Research Project Student Health
Research Project Student Health
Introduction
Nowadays, health promotion remains a globally accepted practice in the world, as it seeks to offer preventive-based services that predispose human beings to different diseases. Moreover, it covers factors within and outside of the clinical settings that may predispose an individual to different conditions. The external factors, affecting the health status of an individual, include the socio-economic condition, learning environments, demographic patterns of diseases, as well as the social and cultural practices or fabric of a specific society, though internal factors within clinical settings largely revolve around issues related to diseases’ state. Health promotion-based services should be introduced across different societal-based institutions and organizations, such as schools (Allam, 2015). This would result in a significant improvement in the health status of most students. At the same time, it will provide students with an opportunity to understand some of the health-based practices that could be used to keep diseases at bay in their future years. The application of health promotion-based practices is more likely to improve the student’s quality of life, as well as reduce numerous costs used in the management and treatment of various diseases (Jørgensen & Petersen, 2013). The current report will cover different aspects of health promotion-based activities, such as physical activity, oral health, and overall fitness and hygiene aspects that ensure that the body is healthy and free from diseases. The paper will conclude with a research proposal, covering the aforementioned areas.
The physical activity ensures that students remain energetic during their early years. Physical activity also reduces the chances of students being diagnosed with diseases and conditions, such as obesity and heart-based diseases (Kohl, Cook, & Institute of Medicine (U.S.). Committee on Physical Activity and Physical Education, 2013). Engagement in physical activity is also associated with increased brain function and is considered one of the methods used to reduce stress levels.
Getting enough sleep and rest is the key for most students, as this ensures that they can engage in their daily activities without putting too much pressure on themselves, which, in most cases, would result in increased stress levels (McMullen, 2013). All students must have a specific time that they take to rest before resuming their studies the next day.
Overall fitness and hygiene ensure that other aspects that could affect an individual’s health, such as their surrounding environment, are clean. In addition, this incorporates an adequate intake of both water and other vitamin-based substances that help the body fight against the common diseases (“101 Health and Wellness Tips for College Students,” n.d.). Water plays a vital role within one’s body, and, therefore, its adequate intake ensures that the body functions at optimum levels.
Health promotion among students in the United Arab Emirates would ensure that the quality and health standards of students correspond to the required standard or level. It will also ensure that there are limited cases when students get sick, and, in the process, miss out on carrying out their normal activities in the process resulting not only in low grades but also in increased time for studies. In addition, students will get new techniques that will guarantee that they understand innovative methods of reducing diseases in their surrounding communities (Prasla & Prasla, 2011). In this case, the paper will analyze schools that have implemented health promotion techniques and the desired effect on the student population. The student population will be assessed on their knowledge about ways to reduce the rates of different diseases.
Research Questions and Hypothesis
The main question is:
· How well do ADMC students control habits to their health?
Sub-questions:
1. Are students interested in doing exercise every day?
2. Do students get enough rest and sleep?
3. Do ADMC students have a good diet?
Main Hypothesis
Most ADMC students do not have healthy lifestyle habits.
Sub-hypotheses
In most cases, students are interested in doing exercises.
Students who work and study tend to not have enough rest and sleep at night.
Usually, most students try to eat healthy foods and drink enough water.
Most students are not getting enough vitamins.
Methodology and Materials
A total of 20 students in one of the classes were randomly selected to take part in the study. Students’ involvement in the study was intentional, and those not willing to participate were freed from participation. Students were randomly assigned to three groups to have 20 students carry out all three different hypotheses. This will ensure that the information that would be provided by students was not biased, based on different studies. Students were assigned random numbers or tags and their personal information, including their age, class, and gender was collected. The three different classes of students were subjected to an online questionnaire, based on the hypothesis being tested. 20 students filled in a questionnaire, indicating their knowledge regarding physical activity and education. Students were then required to identify if they engaged in any form of physical activity. Their Body Mass Index was also assessed and compared to the provided information. The participating 20 students were assessed on whether they got an adequate amount of sleep during the night and whether sleep had an impact on their academic performance in school settings. The last identified aspect was whether students had a good diet and whether it had noteworthy impacts on their health status. When all of these aspects are adequately addressed, then there is an increased possibility of dealing with all health-based promotional issues that may arise.
Data Collection
Data collection was performed through the use of questionnaires. All students taking part in the study were supposed to fill in the questionnaires based on their knowledge about health-based promotional activities. Students were then to be tested if they applied the specific health-based promotional activities and whether there is a relation between the implementation of health-based activities and any of the health variables under investigation.
Results and Findings
The sample population used in the study was composed of both male and female Emirati students. Students came from different classes, as this ensured that the collected data was diverse. The selected students were from the Higher Education of Abu Dhabi. 20 students were interviewed to investigate the association between health-based promotional activities and specific health variables, including physical activity, the number of times students rested, whether it had an impact on their studies, as well as whether they ate the required foods. The data was collected in college before being sent to students by email. The results were expected to be back within the school setting on 1/11/2017.
The findings of the study served to inform about the importance of health-based promotional activities in improving students’ health status. All of the 20 students who were interviewed turned in all of their responses. Moreover, 80% of students indicated that they had specific knowledge of the importance of health promotion. When the Body Mass Index of all students was measured, 60% of students were within the normal range, while 20% of students were overweight. The remaining population was underweight. This implies that a substantial population of students applied the principles of physical activities in their daily lives. Some of the common physical activity practices that students engaged in included walking throughout the day (100%), riding bicycles (70%), running and jogging in the morning (50%), as well as going to the gym (15%). Those who were classified as overweight implied that they spent more time watching television at home and had higher food intake, as compared to the rest. The results imply that there is a relationship between health promotion-based activities, like engaging in physical activity, and reduced incidences of predisposition, to specific diseases, such as obesity.
The second analyzed aspect was whether students were getting enough sleep and whether it had a significant effect on their educational capabilities. First, students identified several factors that are more likely to affect their performance in school. The results indicated that three students were affected by overeating, eight students were affected by lack of sleep, 16 were affected by technology problems, seven were affected by transportation-based issues, and six others were affected by other issues. When a correlation was made between the amount of rest or sleep by a student and his/her academic performance, students strongly agreed that the two factors showed a specific relationship, similar to other sources (Li, Lepp, & Barkley, 2015).
The last aspect that was analyzed was the health habits of all children. In this case, an examination was meant to check whether children have a balanced diet. The components of a balanced diet that are commonly left out include water and vitamins. The results of the study indicated that students took in more vitamins and water, as well as other elements of a balanced diet.
Conclusion
The most interesting results were observed on how different aspects affect students’ academic performance. Technological factors are identified as the major features that influence the performance of students, though a lack of sleep is also identified as a factor. If any of these factors could be solved, then there are increased chances that students’ academic performance will improve. These results, as well as others that measured the association between health-based promotional activities, physical and nutrition-based diets, as well as sleep, suggest that these factors are deeply connected; these factors ensure that a person’s body is in the right shape and that it is healthy (Salazar, Crosby, & DiClemente, 2015). Several different recommendations could be implemented either by the school authorities or by the local school councils. First, students should be encouraged to participate in physical actions within and outside of the school setting. A significant population of students was implicated to be obese, and, therefore, adequate measures, including more physical engagement in physical-based activities would assist such students. Secondly, the schools should advocate for students to interact with their teachers on subjects related to dealing with lack of sleep. This is commonly occasioned by several different factors, which could be looked at, to reduce the effects that it has on academic performance. Lastly, more students should be engaged in other measures that can improve their diet. Specific components of a balanced diet, including the use of fiber and other elements, could also be analyzed. Additional information that could be gathered from the above set up includes whether health-based based promotional activities differed by the age and sex of students, as well as whether these activities are applied in home-based settings. In case the current project is to be performed under the same conditions, it will be essential to utilize the student population, as this will significantly reduce the aspects related to variability in results. In addition, other factors, affecting school performance of students, could also be investigated.