Students’ experience of a college wellness course

Abstract

Background: Studies show that lifetime wellness courses improve physical self-efficacy, which in turn increases wellness behaviour, specifically an increase in physical activity (PA). Because of this and other factors influencing overall health, it is important to understand the potential impact of health and wellness courses. The literature includes quantitative studies on activities for health promotion, reviews of pedagogical methods for teaching about health and wellness, and on the perceptions of health and wellness courses. Qualitative enquiry allows for a better understanding of general education (GE) health and wellness courses, as well as students’ experience. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of students taking a college health and wellness course. Methods: College students who had completed a GE health and wellness course (autumn 2019) 6 months prior to the beginning of this study participated. Following a pilot study with 3 participants, 12 students from 3 different classes participated. Four individual interviews, 1 focus group with 5 students, and 1 focus group with 3 students took place over Zoom teleconferencing. Data were analysed using an interpretive thematic analytical approach aided by NVivo. Results: Five themes were developed from the data, regarding perceptions of the college health and wellness course and its impact on lifestyle choices: (1) improvement in health literacy, (2) healthier mindset and perspectives, (3) healthy relationships, (4) positive lifestyle changes, and (5) strength in numbers. Students experienced mentality shifts and improved their engagement with exercise and food. These improvements in overall well-being led towards actionable changes as many students noted that they reached out to friends and family members for inspiration and accountability. Discussion: Findings demonstrate the importance of a GE health and wellness course on overall health and well-being from a qualitative perspective. Conclusion: An in-depth understanding of students’ perceptions of health and wellness learned through foundational courses may improve future content delivery and quality. The results of this study provide a better understanding of the perceptions and experiences of students who completed a health and wellness course, showing that their knowledge and actions towards health and wellness improved as a result of the course.