com. Results: It was established that 13 (22.8%) of the cities had walkable scores below 24%; 26 (45.6%) had between 25 and 49; 13 (22.8%) between 51 and 69; 4 (7%) had between 70 and 89, and onlyone city had a score of 91. Discussion: The vast majority of cities (39, 68.42%) had walkable scores that show a high dependability on vehicle transport; with only 5 (8.8%) cities being rated as very walkable or a walker’s paradise. This reflects a high dependence on vehicles in the upper east Texas region and therefore minimal walking. Recommendations: There is need to actively pursue an agenda that promotes infrastructural investments that can bring about ease of walking and accessibility of community services at close range. Stakeholders need to collectively come together to generate interventions that can enhance the well-being of the residents in of upper east Texas

Walkable scores for selected three east Texas counties: physical activity and policy implications

Introduction: Physical activity has become an important intervention against overweight and obesity cases in the USA and worldwide. One key aspect of physical activity is walking, which has been identified as a component that can easily be incorporated into one’s lifestyle. Recent studies on physical activity have focused on promoting walking as a health enhancing endeavor. In 2010, the proportion of Texas adults who reported no participation in leisure time activity (26.7%) was significantly higher than the national average (24.4%). However, many Texans, like most Americans, are sedentary. Purpose: This study examined the walkability of the environments in selected counties in east Texas including Wood, Van Zandt and Smith counties. Methods and material: The data was drawn from the Walkscore.com and was based on all the zip codes in the three counties in east Texas. The community capitals were used a framework for analysis. Results: Only three (8.82%) zip codes had walkable scores between 70 and 89; five (14.71%) had scores between 50 and 69; four (11.76%) between 25 and 49 and 22 (64.71%) had a score below 24. Discussion: The vast majority (26, 76.47%) of zip codes are highly dependent on vehicle transport. Conclusions and recommendations: Stakeholders need therefore to focus on causes for the minimal walkability so that practical interventions are generated to enhance the physical activity friendly infrastructure so as to enhance the well-being of the residents in these three east Texas counties

Needs and Experiences of People Living with HIV/AIDS Regarding Implementation of Community Home-based Care Services in a Rural County in Western Kenya

Community home-based care framework is an integral and integrated part of health care for people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA). This study aimed to report the needs and experiences of PLWHA receiving community home-based care in a rural population in Western Kenya. The sample size for the study was 373 PLWHA who were aged 18 and above, disclosed their HIV sero-status, and were receiving any of the CHBC services. The study was a cross-sectional exploratory and data was gathered over a period of four weeks. The findings revealed that needs were mainly what they lacked which include proper health care facilities; support from the government; drugs, counseling support; knowledge and education on the disease; home care equipment and tools; and adequate qualified healthcare professionals. Another major barrier to quality care is poor road network which impacts transportation for both the health workers and patients in provision and access of health care services and other resources respectively. The findings further revealed a strong relationship between influences of adequate care on the status of the illness. Receiving adequate clinical care p=0.000 (X2 = 159.650, df =10), receiving adequate psychological care p=0.000 (X2 = 107.197, df=4), receiving adequate nursing care p=0.000 (?2 = 35.802, df=4), and receiving adequate social support p=0.000 (?2 = 35.277, df=4) significantly influenced health status of the patients. We recommend continued and timely monitoring and evaluation in implementation of CHBC for these rural populations as critical in understanding contextual factors and experiences of PLWHA for better health outcomes

Role of Socio-Demographic and Environmental Determinants on Performance of Community Health Workers in Western Kenya

Background: The performance of community health workers remains an area of significant global focus. The role of community health workers in sub-Saharan Africa has evolved over time in response to changing health priorities, disease burdens, and workforce demands. Recently, Kenya revised its community health strategy in response to challenges faced with the implementation of grassroots primary health care initiative. Implementation of community health programs is often inconsistent, and they vary widely in many attributes. The purpose of this study was to explore factors influencing performance of community health workers in Vihiga County, Western Kenya in light of the political devolution. Methods: The study was a cross-sectional study design that involved a quantitative method of data collection. A sample of 309 participants was selected through cluster and simple random sampling. A self-administered and -structured questionnaire was used to gather data, s, and those who were not able to respond individually were guided by the research assistants. Results: The community health workers were 75.2% females and 24.8% males. Performance was significantly associated with not being employed, (OR = 2.4; 95% CI, 1.4–4.4), secondary education (OR = 0.7; 95% CI, 0.5–1.1), lack of conflict resolution mechanism (OR = 2.2; p = 0.017), lack of support (OR = 1.5; p = 0.03), and community health work not seen as important (OR = 1.5; p = 0.041). Poor communication skills were also more likely to influence performance of community health workers (OR = 0.5; p = 0.050) and poor road network (OR = 0.361; p = 0.000). Conclusions: These findings offer a deeper understanding of the interaction between CHWs contextual situations, structural challenges, and performance. Addressing influential factors of CHWs performance in multi-task settings is important in preventing overtaxing their work capacity and to maintain quality performance as countries move towards universal health coverage. Strategies for incentivizing, attracting, and sustaining men in CHWs is important to broaden perspectives about this critical role in societ

Correlates of COVID-19 Vaccine Acceptance and Hesitancy in Rural Communities in Western Kenya

Vaccine hesitancy is a significant global public health concern. This study sought to determine the correlates of acceptance and hesitancy regarding COVID-19 vaccines in rural populations of selected counties in Western Kenya and assess the strategies that can be used to improve COVID-19 vaccine acceptance in Kenya. The study used a quantitative research strategy with a sample of 806 individuals in the Kisumu, Vihiga, and Kakamega counties. Descriptive statistics, correlations and regression analyses were used. Of the 806 study participants, 55% were males and 45% females. Vaccine acceptance was significantly associated with being a male (AOR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.24–1.59, p \u3c 0.031), having no formal education (AOR: 2.25, 95% CI: 1.16–4.40, p \u3c 0.02), working in the private sector (AOR: 5.78, 95% CI: 3.28–10.88 p \u3c 0.02), and have low income (KES 0–999 (USD 0–9.16)), (AOR: 2.35, 95% CI: 1.13–3.47, p \u3c 0.02). Conclusions: The current study suggests that male gender, no formal education, working in the private sector, and low income KES 0–999 (USD 0–9.6) are significant factors influencing awareness of and possible acceptance of COVID-19 vaccination