| Autor: |
Jonathan R. Anderson, Myra J. Bloom, Gladys Y.X. Chen, Scarlet R. Jost, Donald P. Keating III, Andrew S.I.D. Lang, Nancy V. Mankin, Ericka R. McMahan, Jonathan A. Merheb, Philip P. Nelson, Joshua C. Nnaji, Enrique F. Valderrama-Araya |
| Jazyk: |
angličtina |
| Rok vydání: |
2022 |
| Předmět: |
|
| Zdroj: |
Building Healthy Academic Communities Journal, Vol 6, Iss 1, Pp 9-21 (2022) |
| Druh dokumentu: |
article |
| ISSN: |
2573-7643 |
| DOI: |
10.18061/bhac.v6i1.8670 |
| Popis: |
Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic adversely disrupted university student educational experiences worldwide, with consequences that included increased stress levels and unhealthy sedentary behavior. Aim: This study aimed to quantify the degree of impact that COVID-19 had on the levels of physical activity and stress of university students by utilizing wearable fitness tracker data and standard stress survey instrument scores before and during the pandemic. Methods: We collected Fitbit heart rate and physical activity data, and the results of a modified Social Readjustment Rating Scale (SRRS) stress survey from 2,987 university students during the Fall 2019 (residential instruction; before COVID-19) and Fall 2020 (hybrid instruction; during COVID-19) semesters. Results: We found indicators of increased sedentary behavior during the pandemic. There was a significant decrease in both the levels of physical activity as measured by mean daily step count (↓636 steps/day; p = 1.04 · 10-9) and minutes spent in various heart rate zones (↓58 minutes/week; p = 2.20 · 10-16). We also found an increase in stressors during the pandemic, primarily from an increase in the number of students who experienced the “death of a close family member” (38.8%), with the number even higher for the population of students who opted to stay home and attend classes virtually (41.4%). Conclusions: This study quantifies the decrease in levels of physical activity and notes an increase in the number of students who experienced the death of a close family member, a known stressor, during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings allow for more informed student-health-focused interventions related to the COVID-19 pandemic disruptions experienced by academic communities worldwide. |
| Databáze: |
Directory of Open Access Journals |
| Externí odkaz: |
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