Presentation Format
Individual Presentation
Intended Audience
All Audiences
Presentation Description
There are a growing number of cancer survivors within our society that experience negative physical and psychological side effects from cancer related treatments. Exercise has been shown to be an effective way to attenuate some of these negative side effects; however, reports indicate that the majority of cancer survivors do not engage in adequate amounts of exercise. Thus, the goal of the present study was to incorporate a five-hour service learning project into the Exercise Science curriculum in which students would educate cancer survivors about the benefits of exercise and basic exercise prescription information. Additionally, students implemented a comprehensive exercise prescription for cancer survivors in the community. Students were given the choice between fulfilling their service learning requirement in one of two community partner venues: American Cancer Society Relay for Life in Baldwin County Georgia or Survive & Thrive: Cancer Wellness Program. The latter is a university hosted oncology recovery program for newly diagnosed cancer patients. The program combines exercise, education, and mind/body activities to assist individuals in their return to their fullest potentials.
Exercise science students (n=17) were assessed pre-and-post semester for the following variables: changes in awareness and affect toward cancer survivors, self-efficacy in interacting with cancer survivors, desire to pursue a career in working with cancer survivors, and perceived value of implementing exercise programs with cancer survivors. Additionally, these variables were analyzed to assess whether there was a difference in student responses between those who chose Survive & Thrive (n=9) compared to Relay for Life (n=8) for their community partner. Results indicated that there was a significant (pSurvive & Thrive community participants regarding having the students work with them during the service learning project.
The goal of this presentation is to describe the impact of a community-based engaged learning (C-BEL) experience on students and community participants as well as to add to the current body of knowledge that supports C-BEL initiatives. Secondly, this presentation will address the successes and barriers that were noted over the semester. This presentation will be of value to instructors, program directors, community participants, and administrators.
Location
Room - 1220A
Start Date
4-14-2016 9:15 AM
End Date
4-14-2016 10:30 AM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Simonavice, Emily and Childs, Laura, "The Impact of a Community-Based Engaged Learning Experience for Students and Community Partners through Cancer and Exercise Wellness Programs" (2016). Gulf South Summit on Service-Learning 2016. 11.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gss/2016/2016/11
Included in
Civic and Community Engagement Commons, Higher Education Commons, Service Learning Commons
The Impact of a Community-Based Engaged Learning Experience for Students and Community Partners through Cancer and Exercise Wellness Programs
Room - 1220A
There are a growing number of cancer survivors within our society that experience negative physical and psychological side effects from cancer related treatments. Exercise has been shown to be an effective way to attenuate some of these negative side effects; however, reports indicate that the majority of cancer survivors do not engage in adequate amounts of exercise. Thus, the goal of the present study was to incorporate a five-hour service learning project into the Exercise Science curriculum in which students would educate cancer survivors about the benefits of exercise and basic exercise prescription information. Additionally, students implemented a comprehensive exercise prescription for cancer survivors in the community. Students were given the choice between fulfilling their service learning requirement in one of two community partner venues: American Cancer Society Relay for Life in Baldwin County Georgia or Survive & Thrive: Cancer Wellness Program. The latter is a university hosted oncology recovery program for newly diagnosed cancer patients. The program combines exercise, education, and mind/body activities to assist individuals in their return to their fullest potentials.
Exercise science students (n=17) were assessed pre-and-post semester for the following variables: changes in awareness and affect toward cancer survivors, self-efficacy in interacting with cancer survivors, desire to pursue a career in working with cancer survivors, and perceived value of implementing exercise programs with cancer survivors. Additionally, these variables were analyzed to assess whether there was a difference in student responses between those who chose Survive & Thrive (n=9) compared to Relay for Life (n=8) for their community partner. Results indicated that there was a significant (pSurvive & Thrive community participants regarding having the students work with them during the service learning project.
The goal of this presentation is to describe the impact of a community-based engaged learning (C-BEL) experience on students and community participants as well as to add to the current body of knowledge that supports C-BEL initiatives. Secondly, this presentation will address the successes and barriers that were noted over the semester. This presentation will be of value to instructors, program directors, community participants, and administrators.
Program Abstract
A five-hour service learning project was incorporated into the Exercise Science undergraduate curriculum in which students educated cancer survivors (CS) about the benefits of exercise and implemented basic exercise prescriptions. Students were assessed pre-and-post semester regarding their changes in awareness and affect toward CS, their self-efficacy in interacting with CS, and their desire to pursue a career in working with CS. Community participants were also assessed on their perceptions from the collaboration.