Document Type
Presentation - Oral - to academic peers, less than or equal to 1 hour
The Importance of Health and Socialization While Engaging with our Communities and Students
Department
Nursing
Date of Activity
Summer 6-19-2024
Abstract
Background
You can give someone a fish and feed them a meal or you can teach them how to fish and feed them for a lifetime (unknown author). This saying is true in many circumstances in life. One circumstance is new educators are learning skills but have minimal opportunities to put them into practice. Collaborating with new Doctoral graduates in their academic journey and engaging them in our research studies, scholarly activities, and eventually presenting at conferences is mutually edifying. There is increased risk of isolation post-COVID so it is important for adults to stay socially active (Encheva-Stoykova et al., 2022; Pashana & Wuthrich, 2021). The WHO’s theme of “Health for All” is vital for adults to actively practice the health principles (Mathew, 2023). It is important that adults stay physically and mentally active (Da Silva Conceição & Teixeira, 2023). This study explored adults’ perceptions of health and socialization.
Methods
A mixed methods design was utilized. The sample consisted of 665 English-speaking adults and a convenient sampling method was used. The survey was adapted from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey collected by the CDC since 1991. The survey was created using Google Forms and the data automatically populated Google Sheets. The survey URL was emailed to adults over 18 years of age who spoke English. Descriptive statistics were conducted on the quantitative data.
Results
Half (50%) of the respondents self-reported being fairly to very social. Additionally over half (55%) of the respondents reported they were healthy or very healthy.
Implications
As educators, it is our responsibility to connect with our students, as future educators, in ways that will inspire them and equip them for their future jobs. Engaging graduate students in various scholarly experiential learning activities will benefit both the learner and the professor.
Recommended Citation
Christman, R. M., Mayfield, B. J., & Angall-Leonce, M. A. (2024). The Importance of Health and Socialization While Engaging with our Communities and Students. Podium Presentation at Collaboration, Capacity Building, Community Engagement, and Social Justice: Leveraging human-subject research for holistic transformation on the African Continent. 3rd AHSRA-Africa Conference at Helderberg College, Somerset West, So Africa. June 19, 2024.