The Effectiveness of a Personalized Peer Health Physical Education Program (PPHPEP) on the Health Related Physical Fitness, Diet, and Attitudes Toward Wellness of Students Enrolled In a University Personal-Community Health Course - Year 2

The purpose of this major course research project was to determine the effectiveness of a Personalized Peer Health Physical Education Program (PPHPEP) on the cardiovascular endurance, muscular strength/endurance, flexibility, diet, and attitudes toward wellness of students enrolled in a university personal and community health course (N=25). In the spirit of pioneering exercise physiologist and researcher T.K. Cureton, who believed that the “true laboratories in physical education [were] the pools, playfields, gymnasiums . . . ,” this study was field based and conducted primarily at the University of Dayton RecPlex. During the 2019 spring semester, students enrolled in an undergraduate Personal Community Health course offered in the Department of Health and Sport Science exercised w/peers during 5 separate sessions. Team members participated in five (5) sessions conducted during class time while continuing to participate in their own individual exercise regimens outside of class. Two of the (2) in class sessions included pre- and posttest fitness assessments. All in-class exercise and testing sessions were conducted at the University’s RecPlex. Data from pre- and posttest fitness assessment sessions were analyzed and compared using descriptive statistics. Qualitative data from students’ weekly Health Wellness Review Reflections (HWRRs) were analyzed and compared to Insell-Roth (2016) Dimensions of Wellness Theoretical Framework to determine the effectiveness of the PPHPEP. Note: Data analysis for the PPHPEP is a Work in Progress (WIP)