Reports (FHSCI)

Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://ontariotechu.scholaris.ca/handle/10155/1652

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    A Year in Review: Summary of Activities for the 2023-24 Peer Wellness Education Program at Ontario Tech University
    (University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 2024) Zafar, Wania; Syed, Wania F.; Smith, Sienna; Cole, Adam G.
    The Peer Wellness Education Program provides opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in the field of health promotion, improve their skills, meet other students, and learn health tips that can be used in their own lives. A team of 15 students (10 students in the Fall semester and 14 students in the Winter semester) worked together to implement various social marketing campaigns and distribute health promotion resources during the 2023-24 academic year. Throughout the year, team members contributed almost 500 hours to implement various display booths, health promotion events, and workshops organised by the Peer Wellness Education Program and Ontario Tech Health Promotion. The Peer Wellness Education team volunteered at over 50 health promoting events, interacted with over 2450 students, and disseminated over 3,400 health promotion resources. The team also created social media posts on Instagram to promote the program, created blog posts for Ridgeback Student Voices, and created two new display boards during this time. A quarter of students could directly name the Peer Wellness Education team or Ontario Tech Health Promotion as a program or service on campus without prompting during intercept interviews, and the majority of surveyed students had seen or heard about a health promotion activity. After volunteering with the Peer Wellness Education team, team members reported increases in knowledge of health promotion concepts, and development of skills related to engaging students in conversations about their health and creating informative, appealing health education resources. The Peer Wellness Education Program has been a success and will use the momentum achieved over the past year to continue promoting health on campus in the 2024-25 academic year. Over the next year, the team will increase the number of hosted events, student interactions, and resources disseminated, and will increase their presence at the Downtown Campus.
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    A pilot project to evaluate the ‘CATCH My Breath’ vaping prevention curriculum in Canada: Final Report
    (Ontario Tech University, Oshawa, ON, 2023-12) Cole, Adam G; Fairs, Lucas; Rahman, Farzana; Momand, Beheshta; Philipneri, Anne; Degano, Celina; Bianco, Marcella; Mantey, Dale; Paul, Sayani; Leatherdale, Scott T; Kelder, Steven
    Vaping has increased dramatically among youth in Canada. However, there is a lack of evidence for effective school-based prevention approaches targeting vaping, particularly for high school-aged students. The objectives of this pilot study were to 1) identify youth and presenter perceptions of the appeal, appropriateness, and comprehensiveness of the ‘CATCH My Breath’ (CMB) vaping prevention curriculum; 2) assess short-term changes in knowledge of and attitudes towards vaping after exposure to the curriculum; and 3) examine the feasibility of implementing CMB in high schools in Ontario, Canada. A convenience sample of 10 high schools across Ontario implemented the CMB curriculum in 28 classes. CMB is an evidence-based vaping prevention curriculum developed in the US. Surveys were given to students before/after exposure to the curriculum to assess changes in vaping knowledge and attitudes. A subgroup of students participated in focus groups and curriculum presenters participated in interviews to provide feedback about the curriculum. Qualitative thematic analyses identified major themes from student focus groups and presenter interviews. McNemar’s exact test assessed changes in knowledge and attitudes before/after curriculum delivery. Curriculum presenters and students highlighted key aspects of the curriculum including the negative health risks of vaping, vaping industry tactics, the development of refusal skills, and engaging activities to keep student interest. While curriculum presenters and students generally thought that the curriculum was appealing, appropriate, and comprehensive, they offered some suggestions for improvement, including revising and adding content, and modifying activities. After exposure to the curriculum, the average knowledge score increased significantly from 5.5/9 to 7.5/9 (p<0.001). At follow-up, more students correctly identified that e-cigarette vapour does not contain mostly water (baseline: 38.5%, follow-up: 82.6%; p<0.001) and fewer students agreed that most people in high school vape (baseline: 83.8%, follow-up: 75.2%; p=0.049). The ‘CATCH My Breath’ vaping prevention curriculum was easily delivered in high school classrooms in Ontario. Some modifications to the curriculum are necessary to make it appropriate for high school students. Future studies should evaluate the short- and long-term impacts of exposure to the curriculum on student vaping behaviours.
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    Final Report for the 2022-23 Peer Wellness Education
    (University of Ontario Institute of Technology, 2023) Cole, Adam; Bafagih, Salma; Palmer, Victoria; Schoeman, Annika
    University students are known to be physically inactive, have a poor diet, and engage in substance use, all of which correlate with a variety of chronic conditions and poor health outcomes. During this stage of life, especially as many university students are living away from home for the first time, young adults will set habits that can be potentially helpful or harmful to their health and academic success. Peer-to-peer programs and education strategies can be an effective method to reach many students on campus, foster a campus community, increase knowledge and awareness of healthy behaviours, and recognize and refer students to appropriate resources. In March 2022, a grant was awarded to pilot test a Peer Wellness Education Program at Ontario Tech University through the Faculty of Health Sciences Dean’s Discretionary Teaching Innovation Fund. The Peer Wellness Education Program provides opportunities for students to gain hands-on experience in the field of health promotion, improve their skills, meet other students, and learn health tips that can be used in their own lives. In the Spring/Summer semester, a team of 6 students created 3 display boards for social marketing campaigns and 4 sets of palm cards. A team of 11 students in the Fall semester and 15 students in the Winter semester worked together to implement the social marketing campaigns and distribute the resources created in the Spring/Summer semester. Throughout the year, team members contributed over 370 hours to implement various display booths, health promotion events, and workshops organized by the Peer Wellness Education Program and Ontario Tech Health Promotion. The Peer Wellness Education team volunteered at over 77 health promoting events, interacted with over 2080 students, and disseminated over 4450 health promotion resources. The team also created social media posts on Instagram to promote the program, created blog posts for the Ontario Tech Digital Community, and created two additional display boards during this time. Although few students could directly name the Peer Wellness Education team or Ontario Tech Health Promotion as a program or service on campus without prompting during intercept interviews, the majority of surveyed students had seen or heard about a health promotion activity. Team members reported an increase in knowledge of health promotion concepts and an increase in skills related to engaging students in conversations about their health and creating informative and appealing health education resources after volunteering with the Peer Wellness Education team. The Peer Wellness Education pilot project was very successful. A large volunteer team and collaborations with Athletics and Recreation and Student Life maximized the reach and engagement with students. Students seemed to be excited to be on campus again and readily engaged in conversations with student volunteers. The Peer Wellness Education Program will maintain the momentum achieved over the past year and continue programming into the 2023-24 academic year. Over the next year, the team will create additional social marketing campaigns, create a social media plan, and identify a central space for storing Health Promotion materials.