Relationship between Psychosocial Factors and Physical Activity among Undergraduate Students from a South African University.

Psychosocial factors such as mental health, motivation, and social support are key determinants of behavior that play a significant role in physical activity participation. Limited studies have investigated the relationship between psychosocial factors and physical activity among university students in Africa. The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between psychosocial factors and physical activity participation among undergraduate university students at a historically disadvantaged university (HDU) in South Africa. This was a cross-sectional study that used convenience sampling (n = 534, majority female, 53.6% with a mean age of 20.69). The study was conducted through an online, self-administered, and hard-copy, valid questionnaire in September 2022. Data on sociodemographic information were collected. Psychosocial factors were assessed using the Depression, Anxiety, and Stress-21 Scale for mental health, the Physical Activity and Leisure Motivation Scale for motivation, and the Perceived Social Support Scale for social support. Physical activity (calculated as MET-min/week) was assessed using the international physical activity questionnaire in short form. Results revealed that almost a third (29%) of undergraduate students were physically inactive, 31.1% were minimally active, and 39.9% were in the health-enhancing category. Physical activity was positively related to stress (r = 0.11, p < 0.05) and anxiety (r = 0.10, p < 0.05). Motivational factors were positively related to psychological condition and others' expectations (r = 0.10, p < 0.05), and depression and others' expectations (r = 0.11, p < 0.05). Results from this study highlighted that psychosocial factors were related to physical activity participation among undergraduate university students. Psychosocial factors should be considered a coping mechanism when implementing health-promoting strategies.

Strategies and Best Practices That Enhance the Physical Activity Levels of Undergraduate University Students: A Systematic Review.

Significant numbers of undergraduate university students are not meeting the physical activity guidelines recommended by the World Health Organisation. These guidelines suggest that university students should aim for 150-300 min of moderate or 75-150 min of vigorous physical activity. Strategic interventions need to be implemented to address this global public health concern. The aim of this study was to review the strategies and best practices to enhance the physical activity levels of undergraduate university students. Utilising the PRISMA guidelines, electronic databases-PubMed, Science Direct, Academic Search Complete, ERIC, Web of Science, CINAHL, SAGE, and SPORTDiscus-were searched between September 2022 and February 2023 using terms and synonyms related to physical activity, strategies, best practices, and undergraduate university students. Studies were critically assessed for their quality using an adapted version of the CASP and RE-AIM frameworks. Eleven articles met the inclusion criteria for the review. The studies reported the use of social media platforms, mobile phone applications, web-based technology, online text messages, in-person classes, and an "exergame" as methods to increase engagement in physical activity. Findings from this review indicated that validated questionnaires emerged as the predominant measurement tool. Furthermore, the frequent use of social network sites served as a best practice for implementing and promoting physical activity interventions. It is recommended that universities promote health-enhancing physical activities based on current trends and strategies, such as technology-based interventions and the use of social media, that are relevant to contemporary university students.

Predictors of student agency: the relationship between student agency, learning support and learning experiences in an interprofessional health science faculty.

Interprofessional education allows for collaboration of two or more health professions during their training at university with a view of cultivating collaborative practice and client-centered health care. Although South Africa's higher education system is the leader in the field of research on the continent, there is little evidence of the role of student agency in the attainment of collaborative interprofessional activities. Therefore, an exploration of the interconnectedness of student agency, learning support, learning experiences and the lecturer-student experiences of health science students is well worth academic scrutiny within a interprofessional academic space. Hence, this study illustrates how student agency is formed based on the lecturer-student relationship, learning support and learning experiences in an interprofessional education environment. This study assessed the association of the lecturer-student relationship, learning support and learning experiences on student agency in an interprofessional health science faculty. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 266 conveniently sampled third-year students in a Faculty of Community and Health Sciences. These include students from physiotherapy, nursing, occupational therapy, sport studies, social work, psychology, dietetics, and natural medicine. A forward stepwise linear regression was conducted with a p-value of 0.05 set as the level of significance. The results of this study showed significant positive associations for student agency with student learning experiences (r= .292, p< 0.001), the lecturer-student relationship (r= .333, p< 0.001) and learning support (r= .209, p< 0.001). Furthermore, the lecturer-student relationship was positively associated with learning support (r= .623, p< 0.001) in an interprofessional health science faculty. This paper concludes that there are positive outcomes to interprofessional education practices through the development of student agency.