scholarly journals Adolescents and Teachers as Partners in a School-Based Research Project to Increase Physical Activity Opportunities in a Rural Community

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
James Rye ◽  
Nancy O'Hara Tompkins ◽  
Darlene McClure ◽  
Jacqueline Aleshire
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
West Virginia ◽  
Weight Control ◽  
Human Subjects ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
West Virginia University ◽  
The West ◽  
School Based ◽  
Protection Of Human Subjects

Schools are an important resource in combating the physical inactivity and obesity epidemics in rural economically depressed areas. Through a University-community partnership, teachers and adolescents in a rural West Virginia county with one of the highest obesity rates in the state developed a school-based research intervention to increase physical activity opportunities. The intervention included walking routes, educational sessions, and pedometers. A survey about barriers to physical activity revealed that “lack of willpower” was a barrier of concern among program participants (mostly school employees) and had a statistically significant (p = .0033) pre to post mean score decrease during the year two offering. Focus groups with the adolescent researchers revealed that pedometers may facilitate maintenance of physical activity and a broader community impact. Focus group dialogue combined with teacher-researcher perspectives suggested that the adolescents changed their weight control paradigm from “dieting” to include the critical role of energy expenditure. Approval to conduct this research was provided by the West Virginia University Institutional Review Board for the Protection of Human Subjects Protocols No. 16041 and 15632. A poster based on this paper was presented at the 135th Annual Meeting & Exposition of the American Public Health Association, Washington, DC, November, 2007. The authors are very appreciative of the HSTA students for their continued efforts in addressing important public health problems in their community. The project described was supported by funds from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Grant Award No. H75CCH322130-02 through the West Virginia University Prevention Research Center and by Grant Number 2R25RR12329-04 from the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), a component of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Its contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of CDC, NCRR, or NIH.

scholarly journals Modeling study of deep direct use geothermal on the West Virginia university campus-morgantown, WV

Geothermics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 87 ◽  
pp. 101848
Author(s):  
Yingqi Zhang ◽  
Nagasree Garapati ◽  
Christine Doughty ◽  
Pierre Jeanne
Keyword(s):  
West Virginia ◽  
University Campus ◽  
West Virginia University ◽  
The West ◽  
Direct Use ◽  
Modeling Study

Use of the West Virginia University Truck Test Cycle to Evaluate Emissions from Class 8 Trucks

1995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nigel Clark ◽  
J. Todd Messer ◽  
David L. McKain ◽  
Wenguang Wang ◽  
Reda M. Bata ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
West Virginia ◽  
Test Cycle ◽  
West Virginia University ◽  
The West

Evaluating the Effective Physical Indicators of Built Environment on Promotion of Sustainable Transportation: The Case of Sanandaj City

2019 ◽  
Vol 52 (5) ◽  
pp. 774-799
Author(s):  
Farzin Charehjoo ◽  
Nassim Hoorijani
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Physical Activity ◽  
Built Environment ◽  
Public Transportation ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Physical Activities ◽  
Sustainable Transportation ◽  
Neighborhood Design ◽  
Statistical Population ◽  
The Impact

The main goal of this research is to evaluate the relationship between the built environment and public health of citizens in four different buffers of Sanandaj, Kurdistan province, Iran. There is a growing body of evidence that links the neighborhood design to public health and argues that the built environment impacts on the public health of people through the weakening or strengthening of sustainable transportation (walking, cycling, and public transportation) and physical activity. Regular physical activity has a significant impact on the health of individuals, and this can be the best way to cope with several diseases. The statistical population of this study includes people between the age of 18 and 65 years in Sanandaj city. The method used to investigate the normality of dependent variables is the Kolmogorov–Smirnov test; the assessment of the resident’s difference of physical activities is conducted through one-way variance; the impact of the built environment on physical activities is assessed through a multivariate regression test, and the effect of physical activity on the health of the individuals is evaluated through a correlation test. This study, by explaining the characteristics of the built environment in four different buffers, has exhibited that the environment supporting physical activity of pedestrians plays a critical role in increasing the amount of physical activity they engage in.

scholarly journals Identifying Community Physical Activity and Health Resources by Utilizing Members of a Physical Activity Network

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cara L. Sedney ◽  
Treah Haggerty ◽  
Sam Zizzi ◽  
Patricia Dekeseredy
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Back Pain ◽  
West Virginia ◽  
Health Care Expenditure ◽  
Treatment Modalities ◽  
Community Leader ◽  
Free Text ◽  
The West ◽  
Health Maintenance ◽  
Activity Network

Abstract Background: Back pain is one of the leading causes of health care expenditure in the US and is linked to an increased body mass index. Many evidence-based modalities for the prevention and treatment of back pain closely mirror recommendations for weight loss and include physical activity and health maintenance activities (PAHM). Collaboration was sought with the West Virginia Physical Activity Network (WVPAN) leadership to ascertain community assets, and perceptions of the use of PAHM in the treatment of back pain by WVPAN members. Methods: Participants for the study were recruited from the West Virginia Physical Activity Network. This grassroots organization is filled with volunteers from various sectors who have either signed up via email or liked the WVPAN Facebook page. This network was purposely selected as the study population because of the statewide reach and their familiarity with resources in their local communities. A brief survey instrument was designed to gather their scaled perceptions about various treatment modalities related to back pain, and to gather their local knowledge related to specific providers in their communities. In addition, participants were given a free text box to list any local assets or resources for the nine treatments listed, and county of residence, and the nature of their connection to the physical activity network. Descriptive analyses were used to describe overall patterns of survey data. The qualitative data were compiled manually by the research team to show themes of specific treatments mentioned across different parts of the state. Results: Participants overwhelmingly supported physical therapy, flexibility training, yoga, and core strengthening as treatments for back pain. The majority of respondents were “undecided” about other treatments such as cognitive behavioral therapies and acupuncture. Conclusions: The implementation of PAHM interventions in communities could help treat patients with back pain, and may reduce reliance on the pharmacological treatment for back pain. The current study’s data support the potential of such approaches in many West Virginia counties. Also, local resources, and context can be gleaned from community leader surveys utilizing previously developed infrastructure for PAHM promotion.

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