pa ge 1 pa ge 1 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) postoperative psychological distress in patients with total knee replacement at tertiary care hospital: a cross sectional survey shehzad sethi1*, um e habiba1, kainat suleman1, hisham1, inderyas1, irfan ullah1 volume 2 issue 2, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i2.2857 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: may 12, 2024 accepted: june 10, 2024 published: june 14, 2024 tkr one of the most popular and effective surgical procedures is total knee replacement (tkr), which significantly reduces pain and improves functional impairment in individuals with knee arthritis a number of psychological issues, such as depression, low self-efficacy, ineffective pain coping mechanisms, somatization, a lack of social support, and patient expectations occurs after a major surgery like tkr. this study aims to determine the level of psychological distress and pain threshold level among post-operative tkr patients. it was a cross sectional study with the sample size of 77. the subjects aged>40 years were enrolled, who had undergone the tkr procedure. after obtaining the informed consent form, the data was collected by filing the nprs and hads performa from the enrolled subjects. data was analysed via spss version 26. the subjects have the mean age of 55.55 with the standard deviation of 11.621. pearson correlation test was applied to observe the correlation of time duration with nprs and hads which showed a negative correlation, interpreting that with the increase in time duration there is decrease in the scores of nprs and hads with the p-value of <0.05. there is a decrease in psychological distress with the increase in time duration in patients undergoing total knee replacement surgery. the current study reveals that with time, the level of pain and psychological distress, including anxiety and depression, as well as the pain threshold, decreases in the subjects who undergone through the tkr procedure. keywords anxiety, depression, knee arthroplasty, pain, psychological distress, total knee replacement introduction in 1968, the first knee replacement procedure was carried out. since then, surgical equipment and methods advancements have significantly boosted its efficacy. one of the most effective medical procedures is tkr(choi & ra, 2016; wylde, dieppe, hewlett, & learmonth, 2007). the treatment of chronic knee pain and disability is thought to be beneficial with (tkr). based on studies employing patient-based outcome measures, there is growing evidence that a sizable percentage of tkr patients endure chronic knee pain, functional impairment, a low quality of life, and dissatisfaction (klement et al., 2016). according to a study done in 2019, 23% of people reported experiencing psychological anguish who were done with tkr. psychologically distressed patients were younger (p .0001) and more likely to experience depression (halawi et al., 2019). a cohort study looked into how psychological factors, such as how people perceive their health, anxiety, and depression, affected their recovery and functional outcomes following to tkr surgery. additionally linked to a higher (worse) knee score at one year were depression and anxiety (hanusch, o’connor, ions, scott, & gregg, 2014). a meta-analysis examining the relationship between psychological distress before surgery and postoperative pain and function following (tkr). pain and function following tkr appear to be negatively impacted by re-operative pain catastrophizing, mental anguish, anxiety and/or depressive symptoms, and somatoform disorders. because of this, some tkr patients might require psychological assistance to enhance their recovery and quality of life (sorel, veltman, honig, & poolman, 2019). chronic pain following tkr can have an impact on all aspects of quality of life relating to health, and has been linked to functional restrictions, depression, anxiety, worsening general health, sleep issues, and long-term opiate use (howells, murray, wylde, dieppe, & blom, 2016). chronic pain following tkr is best described as pain that is present and bothersome at least three to six months after surgery because the level of pain peaks between three and six months after surgery (lenguerrand et al., 2016). the thesis major objective was to better understand patient who had both psychological discomfort and co existing knee arthritis before and after (tkr). understanding the viewpoint and experience of patients who are unhappy after surgery was another goal, with the hope of enhancing patient’s satisfaction following tkr. objectives • to determine the level of psychological distress among post-operative tkr patients. • to measure the pain threshold level in post tkr patients. methodology it was a cross-sectional study conducted at hayatabad medical complex (hmc), khyber teaching hospital 1 rehman medical institute, pakistan * corresponding author’s e-mail: shahzadwaqar5@gmail.com pa ge 2 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 1-3, 2024 (kth), and rehman medical institute (rmi) peshawar. subjects were enrolled using non-probability convenience sampling. the sample size was 77 participants calculated from raosoft, including both male and female patients. participants post-operative tkr patients with age of aged 40 and above years. the exclusion criteria include the patients who repeatedly suffered from tkr or having uni-compartmental arthroplasty or patella-femoral arthroplasty. data collection procedure and analysis after the approval from the research committee of ami, permission had taken from the concerned hospitals hods through official permission letter. all the willing patients were briefed about the purpose and procedure of the study and then an informed consent was taken from them. data was collected using the data collection tools i.e. nprs and hads performa. the data was analysed using spss version 26. for continuous data, mean and standard deviation was calculated, while categorical variable was presented in the form of frequency and percentages in the form of tables and graph. chi-square test and pearson correlation were used for the association of different variables. result about 40 male and 37 female students were included in the research, with a mean age of 55.55 ± 11.621. the frequency for the duration after knee arthroplasty has also been calculated with the categories as recent, a few weeks ago, a few months ago, and past 1 year or more with the subjects as 34. 23. 10 and 10 respectively. and hads (anxiety and depression). the result showed a moderately negative correlative of time duration with nprs which interpret that with increase in time there was low level of pain observed in the subjects undergone through tkr. a negative correlation was observed between time duration and hads with the p-value of < 0.05 which means that with the passage of time, the level of anxiety and depression decreases to some extent. figure 1: chi square of categories of time duration with nprs and hads the correlation of categories of time duration with numerical pain rating scale and hospital anxiety and depression scale was significant with the p-value of <0.05. pearson correlation of time duration with nprs and hads the correlation test of duration of tkr with nprs table 1: nprs hads (anxiety) hads (depression) time duration -0.509 -0.361 -0.327 p-value 0.000 0.001 0.004 discussion the current study illustrates the patients’ physical and psychological anguish following tkr surgery. a total of 77 people were recruited for the study, both male and female. the hospital anxiety and depression scale and the numerical pain rating scale were employed as outcome variables. according to the statistical research, patients who have had recent surgery report higher pain levels along with higher levels of anxiety and sadness, which diminish over time. following knee surgery, there was a notable decline in the frequency of anxiety and depressed symptoms, which improved patient satisfaction. the current study has demonstrated a negative correlation between the length of time and the level of pain and psychological distress experienced by patients undergoing total knee replacement procedures. this suggests that an increase in time leads to a decrease in these symptoms, which in turn has a significant impact on the functional outcome of the patients. depression is a common co-morbidity among individuals who have had arthroplasty, according to bistolfi et al. given the established relationship between pain and depression, it’s possible that patients have higher rates of depression than the general population. pain alleviation and enhanced function following arthroplasty may lead to an improvement in the patient’s depressive symptoms. (tarakji, wynkoop, srivastava, o’connor, & atkinson, 2018). approximately thirty percent of tkr patients endure psychological distress before to surgery. studies have shown that patients with anxiety or depression perform worse on the outcome scale compared to those with higher psycho-social component scores. (ayers, franklin, trief, ploutz-snyder, & freund, 2004; judge et al., 2012; lungu, vendittoli, & desmeules, 2016). a considerable portion of tkr patients have subclinical depression. (bistolfi et al., 2017). acute postoperative pain (app) is the main cause of postoperative misery, yet conventional methods of pain assessment provide little information about the dynamics and course of app. after a minimum of thirty of the short reports from thirty-two patients were provided, the investigation revealed a quadratic temporal effect pa ge 3 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 1-3, 2024 and significant (p=0.001) linear and quadratic declines, resulting in 1217 records in app. some notable random intercepts and slopes indicated variations in mean pain levels amongst patients as well as a decrease in pain (balthasar, willemen, vossen, boymans, & lousberg, 2023). similar effects related to pain were observed in the current study, revealing that with the increase in time, the intensity of pain decreases significantly with the p-value of <0.05. one study reported that the level of pain subsides with the duration of time, so the level of distress decreases, which has also been proven in the current study. two studies reported that those patients who show evidence of clinical depression with time, they are more likely to experience more severe pain even with successful surgery, up to 30% of patients report feeling dissatisfied (patil, kane, dhamangaonkar, & avhad, 2020) (schindler et al., 2022). conclusion the study concluded that outcome patients, pain, and emotional distress are the major factors for functional outcomes. the current study reveals that with the passage of time, the level of pain and psychological distress, including anxiety and depression, as well as the pain threshold, decreases in the subjects who undergone the tkr procedure. there were some limitations of the study, which included patients with repeated tkr procedures were not included, and factors contributing to the decrease in pain and psychological distress had not been determined. reference ayers, d. c., franklin, p. d., trief, p. m., ploutz-snyder, r., & freund, d. (2004). psychological attributes of preoperative total joint replacement patients: implications for optimal physical outcome. the journal of arthroplasty, 19(7), 125-130. balthasar, a. j., willemen, j., vossen, c., boymans, t., & lousberg, r. (2023). time effect on acute postoperative pain after total knee replacement surgery: an exploratory study using the experience sampling method. the clinical journal of pain, 10.1097. bistolfi, a., bettoni, e., aprato, a., milani, p., berchialla, p., graziano, e., . . . lee, g. c. (2017). the presence and influence of mild depressive symptoms on postoperative pain perception following primary total knee arthroplasty. knee surgery, sports traumatology, arthroscopy, 25, 2792-2800. choi, y.-j., & ra, h. j. (2016). patient satisfaction after total knee arthroplasty. knee surgery & related research, 28(1), 1. halawi, m. j., chiu, d., gronbeck, c., savoy, l., williams, v. j., & cote, m. p. (2019). psychological distress independently predicts prolonged hospitalization after primary total hip and knee arthroplasty. the journal of arthroplasty, 34(8), 1598-1601. hanusch, b., o’connor, d., ions, p., scott, a., & gregg, p. (2014). effects of psychological distress and perceptions of illness on recovery from total knee replacement. the bone & joint journal, 96(2), 210-216. howells, n., murray, j., wylde, v., dieppe, p., & blom, a. (2016). persistent pain after knee replacement: do factors associated with pain vary with degree of patient dissatisfaction? osteoarthritis and cartilage, 24(12), 2061-2068. judge, a., arden, n. k., cooper, c., kassim javaid, m., carr, a. j., field, r. e., & dieppe, p. a. (2012). predictors of outcomes of total knee replacement surgery. rheumatology, 51(10), 1804-1813. klement, m. r., nickel, b. t., penrose, c. t., bala, a., green, c. l., wellman, s. s., . . . seyler, t. m. (2016). psychiatric disorders increase complication rate after primary total knee arthroplasty. the knee, 23(5), 883886. lenguerrand, e., wylde, v., gooberman-hill, r., sayers, a., brunton, l., beswick, a. d., . . . blom, a. w. (2016). trajectories of pain and function after primary hip and knee arthroplasty: the adapt cohort study. plos one, 11(2), e0149306. lungu, e., vendittoli, p., & desmeules, f. (2016). preoperative determinants of patient-reported pain and physical function levels following total knee arthroplasty: a systematic review. the open orthopaedics journal, 10, 213. patil, s. s., kane, d., dhamangaonkar, a., & avhad, v. (2020). retrospective analysis of pain relief in total knee replacement surgeries. anesthesia, essays and researches, 14(4), 555. schindler, m., schmitz, s., reinhard, j., jansen, p., grifka, j., & benditz, a. (2022). pain course after total knee arthroplasty within a standardized pain management concept: a prospective observational study. journal of clinical medicine, 11(23), 7204. sorel, j., veltman, e., honig, a., & poolman, r. (2019). the influence of preoperative psychological distress on pain and function after total knee arthroplasty: a systematic review and meta-analysis. the bone & joint journal, 101(1), 7-14. tarakji, b. a., wynkoop, a. t., srivastava, a. k., o’connor, e. g., & atkinson, t. s. (2018). improvement in depression and physical health following total joint arthroplasty. the journal of arthroplasty, 33(8), 24232427. wylde, v., dieppe, p., hewlett, s., & learmonth, i. (2007). total knee replacement: is it really an effective procedure for all? the knee, 14(6), 417-423. pa ge 1 pa ge 13 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) assessment of diabetes mellitus perception among adult residents in akure south local government area of ondo state, south west nigeria ifedayo-josiah1* volume 1 issue 1, year 2023 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: march 31, 2023 accepted: april 25, 2023 published: may 04, 2023 the study aims at assessing the level of diabetes mellitus perception among the adults residing in akure south local government areas of ondo state. the pooled diabetes mellitus prevalence in nigeria, according to the united nations estimate of 2017 is 5.77% this implies that 11.2 million nigerians,(1 out of 17) adults are living with diabetes and this portends a dangerous trends for the country’s health development as has constituted a socio-economic burden on the nation. a descriptive cross-sectional method was adopted for the investigation. the sample consists of 332 residents of the study population area. a multistage sampling technique was used for the study. data were collected through selfadministered structure questionnaire and descriptive statistics (frequency table, proportion, mean and percentages) were used for the analysis. secondary information was sourced from government publications, hospital records, group discussions, health journals ,and relevant internet materials. the study revealed that majority of the respondents had adequate knowledge about diabetes mellitus. the finding also concluded that despite the good perception about diabetes among the adult residents, the disease prevalence and presentation are still high. the study thereby recommended increased awareness, engagement in physical exercise, consumption of balanced diets and regular screening for diabetes as preventive measures to control and /or reduce the mortality among the adult residents in akure south local government. keywords diabetes, mellitus perception, physical exercise, nigeria introduction diabetes mellitus is a major public health problem and a great socio-economic burden in developing countries of the world and nigeria is no exceptional. it a chronic disease caused by inherited and/or acquired deficiency in production of insulin by the pancreas, it could also be due to the ineffectiveness of the insulin produced. the name diabetes mellitus was derived from the greek diabainein which means ‘‘to pass through’’ describing the copious urination and mellitus from the latin which means ‘‘sweetened with honey’’ referring to sugar in the urine. according to the encyclopaedia britannica. diabetes is non-communicable disease as more than half of those affected are unaware until they are diagnosed on screening or affected with one or more of the disease complication (ogbera and ekpebegh, 2014)diabetes results in increased concentration of glucose in the blood and the damage of many of the body systems including the blood vessels and nerves; it is one of the major non-communicable diseases (ncds) of public health concern globally. in 2018, a complied data by world health organization (who) showed that approximately 150 million people have diabetes mellitus worldwide, aynalem and zeleke in 2018 estimated that 425 million people between the age brackets of 20-79 years suffered from diabetes mellitus and it is expected that this will increase to about 592 methods people and 629 million people by years 2035 and 2045 respectively, according to international diabetes federation (df) atlas guideline report, currently, there are 352 million adults with impaired glucose tolerance who at high risk of developing diabetes in future (elegbede, sanni and alabi 2022). about 70% 80% of the disease burden is borne by the developing countries. the estimated prevalence of diabetes in africa is 1% in rural areas and ranges from 5% to 7% in urban sub-sahara africa. the pooled diabetes mellitus prevalence in nigeria, according to the united nation estimate in 2017 is 5.77%. this implies 11.2 million nigerians (1 out of 17) adults living with diabetes and this portends a dangerous trend for the country’s health development. diabetes has negative effects on work productivity and leads to high economic burden in terms of healthcare expenditure. most persons with diabetes in developing countries are persons with 35 to 64 age range. this age range includes a significant segment of the productive work force. the high prevalence of diabetes mellitus is strongly related to the various risk factors which can be classified into non-modifiable and modifiable factors. the nonmodified factors include obesity, alcohol consumption, smoking, hypertension, pregnancy, hypercholesterolemia, infections, sedentary lifestyle, unhealthy diets and polycystic ovarian syndrome (erasmus, fakeye olukoga, ebomoyi, adeleye and arije 1989) diabetes is a known risk factor for blindness vascular brain diseases, venal failure, lower limb gangrene and death from acute diabetes emergencies. epidemic of diabetes is increasing round the world and awareness of these diseases remains low. inadequate knowledge about diabetes is common among various categories of adult populations in nigeria and in many african countries. 1 city university, cambodia * corresponding author’s e-mail: josiahifedayo@gmail.com https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 14 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 13-18, 2023 recognition of significant health risk, knowledge and awareness about diabetes mellitus, complications and management are important for adoption of preventive behaviors (ilesanmi, ojo, omotoso, junaid, amenaheinan and alele, 2015). public health interventions are needed to impact knowledge about this disease on the adult residents of akure south local government area of ondo state. type 1 diabetes is believed to be an autoimmune condition. the implication is that the immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys the beta cells in your pancreas that produce insulin. the damage is permanent. what is responsible for these attacks is unclear. genetic and environmental factors more than lifestyle factors are suspected of playing a role. type 2 type 2 diabetes starts out as insulin resistance. this means the body cannot use insulin efficiently, which causes your pancreas to produce more insulin until it cannot keep up with demand insulin production then decreases which causes high blood sugar. the exact cause of type 2 diabetes is unknown but may be resulted from genetics, sedentary lifestyle, or obesity. gestational diabetes is caused by insulin-blocking hormones that are produce during pregnancy. statement of problem the disease burden related to diabetes is high and rising in every country, fuelled by the global rise in the prevalence of obesity and unhealthy lifestyles. the latest estimates show a global prevalence of 537 million adults (20-79years) diabetes in 2021, expected to rise to 643 million by 2030 and the 783 million by 2045. classification of diabetes has now been widely accepted. type 1, type 2 diabetes and are gestational diabetes mellitus types, with type 2 diabetes accounting for the majority (>85%) of total diabetes prevalence. before now, diabetes used to be a burden of the developed world being a disease associated with affluence, but with epidemiology, demographic and nutritional transmission, the diseases has now shown tremendous increase in prevalence in countries that were not hitherto affected or nominally affected by diabetes. mellitus objective of the study the general objective of this study is to investigate the perception of diabetes mellitus among adult residents in akure south local government area of ondo state. research questions 1. what is the perception by the respondents about the most used channels of information dissemination about diabetes mellitus in akure south local government areas of ondo state? 2. what is the perception about causes of diabetes mellitus among adult residents of akure south local government area of ondo state? 3. what is the perception about the effects of diabetes mellitus among adult residents of akure south local government area of ondo state? 4. what perception about preventive measures against the prevalence of diabetes mellitus among adult residents of akure south local government area of ondo state? theoretic framework this study is anchored on the health belief theoretical model. according to rosen stock and beck (1994). the health belief model is a socio–psychological health behavior change model developed to help explain and predict health related behavior, particularly with respect to acceptance or hesitancy of health interventions. this means that individual beliefs about particular health conditions will go a long way in determine how they will embrace interventions. therefore, the relevance of this theory to this work rests on the fact that embrace of interventions on diabetes mellitus among the adult residents will largely depend on their beliefs of the causes of the disease which invariable determine the type of intervention they are going to embrace. materials and methods the research design adopted for this study is descriptive research design. this allows collection of data in a quantitative manner. the study population comprises adult (male and female) residents of akure south local government area of ondo state. to determine the sample size of the study, leiz fisher’s formula was adopted, below is the calculation. z = standardize normal (1.96) p = prevalence of diabetes mellitus obtained from previous study (knowledge of causes, effects of diabetes, carried out in kwara state (2012). d = degree of accuracy set at 5% (precision) = (0.05) thus, 369 respondents were considered as the sample size. the10% non–response rate was recorded. so, the distributed questionnaire collected back from the respondents was 332. a multistage sample technique was adopted for the selection of the participants for the study. this type of sampling techniques restores the researchers to choose his/her sample in stages until he/she gets the required sample. (asamala, 2012). the choice of the study area https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 15 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 13-18, 2023 was informed by its large population and its centralized location. in using multistage sampling technique, the eleven political wards in akure south local government area were first identified. they are aponmu, gbogil/isikan 1, gbogi/isikan 2, ijomu/obanla, ilesa, oda, odopetu, oke-aro, iro, oshodi/isolo, and owode/imuagun. stage 1 this stage involves using stratified sampling technique to classify these eleven (11) into nine (9) urban wards and two (2) rural wards. stage 2 here, the two urban and two rural wards were selected through simple random sampling by balloting. stage 3 two communities were selected from each of the urban and rural wards. thus eight (8) communities were selected in all four (4) communities from the urban wards and four (4) communities from the rural wards. again, proportionate allocation of sample size was made to each of the communities on the strength of their populations. adult residents between the age brackets of 35 – 65 years were assessed through structured questionnaire. participation was anonymous and voluntary. results and discussion data presentation and analysis the data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency tables percentage and’ yes/no’. the table below provides the socio – demographic profile of the respondents collected in the course of this study. from the below table 1: the result shows that 55 (16.6%) respondents are between 35 – 40 years; 220 (66.3%) are between 41 – 50 years; 40 (12%) are between 51 – 60 years while 17 (5.1%) are above 60 years. this implies that majority of the respondents have attained physical and intellectual maturity. table 1: the socio demographic age group frequency percentage (%) 35 – 40 55 16.6 41 – 50 220 66.3 51 – 60 40 12 >60 1.7 5.1 total 332 100 source: author survey 2023 table 2: educational qualifications education frequency percentage (%) wassce/ ssce o’ level 82 25 nce/ond/hnd 120 36 university degree 117 35 post graduate 13 4 total 332 100 source: author survey 2023 from the table 2: the result shows that out of 332 respondents 82 (25%) had wassce/ssce ‘o’ level result; 120 (36%) had nce/ond/hnd result; 117 (35%) had university degrees and 13 (4%) had postgraduate degrees. the table above shows the sex distribution of respondents. the table 3 shows that male respondents are in the majority (60.2%) while the female population accounts for 39.8% of the respondents. from the above table, out o 332 respondents, 294 (88.6%) respondents are married 20 (6%) are divorced while 18 (5.4%) were single parent. it can be concluded that the majority of the respondents are married. table 3: gender of respondents gender frequency percentage male 200 60.2 female 122 39.8 total 332 100 source: author survey 2023 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 16 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 13-18, 2023 table 4: marital status of respondents marital status frequency percentage (%) married 294 88.6 divorced 20 6.0 single parent 18 5.4 total 332 100 source: author survey 2023 research question 1 what are the most used channels for information dissemination about diabetes mellitus among adult residents in akure south local government area of ondo state. the table above presents the views of the 332 respondents on the most-used information channels about diabetes mellitus. from the results: 80(24)% agreed with hospitals, 50(15%) agreed with community dialogue, 166(53%) agreed with mass media, 22(4%) agreed with group discussions while 14(4%) agreed with markets. the analysis from this table shows that mass media (television, radio, the internet, newspapers, publications) are supported by the majority to be the table 5: respondents’ view on the most used channels for information dissemination s/n variables frequency percentage % 1. hospitals 24 2. community dialogue 6.0 3. mass media 166 53 4. group discussions 22 5. markets 14 4 total 332 100 source: author survey 2023. most-used channels to disseminate information about diabetes mellitus among adults’ residents in akure south local government area. research question 2 what is the perception about the causes of diabetes among respondents? the above table presents the views of the 332 respondents on causes of diabetes. from the results, 263 (79%) agreed that diabetes is caused by high carbohydrate food intake while 69 (21%) disagreed. also, 313 (94.3) disagreed that diabetes can be caused by high intakes of fat and oil while 19 (15.7%) agreed. in the same view 312 (94%) disagreed with the table 6: respondents’ view on causes of diabetes s/n variables yes (%) no (%) 1 do you believe that diabetes is caused by high carbohydrate food intake? 263 (79%) 69 (21%) 2 do you believe diabetes is a genetic disease and cannot be caused by nutritional problem? 63 (19%) 269 (81%) 3 diabetes can result from high intake of fact and oil? 19 (5.7%) 313 (81%) 4 taking too much protein can result in diabetes? 17 (5%) 315 (95%) 5 diabetes is caused by evil forces? 20 (6%) 312 (94 %) source: author survey 2023 superstitious belief that diabetes is caused by evil force while only 20 (6%) agreed. the analysis from the table implies that the majority of the respondents have good knowledge about the causes of the diseases. research question 3 what is the perception about the effects of diabetes mellitus among the respondents? the table below presented the view of the respondents about the effects of diabetes. the table above presents, the awareness of the effects of diabetes; only 31 (9%) disagreed. similarly, 203 (61%) agreed that poor vision is one of the effects of diabetes while only 25 (7.5%) disagreed. in the same vein, 9 (2.7%) agreed that blood urination is one of the effects of diabetes while 323 (97.3%) disagreed. from the analysis above, it can be inferred that the majority of the respondents have good perception about the effects of diabetes mellitus in the body. https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 17 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 13-18, 2023 table 7: respondent’s view on the effects of diabetes mellitus variables yes (%) no (%) loss of weight 301 (91%) 31 (9%) poor vision 203 (61) 129 (39) frequency urination 307 (92.5%) 25 (7.5) tingling 135 (41) 197 (59) sore in the mouth 101 (30) 231 (70) thirstiness 302 (91) 30 (9) loss of appetite 200 (60) 132 (40) blood urination 9 (2.7) 323 (97.3) sleeplessness 126 (38) 206 (62) source: author survey 2023 research question 4 what is the perception about preventive measures against diabetes among respondents? the table 8 presented 332 respondents views on the preventive measures against diabetes mellitus. from the above table: 260 (78%) agreed that diabetes can be prevented by taking foods that are rich in protein and less in carbohydrates, only 72 (22%) had a contrary opinion. 250 (75%) agreed that regular exercise can prevent diabetes while 82 (25%) disagreed. 276 (83%) agreed that diabetes can be reduced by taking fruits and vegetables while 56 (17%) disagreed.244 (73%) agreed that maintaining an ideal weight can prevent diabetes while 88 (27%) disagreed. table 8: respondents’ view on the preventive measures against diabetes mellitus s/n variables yes (%) no (%) 1 diabetes can be prevented by taking food rich in protein and less carbohydrate 260 (78%) 72 (22%) 2 regular exercise 250 (75) 82 (25%) 3 avoiding eating carbohydrate food late in the night 269 (81%) 63 (19%) 4 by taking fruits and vegetables 276 (83%) 56 (17%) 5 by maintaining ideal weight 244 (73%) 88 (27%) 6 reduction in fat in take 192 (57%) 140 (43%) from the analysis above, it can be inferred that most respondents have good perception about the preventive measures of diabetes mellitus. the study investigates the perception about the causes, effects and preventive measures of diabetes mellitus among the adult residents in akure south local government area of ondo state. the findings of this study revealed that the majority of the respondents have good perception about the causes and effects of diabetes mellitus and the preventive measures that can control the disease prevalence among the residents of akure south local government area of ondo state. the findings also provide better understanding of the subject under research. the future research will establish the relationship between the nondisposable and disposable factors and the presentation of the disease. conclusion the study concluded that the good perception of the respondents about diabetes was evident among the adult residents but this did not reduce the prevalence of the disease. the following recommendations are hereby put forwards to checkmate the progression of diabetes mellitus in akure south local government. recommendations 1. governments should intensify the awareness programmes on diabetes among the citizens, particularly through the mass media and community dialogue approach. 2. the use of devices such as glycometer should be encouraged for adult residents in order to check their sugar level regularly. 3. governments should collaborate with ngos in their campaigns against diabetes mellitus. 4. screening for diabetes should be encouraged for men and women in both private and public hospitals for early diagnosis. 5. eating of balanced diet and exercise should be encouraged among adults by the health providers. 6. adults should avoid excessive intake of foods with high glycomic index before bed time . 7. provision of periodic training to health providers to improve their capacity on diabetes care, knowledge and practice. references american diabetes association (1997). economic consequence of diabetes mellitus in the us. diabetes care, 21, 296-309. http://www.ncbi.nih.gov. https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 18 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 13-18, 2023 american diabetes association (2016). statistics about diabetes http://www.diabetes-basics/statistics american diabetes association (2023). diabetes statistics. www.niddk.nih.gov. centre for disease control and prevention (2020). estimates of diabetes and its burden in this united states. national diabetes statistics report: www.cdc. gov. centre for disease control and prevention (2021). update about diabetes topics www.cdc.gov. elegbede, o.e, sanni.t.a., and alabi, a.k.(2022). prevalence and risk factors associated with diabetes mellitus in public secondary schools teachers in ekiti state, ibom medical journals, 15(5), 95-101. www.ibom medical journals.org endocrine society (2022). diabetes and older adults www.endocrine.org erasmus, r. t., fakeye t., olukoga o., okesina, a., b., ebomoyi, e., adeleye, m., and arije, a. (1989). prevalence of diabetes mellitus in a nigeria population. trans r sec. trop med hyg., 83(8), 417 418. https://doi.org/10.1016/0035-9203 ilesanmi, s. o., ojo, a. o.,omotoso, b., ojo, o., junaid, a, o., amenkhienan, i., and alele, o.f. (2017). prevalence of diabetes mellitus and the associated behavioural risks factors among the staff of three secondary schools in owo, ondo state, nigeria. research journal of health sciences, 5(3), 175. https:// doi.org/10.4314/rejhs.v513.7 international diabetes federation idf. (2019). diabetes atlas reports www.idf.org. international diabetes federation. idf (2022). diabetes atlas reports www.idf.org. kleinfield, n. r. (2006). modern ways open indian’s doors to diabetes. new york times. www.nytimes.com narayan, k. m., boyle, j. p, thompson, t. j., sorensen, s.w., williamson, d..f (2003). lifetime risk for diabetes mellitus in the united states. europe pmc, 290(14), 1884-1890. https://doi.org/10.1001/jama 290.14.1884. national diabetes fact sheet (2011). national estimates and general information on diabetes and pre diabetes in united states, centres for disease control and prevention, www.cdc.gov. olatunbosun, s. t, ojo, o. p, fineberg, s. n, and bella, f. a. (1998). prevalence of diabetes mellitus and impaired glucose tolerance in a group of urban adults in nigeria. journal of the national medical association, 90(5), 293-301. ogbera, o. a, and ekpebegh, c. (2014). diabetes mellitus in nigeria. world journal of diabetes, 5(6), 905-911. https://doi.org/10.4239/wjd.5.16.905. torio, c.m.,and andrews, r.m (2013). national inpatient hospital costs: the most expensive conditions by payer, 2011. hcup statistical brief 160. agency for healthcare research and quality. ugwu, e., young, e, and nkpozi, m. (2020). diabetes care, knowledge and practice among primary care physicians in southeast nigeria a cross-sectional study. bmc family practice, 21(128), https://bmcprimcare. biomedcentral.com. washington, r.e., andrews, r.m. and mutter, r.(2013). emergency department visits for adults with diabetes (hcup) statistical briefs. agency for healthcare research and quality, ♯167 pubmed.ncbl. nim.nih, gov. https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 1 pa ge 31 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) appraising the knowledge and the practice of food safety procedure and hygiene among food vendors in akure south local government area of ondo state, nigeria falusi helen oseyemi1* volume 1 issue 1, year 2023 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: april 20, 2023 accepted: may 23, 2023 published: may 28, 2023 the study aims to appraise the knowledge and the practice of food safety procedure and hygiene among food vendors in akure south local government area of ondo state, nigeria. the study adopted a descriptive survey design for the investigation. the sample for the study consists of two hundred and sixty (260) food vendors operating in the study area. a multistage sampling technique was used to select participants from the study population. primary data were collected through structured questionnaire and both descriptive statistics (frequency table, proposition, and percentage, and inferential statistics, chi-square) were used for data analysis. secondary data were sourced from relevant journals, articles government documents, food vendors, associations’ publications and internet materials. the result of the findings showed that majority of the respondents have good knowledge about food safety procedure and hygiene. with respect to the level of practice of food safety procedure and hygiene, majority of the respondents poorly complied with food safety procedure and hygiene in akure south local government. the study further revealed that the government approaches and land enforcement strategies to ensure food safety still remain uncoordinated and had not achieved the desired results. the research also showed that there is a significant association between knowledge of the respondents and food safety procedure and hygiene (r = 12. 39, p < .000). however, there is no significant association between the level of practice of food vendors and the food safety procedure and hygiene (r = 11. 02, p = 0.222). the study found that food vendors in akure south local government area of ondo state had good knowledge of food safety procedure and hygiene, but poor practice. it is recommended that government at all levels take coordinated steps to improve food stall operating conditions such as providing portable water, cleaner environment, efficient waste collecting system and enforcement of food safety regulations. keywords disease, food, hygiene, safety, vend introduction food safety has been testified as one of the ten threats to global health and the outbreaks of foodborne diseases are major public health problems that had caused 70 million illness, 325 hospitalizationsand 5,000 deaths yearly. (iwu . 2017) 20% 40% of such illnesses are associated with the consumption food where street food stalls are the most frequently sources of outbreak of foodborne diseases. (kibret, m., & abera, b. 2012; ifeadike . 2014) several devastating outbreaks of food borne diseases have been reported in the africanregions. in sub-saharan african especially nigeria, despite the efforts of governments. through its national agency for food and drug administration and control (nafdac), and other government bodies to improve the safety of food supply, food safety still remains a major issue that the been exacerbated by the peoples’ ignorance of food hygiene, government’s uncoordinated approach to food safety control and the poor enforcement of food safety legislation and regulations.(moghnia. 2021; raimu. 2019). in addition, climate change resulting in temperature changes has been predicted to influence the risks associated with food production, storage and distribution and therefore has placed greater responsibility on food vendors to ensure the safety of food that they prepare for public consumption [9]. in 1998, the regional office, in collaboration with partners, established the integrated diseases surveillance and response (idsr) in the african region. food poisoning, food borne diseases and food safety have been declared a major public health concern by international health agencies and foods have in many studies been associated with microbiological contamination and low hygiene standards. food vendors are of massive importance for public health since they alone have influence on the health of thousands of people every day. the international health regulations (ihr 2005) cover events of international importance involving contaminated food and outbreaks of food borne diseases. according to the food and agricultural organization (fao), foods are ready to-eat foods and beverages prepared and/or sold by vendors and hawkers especially on the streets and in other public places. however, a vendor is defined as a person who offers goods for sale to the public without having any permanent built-up structure from which to sell. these represent a significant part of urban food consumption for millions of low-and-middle-income consumers, in urban, semi-urban and rural areas on a daily basis. foods may be the least expensive and most accessible means of obtaining a nutritionally balanced meal outside the home 1 deparment of public health, city university, cambodia * corresponding author’s e-mail: falusihelenoseyemi@gmail.com https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs mailto:falusihelenoseyemi@gmail.com pa ge 32 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 31-38, 2023 for many low income people, provided that the consumer is informed and able to choose the proper combination of foods (foa, 2006; who. 2007). in developing countries, food preparation and selling provides a regular source of income for millions of men and women with limited education or skills, especially because the activity requires low initial investment. the problems of food safety in the industrialized world differ considerably from those faced by developing countries. whereas traditional methods are used for marketing fresh produce in the latter countries, food processing and packaging are the norms in industrialized countries. in developing countries, a large proportion of ready-to-eat food is sold on the streets. a study conducted by reported that most of the foods vending activities are sparked by reasons such as unemployment and poverty in the society. mostly, these vendors move from ruralto the urban areas in search for greater opportunities. food vending is a rapidly growing sector and a source of employment in most developing countries like nigeria (isara a.c., & isah, e.c., 2009). attests to this statement by stating that the number of food vendors and their customers has increased as economic crises have become more frequent in developing countries. food may be consumed where it is purchased or can be taken away and eaten elsewhere. the consumption of food is common in many countries where unemployment is high, salaries are low, work opportunities and social programs, are limited, and where urbanization is taking place. food vendors are often unlicensed, untrained in food hygiene and sanitation, and work under crude unsanitary conditions (adesokan . 2015). they benefit from a positive cash flow, often evade taxation, and can determine their own working hours. in selling snacks, complete meals, and refreshments at relatively low prices, they provide an essential service to workers, shoppers, travellers, and people on low incomes (omojokun, j. 2013). people who depend on such food are often more interested in its convenience than in questions of its safety, quality and hygiene. the hygiene aspects of vending operations are a major source of concern for food control officers. according to who (2006), food handling personnel play an important role in ensuring food safety throughout the food production and storage chain. for example, kiosks are often crude structures, and running water may not be readily available. also, toilets and adequate washing facilities are rarely available. the washing of hands, utensils, and dishes is often done in buckets or bowls. disinfection is not usually carried out, and insects and rodents may be attracted to sites where there is no organized sewage disposal. statement of the problem the emergency of food vendors has become very rampant, therefore there is an assumption that by their nature, food contamination is inevitable, yet, millions of people depend on this source of nutrition. education of food industry personnel in hygiene matters has been recommended as a means of improving food handling practices and thus the safety of food. there is, however, a lack of documentary evidence of improvements in food hygiene standards which can be directly related to education or training. ondo state, akure south inclusive had witnessed outbreaks of cholera, diarrhea and lassa fever that had claimed lives of its citizens. this is attributed to unsanitary food practices by food handler in the state. it is thus imperative than an appraisal be conducted to assess what information food vendors have, in relation to food safety. such an appraisal has potential to identify areas that require strengthening or attention in the training programmed with regard to ensuring the safety of foods, especially for vulnerable groups like schools. additionally, legislative changes that may be necessary in the light of such an appraisal could be suggested. research objectives general objective of the study is to appraise the knowledge and the practice of food safety procedure and hygiene among food vendors in akure south local government area of ondo state, nigeria. the research work is guided by the following research questions. (1) what is the level of knowledge of food safety procedure and hygiene among food vendors in akure south local government area of ondo state? (2) what is the level of practice of food safety procedure and hygiene among food vendors in akure south local government area of ondo state? (3) have the governments effectively delivered on their mandate on food safety procedure and hygiene in akure south local government area of ondo state significance of the study the appraisal of the phenomena under investigation will bring more hindsight into the food safety procedure and hygienic practices among the food vendors thereby adding to the body of knowledge of the study under investigation. the study will create more awareness among the residents and food vendors. the study will assist the governments, health officials and food sellers associations to regulate the activities of food vendors in order to forestall outbreaks of food borne diseases. literature review food safety concerns in nigeria while a number of related problems keep food borne disease at high levels within the african region, the root cause is poverty, which affects women and children (ifeadike . 2014). poverty exacerbates food safety problems in many ways and contributes to unsanitary conditions, lack of access to clean water, unhygienic transportation and storage of foods, low education levels among consumers and food handlers, leading to reduced information on food safety, national governments lacking finance to do surveillance, monitoring and implement https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 33 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 31-38, 2023 food safety regulations among others (kibret, m., & abera, b. 2012; raimu . 2019). food is frequently cooked well in advance of consumption and is subject to contamination from exposure to dust and flies. in addition, food preparers and handlers may also be sick with tuberculosis, typhoid, and other illnesses that can contaminate food. numerous programmes have been developed by fao and who to improve the quality and safety of foods in african countries. national policy on food safety the regulation, control, monitoring and evaluation of food safety in nigeria was described in the in the npfsis 2014. (the national policy on food safety and its implementation strategy) in nigeria, the national food safety system (nfss) policy framework is to improve food safety and protect the health of nigeria citizens (a usaid, 2015). npfsis 2014 aims to integrate and harmonies all the existing laws, standards and codes that redefine and coordinate existing food control infrastructures at various levels of government and reduce area of overlap and conflict. the implementation of this policy will minimize the risk of food borne and related diseases. however, many government bodies play a role in ensuring the safety of foods right from the farms to the tables. these three operating national policies with food safety components are: the agricultural promotion policy (2015-2020) of the federal ministry of agriculture and rural development (fmard) the national food and nutrition policy (2016) of budget and national planning (mbnp) and the national policy on the environment (revised 2016) of the federal ministry of environment (fme). there are many government ministries, departments and agencies that are in charge of food safety mandate in nigeria including the local government area (lga) which is the lowest tier of government and that is expected to reach most of the nation’s population who are rural dwellers. some of the mdas are: • federal ministry of health (fmoh) • federal ministry of environment (fme) • federal ministry of agriculture and rural development • standard organization of nigeria (son) • national environmental standards and regulation environment (nesrea). • federal produce inspector service (fpis) • national agency for food and drug control ( nafdac) in ondo state, the department of public health collaborates with the ministry of environment to establish standards for food rending outlets and conduct routine monitoring and inspection of food vending sites for laboratory and physical assessment of compliance. the akure south local government areas nutrition unit under primary health care and environmental department is saddled with responsibilities of ensuring food safety and hygienic practices within the communities. they carry out inspection of food vendors sites, enforcement of regulations, management of food control, monitoring of food and epidemiological data, health education and training of food vendors and handlers in acceptable food preparations and handling practices. food-borne diseases according to who factsheet, over 200 diseases are caused by eating food contaminated with bacteria, viruses, parasites or chemical substances such as heavy metals. the growing public health problem causes considerable socio-economic impact through strains on healthcare system, lost of productivity and destruction of trade and tourism. the diseases contribute significantly to the global burden of diseases and mortality. foodborne diseases are caused by contamination of food and occur at any stage of food production, delivery and consumption chain. they can resolve from several forms of environmental contamination including pollution in water, soil, air, as well as unsafe food storage and processing. foodborne diseases encompass a wide range of illness from diarrhea to cancer. most present a gastro intestinal issues though they can also produce neurological, gynaecological and immunological symptoms. diseases causing diarrhoea are a major problem in all carried disproportionally by low and middle income countries and by children under 5 years of age. challenges faced by food vendorsin ondo state the challenges faced by food vendors are numerous. the major one is government’s policy which requires licenses for the occupied spaces: vendors must also pass food safetyinspections. the inconsistent implementation of this law leads not only to bribery and extortion for protection from the corrupt government officials, but also to frequent government campaigns to destroy carts and stalls to clean the streets. government harassment is by far the most serious problem facing food vendors. according to a report from fao the following are the categorized obstacles faced by the small scale business: internal obstacles: inadequate basic food hygiene, lack of expertise and information, human resources constraints, inadequate infrastructure and facilities; and perceived and real finance constraints. external obstacles: insufficient government infrastructure and absence of legal requirement, lack of business awareness and positive attitude of industry and trade associations, political interference, inadequate information and technical support. methodology the research design adopted for this study is description cross sectional study design. this type of study design reports subjects the way they are. the study population comprises food vendors in akure south local government area of ondo state. leiz fisher formula was adopted for https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 34 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 31-38, 2023 determining the sample size of the study. below is the circulation n = z2pq/d2 z = standard normal (1.96) p = prevalence q = (1-p) d = is the level of precision (0.05 p = 0.21% adopted from previous study on knowledge and practice of food vendor in eruwa oyostate n = z2pq/d2 n= (1.962 x0.21(1-0.21))/0.052 n= (3.84 x 0.21(0.79))/0.0025 n= (3.84 x 0.1659)/0.0025 n= 0.637056/0.0025 n= 254 10% non-respondents was calculated and added to the questionnaire to make a total of 279 questionnaires. the 279 structured questionnaires were distributed among the selected communities. 260 completed were returned back thus, 260 respondents were considered as the same size. a multistage sampling technique was adopted for the selection of the participants for the study. this type of sampling technique requires the researcher to select his/ her sample in stages until he/she gets required sample. in using multistage sampling techniques, the eleven political wards in the local government were first identified. they are ; aponmu (ward 1) ,gbodi /isikan 1 (ward 2), gbodi /isikan 2 (ward 3), ijomu /obanla (ward 4), ilisa (ward 5), oda (ward 6), odopetu (ward 7), okearo(ward 8), iro (ward 9), isolo/ oshodi (ward 10) and owode/imuagan (ward 11). stage 1 stratified sampling techniques were used to stratify the eleven (11) wards in the local government into 9 urban wards and two rural wards. stage 2 here, two (2) urban wards and 2 rural wards were selected through simple random sampling by balloting stage 3 communities in the four (4) selected wards were listed out and two communitieswere selected randomly by balloting. thus, 8 communities (4 rural and 4 urban communities) were selected. the selected communities are: apomu, isikan, oke ijebu, alagbaka, oda, odopetu, gaga and isolo. thereafter, food vendors in the selected communities were accessed using a structured questionnaire. the instrument (questionnaire has two sections: section a: socio-demographic profile of the respondents section b: question on the knowledge of the food vendor on food safety procedure and hygiene; question on the food safety procedure and hygiene among the food vendors; and question on the effectiveness of government in carrying out its mandate on food safety procedure and hygiene in the akure south local government. the questionnaire consists of both open-ended and closeended questions. the reliability of the study instrument was tested through a pre-test conducted in one of the selected communities (isikan). in conducting the pretest a total of 50 respondents were drawn from the selected community for this purpose. data presentation and analysis the data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency table, percentage. also, inferential statistics (chi-square) was later used for hypothesis testing to show association between variables under investigation. section a the table below provides the socio-demographic profile of the respondents table 1 above analyse the age of the respondent. from table 92(35.8%) of the respondent are between the age bracket of36-40yrswhile 55 of table 1: age of the respondents age group (yrs.) frequency percentage% <20yrs 2 0.76% 21-25yrs 32 121.3% 26-30yrs 53 20.4% 31-35yrs 55 21.2% 36-40yrs 92 35.8% >40yrs 25 9.6% total 260 100.0 table 2: sex of respondents sex frequency percentage male 75 28.8% female 185 71.2% total 260 100.0 table 3: marital status of the respondents marital status frequency percentage% single 85 32.7% married 153 58.8% divorced 22 8.5% total 260 100.0 them representing 21.2% are between 31-35yrs of age. 32 (12.3%) of them are between 21-25yrs of age. this implies that the majority of the respondent is still active economically. table 2 above analysed the sex of the respondents. from the table, 185 represent 71.2%of the respondents are female while 75 (28.8%) are male. this implies majority of the respondent are female. from table 3 above, 153(58.8%) of the respondents are married while 85(32.7%) of them are single, 22(8.5%) are divorced. this implies majority of the respondents are married from the table 4 above 195(75%) of the respondents https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 35 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 31-38, 2023 table 4: level of education respondent level of education frequency percentage% no formal education 8 3% primary education 42 16% secondary education 195 75% tertiary 10 4% catering training 5 2% total 260 100.0 table 5: level of education respondent types of food vendors frequency percentage stationary 160 61.5% non stationary 100 38.4% total 260 100.0 have secondary education while 10(4%) of them acquired tertiary education. 42(16%) have primary education and 8(3%) have no formal education while 5(2%) had catering training. this implies majority of the respondents, were educated up to secondary school level and had no formal training in food handling. from the table above 160(61.5%) of the respondent are stationary food vendors while 100(38.4%) are non-stationary food vendors. research question 1 what is the level of knowledge of food vendors in ondo state on foodsafety procedure and hygiene? from the above table 6 majority if the respondents table 6: respondents view on the level of knowledge on food safety variable yes no undecided have you heard of food hygiene 258(99.2%) 2(0.76%) source of information about food hygiene i. television 50(19.2%) ii. radio jingle 150(57%) iii. health working 40(15.3%) iv. others 20(7.6%) lack of food hygiene can cause disease 258(99.2%) 2(0.76%) food borne diseases are i. malaria 2(0.76%) 258(99.24%) 0 ii. typhoid 250(96.2%) 10(3.8%) 0 iii. cholera 290(98%) 5(2%) 0 iv. diarrhoea 256(98.1%) 4(1.9)% washing of hands before work reduce the risk of food contamination 240(92%) 10(3.8%) 10(3.8%) using of gloves while handling food reduces the risk of food contamination 200(76.9) 50(19.18%) 10(3.8%) proper cleaning of utensils reduces the risk of food contamination 180(69.2%) 72(27.6%) 8(3.0%) insects such as cockroaches and files might transmit food borne pathogens 220(84.6%) 35(13%) 5(1.92%) is washing of fruits and vegetables necessary before preparing or eating 250(96.2%) 10(3.8%) 0 does wearing of dirty clothes spread pathogens 155(59.6%) 100(38.5%) 5(1.9%) table 7: respondents view on practice of food safety procedure and hygiene? variables yes no undecided do you cover all food stuffs properly? 100(38.5%) 150 (57.7%) 10(3.8%) do you always re use oil several times for cooking? 150(57.7%) 100(38.5%) 10(3.8%) do you always add leftover food with freshly prepared food to avoid waste? 180(69.2%) 75(28.8%) 5(2%) do you always apply disinfected to mop the floor? 90(34.6%) 150(57.7%) 20(7.7%) do you always put on protective devices when on duty e.g apron? 50(19.2%) 200(77%) 10(3.8%) 258(99.2%) agreed that they have heard about food hygiene before while only 2(0.70%) said they have not. also, 258(92.2%) of the respondent agreed that lack of good food hygiene can cause diseases. 250(91.5%) claimed that washing of fruits and vegetables before preparing or eating is necessary. the above analysis shows that majority of the respondents have good knowledge of food safety procedure and hygiene. research question 2 what is level of practice of food vendors on food safety procedure and hygiene? https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 36 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 31-38, 2023 do you always wash your hand if you sneeze or cough? 100(38.4%) 155(59.6%) 5(2%) do you access to portable water? 50(19.2%) 210(80.8%) 0 from the above table. 150(57.7%) of the respondent equally averred that they don’t use to cover all food stuffs on food store properly while 100(38.5%) said they do. 150(57.7%) claimed they reuse oil for cooking while 100(38.5%) said they did not. on whether the respondents use to add leftover food with freshly prepared food to avoid food wastage, 180(69.2%) of them agreed that they practice the act while 75(28.8%) disagreed. equally while on duty 50(19.2%) said they do. about 200(77%)said they didn’t 115(59.6%) of the respondents averred that they do not always wash their hands after sneezing or coughing while 100(38.4) performed the hand washing at work. also 210(80.8%) of the respondents don’t have access to potable water only 50(19.2%) agreed they have access to potable water. from the above analysis majority of the respondents have poor level of practice of food safety and hygiene procedure? research question 3 have governments (at all levels) effectively delivered on theirmandate on food safety procedure and hygiene in akure south local government area? table 8: respondents’ view on the effective delivery of government mandate on food safety procedure and hygiene in akure south local government area. variables of vendor’s site yes no undecided inspection 97 (37.3%) 157 (60%) 6 (2.3%) enforcement of regulations 42 (16.2%) 207 (79.6%) 11 (4.2%) training and information 87 (33.4%) 171 (65.8%) 2 (0.77%) food control management 70 (27%) 187 (72%) 3 (1%) food monitoring and epidemiological data 30 (11.5%) 220 (84.6%) 10 (3.8%) source: author field study 2023. from the table 8 above, out of 260 respondents, majority of the respondents (157 (69.4%) agreed that government have not effectively delivered on their mandate as regards the inspection of food vendors on food safety procedure and hygiene 97 (37.3%) disagreed while 6 (2.3%) were undecided. on enforcement of regulations, 42 (16.2%) agreed that the government enforce the regulations on food safety procedure and hygiene among food vendors, 207 (79.6%) disagreed, while 11 (4.2%) were undecided. on the training and information dissemination among food vendors , 87 (33.4%) agreed that governments are effective in training and information dissemination, 171 (65.8%) disagreed while 2(0.8%) were undecided. 5 on food monitoring and epidemiological data, 30 (11.5%) agreed that governments are effective, 220 (84.6%) disagreed while none of the respondents was neutral. the above analysis shows that governments have not effectively delivered on their mandate on food safety procedure and hygiene among food vendors in akure south local government area. testing of hypothesis ho1: here is no significant association between the knowledge of the respondents and the practice of food safety in the akure south local government area. from the above: there is significant association between table 9: the knowledge of the respondents and the practice of food safety in the akure south local government area. variable n mean std r sig. level of practice of food vendor 260 28.60 2.42 11.02 0.222 food safety and hygiene procedure 260 26.02 1.42 knowledge of respondents 12.39 0.00 food safety and hygieneprocedure the knowledge of respondents and safety and hygiene procedure. r=12.39, p<.000; hence, null hypothesis should be rejected. ho2: there is no significant association between the level of practice of food vendors and food safety procedure in akure south local government area. meaning of hypothesis this suggests that most of the food vendors have good knowledge offood safety and hygiene procedure. n=260 from the above: there is no significant association between the level of practice of food vendor and food safety procedure in akure south local government area’s= https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 37 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 31-38, 2023 11.02, hence null hypothesis should not be rejected. this suggests the level of practice of food vendor does not support food safety procedure and hygiene. findings this study is to appraise the knowledge and the practice of food safety procedures and hygiene among food vendors in akure south local government area of ondo state, nigeria. in analyzing the data collected, the study revealed that most respondents are within the age bracket of 36-40 years. the majority of the respondents are educated up to the secondary school level (see table 4) this implies they have an understanding of the study under investigation. the study also revealed that majority of the food vendor have no formal training in kitchen services which is risky in ensuring food safety and the majority of the respondent are female ( see table 2) because food vending is seen as a female occupation and they operated in a stationary food stall (see table 5). the majority of the respondents opined that the government has not effectively delivered on its mandate on food safety procedures and hygiene in akure south local government (see table 8)the research further showed that there is significant association between the level of knowledge of food vendor and safety procedure and hygiene. (r=12.39,p<.000) (see table 8) on the contrary,the study showed that there is no significant association between the level of practice of food vendors and food safety procedures and hygiene. (r=11.02, p<2.2). (see table 9). conclusion from the findings of the study, it can be concluded that food vendors in akure south local government area have good knowledge of food safety procedure but poor level of practice of food safety position and hyigene. also, it can be further concluded that government at all levels have not effectively delivered on their mandate to ensure compliance, monitoring, inspection, enforcement of regulations and food control management as regards food safety procedure and hygiene in akure south local government. this research work is similar to the previous research of raimi (2010) on assessment of environmental sanitation, food safety knowledge and handling practice among food handlers of bukateria complexes in iju town, akure north of ondo state, which concluded that the food vendors have good knowledge of food safety but poor practice of food safety procedure and hygiene but contradicted the study of isara (2009) on knowledge and practice of food hygiene and safety in fast food restaurants in benin city, edo state which concluded that there is good knowledge and practice of food safety procedure and hygiene among food handlers in benin city, edo state. juxtaposing the results of these previous findings with the present study in respect to their locations, the following measures are hereby recommended. hence, to improve the safety and hygienic handling of food in the local government, the following recommendations are hereby proffered. recommendations • government should create more awareness about the implications of selling of unsafe food tothe public by collaborating with media houses and food sellers associations. • the various mdas should be more coordinated in their approaches of ensuring food safety. • there should be enactment of legislation to back the government policies on food safety among vendors • government should improve street food stalls operating conditions and facilities such as cleanprotected structures, portable water, and efficient waste collection and disposal systems. • continuous trainings should be given to food vendors in both urban and rural areas toimprove their understanding on the rationale for safe and hygienic practices • corrupt government officials that aid non-compliance with regulations of food safety should be punished. reference akabanda, f., hlortsi, e. h., and owusu – kwarteng (2017). food safety, knowledge, attitudes and practices of institutional food – handlers in ghana. bmc public health, 13, 40. https://doi. org/10.1186/s/2889016-3986-9. adesokan, h. k., akinseye, .v. o., and adesokan, g. a., (2015). food safety training is associated with improved knowledge and behaviors among food service establishments’ workers. int. j. food 94. https://doi.org/10.1155/2015/328761 a usaid eatsafe project report (2015). a review: 7200 aa19ca00010/project year 1 output federal ministry of agriculture and rural development fmard: the agricultural promotion policy (2016 – 2020). food and agricultural organization foa, (2006). food control and consumer protection act. www. ecolex. org. iwu, c. a., uwakwe, k. a., duru, c. b., diwe, k. c., chineke, h. n., meremle, i. a., oluoha, u. r., madubueze, u. c., ndukwu, e., and ohale,. (2017). knowledgeattitude and practices of food hygiene among food vendors in owerri, imo state. nigeria occupational disease and environmental medicine 5, 11-25. https://dol.org/10.4236/odem 2017.5100 ifeadike, c. o., ironkwe, o. c., adogu, p. o. u., and nnebue, c. c, (2014). assessment of food hygiene practices of food handlers in the federal capital territory of nigeria. tropical journal of medical research, 17(1), 10-15. https://dol.org/10.4103/ 11190388.130175. www. tjmr journal.org isara a.c., and isah, e.c., (2009). knowledge and practice of food hygiene and safety in fast food restaurants https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 38 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 31-38, 2023 in benin city, edo state. nigeria postgraduate medical journal. 16(3), 207-212. www. researchgate. net kibret, m., and abera, b. the sanitary conditions of food service, establishment andfood safety knowledge and practices of food handlers in bahir dar town. ethiop j. health sci., 22, 27-35. moghnia, h. o., rotimi, o. v and al – sweih, a. n. (2021). evaluating food safety compliance and hygiene practices of food handlers working in community healthcare settings in kuwali. international journal environmental res. public health, 18(4). 1586. https:// dol.org/10.3390/ ijerph 18041586. www. ncbl.nim. nih.gov omojokun, j. (2013). regulation and enforcement of legislation on food safety in nigeria. mycotxin and food safety in developing countries. https://dx.dol. org/10.5772/ 54423. www.intechopen.com ondo state ministry of health (2023). https:// ondostatemoh. gov.ng/ department. raimu, m. o., nimisingha, d. s., odipe, o. e., adbulraheem, a.f., okolasi-patainnocent, e., habeeb, m. l., and fadeyibi, m. (2019). assessment of environmental sanitations food safety knowledge,handling practice among food handlers of bukateria complexes iniju-town, akure north of ondo state. acta scientific nutritional health, 3(6), 186200. https://dol.org/10.2139/ ssrn. 3422457 tessama, a.g., gelaye, k.a., and chercos, d.h. (2014). factors affecting food handlers and practices among food handlers of dangila town food and drinksestablishment in north west ethiopia. bmc public health. 14, 571. https://dol.org/10.1186/ 14712456-14571. world health organisation (who). (2007). antimicrobial resistance: global report and surveillance. https:// www. researchgate. net/ publication/273130661 antimicrobial-resistance-global-report-on surveillance world health organization (who), (2002). global strategy for food safetysaferfood for better health. https:// apps.who.int/ iris/handle/10665/42559 world health organization (1989). surveillance and management procedures for food handling personnel: report of a who consultation. https:// apps.who.int/ iris/handle/10665/ who (2015) estimates of the global burden of foodborne diseases, geneva, switzerland. world health organisation. https://www.who. int/foodsafety/publications/foodbornedisease fergreport/en. https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 1 pa ge 4 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) the effect of cycling exercises in some biochemical elements and achievement in individual time trial for elite men cyclist’s ali hameed abdul kareem1* volume 2 issue 2, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i2.2449 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: may 09, 2024 accepted: june 11, 2024 published: june 14, 2024 a topic related to the work in the sports area is achieving success in the practice of sports sciences in general and cycling in particular, and research has focused on examining all applications of science, sports physiology, and chemistry due to their significance in creating training regimens and understanding the reactions that arise during and following sports practice. this includes involvement in aising performance, since one of the fundamental effects of increased activity of enzymes, hormones, and energy materials that participate in the processes of nutritional financing of adaptations in the body’s vital systems and organs to resist fatigue resulting from effort is the release of biochemicals that occur within the lifting cells to produce the energy necessary for performance. suitably, the research’s greatest significance resides in developing a training regimen that enhances the bicycle’s performance. the research aims to identify the impact of strikes on specific biochemical components and the accomplishments of individual time trial cyclists. i have already found research from (10) contestants, and searched for new steps in the research. then the model experiments and the main experiment were conducted, and the researcher explained the basic tools used, and after the basic credits of the basic results were joined to the following basics: 1 contributing to the gradual construction of innovative elements in achieving modifications to the research sample to achieve. 2it contributed to bringing about positive changes in the results of biochemical elements, which were reflected in improved achievement. keywords cycling exercises, biochemical elements, achievement, individual time trial race introduction the control of voltage or power output is necessary to reach greater heights based on scientific planning. since science is fundamentally important to the development of training techniques, scientific research has focused on exploring many applications of pure science, such as chemistry and science sports fabrications. examine its techniques and be aware of the reactions that happen both during and after sporting activities, this enhances how well sports are performed. understanding the biochemical alterations that take place in muscle cells to generate the energy required for athletic performance is crucial because of the elevated activity of enzymes, hormones, and energy components involved in metabolic processes. to avoid fatigue and adjust essential bodily devices, today, it is impossible to continue honing the physical skills necessary for the kinds of sports and activities that are enjoyed. boost cycling performance holistically without understanding the physiological changes in the body develop a broad range of physical skills to effortlessly and proficiently meet performance standards, the appropriate bicycle sport training regimen focuses on improving and limiting the cyclist’s training load, which improves performance and boosts the effectiveness of essential devices. steer clear of exhaustion, shield yourself from harm, and speed up the healing process. eating healthily has long been a major priority for people in various cultures. fasting, dieting, and vegetarianism are a few strategies people use and that society supports in order to live longer and be healthier. (macario, 2023). the significance of research in the planning of an educational program to improve graduate performance and attain success, goals are set for each training module, and the body will respond differently. biochemical changes in muscle cells produce the energy required for athletic performance, which is due to increased activity of enzymes, hormones, and energy materials involved in metabolic processes. these changes also result in adaptations in the body’s vital organs, enabling them to withstand the exhaustion of physical training. cycling is an olympic sport that has advanced significantly. despite the demanding and numerous needs throughout the race, cycling has recently witnessed the introduction of spectacular new technologies by accomplishing outstanding successes. cycling races come in a variety of forms, depending on the venue, conditions, and timing of the event. only road races are held in iraq; they consist of general singles races, individual time trail races, and team time trail races, where riders must divide their effort across the designated race distance in order to complete the course in the shortest amount of time. research problem selecting the proper training approach, a well-rounded program, and laboratory testing to assist the trainer in assessing the athlete’s state both physically and chemically and determining the amount of improvement made, by alerting the researcher, he discovered a flaw or imbalance in the training plans employed as well as the absence of 1 department of student activities, al–iraqia university, iraq * corresponding author’s e-mail: alicoach2005@yahoo.com pa ge 5 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 4-9, 2024 biochemical testing, which is based on the analysis of chemical changes occurring within the body and has a direct bearing on the degree of achievement development. these factors demonstrate an athlete’s level of health and serve as indicators of their potential for advancement. research aims 1. prepare special exercises to suit the search sample. 2. know the impact of cycling exercises on some biochemical elements and achievement in individual time trials for elite male cyclists. research assumes 1. there are statistically significant differences between tribal dimensional test results of the research sample’s biochemical elements. 2. the results of tribal-dimensional tests to complete the research sample show statistically significant differences. research areas human domain road racing elite men cyclist’s category of applicants participating in the iraqi league for the year (2023). time domain duration (1/4/2023) to (1/10/2023), including the duration of implementation of the main experiment (10/6/2023) to (18/8/2023). area domain roads (highway baghdad) in baghdad city, as well as the laboratories of the specialized center for sports medicine of the ministry of youth. definition of terms biochemical elements: interactions that take place inside cells as a result of a molecule changing into a different molecule there under the activity of enzymes. (bruno, c. z., evrim, f., zachary, r. a., & betül, k., 2023) , such as the digestive and building processes that are part of the human body’s metabolism (miller, 2021). individual time trial race: the rider will begin alone and race a predetermined distance; the winner is the one who completes the distance in the quickest time. elite men participants may only race a maximum of 20 to 30 kilometers, per uci rules for amateur competitors. (federation, 2010). methodology research methodology because it is appropriate for the nature of the study, the researcher employs an experimental strategy, using a single group design with distant and tribal testing. research society and its appointment the research community was deliberately selected from elite men cyclist’s national team of applicants from all of iraq’s 4 clubs (20) cyclist’s , represented by clubs cyclist’s (al-sinaa , kuya, al-hashed al-shabe , al-atehad al-basre) for the sports season (2023), the sample was chosen in a deliberate manner in order to cooperate with the federation and technical staff in the implementation of the training programme and provide all facilities in the implementation of the research procedures, thereby facilitating follow-up and supervising the implementation of the main trial steps. (al-hashed al-shabe , al-atehad al-basre) because they could not be with the national team’s contestants during the research period. the table 1: indicates the number of the research community, its samples, excluded cyclist and percentage no research society num sample exploratory experience research sample excluded percentage % 1 al-sinaa 7 2 5 25% 2 kuya 7 2 5 25% 3 al-hashed al-shabe 4 4 0 % 4 al-atehad al-basre 2 2 0 % total sample 20 10 100 % research sample 10 50% percentage of the sample in the research community (50%) as shown in table (1). devices and tools that were used in the research 1sony photocopier chinese-made (1). 2stop watch (sewan) (2). 3whistle (1). 4hp laptop (1). 5portfolio of papers (6). 6speed roller training (5). 7cotton wipes (10). 8paper wipes. 9sony type charging batteries (2). 10charger batteries (1). 11cable (hd). 12blower type (crivit) (1). 13bike tools (1). 14racing bikes of different types (10). homogenization sample research to avoid influences affecting research results, the researcher performed the homogenization of the sample in variables (height, weight, age and training age) and table (2) shows this. pa ge 6 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 4-9, 2024 biochemical tests and completion tests approved in the research assessing the alkaline phosphatase enzyme’s efficiency in urine (hassan, 2008) a wine container with a lid is used to collect the urine sample, and it is subjected to rapid laboratory testing. it is kept in a refrigerator at (4) celsius if it is kept for longer than twenty-four hours. the alkaline phosphatase enzyme’s efficacy in diuresis was assessed using the diagnostic kit; it should be noted that the typical ranges for this enzyme’s efficacy in diuresis are (92-21). hemoglobin levels in blood measured (hb) , (haider, 2007) the test’s goal is to determine the blood’s hemoglobin (hb) content. five milliliters of drakken-sulperexine solution are used in the analysis tube for the measurement process. next, a blood sample measuring ten micrometers is added, well mixed, and left for ten to fifteen minutes. during this time, the mixed compound turns hematinic, and the reading in the hb measuring device is taken. recording the form is read in grams straight from the instrument. blood sugar measurement (f.b.s.). (hussein m. g., 2013) within an hour of drawing the blood, a medical assistant who specialized in blood collection took a five milliliter sample. the blood was then directly analyzed in a medical laboratory, where it was stored in a designated container. the achievement test. (karim, 2017) test objective: to measure the achievement of riders in a team time trial race. devices and tools used in the test: bikes for racers that comply with legal specifications. stop watch. whistle. performance description with the assistance of standing officials, the riders take their starting positions as they stand on the starting line. when the start signal is issued, the riders begin their race against time to travel a distance of roughly 20 km on a flat road with a route length of approximately 5 km. the timekeeper notifies the cyclists of how much time is left for the start. registration method the time it takes to complete the test distance is computed, and testers are only allowed one attempt. scientific conditions for the tests validity assessments “honesty is one of the most important standards of test quality” (yassin, 2015). and that it measures what it was intended to measure, as the researcher discovered the subjective honesty factor, which provides statistical significance and a real value to the validity of objective tests by employing reliability under the square root to validate the tests that were created. as displayed in table (3). tests for reliability “stability of measurement means that the scores obtained are accurate and free of error, this means that if the same measurement tool (test or scale) is applied to the same individual or thing any number of times in the same manner and conditions, we will obtain the same value every time” (radwan, 2011). the stability coefficient was found by repeating the tests, and it was applied to (4) riders on days for the period (5/27 28/2023), and the tests were repeated after (5) days, that is, on saturdays and sundays for the period (3 – 4/6/ 2023) and to find the stability of these tests by conducting a simple correlation (pearson) between the tests as shown in table (3). objectivity objectivity is due to the clarity of the instructions for applying the tests and calculating their grades or results table 2: sample homogenization in variables (length, mass, age and age training) skewness std. deviation median mean physical measures 0.082 4.450 171.50 171.30 length (cm) 0.249 3.691 67.50 67.60 mass (kg) 0.296 5.964 211.00 212.75 age (m) 0.913 3.361 23.00 33.25 age training (m) table 3: reliability coefficient and self-validity of the tests no variables measuring unit stability coefficient self-honesty sig 1 alp in urine l/u 0,86 0,92 0.00 2 hb d/g 0,92 0,95 0.00 3 f.b.s mg/dl 0,84 0,91 0.00 no achievement test 1 achievement m/s 0.96 0.93 0.00 pa ge 7 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 4-9, 2024 (yassin, 2015). objectivity is represented in the accuracy and objectivity of measuring devices such as the electronic watch, the hb meter, the glucose measuring device, and the medical laboratory devices for medical analyses. main experiment procedures the pretests were carried out in the laboratories of the specialized center for sports medicine affiliated with the ministry of youth and sports, as well as on the baghdad-highway, on saturdays and sundays for the period (10-11/6/2023), and the conditions related to the implementation of the tests were proven, including sequence, place, time, and air pressure in bicycle tires and others, for the purpose of carrying out post-tests. the training program was implemented on sunday (6/18/2023) and ended on sunday (8/13/2023). the training program included the following: 1a training program was built for a period of (8) weeks, with two medium training sessions and (5) training units in the small training course, so that the total number of training units was (40) training units. 2the load is in the average cycle (1:3) and according to the intensity of the maximum work. 3. general preparation exercises were used in the first intermediate cycle and customized preparation exercises in the second. 4the duration of the training unit ranged from (25) minutes to (150) minutes, according to the principle of gradual loading, and the total time of the training program was (2124.68) minutes. 5the distance of the training unit ranged from (15) km to (80) km, and according to the principle of gradual increase, the total distance of the training program was (1412) km. 6the method of continuous and phased training (interval), low and high intensity, was used in implementing the program within the main department. 7the work-to-rest ratio between one exercise and another was used (0.5), (1.1) and (1.2). 8modern exercises have been adopted and used in training units in the field of bicycles, and these exercises are used in developed countries. 9flexibility and stretching exercises were adopted in the warm-up process to prepare the muscles and avoid injury, and in the cool-down process after training to rest and relax the muscles. post-tests were conducted on thursday and friday for the period (17 18/8/2023), in the laboratories of the specialized center for sports medicine and on the baghdad-highway, with the assistance of the assistant work team. statistical methods used in the research the skewness coefficient, simple correlation (pearson), arithmetic means, standard deviations, and the t-test for correlated samples were all extracted using the statistical bag system. the concept of statistical bags was employed to obtain (hussein m. h., 2024). presentation, analysis and discussion of the results the results of the preand post-tests were arranged in a table and discussed with the aim of achieving the research objectives and validating its hypotheses, as indicated in table (4). the researcher had finished gathering data on the research elements, including biochemical elements and achievement, and had used the statistical package (spss) to treat this data in order to determine the true differences and the impact of using areas of severity on the research sample. table 4: the significance of the differences between the preand post-test results for the biochemical elements and research sample’s achievement, as well as the arithmetic means of the differences and the estimated (t) value statistical laboratories test name measuring unit pretest posttest mean sd t df sig mean sd mean sd alp in urine l/u 67.74 15.598 55.00 16.852 12.742 6.759 5.962 9 0.000 hb d/g 13.840 0.977 14.570 1.044 0.730 0.362 6.373 9 0.000 f.b.s mg/dl 98.20 9.531 83.70 8.782 14.500 5.339 8.589 9 0.000 achievement m/s 28.375 1.464 27.191 1.500 1.184 0.440 8.508 9 0.000 the special exercises used in the training program, which helped to achieve the significant differences, as well as the muscular strength exercises used in the bicycle training program are credited by the researcher for these significant differences in favor of the post-tests in (measuring the effectiveness of the alkaline phosphatase enzyme in urine, blood hemoglobin, blood sugar, and performance). it was created with the competitors’ age group in mind, and the interval training method’s use of high-intensity exercises had the effect of causing adaptations that helped the cyclist maintain a high blood and muscle lactic acid percentage. this helps the cyclist withstand increases in lactic acid levels and maintain a high level of performance to succeed during crucial competition periods. since alkaline phosphatase (alp) is one of the recognized biochemical markers for diagnosing bone deformities, the researcher explains the significant differences in measuring the effectiveness of the enzyme in secretion as the result of a natural significant decrease in the concentration of the enzyme, indicating the presence of a significant decrease in the concentration of (alp) secretion in favor of the post-tests. additionally, the researcher notes that pa ge 8 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 4-9, 2024 the enzyme alkaline phosphatase (alp) increases in cases of rickets, osteomalacia, osteoporosis, and liver diseases like jaundice (abu saffar). (hussein i. b., 2015). alp levels that are lower assist prevent osteoporosis, restore baseline bone regularity, and boost the density of mineral bones, all of which lower the risk of injuries and spinal fractures in athletes. (murray, 2006). the researcher credits post-traumatic intensity exercises in the lactic threshold area and at the lactic threshold, which have aided in alterations in blood and body organs, for the moral disparities in blood hemoglobin in favor of distant testing. because it supplies the necessary amount of oxygen to the working muscles, an increase in hemoglobin in the blood has a major effect on cyclists’ performance in the individual time trail, more hemoglobin in the blood means that muscles will receive more oxygen, which aids in the process of oxidizing energy, developing the functioning of functional devices, and reaching the adaption stage needed to meet the demands of the training loads. ( eastell, r., robins, s.p., colwell, t., assiri, a. m., riggs, b. l., & russell, r. g., 1993). moral arguments in favor of post-blood sugar testing are linked to training program activities that are tailored to the heart rate threshold’s severity areas. this strategy helped reduce the blood sugar level, which is a good thing because it improved cells’ ability to absorb insulin. in the second region, aerobic endurance activities have enhanced heart and other organ function, stimulated circulation, and lowered the rate of sugar. ( kress, b. c., mizrahi, i. a., armour, k. w., marcus, r. emkey, r. d., & santora, a. c., 1999). the exercises used in the training program that assisted in the appropriate adaptations in the functioning body organs of athletes and the program’s construction based on the appropriate scientific bases have influenced the development of performance and achievement are responsible for the moral differences in favor of remote tests in the completion of the research sample. along with avoiding injuries and expediting hospital stays, the stage’s objective aligns with the purpose of the exercises that are performed, because “the organization of training must be within a basis consistent with the objective of the training phase within the preparation phase and the continuation of this type of training will achieve the best performance in competitions leading to the achievement of the best levels of sports achievement” (earlen., 2011). conclusions according to the research findings, the researcher reached the following conclusions the development of ethically significant disparities in biochemical test results favoring remote testing between tribal and postgraduate tests. the completion test findings showed ethically significant differences between the tribal and post tests, favoring the distant test. the achievement of adequate adaptations in the body’s devices for the research and achievement sample has been facilitated by graduation in the creation of training modules. the proposed cycling exercises contributed to positive changes in biochemical test results that reflected improved digital achievement in the individual time trail race of the research sample. scientific training that is planned and executed helps increase the degree of adaptability to functional body devices, accelerate recovery both during and between training modules, and prevent injuries, all of which have a favorable impact on physical performance. dedicated muscle strength training have led to faster and better performance from riders. conventional exercises don’t specifically assist in achieving the necessary development. the use of cycle workouts and their purpose has been made possible by lowand high-intensity, frequent, continuous, and phased training approaches. the creation of the results was aided by the proper use of the trainers’ training program’s language and the dedication to applying it to the experimental research sample. during and in between training modules, the hospitalization and adaption speeds up thanks to the initial intensity zone activities. by adjusting to internal body devices and influencing the development of physical and functional capacities, second intensity (endurance) activities aided in the development of aerobic tolerance. the man’s rotation speed increased to endure force and speed throughout the third intensity zone (rhythm) activities. the development of force tolerance, anaerobic tolerance, speed tolerance, and functional skills was aided by the fourth and fifth tensile zone exercises (lactic threshold and higher, respectively). exercises in the sixth intensity zone, or aerobic capability, improved maximal oxygen consumption, strike size, and heart rate, all of which had a favorable impact on cardiac output and the development of aerobic endurance. the seventh intensity zone exercises (anaerobic capability) contributed to the development of anaerobic and antenna tolerance, speed tolerance, force, tolerance and improved functional capabilities. the research sample’s attainment of the individual time trail was a direct result of the assessment’s contribution to the development of functional and physical capacities. recommendations the training program for cycling instructors is accredited. verification of the necessity of using suitable physical workouts and each rider’s capabilities during training phases in order to preserve fitness and prevent overtraining. verification of the training program’s usage of carefully considered and scientifically prepared workouts to achieve the exceptional achievement of the individual time trail race. pa ge 9 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 4-9, 2024 verification of the necessity of progressively raising training loads while in the training phases. verification of the importance placed on athletic prowess in order to accomplish goals efficiently and without wasting time, money, or effort. verification of the biochemical element measurement conducted prior to the beginning of the cycling season. validation of the achievement rate measurements made throughout the training phases. the necessity of hiring qualified coaches for cycling clubs and national teams. use various training courses in your sample research. using the training program with different age groups and sports. use a different sample of cyclists to see how the exercises affect the development of the cyclists’ total individual time trial race. using training plans and implementing cycling drills on specific riders in preparation for important races aids in improving goal focus. references awaida, e. b. (2015). therapeutic nutrition. al-riyadh: obekan bookstoor. cuevas-zuviría, b., fer, e., adam, z. r., & kaçar, b. (2023). the modular biochemical reaction network structure of cellular translation. npj systems biology and applications, 9(1), 52. https://doi.org/10.1038/ s41540-023-00315-3 earlen., d. (2011). training means and effort parameter in performance weight lifters training:. romania, bucharest. eastell, r., robins, s. p., colwell, t., assiri, a. m., riggs, b. l., & russell, r. g. (1993). evaluation of bone turnover in type i osteoporosis using biochemical markers specific for both bone formation and bone resorption. national center for biotechnology information, 166-167. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01623829 federation, a. c. (2010, may 14). technical regulations. retrieved from https://www.arabcycling federation. com haider, a. k. 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(1st ed.) baghdad: al-falah publishing and distribution library. pa ge 1 pa ge 7 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) an overview of the knowledge and the practice of female genital mutilation among adult women in ondo state, south western nigeria taiwo monisola olufunke1* volume 1 issue 1, year 2023 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: april 02, 2023 accepted: april 27, 2023 published: may 04, 2023 the practice of female genital mutilation (fgm) is one of the very significant health and human right issues in the world according to unicef. a qualitative research methodological and in-depth interview of one hundred and twenty informants were used to investigate fgm’s knowledge and practice in ondo state, southwestern nigeria. a multi-stage sampling technique was used to select the participants from the study population. the findings of the study revealed that the majority of the residents are aware of fgm as it is being widely practiced by traditional birth attendants, an health officials. the study also confirmed that the majority of the respondents are of the opinions that fgm reduces promiscuity, initiates young girls into womanhood; ensures spiritual cleansing; enhances fertility and prevents instant mortality while the majority have inadequate knowledge about the untoward health consequences of the practice. the study concluded that there is high rate of prevalence and poor understanding of the harmful effects of fgm. it is therefore recommended that certain collaborative measures which include aggressive enlightenment programmes. among the communities, enactment of laws as punitive measures for the practitioners of government policy re-engineering and early education of girl’s children on fgm among others have to be implemented to eliminate the scourge in society. keywords advocacy, knowledge, mutilation, prevalence, study population introduction female genital mutilation (fgm), also known as female genital cutting, is defined by world health organisation (2007) as all procedures that involve partial or total removal of the external female genital and or another injury of the external female genital organs for non medical reasons. female genital mutilation (fgm) origin is shrouded in controversy, the exact origin cannot be ascertained but evidence suggests that that it originated from egypt (who, 1996) in africa, fgm is widely practiced in nigeria, egypt, mali, togo, ethiopia, sudan, kenya, somalia and so many other countries where it has been an old traditional and cultural practice among various ethnic groups. (unicef, 2001). fgm is widely practised in nigeria being a country with a large population nigeria has the highest absolute number of fgm cases in the world, accounting for about one quarter (1/4 ) of the estimated 115-130 million circumcised women worldwide (unicef, 2007). in nigeria, among adult women, fgm has the highest prevalence in the southsouth (77%), followed by the south east (68%) and south west (65%). the practise is on a smaller scale in the north (adegoke, 2005) nigeria comprises six large ethnic groups, yoruba, hausa, ibo, fulani, ijaw and kanuri. only the fulani do not practice any form of fgm according to the report on fgm in 2005 by senior coordinator for international women’s issues. okeke, anyachie and ezenyeaku (2012) said that procedure has no health benefit for girls and women but influenced by socio cultural and religious determinants. fgm is promoted behind closed doors by hospital nurses, churches, senior matrons in rural government hospitals, traditional birth, attendants and community elders (olutosin 2021) because of lack of government intervention to control the practice as there is no state or federal laws that prohibit the practice of fgm in nigeria unlike in some countries like scotland where the probation of fgm (scotland) act 2005 made it a criminal to have female genital mutilation carried out in scotland or abroad, and increased penalty from five to fourteen years imprisonment (unicef 2007) . similarly, the director of centre for women studies and intervention (cwsi), abuja in 2010 stated that although the age of which procedure takes place varies from one ethnic group to another, fgm most commonly takes place between 0-7 days after a baby was born or when the woman is pregnant. in ondo state, mothers subject then daughters to the fgm to protect them from being ostracised, beaten, shunned or disgraced (volder and khan, 2007). globally treatment of the health complication of fgm is estimated to cost health systems and individuals uss1. 4 billion per year, this amount is expected to rise unless urgent action is taken towards its prohibition (unicef, 2023) statement of the problem female genital mutilation (fgm) has no health benefits. it is known to be injurious to girls and women in many ways with short and long term health consequences (unicef 2017). it is also a violation of human rights of girls and women. various data presented by health organizations, government records and ngo’s are instructive to appreciate the magnitude of the situation of this barbaric 1 department of public health city university, cambodia * corresponding author’s e-mail: taiwoolufunke2018@gmail.com https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs mailto:taiwoolufunke2018@gmail.com pa ge 8 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 07-12, 2023 practice. an estimated 100 million to 140 million girls are at risk of cutting each year in the african continent alone (who, 2008). in nigeria, the national prevalence rate of fgm is 4% among adult women. despite the campaigns, the practice continues unabated among the residents and is being carried out in a barbaric manners by traditional both attendants and mid-wives with no medical trainings. general objectives of the study the study’s general objective is to investigate the knowledge and practice of female genital mutilation among adult women in ondo state. specific objectives of the study i. to investigate the prevalence rate of female genital mutilation practice among adult women in ondo state. ii. to determine the knowledge of the adult women about fgm in ondo state. iii. to assess the influence of social-cultural and religious factor on fgm in ondo state iv. to evaluate the effects of the existing government efforts on the practice of fgm in ondo state research questions 1. what is the rate of prevalence of fgm practice among adult women in ondo state? 2. what is the level of knowledge about fgm practice among women in ondo state? 3. what are the influence of socio-cultural and religious factors on fgm in ondo state? 4. what are the effects of the existing government efforts on the practice of fgm among adult women in ondo state? significance of the study the paper offers insight into terminology origin, proposed purposes, prevalence of the fgm, the practice and recommendations. the study will assist the government and other stake holders to engage in more aggressive and efficient crusades against the practice of fgm and to formulate policies and laws that will discourage this crude, dangerous, and unhealthy practice. the study will also add to the body of knowledge about the phenomenon under investigation. literature review conceptual review of fgm family genital mutilation (fgm) is also known as female cutting (fgc). ((unicef 2007). this practice is common in many countries, especially in africa, the middle east and southeast asia. (llamas 2017). amnesty international in 2017 stated that the fgm involves the removal of all or part of the labia minora or cutting of the major to create raw surface when are then held firmly by a collar over the vagina when the wound heals. fgm is widely practiced in nigeria with his large population. nigeria has the absolute number of fgm worldwide, accounting for about one quarter of the estimated 115-130 million circumcised women worldwide (unicef, 2001). the national prevalence of fgm is 41% among adult women (unicef, 2023). the origin of fgm is controversial and remains unclear. some scholars have proposed ancient egypt (presentday sudan and egypt) as its site of origin because of the discovery of circumcised mummies from the first century bc. other scholars theorized that the practice spread across the route of slave trade, extending from the western shore of the red sea to the southern, western african regions, or spread from the middle east to african via arab traders. with its widespread prevalence, a multisource origin” has also been proposed, claiming that fgm spread from “original cores” by merging with pre-existing initiation rituals for men and women. despite the complexity and controversies surrounding its origin, the practice of fgm spreads across the globe, serving several socio-religion-cultural purposes for the communities that propagate it. (llamas,2017). classification of fgm there are four types of fgm practiced in nigeria (who 1997). these are: type 1 this is the least severe form of the fgm. this involves the removal of the prepuce or the head of the clitoris and all par5t or part of the clitoris. in nigeria this only involves part excision of only part of the clitoris of only a part of the clitoris. this is also called clitoridectomy. type 2 this is also known as sunna: it is more severe practice and involves the removal of the removal of the clitoris along with partial or total excision of the labia minora. type 3 this is the most severe form of fgm. it involves the removal of the clitoris, the labia minora and adjacent medial part of the labia majora and the stitching of the vaginal orifice, leaving an opening of the size of a pin head to allow for menstrual flow or urine. it is also known as infibulation. type 4 this involves introcision, pricking, piercing or incision of the clitoris and or labia, cauterization, the introduction of corrosive substances and herbs in the vagina and other types. superstitions about fgm religion-sociocultural reasons are being used to propagate the practice of fgm in south western nigeria. fgm is regarded as a tribal tradition or ritual practiced for to preserve chastity and purification (kolawole 2010) and family honour and hygiene, it is also done to protect virginity and prevent promiscuity enhance fertility and https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 9 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 07-12, 2023 inheritance of the family property. it is also believed that mutilation of female genitals will prevent itching and bedwetting and prevent mother and child from dying during child birth ( monegan, 2010). health complications of fgm apart for being a violation of women’s and girls’ human rights (babatunde1998), and possible outbreak of matrimonial disharmony, some of the adverse health consequences are pain and haemorrhage (versin, 1975), infection, acute urinary refection damage to the urethra or anus, chronic pelvic infection, acquired gycnatresia. resulting in hematocolpos, vulva adhesions, dysmenorhea, retention cysts and sexual difficulties with anorgasmic, dermoid cysts, keloids and sexual dysfunction (okeke, anyachie and ezenyeaku, 2012). prevalence of fgm in ondo state a non-governmental organisation, movement for the survival of the underprivileged (mosup) has decried the increasing rates of female genital mutilation and cutting (fgm/c) in ondo state, urging the state government and humanitarian groups to reduce the scourge. ondo state has recorded spates of fgm/c in recent times and this is common in the akoko area of the state, exposing the girl-child to service of mental and psychological problems, ondo state has a 45% prevalence rate of circumcised women. according to the abiye safe motherhood repost by ondo state ministry of health in 2015, despite the implementation of safe motherhood programme of ondo state government between 20092017 and series of activities of the inter-africa committee on traditional practices (iac) particularly with regards to fgm which focused on the reproductive health of women and health issues of children, the fgm practice is still rampant in the state. efforts of the government the ngos and other stakeholders to control fgm in nigeria as the female genital mutilation thrives in africa, there is a law that has criminalised female genital mutilation (fgm) in africa. article 5 of the protocol to the african charter, which nigeria is a party to, on the human and people’s rights on the rights of women in africa titled elimination of harmful practices states: “parties shall take all necessary legislative and other measures to eliminate such practices, including : (b) prohibition, through legislative measures backed by sanctions of all forms of female genital mutilation, scarification, medicalisation and paramedicalisation of female genital mutilation, and all other practices in order to eradicate them:.” in nigeria, there is no federal law banning female genital mutilation or cutting but section 34(1)(a) of the 1999 consistence of the federal republic of nigeria that states: no person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment as the basis for banning the practice in nigeria. in 1994, nigeria joined other numbers of the 47th world health assembly to resolve to elimination fgm. steps taken so far to achieve the include establishment of a multi-sectorial technical working group on harmful traditional practices surveys on htps, launching of a regional plan of action and formulation of a national policy and plan action, which was approved by the federal executive council for the elimination of fgm in nigeria. in nigeria, fgm is being tackled by who, united nations international children emergency fund (unicef). federation of international obstetrics and gynaecology (fiog), african union (au), the economic commission for africa (eca) and many women organisations. intensification of education of the general public at all levels has been done with emphasis on the dangers and undesirability of fgm. despite the increased international and little national attention the prevalence of fgm has declined a bit (okunade, okunowo and omosakin, 2016) from how it was years ago but the prevalence is still influenced by level of education and the geographical location. theoretical framework of the study the wealth belief model in health psychology is used to explain health behaviour. the health belief model provides the most appropriate theoretical framework to predict a variety of health behaviour. the basic components of the health belief model are derived from a well – established body of psychological and behavioural theory whose models hypothesise that behaviour depends mainly upon two variables (i) the value placed by an individual on a particular goat; and 2. the individual estimate of the likely hood that a given action will achieve that goal. in the context of healthrelated behaviour, these correspondences are (1) the desire to avoid illness (or if ill, to get well). and (2) the belief that a specific health action will prevent illness. this health belief model (hbm) is a social-cognitive model developed in the 1950s by the us public health services (mullen, heresy and inversion, 1987), which is often used to explain and predict health related behaviour (stretcher and rose stock, 1997). the relevance of this theory to the study lies in the fact that female folk will only accept any intervention with respect to female genital mutilation eradication based on their belief of the potential benefits of such intervention and the perceived negative impact of the practice. methodology the qualitative research employed for this study elicited secondary from previous researches, medical journals, from ngos and internet materials that are relevant to this investigation. 120 love hundred and twenty data from indepth interviews of informants selected randomly across the three senatorial districts of ondo statelocal government areas were also gathered. ondo state is one of the 36 states in nigeria. the three senatorial district are: (i) northern senatorial districts consist of the following https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 10 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 07-12, 2023 6(six) local government areas: akoko north west, akoko north east, akoko south west, akoko south east, ose and owo. (ii) central senatorial district consists of the following (six) local government areas. akure north, akure south, ondo west, idanre and ifedore. (iii) southern senatorial district consists of the following local government areas: ile-oluji/ okeigbo, odigbo, okitipupa, irele, ilaje and ese-odo. one local government was selected from each senatorial district through a multistage sampling technique and the sample size of 120 respondents selected randomly with the communities in the three local government areas by balloting. the three selected local government’s areas an akoko north west, akoko south and okitipupa. the data generated from both primary and secondary sources were analysed and presented in this research paper. socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents consist: • 120 adult women between the age brackets of 35-65 years. • majority of the respondents are educated up to secondary school level. • they are female selected from the communities in akokonorth west, akure south and okitipupa local government areas. • there are 80 christians, 30 muslims and 10 traditionalists. research question 1 what is the prevalence rate of fgm practice among adult women in ondo sate? from the analysis of the opinions of the 120 respondents: • 88(73%) agreed that fgm is good while 32 (27%) disagreed. • 90 (75%) agreed that the rate of the fgm practice among adult women is still rampant, 10 (8%) disagreed, while 20 (17%) are undecided. • 83 (69%) of the respondents will encourage fgm on their female children, 18 (15%) will not encourage the practice on their female children, while (16%) were undecided. • 85(71%) of the respondent were circumcised while 35 (29%) were not circumcised. • 87(73%) had performed fgm their female children while 33(27%) had not performed the practice on their female children. • the results show that the level of prevalence is high and the practice will continue if not prohibited. research question 2 what is the level of knowledge of the residents about fgm practice in ondo state? from the analysis of the opinions of 120 respondents: • 16 (13%) had adequate knowledge of different types of fgm while 104 (87%) did not. • 29 (24%) of the respondents had adequate knowledge about the possible health complications of fgm while 91(76%) did not. • 93(78%) believed the superstitions about fgm while 27(21%) did not. from the results, if shows the respondents had poor knowledge about fgm . research question 3 do social, cultural and religions factors have influence on the fgm practice among adult women in ondo state. variables education from the opinions of 120 respondents, • 81(68%) agreed that fgm is barbaric as the practice is more pronounced among the residents with little or no education while 39(33%) did not agree. religion there is higher acceptance of fgm among the traditionalists, then followed by christians while muslim population recorded lowest incidents. majority of the respondents believed that the practice of fgm has religious backing. culture • 75(63%) the respondents opined that that culture has significant influence on the practice fgm while 20(17%) disagreed, 25(21%) were undecided. from the analysis of the opinions of 120 respondents, majority supported that social-economic and religious factors had significant influence on fgm practice among adult women in ondo state. research question 4 do the existing awareness campaigns have effects on fgm practice in ondo state? from the opinions of 120 respondents, • 87(68%) of the respondents opined that the awareness campaigns and sensitisation programmes did not affect the high prevalence, 28(23%) disagreed and 5(4%) were undecided. from the result, it shows that the existing crusades against fgm practice in ondo state has not yielded desired results. results and discussion the purpose of this study is to investigate the knowledge and the practice of female genital mutilation among adult women in ondo state, south western nigeria. fgm originated from controversial sources and adult women as these is no laws to regulate the practice. it was revealed that most women had poor knowledge about the harmful effects of fgm on the women folk. the findings of the study revealed that the existing awareness campaigns and sensitization programs by the governments, health organisations and nongovernmental organisations did not produce the expected results as the fgm practice continues without checks mostly in rural areas. social-cultural and religious https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 11 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 07-12, 2023 variables are promoting it. however the findings of the study provided better understanding about female genital mutilation. the findings of this study are similar to previous researches of: 1. okeke, anyaechu and ezenyeaku (2012) on an overview of female genital mutilation in nigeria. 2. monegan (2010) on “patriarchy: perpetuating the practice of female genital mutilation. 3. world health organisations and the facts sheets in 2007, 2010 and on female genital mutilation. 4. llamas (2017) on’. female circumcision: the history, the current prevalence and the approach to a patient. the future research should provide more hind sight into the prevalence of fgm practice among the various ethnic/sub-ethnic groupings within the geographical entity of ondo state. conclusion the study concluded that fgm practice in ondo state is deeply entrenched in cultural and religious roots; hence its wide practicability by the residents in ondo state. to sincerely win the war against this obnoxious practice, a multi-dimensional approach is needed by the government at all levels and by the ngos. the following recommendations are hereby proffered after juxtaposing this study with the positions of previous scholars. recommendations the findings of the study have revealed that all the factors investigated are important. hence, the following were recommended to control or eradicate the practice of fgm. • more aggressive public campaigns and enlightenment programmes on the harmful effects of fgm and demystification of myths that surround fgm. • early girl-child education is very important so as to enhance their decisions regarding their health and that of their children, including their female children when they eventually grew into adulthood. • enactment of laws that will prohibit the practice of fcm and punish the practitioners by the government at all levels. • governments should partner with ngo’s to strengthen the strategies of abolishing the practice of fgm. • the government should provide alternative vocations for the traditional birth attendants references abdel – azim, s. (2012). psychological and sexual aspects of female circumcision. african journal of urology, 19, 141 – 143. ahmadu, f. (2000). an insider/outsider reflects on power and excision, female circumcision in africa; culture, controversy and change. london lynne runner, 283-312 babatunde, e.d. (1998) . women’s right versus women rites: a study of circumcision among the ketu yoruba of south western nigeria. trenton (nj) africa world press. baren, e.m. and denmark, r.l. (2006). an exploration of female genital mutilation. annals of the new york academy of sciences, 1087(1), 339-355. braddy, c.m, and files, j.a (2007). female genital mutilation. cultural awareness and clinical considerations. journal of midwifery and women’s health, 52(2), 158-163. campbell, c.c. (2004). care of women with female circumcision. journal of midwifery & women’s health, 49(4), 364-365. canoll, j., epstein, r., fiscella, k., volpe, e., diaz, k., and omar.s. (2007) .knowledge and beliefs about health promotion and preventive health care among somali women in the united states. healthcare for women international, 28(4), 360-380. daley, a. (2004). clinical caring for women who have undergone genital mutilation. nursing times, 100(26), 32-35. kolawole., a.o., and a.o., and auke, v.k. (2010). a review of determinants of female genital mutilation in nigeria. journal of medical sciences, 1(2), 510-515. kamdala, n.b., nwakeze n., and kanoala, s.n. (2009). spatial distribution of female genital mutilation in nigeria. american journal tropical medical hygiene, 81, 784792. llamas, j. (2017). female circumcision: the history the current prevalence and the approach to a patient. monagan, s. (2010). patriarchy: perpetuating the practice of female genital mutilation. journal altern prospect social science, 2(1), 160 – 181. odukogbe, a.a, afolabi, o.o, bello, o.o, and adeyinju. s.a (2017). female genital mutilation cutting in africa.6(2). www.tau.amegroups.com okechukwu, a,a. (2013). pregnancy – no longera death sentence in ondo state. https: // www. afrimind .org/ pregnancy–no-longer-a-death-sentence-in-ondo state okeke, i.c., anyaechu, u.s.b., and ezenyeaku, c.c.k (2012). an overview of female genital mutilation in nigeria. annals of medical & health sciences research, 2(1), 70-73. okunade, k., okunowo a., omisakin, s. (2016). an institutional survey of female genital mutilation in lagos, south –west nigeria. orie journal medical, 28, 1-2. oluwaseun akingboye (2018). group decries high rate of female genital mutilation in nigeria. the guardian nigeria news. https/guardian.ng/guardian-woman /group-decrees-high-rate-of-female-genitalmutilation-in-ondo. oluwatosin, o. a (2020). female genital mutilation thrives in secrecy. part two./570-safeworld/ correspondents/812-olutosin-oladosu-adebowale. html/ ondo state ministry of health (2015). abiye safe motherhood report. http://ondostatemohgov.php orchid project (2014). fgc in nigeria: in-depth report. https://orchidproject.org/news/fgc.in.nigeria-anin https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 12 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 07-12, 2023 depthrepost owojuyigbe, m., bolorunduro m-e., and busari (2017). female genital mutilation as sexual disability: perceptions of women and their spouses in nigeria. reproductive health matters, 25(50), 80-91. senior coordinator for international women’s issues: (2005). report on fgm cutting. the african child policy forum (2013). prohibition of female genital mutilation (fgm) international and regional framework. the african child policy forum (acpc.)http://www.africanchild forum .org unicef (2001). children’s and women’s right in nigeria: a wake up call. situation assessment and analysis. harmful traditional practices (fgm). www. onlinenigeriadailynews. unicef (2007). female genital mutilation statistics. unicef data.wwwdate.unicef.org unicef (2023). female genital mutilation statistics. unicef data. wwwdate.unicef.org who (1997). female genital mutilation. a joint who/ unicef/unfpa statement. world health organization (2010). female genital mutilation. who media centre fact sheet no 241 world health organization (2023), female genital mutilation. who fact sheets https//www.who. in/news.room/fact-sheets/detail/female-genitalmutilation yoder, p. s., and khan, s. (2008). numbers of women circumcised in africa: the production of a total. macro international incorporation.https://dhsprogram.com/ pubs/pdf/wp39/wp39.pdf https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 1 pa ge 11 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) the influence of transformational leadership on nurses’ performances in indonesia kartika ningsih desy1* volume 2 issue 1, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i1.2502 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: january 28, 2023 accepted: february 25, 2024 published: february 29, 2024 leadership has been known as one of the most influential factors in enhancing job performance. leaders play a crucial role in this endeavor by facilitating opportunities for skill enhancement through training initiatives and other skill-improving activities. this study implements a qualitative approach, with deep interviews as the data collection method. the study was performed in several hospitals in indonesia that apply transformational leadership styles to their management atmospheres. the research findings underscore the pivotal role and the potential of transformational leadership style as a driving factor for improved performance. building upon these findings, it is recommended that leaders intensify efforts to enhance the leadership style and bolster further training programs to ensure a broader participation base. additionally, transformational leadership can potentially provide specialized resources tailored to the nurses’ specific functional responsibilities. this may include the provision of learning modules covering various areas surgical medical-surgical, communication, and documentation. by equipping these nurses with the requisite knowledge and skills, leaders empower them to fulfill their duties effectively, thereby fostering a culture of service excellence within the institution. keywords transformational leadership, nurses’ performance, hospital introduction adaptability is paramount for survival and growth in today’s dynamic and fiercely competitive organizational landscape, marked by ever-evolving complexities. it is imperative for organizations, spanning various sectors including the corporate realm, to exhibit heightened responsiveness to navigate these shifting tides effectively. recognizing this imperative, scholars such as alrowwad et al. (2020) underscore the indispensable role of individual change in facilitating organizational transformation. however, effecting this alignment between organizational and individual change poses a formidable challenge. leaders, as the vanguards of organizational culture and ethos, wield significant influence in catalysing such transformative shifts (labrague et al., 2020a). thus, initiating and championing change initiatives necessitates proactive engagement from leadership, starting at the apex of the organizational hierarchy. by serving as exemplars of change, leaders set the tone and direction for organizational evolution (finkelstein et al., 2009). their commitment to personal growth and adaptation not only instils confidence within the workforce but also fosters a culture conducive to change and innovation. consequently, by leading by example, leaders inspire individual change and cultivate a collective mindset geared towards embracing and leveraging change as a catalyst for organizational advancement. in contemporary organizational contexts characterized by rapid change and heightened competition, the imperative for effective leadership has never been more pronounced. acknowledging the exigency of navigating turbulent waters, scholars have emphasized the pivotal role of reformist leaders in driving organizational change (gill, 2002) these leaders, imbued with a visionary outlook and a propensity for innovation, serve as the driving force behind transformative initiatives, steering their organizations towards sustainable growth and adaptation in dynamic environments. central to the discourse on effective leadership is the concept of employee engagement, which has garnered considerable attention in organizational research. numerous studies have underscored the intricate relationship between transformational leadership and employee engagement, positing transformational leaders as catalysts for fostering a sense of purpose, motivation, and commitment among their subordinates (dwivedi et al., 2020; labrague et al., 2020b). furthermore, empirical evidence consistently links heightened levels of employee engagement to enhanced organizational performance across various domains (barreiro & treglown, 2020; setyaningrum & pawar, 2021). these findings underscore the significance of nurturing a workforce that is not only intellectually and emotionally invested but also actively aligned with organizational goals and values. despite the burgeoning body of literature on the individual constructs of transformational leadership, employee engagement, and performance, there remains a conspicuous gap in scholarship concerning their interrelationships. while extant research has established the direct impact of transformational leadership on employee engagement and subsequently on performance outcomes, the mediating role of employee engagement in the relationship between transformational leadership and performance has received scant attention. this gap in knowledge represents a critical lacuna in our understanding of the underlying mechanisms through which transformational leadership exerts its influence on organizational effectiveness (olofunke, 2023). 1 universitas indonesia maju, indonesia * corresponding author’s e-mail: deskartik123@gmail.com pa ge 12 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 11-16, 2024 addressing this gap holds significant implications for both theory and practice. by elucidating the mediating role of employee engagement, scholars can offer nuanced insights into the intricate dynamics of leadership and organizational performance. from a practical standpoint, such insights can inform the development of targeted interventions and leadership strategies aimed at enhancing employee engagement and, by extension, organizational performance. thus, future research endeavours should be focused to unravel the complexities of this relationship, thereby advancing our understanding of effective leadership in contemporary organizational settings (islam et al., 2021). the regional general hospital (rsud) in indonesia, operates as a vital governmental institution within the healthcare sector, catering to the diverse medical needs of the local populace. as a subsidiary of the regional government system, its mandate encompasses the enhancement of public health and the provision of quality healthcare services to the community. central to its operational framework is the delivery of professional medical care, with nurses assuming a pivotal role as primary caregivers who engage extensively with patients, medical professionals, and administrative personnel. given their frontline position, nurses play a fundamental role in ensuring the delivery of compassionate and effective healthcare services (baljoon et al., 2018; botchwey & ahenkan, 2021). their daily interactions with patients, alongside their collaborations with doctors and management, underscore their multifaceted responsibilities spanning clinical care, communication, and administrative duties. as such, their professionalism and dedication serve as linchpins in upholding the hospital’s commitment to excellence in patient care. furthermore, rsud prioritizes transparency and accountability in its operations, exemplified by its robust system for addressing patient grievances. patients and their families are afforded the opportunity to voice their concerns and lodge complaints, either directly or through established channels, thereby facilitating continuous feedback and quality improvement initiatives. this patientcentric approach underscores the hospital’s unwavering commitment to fostering a culture of responsiveness and accountability, thereby ensuring that the healthcare needs and concerns of the community are addressed promptly and effectively. in essence, rsud stands as a beacon of healthcare excellence in indonesia, embodying the values of professionalism, compassion, and accountability in its pursuit of enhancing the health and well-being of the local populace. through its dedicated workforce and patient-centred practices, the hospital remains steadfast in its mission to provide accessible, high-quality healthcare services to all members of the community (friebel et al., 2018). apart from its pivotal role in building healthy community, the environment in healthcare is increasingly fraught with problems such as payment reduction, higher workload, turnover, and professional conflicts (mwachofi et al., 2011). there are several complaints often delivered by patients attended indonesian rsud, through both direct and indirect channels. direct complaints are typically addressed during working hours, either to relevant unit officers or directly to the public relations department. conversely, indirect complaints may be lodged through various avenues such as mass media, call centres, or questionnaire sheets provided by the hospital. the complaint data highlights several recurring issues brought forth by patients or their families (hidayah & nurmiati, 2021). these include concerns related to administration, behaviour and communication of hospital staff, quality of treatment, queueing times, facilities and infrastructure, as well as response times or processing speeds. notably, a substantial portion of these complaints pertains to aspects directly linked to nurse performance, underscoring the significance of addressing these issues within the nursing department. despite concerted efforts, the report from the nursing department indicates a performance gap in the inpatient unit. in response to these challenges, the hospital administrations adopt a proactive approach focused on identifying root causes, implementing corrective measures, and fostering a culture of continuous improvement within the nursing department. this may entail initiatives such as comprehensive training programs to enhance communication and interpersonal skills among nursing staff, streamlining administrative processes to reduce wait times, and investing in infrastructure upgrades to improve overall patient experience. furthermore, fostering open communication channels and soliciting feedback from patients and staff can facilitate a deeper understanding of the underlying issues and inform targeted interventions. however, evidence shows that there is still a relatively low performance on inpatient treatment cases over the last six months, underscore critical areas for improvement within the nursing department. while nursing documentation activities are being carried out, the failure to meet established standards highlights systemic challenges that warrant attention. one plausible explanation for these shortcomings could indeed be attributed to the leadership style and work involvement of nurses within the hospital. leadership plays a pivotal role in shaping organizational culture, setting expectations, and fostering accountability among staff members. in this context, the influence of leadership styles, particularly transformational leadership, on nursing performance cannot be overstated. transformational leaders have the potential to inspire and motivate their teams, instilling a sense of purpose and commitment that drives excellence in patient care. concurrently, the level of work involvement among nurses is another crucial determinant of performance. high levels of work involvement signify a deep sense of engagement and dedication to one’s role, resulting in enhanced productivity and quality of care. however, if nurses perceive a lack of support or recognition from leadership, it can adversely impact their morale and motivation, potentially leading to suboptimal performance pa ge 13 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 11-16, 2024 and incomplete documentation practices. addressing these challenges necessitates a multifaceted approach that encompasses leadership development, fostering a culture of accountability, and providing adequate support and resources for nursing staff. leadership training programs can equip leaders with the skills and tools necessary to inspire and empower their teams effectively. additionally, initiatives aimed at promoting greater work involvement, such as recognition programs and opportunities for professional growth, can bolster morale and motivation among nurses, thereby enhancing their performance and commitment to documentation standards. furthermore, establishing clear expectations and protocols for nursing documentation, coupled with regular monitoring and feedback mechanisms, can help ensure compliance with established standards. literature review performance within a government agency serves as a critical yardstick for evaluating the effectiveness and efficiency of its operations, aligning with the overarching vision and objectives of the organization. as articulated by spreitzer & porath (2012) and tătar (2011), performance is a key indicator of an agency’s success in achieving its goals and objectives, providing valuable insights into the efficacy of operational policies and their impact. in essence, performance encompasses both tangible outcomes and intangible manifestations of work, spanning physical/material as well as non-physical/nonmaterial domains (nandasinghe, 2020; porter, 1998; warr & nielsen, 2018). at its core, employee performance, as defined by riyanto et al. (2021) pertains to an individual’s capacity to fulfil their assigned responsibilities and tasks, typically gauged against predetermined success indicators. this evaluation process facilitates the categorization of employees into varying performance levels, often delineated as high, medium, or low, or as exceeding, meeting, or falling short of targets. such categorizations offer a comprehensive overview of an employee’s overall performance, enabling stakeholders to discern patterns, identify areas for improvement, and make informed decisions regarding resource allocation, policy refinement, and strategic planning. by systematically evaluating and interpreting performance data, government agencies can optimize their operations, enhance service delivery, and ultimately advance their mission of serving the public interest. in sum, performance serves as a cornerstone of organizational effectiveness, providing the requisite insights and benchmarks for continuous improvement and strategic decision-making within government agencies (ersarı & naktiyok, 2022). by prioritizing the cultivation of high-performance cultures and fostering accountability at all levels, agencies can strive towards greater efficiency, transparency, and responsiveness in fulfilling their mandates and serving the needs of their constituents. leadership, as elucidated by various experts in the field, represents a multifaceted phenomenon characterized by its dynamic and influential nature. at its core, leadership can be conceptualized as a process of influence that unfolds within the intricate interplay between leaders and their subordinates (kasapoğlu, 2018; nandasinghe, 2020). while the essence of leadership lies in its relational dynamics, scholarly discourse often emphasizes the figure of the leader as a focal point for analysis and understanding. rost, as cited by thompson & glasø (2018), articulates leadership as a relational nexus marked by mutual influence between leaders and followers who aspire for tangible change aligned with shared goals. this conception underscores the interactive and reciprocal nature of leadership dynamics, emphasizing that influence is not unilateral but rather manifests as a symbiotic relationship devoid of coercion. thus, leadership emerges as a dynamic process characterized by reciprocal influence, wherein both leaders and followers actively shape and drive organizational change (banutu-gomez & banutugomez, 2016; jansson, 2013). crucially, leadership entails a collective endeavour towards effecting meaningful change, with leaders serving as catalysts for translating shared aspirations into actionable outcomes. importantly, the impetus for change emanates from a shared vision embraced by both leaders and followers, underscoring the collaborative nature of leadership pursuits (lynch, 2015). this shared vision serves as a guiding beacon, motivating individuals to transcend personal interests and coalesce around common objectives. as explored in the current study, transformational leadership epitomizes a leadership paradigm characterized by the ability to inspire and mobilize employees towards collective goals while transcending self-interests (alrowwad et al., 2020; dwivedi et al., 2020). dwivedi et al. (2020) delineate four key dimensions of transformational leadership: idealized influence, intellectual stimulation, inspirational motivation, and individualized consideration. these dimensions encapsulate the leader’s capacity to engender admiration, stimulate intellectual curiosity, foster motivational fervour, and demonstrate personalized care towards subordinates. in essence, leadership unfolds as a collaborative endeavour predicated on mutual influence and shared aspirations, with transformational leaders embodying the ethos of inspiration, motivation, and collective empowerment. through their adept navigation of relational dynamics and commitment to shared goals, transformational leaders galvanize organizational change and propel their teams towards sustained success. materials and methods the research methodology employed in this study aligns with a qualitative approach, as advocated by. in this study, the data collection method is operationalized with a nonstructured or open interview. to picture the sources’ demographic condition, we also provide data regarding age distribution, working period, and gender. by leveraging this methodological framework, the research pa ge 14 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 11-16, 2024 aims to elucidate the influence between phenomena under investigation, namely transformational leadership and nurse performance. overall, through meticulous data collection and analysis, the study endeavours to contribute to the body of knowledge on leadership and performance dynamics within healthcare organizations. the collected data will be analysed qualitatively to provide systematic and comprehensive results. results and discussion the demographic characteristics of the respondents reveal that the majority fall within the age range of 25 to 35 years old, which aligns with the broader demographic trends observed among nurses at the hospital. this demographic profile holds significant implications for the study, as younger nurses are often perceived to possess greater physical strength and vitality, which may contribute to heightened productivity and effectiveness in delivering healthcare services to the community. the prevalence of younger nurses underscores the importance of considering age-related factors in examining the relationships between transformational leadership, work involvement, and employee performance within the hospital setting. by accounting for demographic variables such as age, researchers can gain deeper insights into how age influences nurses’ attitudes, behaviours, and performance outcomes, thereby informing targeted interventions and strategies aimed at enhancing organizational effectiveness and employee well-being. the findings of this study indicate a significant and simultaneous influence of transformational leadership on nurses’ performance. this result underscores the pivotal role of transformational leadership in shaping and enhancing nurse performance within the healthcare setting. transformational leaders, characterized by their ability to inspire, motivate, and empower their subordinates, play a crucial role in fostering a culture of excellence, innovation, and patient-centred care. transformational leaders can effectively mobilize and empower nurses to deliver high-quality healthcare services while achieving organizational goals by cultivating a shared vision, providing intellectual stimulation, and demonstrating individualized consideration. the substantial contribution of transformational leadership to nurse performance highlights the importance of investing in leadership development initiatives and fostering a supportive organizational climate that nurtures and sustains transformational leadership behaviours. by empowering leaders to embrace their role as change agents and champions of excellence, healthcare organizations can enhance nurse engagement, satisfaction, and ultimately, patient outcomes. overall, the research findings underscore the significance of transformational leadership as a key determinant of nurse performance, emphasizing the need for strategic interventions aimed at fostering and sustaining transformational leadership practices within healthcare leadership structures. the outcomes of this research serve to reinforce the conclusions drawn by (alrowwad et al., 2020), highlighting the substantial impact of transformational leadership and work engagement on employee performance when examined concurrently. within organizational contexts, leadership plays a paramount role in steering subordinates towards task accomplishment while nurturing an environment conducive to professional growth and productivity (erezina et al., 2023). transformational leaders possess the unique ability to not only provide clear direction and guidance but also to inspire and instil a sense of purpose among their followers. by effectively transmitting their enthusiasm and expertise, transformational leaders empower their subordinates to perform at their best and strive towards meeting and surpassing established performance standards. this dissemination of vision and motivation fosters a collective commitment to excellence, driving individuals to exert greater effort and dedication in their work. moreover, the findings resonate with the research conducted by grin et al. (2018), which underscores the transformative potential of leadership in elevating both performance levels and employee engagement. transformational leadership serves as a catalyst for organizational improvement, catalysing positive change and fostering a culture of continuous growth and development (caldwell et al., 2012; montuori & donnelly, 2018; shields, 2010; shields & hesbol, 2020). in essence, the synergy between transformational leadership and work engagement underscores their collective influence in shaping employee performance outcomes. organizations can cultivate a dynamic and high-performing organizational culture by embracing transformational leadership principles and fostering an engaged workforce. through targeted interventions and leadership development initiatives, organizations can harness the full potential of their workforce, driving sustained success and achievement of strategic objectives. the findings suggest that superior support, particularly in the form of transformational leadership, plays a crucial role in enhancing nurse performance. transformational leaders serve as role models who inspire and motivate nurses to perform at their best, fostering a culture of excellence and continuous improvement within the hospital environment. by embodying the characteristics of transformational leadership, superiors can effectively guide and empower nurses, driving them towards achieving higher levels of performance and professional fulfilment. furthermore, the results highlight the significance of work involvement in influencing nurse performance. nurses who exhibit high levels of work involvement demonstrate a strong commitment to their roles and responsibilities, actively contributing ideas for hospital improvement and readily complying with regulations and policies. their deep sense of engagement and identification with their work not only enhances their performance but also fosters a positive and supportive organizational climate. conversely, nurses with lower pa ge 15 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 11-16, 2024 levels of work involvement may exhibit less enthusiasm and commitment towards their work, leading to routine and uninspired performance. such nurses may be less supportive of hospital initiatives and may only engage in their work at a superficial level, lacking the passion and dedication necessary for optimal performance. in summary, the findings underscore the importance of superior support, particularly through transformational leadership, in cultivating a work environment that promotes high levels of work involvement and, consequently, enhanced nurse performance. by fostering a culture of engagement, empowerment, and collaboration, organizations can unlock the full potential of their nursing staff, driving excellence in patient care and organizational outcomes. the results gleaned from this study underscore the pivotal role of transformational leadership in shaping the performance of nurses. it’s evident that leaders wield significant influence in fostering professional development through avenues like formal continuing education and certified informal training, which are customized to meet the diverse needs of nurses within their specialized fields. these initiatives not only empower individual practitioners but also contribute to the collective enhancement of organizational capabilities. however, the successful execution of such programs necessitates robust support from hospital management. it’s imperative for management to ensure the availability of diverse resources required to facilitate these initiatives effectively. this includes but is not limited to financial investments, access to learning materials, and dedicated personnel. without this crucial backing, the transformative impact of leadership initiatives may be stymied, impeding the attainment of optimal organizational performance. in essence, the synergy between transformational leadership and management support is indispensable for realizing the full potential of nursing teams and, by extension, the broader healthcare organizations they serve. only through collaborative efforts can we truly harness the power of leadership to drive sustained improvements in nursing performance and patient care outcomes. conclusions transformational leadership exerts a profound influence on enhancing nurse performance, with the efficacy of its implementation directly correlating to the extent of performance improvement achieved. to amplify the positive outcomes stemming from transformational leadership practices, fostering synergy among all stakeholders is essential. this includes active participation from nurses themselves, who serve as implementers of leadership initiatives, as well as proactive engagement from management and directors in allocating requisite resources. one critical resource allocation strategy involves earmarking educational funds to support nurses pursuing higher levels of education or engaging in certified informal education, such as specialized training programs tailored to enhance their skill sets. by investing in continuous learning opportunities, organizations can equip nurses with the knowledge and competencies needed to optimize their performance and adapt to evolving healthcare dynamics effectively. moreover, fostering a culture of professional engagement among nurses is paramount. encouraging active involvement in professional organizations provides a platform for ongoing knowledge exchange, enabling nurses to stay abreast of emerging trends and pertinent issues in healthcare and nursing. this proactive approach not only empowers nurses to address challenges proactively but also safeguards against potential obsolescence in an everevolving healthcare landscape. in essence, by nurturing collaboration among all stakeholders and investing in continuous professional development, organizations can thereby 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(2018). wellbeing and work performance. in handbook of well-being (pp. 1–14). def publishers. https://doi.org/nobascolar.com pa ge 1 pa ge 8 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) knowledge and perception of women of reproductive age on utilization of maternal health care services in akure south local government area of ondo state: a quantitative approach taiwo monisola olufunke1* volume 1 issue 2, year 2023 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v1i2.2089 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: november 08, 2023 accepted: december 12, 2023 published: december 14, 2023 even though maternal health care services utilization is very important for further improvement of maternal health, limited evidence exists on the utilization of maternal health care services among women of reproductive age in nigeria. this has resulted into high rate of maternal mortality. thus, this study aims to assess the knowledge and perception of women of reproductive age on utilization of maternal health care services in akure south local government area of ondo state, south western nigeria using a qualitative research methodology. data were primarily sourced from 384 women of child-bearing age who were purposively selected across the communities in akure south local government area through a multi-purpose sampling technique. secondary data were obtained from journals, hospital, records, government’s publications, newspapers, and some internet materials that are relevant to this study. analyses of data were carried out with the aids of descriptive and inferential statistics. the findings revealed that majority of the respondents have good knowledge but poor perception of the maternal health care services. majority of the respondents opined that education and religion contributed to the utilization of maternal health care services in the local government area. the study further revealed that there is a significant association between respondents knowledge and utilization of maternal health care services (r= 12.29, p< 0.000). there is also a significant association between respondents religion and the utilization of maternal health care services ( r = 8.44, p < 0.01). significant association also exists between the respondent level of education and the use of maternal healthcare service (r =16.20, p< 0.01). but here is no significant association between the perception of the respondent and utilization of maternal healthcare service ( r =10.25, p>0.777) . the study, however, concluded that women of reproductive age in akure south local government area have good knowledge and poor perception maternal healthcare service which utilization is influenced by their education especially in rural communities within the study areas and their religious affiliations. against this background, the study recommends increased enlightenment among childbearing women on the importance of maternal healthcare services, subsidization of cost of accessing healthcare services by the governments and ngos, strengthening the national health insurance scheme to incorporate family planning into its benefit package, upgrade of the existing health facilities and establishment of more health centres in rural and semi-urban areas with explosive populations. keywords knowledge, maternal health, perception, reproduction age, utilization introduction the world health organization (who) 2017 described maternal health as the health of the mother during pregnancy, child health and the postpartum period and it also entails ante-natal care, postnatal care and delivery service. maternal health has become a worldwide public health concern because the lives of millions of mothers in the reproductive age group can be saved through adequate utilization of maternal health care services. the undp (2016) estimate also posited that for every maternal death, an estimated 30 to 50 women suffer from pregnancy-related health problems such as preeclampsia, hemorrhage, unsafe abortion, and obstructed labour among others. according to the body globally, more than 70% of maternal deaths are due to five major causes: sepsis (29.6%), anemia in pregnancy (3.2%), hypertension (27%) , hiv (3.2%) and sickle cell disease (2.4%). these complications can occur at any time during pregnancy and childbirth, often without forewarning and often require immediate access to emergency obstetric care. according to the world health organization (who), 2018, specific interventions such as iron or folic supplementation for pregnant and postpartum women, vitamin a supplementation for women, malaria prophylaxis intervention such as intermittent preventive treatment in pregnancy (iptp) and dietary supplementation for pregnancy or lactating mothers, have helped improve maternal and child healthcare. despite this development, the maternal mortality rate continues to increase, especially in developing countries. the need for antenatal care and availability of trained personnel to offer to women during and delivery will go a long way in addressing issue of maternal mortality and morbidity (okonofuga and ogu, 2014). it was further stressed that provision of pregnant women with information, treatment of existing social and medical conditions and screening for risk factors are the solutions 1 department of public health city university, cambodia * corresponding author’s e-mail: taiwoolufunke2018@gmail.com pa ge 9 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 8-15, 2023 to the ever-increasing cases of maternal mortality in the country. but, a major constraint to the development, implementation and monitoring of interventions aimed at combating the problem of maternal mortality in nigeria is lack of reliable data, as there is no organized vital registration system in the country. the availability and utilization of maternal health care services are very important to improve maternal health among women of reproductive age in nigeria but limited evidence exists on the utilization of maternal health care services among these women (cooke and tahir, 2013). thus, this study aims at assessing the knowledge and perception of women of reproductive age on utilization of maternal health care services in akure south local government area of ondo state, south western nigeria. it will also identify and discuss factors that influence the choice of maternal healthcare services among these women in the same local government area. statement of problem nigeria’s high rate of maternity and infant mortality presents serious challenges to health practitioners, policymakers, governments, stakeholders and international partners. according to world health organization (who) 2016 report on maternal mortality, the mortality ratio of nigeria stands at 569 per 100,000 live births. this is unacceptable. maternal health services are provided by ondo-state government at every level of health care system. health institution in akure south render antenatal care (anc), delivery care, postnatal care (pnc). new born care, basic essential obstetric care (beoc), comprehensive essential obstetric care, (ceoc), emergency obstetrics care (eoc),the basic emergency obstetric care (beoc),comprehensive emergency obstetrics care ( comprehensive emoc). there is a shortage of manpower across the health facilities culminating into a major problem of availability and distribution of professionals like doctors, clinical officers and pharmacists leaving nurses, mid-wives, and health technicians to make up the professional labour force of skilled attendants. similarly, utilization of maternal healthcare services among women are hampered by several factors. these militating factors include but not limited to: location of health care facilities cost of accessing services poor transportation network religion, family, education, external influence and inadequate awareness (chakraborty, islam, chowdhury, bari and akter, 2003). over the years, poor knowledge and perception of women of reproductive age in most communities in nigeria affects the utilization of maternal health care services and had contributed to, in no small measure, to high cases of maternal mortality ratio in nigeria (ogunmakinwa, 2023., main, 2010). this study is guided by the following research questions: • what is the level of knowledge of maternal health care services among respondents’? • what is the level of perception of maternal health care services among respondents’? • what is the influence of the following variables on the utilization of maternal health care services among the respondents (i) education (ii) religion literature review knowledge and perception of women of child bearing age on utilization of maternal health care services, the researcher posited that poor knowledge and perception of women of reproductive age have affected negatively the utilization of maternal health care services owing to many factors according to national population commission and icf international, 2014. the scholar also opined that it is proper to create more awareness in respect of the subject matter. over the years, poor knowledge and perception of women of reproductive age in most communities in nigeria had contributed to worsening case of non-utilization of maternal health care services ( ajayi and akpan, 2020). they, however, suggested that government at all levels should always consult the people before sitting ant health facility in communities for the people to embrace it, espousing importance of community participation. unicef (2016) posited that utilization of maternal health services in most development countries in terms of utilization of antenatal, postnatal and delivery services are unfairly large, in comparison with the developed countries where it is estimated that about 97 percent of the pregnant women receive anc and 99 percent used skilled obstetric service delivery, whereas, in developing countries only 53 percent of women use anc service. this assertion was corroborated by world health organization (who) report of 2018 on the utilization of maternal health care services in africa where it was affirmed that the use of antenatal care, delivery and postnatal services by african women is one of the lowest in the world. the report, however, suggests thee need for government to refocus on the improvement of antenatal care and availability of trained person to attend to women during labour and delivery most in the communities as this will go a long way in addressing the problem. in the same vein, results from various studies have found move evidence of an association between age and utilization of anc services. these reviewed works suggested there is association between age and utilization of maternal health care services. factors determining the utilization of health care services in nigeria healthcare utilization is defined as the people’s use of health care services (babalola and fatusi,2009. cooke and tahir, 2013). according to the scholars the choice of health care facilities or services among people may vary from person to person and from place to place depending on various factors predisposed to the end users. although, good utilization of health services in any society serves to improve the quality of people’s health, studies have also pa ge 10 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 8-15, 2023 shown that healthcare utilization by the people depend on availability, quality of service, socio-economic status of the people and personal characteristics of the users. according to a research conducted in ondo state, government-owned hospitals, private hospitals, patent medicine sellers and maternity homes were the most preferred types of facilities due to competence, effectiveness, treatment, promptness of services, quality of services and proximity of the health facilities to the residence of the users. however, cost was a major determinant of health seeking behaviour of the people in ayangba north central nigeria while equally argued was that the choice of healthcare facility utilization in the area is greatly influenced by the waiting time, especially in government owned hospitals they argued that long queues are found in such hospitals, affecting the turnaround time for treatment and complacency on the part of the health workers as a result of having had to attend to many patient daily (atchessi, ridde and zunzunegui, 2016). the poor quality of services and poor attitude of staff are the major contributing factors for the under utilization of health facilities in the developing countries (mimiko,2017). in addition, the competing nature of tradition medicine and modern medicine is also major concern that is posing a threat to the utilization of modern healthcare facilities in the country. a survey conducted in benin city edo state southsouth nigeria in 2008 revealed that for every signpost that indicated modern healthcare facilities in the city, there were also three others that indicated tradition health facility (abimbola,okoli, olubanjo, abdullahi and pate, 2012). this suggested that quite a number of people seek medical attention in more of traditional medicine and spiritual homes than hospitals and other modern health facilities in the country. to this end, various explanations have been put forward by theorists to explain the determinants of healthcare facilities or services utilization among people. for instance in anderson’s healthcare utilization model identified three basic factors that may determine the utilization of health facilities by the people. the first one he identified is called the propensity factors, suggesting than an individual will likely utilize a health facility if he/she believes that such health facility will be useful for his/her treatment. the second factor he called enabling factor includes access to health insurance, family and community support as well as the location of the individual while the third factor is the basic need factor which entails perception of the need for health services which is socially evaluated. rosenstock (1966) on the other hand came up with the health belief model which is centered on four basic assumptions. the first assumption suggests that an individual will seek health service if he or she believes he/she is vulnerable to disease. second, health facility utilization depends on the severity of illness while the third assumption contends that an individual will seek healthcare service where he/she can get the best service at the minimum cost. however, the last assumption suggests that individual choice of healthcare facility utilization depends on influence from friends, family members and media. methodology the research design for the study is the descriptive research design. this method allows for collection of data in a quantitative manner. the study population comprises women of reproductive age residing in akure south local government area of ondo state. leiz fishers’ formula was adopted to determine this study’s sample size. below is the calculation n= z2pq/d2 z= standardized normal p= prevalence (0.5) obtained from previous study (knowledge and perception of women of reproductive age in abraka in delta state on utilization of maternal healthcare services (2007). z = 1.96, q = (1-p) d = is the precision (0.05) n = 1.962 x 0.5 (1p)/0.0025 n = 3.84 x 0.5 (0.5) n = 0.96/0.0025 n = 384 thus, 384 respondents were considered as the sample size. a multistage sampling technique was adopted for the selection of participants from the study population. this type of sampling techniques requires the researcher to choose his/her samples in stages until he/she gets the required sample. in using multistage sampling, the eleven wards in akure south local government area were first identified. they are: aponmu, gbogi/ isikan 1, gbogi/ isikan 2, ijomu/ obanla, ilisa, oda, odopetu, oke aro, iro, isolo and owode/ imuagun. stage 1 this stage involved the using of stratified sampling technique to stratify the eleven (11) wards in the local government. stage 2 here, two (2) urban wards and 2 rural wards were selected through simple random sampling (balloting). they are aponmu and oda (rural wards) and gbogi/ isikan 2 and oke aro(urban wards). stage 3 communities in the 4 selected wards were listed out and two communities each were selected randomly. thus, 8 communities (4 rural and 4 urban) were selected in all. the 8 selected communities are: oda, ilekun, aponmu, ita-oniyan, ilisa, oke-aro, gbogi and isolo. women in the selected communities were assessed using structured questionnaire. their consents were secured and questions were interpreted to some of the uneducated ones in yoruba language which is the local dialect of the majority of the respondents. their responses were coded and treated pa ge 11 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 8-15, 2023 with confidentiality. the questionnaire instrument had three sections; section a the sociodemographic profile of the respondent. section b consists of questions raised in chapter one on the knowledge of the respondents on the utilization maternal health services while section c centered on questions raised in respect of the perception of the respondent on utilization of maternal health care services. the questionnaire consists of both open ended and close ended questions. the reliability of the study instrument was tested through a pre-test conducted in one of the selected communities (ilekun) to ascertain the table 1: age of respondents age group (years) frequency percentage% ≤29years 44 11.46% 30-39years 270 70.31% ≥40years 70 18.23% total 384 100.0 table 2: marital status marital status frequency percentage% single 10 2.60% married 360 93.75% divorced 14 3.65% total 384 100.0 table 3: religion profile religion frequency percentage% christianity 300 78.13% islam 70 18.23% traditional worshippers 14 3.64% total 384 100.0 table 4: education status education status frequency percentage% primary education 84 21.88% secondary education 200 52.08% tertiary education 100 26.04% total 384 100.0 reliability of the research instrument (questionnaire). a total of 30 respondents were drawn from the selected community for this purpose. data presentation and analysis the data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency tables, percentages and inferential statistics (chi-square) was also used for hypotheses testing to show association between variables under investigation. the table below provides the sociodemographic profile of the respondents. source: field survey 2022 table 1 above analyzed the ages of the respondents from the table 270 (70.31%) respondents are between age 3039 years and 44 representing 11.46% of the respondents are 29 years and below while 70(18.23%) of them are 40 years and above. this means the majority of the respondents are within the active reproductive age. from the above table; 360 respondents representing 93.75% are married while 10 (2.6%) are single 14(3.65%) are divorced. this implies that majority of the respondents are married women. from the above table, majority of the respondents, 300 representing 78% are christians while 70(18%) are muslim and 14(3.84%) are traditional worshippers. this implies the majority of the respondents are christians. from he table above, majority of the respondents 200(52.08%) have secondary education while 100(26.04%) have tertiary education 84(21.88%) possessed primary education. this implies that the majority of the respondents possessed secondary education. research question 1 what is the level of knowledge of women of reproductive age on maternal healthcare services? from the above table, 350 respondents representing (91.15%) agreed that they are aware of the various forms of healthcare services available for women. also, pa ge 12 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 8-15, 2023 340 representing (88.54%) of the respondents equally considered all forms of maternal healthcare services safe. in the same vein, 360(93.74%) agreed that regular utilization of maternal health service help in safe delivery. 365 representing (95.05%) of the respondents also called that regular utilization of maternal healthcare services can prevent pregnancy related diseases. this implies that the majority of respondents have good knowledge of maternal healthcare service. research question 2 what is the level of perception of maternal healthcare services among women of reproductive age? from the above table, 180 of the respondents table 5: respondents knowledge on maternal healthcare service variable yes% no% i don’t know% are you aware of the various forms of maternal healthcare services available for women? 350(91.95%) 30(7.81%) 4(1.04%) do you consider all forms for maternal healthcare services safe for women? 340(88.54%) 40(10.42%) 4(1.04%) does regular utilization of maternal healthcare services help in safe delivery? 360(94.7%) 14(3.8%) 10(26%) are you aware that regular utilization of maternal healthcare services can prevent pregnancy related diseases? 365(95.05%) 14(3.65%) 5(1.30%) table 6: respondents’ perception of maternal healthcare services variable yes% no% i don’t know% are there enough staff in the health facility you use? 180(47%) 192(50%) 12(3.0%) are medical equipments available in the facility you use? 160(41.67%) 214(55.73%) 10(2.6%) are essential drugs readily available in the health facility you use? 148(38.55%) 203(52.86%) 33(8.59%) do manpower always available in their duty posts? 120(31.25%) 246(64.06%) 18(4.69%) are there provisions for emergency maternal healthcare services in the facility you use 147(38.28%) 203(52.86%) 34(8.85%) representing 47% said there are enough staff in the health facilities they used while 196 respondents representing 50% disagrees with the assertion. also, 160 (41.67%) agreed there are medical equipment in the facility they use while 214 respondents representing 55.73% admitted there ere no medical equipment in the facility they use. in the same vein, 148(52.86%) of the respondents agreed there are essential drugs in the facility they use and 200(52%) disagree that essential drugs are not readily available in the health facility they use. majority of the respondents 246(64.86%) admitted that manpower do not always available in the duty post. also, majority of the respondents 203(52.86%) also disagree that there are no enough provision for emergency maternal healthcare services in the facility the use while 147 representing (38.28%) agreed there are provisions for emergency maternal healthcare service in the facility they attend. this implies the majority of the respondents have low perception of maternal healthcare service in the local government area. research question 3 to what extent does religion influence utilization of maternal healthcare services among respondents? table 7: respondents view on extent to which religion influence their utilization of maternal healthcare services variable frequency percentage% very high 280 72.92% high 70 18.23% low 34 8.85% total 384 100 from the table above, 280(72.92%) respondents agree that the extent to which religion influence their utilization of maternal healthcare services is very high while 70(18.23%) are of the opinion that influence of religion on the utilization is high and 34(8.85%) agreed that the influence of religion on their usage of maternal healthcare services is low. this implies that religion has high influence on the respondents use of maternal healthcare services. research question 4 to what extent does education influence the utilization maternal healthcare services among the respondents? from the table above, 244 (63.54%) respondents agrees pa ge 13 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 8-15, 2023 that education has very high influence on their usage of maternal healthcare services while 100 (26.04%) are of the opinion that it has high influence and 40 (10.42%) affirmed that influence of education on their usage of maternal healthcare services is low. this implies that the majority of the respondents agree that education has a very high influence on utilization of healthcare services. hypotheses testing using chi-square ho1: there is no significant association between respondents level of knowledge and utilization of maternal healthcare services. results from the above table shows there is significant relationship between the respondents level of education and the use of maternal healthcare services. this implies respondents that are educated patronize maternal healthcare services more than the illiterate or respondents, with no formal education (r=6.20, p<0.01). discussion findings from the analyses of data collected for the study show that there was higher percentage of married women within the age bracket of 30-39 years. the study further reveals that about 78.13% of the respondents were christians. analysis of the collected data revealed that most women of reproductive age in the local government have good knowledge of maternal healthcare service utilization. this is evident from the fact that 350(91.15%) of the respondents agreed that they are aware of the various maternal healthcare services available for women and only 30(9%) do not agree. also, majority of the respondents 360(93.75%) agreed that regular utilization of maternal healthcare services help in safe delivery. the study further revealed that most respondents have low perception of maternal healthcare services. this is evident from the fact that 192(50%) of the respondents admitted that were no enough staff at the health facilities they use. in the same vein, majority of the respondents 214(55.73%) claimed there were no medical equipment in the facility they use. also, 203(52.86%) of the respondents claimed that essential drugs are not readily available in the healthcare facility they attend. the findings further revealed that education and religion have an influence on the choice of maternal health care services patronized by the respondents. the study showed there is significant table 8: respondents view on the extent to which education influence their utilization of maternal healthcare services variable frequency percentage% very high 244 63.54% high 100 26.04% low 40 10.42% total 384 100 table 9: variable n mean std sig. respondents knowledge 384 32.09 3.434 0.0012.29 maternal health care services 384 35.25 2.755 from the table above, it shows there is significant association between the respondents knowledge and utilization of maternal healthcare services. r=12.29 and p<.000 ho2: there is no significant association between the respondents perception of maternal healthcare services and utilization of maternal healthcare services. table 10: variable n mean std sig. perception of respondents 384 29.4 6.00 0.77710.25 maternal health care services 384 35.252 2.758 from the table above, it shows that there is no significant association between the perception of the respondents and utilization of maternal healthcare services (r=10.25, p>0.777). ho3: there is no significant relation between the respondents religion status and the use of maternal healthcare services from the table above, the results show that there is significant association between respondents religion and the use of maternal healthcare services. (r=8.44, p<0.01). this implies the respondents religion inclination go a long way in determine their use of maternal healthcare services. h04: there is no significant association between respondents level of education and the use of maternal healthcare services. table 11: variable n mean std sig. respondents religion 384 32.4 7.22 0.018.44 maternal health care services 384 38.2 2.64 n= 384 table 12: variable n mean std sig. respondents level of education 384 36.2 8.22 0.016.20 maternal health care services 384 39.2 3.64 n= 384 pa ge 14 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 8-15, 2023 association between the knowledge of the respondents and utilization of maternal healthcare service (r=12.29, p<.000). there is also a significant association between the respondent’s religion and utilization of maternal health services (r=8.44, p<0.001). however, the study revealed no significant association between respondents perception of maternal healthcare services and its utilization (r=10.25, p>0.777). as regards, the level of education of the respondents, the study shows that there is significant association between the respondents level of education and the usage of maternal healthcare services (r=6.20, p<0.01). on the local government where it was concluded that women in the area have good knowledge, but poor perception of maternal healthcare services. however, the future should carry out scientific investigation on the relationship of the childbearing women and the utilization of health care services, while expanding on the scope of the present study so as to reflect more generalized opinions of the study population. the research did not enjoy funding from any source apart from the personal resources of the scholar. conclusion from the findings of this study, it can be concluded that women of reproductive age in akure south local government have good knowledge and poor perception of maternal healthcare services utilization which influenced the patronage of various health care facilities that are available within their area recommendations • government show expand the awareness campaigns about health care services utilization among mothers who live in the remote area of the local government. • regular training and sensitization of medical staff should be done on regular basis at the facility level to uphold ethnical code of conduct. • government should as a matter of urgently renovate and supply medical equipments to most of the primary healthcare across centers the local government for better productivity • government should make health insurance scheme available to mothers in order to reduce their financial burden and family planning should be included in the scheme. • both government and non-governmental agencies should subsidize cost of maternal healthcare services to make them more accessible to the mothers. references abimbola, s., okoli , u., olubanjo, o., abdullahi, m. j., and pate, m. a. (2012) the midwifes service scheme in nigeria. plos med, 9(5) ajayi, a. i., and akpan, w. (2020). maternal health care utilization in the context of “abiye” (safe motherhood) programme in ondo state, nigeria. bmc public health, 20, 362. http://dol.org/ 10.1186/ s12889020-08512z american college of obstetricians and gynecologists. (2019). levels of maternal care obstetric care consensus, 9. atchessi, n, ridde, v, and zunzunegui, m. v. (2016). user fees exemptions alone are not enough to increase indigent use of healthcare service. health policy plan, 31(5), 674 681. babalola, s, and fatusi, a. (2009). determinants of use of maternal health services in nigeria-looking beyond individual and household factors. bmc pregnancy childbirth, 9(43). chakraborty, n., islam, m. a., chowdhury, r. l, bari, w., and akter , h. h. (2003). determinants of the use of maternal health services in rural bangladesh. health promotion int, 18(4), 327-337. cooke, j., and tahir. f.(2013). maternal health in nigeria: with leadership progress is possible. washington dc center for strategic and international studies (csis). love, o. o.(2013). experiences of women participating in a safe motherhood (abiye) project in ondo state of nigeria. int. j. curr microbioal app sci, 2(12), 148161 main, e. k. (2010). maternal mortality: new strategies for measurement and prevention. curr. opin obstet gynecol, 22, 511516. mimiko, o. (2017). experiences with universal health coverage of maternal health care in ondo state, nigeria, 2009-2017. afr j reprod health, 21(3), 9 national population commission (npc) (nigerian) and icf internation.(2014). nigeria demographic and health survey 2013. abuja and rockville npc and icf international. nuamah, b. g., agyeibaffour., p, nensah, k. a., boateng, d., quansah, d. y., dobin, d., and addaidonkor, k. (2019). access and utilization of maternal healthcare in a rural district in the forest belt of ghana. bmc pregnancy and childbirth, 19(6), 1-11. https:// doi.org/10.1186/s12884-0182159-5 ogunmakinwa, i. f. (2023). a quantitative assessment of the perception and the roles of traditional birth atttendants on maternal health care among woman of reproductive age in ifedore local government area of ondo state, nigeria. american journal of physical education and health science, 1(2), 1-7. https:// doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.vli2.1823 okonofuga, f., and ogu, r. (2014). traditional versus birth attendants in provision of maternity care: call for paradigm shift. african journal on reproductive health, 18(1). ondo state ministry of health (2010). abiye safe motherhood. akure: ondo state ministry of health. oyeyemi, s. o., and wynn, r. (2014). giving cell phone to pregnant woman and improving services may increase primary health facility utilization: a case control study of a nigerian project. reproductive health, 11(1),8 pearson, l., gandhi, m., admasu, k., and keyes, e. b. (2011). user fees and maternity services in ethiopia. int j gynecoln obstet, 115(3), 310315. pa ge 15 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 8-15, 2023 world health organization (who). (2009). recommended interventions for improving maternal and newborn health. http: apps. who .int/iris/ bilstream handle10665/69509/who_mps_0705_ eng, pdf world health organization, unicef. (2015). trends in maternal mortality: 1990-2015: estimates from who, unicef, unfpa, world bank and the united nations population division. pa ge 1 pa ge 10 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) examining the quality of life among working women in agartala during the menopausal transition: an in-depth analysis sm farooque1*, raveena basumatary1, prasanta kumar das1 volume 2 issue 2, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i2.2983 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: may 31, 2024 accepted: june 29, 2024 published: july 01, 2024 menopause is a critical phase in a woman’s life characterized by hormonal changes that can impact various aspects of health, including the quality of life. despite the increasing number of women in the workforce, there is a noticeable gap in specific challenges and experiences of working women during the menopausal transition. the study aims to analyze the quality of life among working women in agartala during the menopausal transition. the study includes n=30 working women from diverse professional backgrounds in agartala. data were collected through the menqol (menopause-specific quality of life) questionnaire developed by john r hilditch et.al, (1996). descriptive statistics and percentage analysis were employed to interpret the data. the researcher has concluded that the quality of life of the working women of agartala seems to experience greater physical, vasomotor, and sexual changes during this prolonged phase. the findings can contribute to developing targeted interventions and support systems aimed at enhancing the quality of life for this demographic group. additionally, the study may serve as a foundation for further research in other geographical regions, fostering a broader understanding of menopausal experiences among working women. keywords vasomotor, menarche, menopause, menqol questionnaire introduction a part of life we actually live is very small and the rest of our life is just an existence of time, quality of living indicate exactly that small part of one’s life where they found themselves happily balanced in every possible perspective. with all the various combinations of different activities, it encompasses various aspects that contribute to painting his own abstract with different functional events that measure their happiness and sadness and help to bring overall well-being and satisfaction (lucius annaeus seneca, 65bc). the satisfaction is beyond just economic stability but includes factors like education, health, relationships, personal fulfillment, etc., all these events reflect different rays of life, all the doings, habits, love and hate, the positive and negative perspectives of life by which one can lead a satisfactory life. a satisfactory life of one with taking all, happiness and sadness, health and wealth, job satisfaction, family and society guide to idiosyncratic quality-of-life. in early days, the concept of measuring quality of life of an individual is started with dissatisfaction of daily living, specially economically unstable which direct the person towards negative perspective and motive of life (jenabi et al., 2015). from onward the purpose of quality of life is being measuring by many developed countries, who were focusing in living positive life style. according to who’s different developed and developing countries are focusing on positive health indicators which is the mortality and morbidity, that is why who’s take the step to develop items or ways to measure the quality-oflife (who, 2012). the contribution of every individual to lift up the status of their countries is worldwide vying. by 2020 statistical records only 47% of women are participating in working labour, where as in other hand 74% of men are contributing as working labour (united nations economist network, 2020) and this gap between different gender has been relatively constant from since 1995. earlier in 1960’s, women’s involvement and development were given significance only after their marriage to a man, even after giving an immense contribution to grow their family they were considered as nothing (munley, 1975). women’s life is like a full ride of a roller-coaster, with constantly changing bumps. not only the growing age but with constant vast physiological and psychological changes. changes like stage of menarche, conceiving a baby to postpartum period and lastly, the menopausal phase (cheng et al., 2007). menopause is an obligatory biological change in women’s life (matthews & bromberger, 2005). menopause is the women’s last stage of menstrual cycle with different changes in their body. menopausal change has different stages which is also called menopause transition. women experience menopause transition in four different stages: pre-menopause phase leading up to menopause, which typically beginning in a woman’s 40s, although it can start earlier or later. during this phase the hormone levels, especially estrogen, start fluctuating, leading to changes in the menstrual cycle. peri-menopause is often used interchangeably with pre-menopause when a woman experiences the final menstrual period. hormonal fluctuations continue, and symptoms may intensify. menopause phase, also known as menopausal transition is officially declared when a woman has not had a menstrual period for 1 consecutive year, at this stage, the ovaries 1 department of physical education, tripura university (a central university), agartala, india * corresponding author’s e-mail: smharish9@gmail.com pa ge 11 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 10-16, 2024 significantly reduce estrogen production and experience the occurrence of typical menopausal symptoms, and post-menopause, which refers to the period that begins after menopause where women are at an increased risk of certain health condition such as osteoporosis and heart disease due to low estrogen levels (ghosh et al., 2018). in india, women experience menopause between the ages of 41.9 and 49.4 on average, and cultural and lifestyle differences contribute to the menopausal phase being associated with the loss of sexuality, strength, energy, aging fears, and loss of status (pallikadavath et al., 2016) negative sociodemographic factors impact premenopausal women, leading to unhealthy behaviors such as smoking, poor diet, and lack of physical activity, resulting in higher bmi among menopausal women (dąbrowska et al., 2016). despite cultural constraints, indian women globally excel. regional variations exist, with the northeast region suggesting a higher status for women. however, female work participation rates in the northeast, except for manipur, assam, and tripura, remain lower due to socio-demographic factors like family responsibilities, inadequate support, gender insensitivity, inflexible work policies, and physiological changes related to menstruation and menopause (mahanta & nayak, 2013). these factors significantly impact women’s quality of life. what we been generalizing about the quality-of-life (qol) of women during this phase of her life cannot be simple as it manifest till date, generally women of rural area has been given the note that, they often carry a negative body image addressing negative body image during menopause involves self-doubt, negligence, cultural influences, physical changes like skin, vaginal and body composition changes which may guide them towards poor physiological support in their living, but this condition is been disregard by the society and not been given importance by the people, because it is the natural phenomenon and a phase in every women life (medeiros de morais et al., 2017), but every so often it should be foremost matter to swot about women’s living condition in this very fast moving society, for the positive growth of society and nation. quality number of studies are necessary to present an asset knowledge about menopause and its costs and benefits to our surrounding for women and nation betterment. therefore, the objective of this study is to examine and generalize the quality-of-life living by the working women undergoing the menopausal transition in different and living discrete lifestyle in agartala, tripura. methodology the selected participants (n=30) were middle-aged (4260 years old) sedentary working women of agartala (kalhan et al., 2020), who were in their peri-menopause, menopause and in post-menopause phase. the researcher used a convenience sampling method for selecting the participants, and a total of 30 participants were selected for the study. participants background information was collected, their basic demographic and field of profession along with health history information was also collected including their menopausal status. to examine the quality-of-life of working women of agartala the menopause-specific quality-of-life (menqol) standardized questionnaire was used developed by john r hilditch et.al, (1996) and it consists of 29 items dealt with 4 domains which are vasomotor, physical, psychosocial and sexual. the menqol questionnaire shows a validity score of 4.7 out of possible 5 and with reliability score coefficients of vasomotor = 0.37, psychosocial = 0.79, physical = 0.81, and sexual = 0.70 with quality-of-life = 0.55 (hilditch et al., 1996),. the questionnaire was distributed personally and before filling the questionnaire, a personal consent was filled by the subject to participate in the study. for the convenience of the subject, questionnaire was converted in bengali language and also in google form questionnaire. all the information and instruction were written in 2nd page of the questionnaire. during filling up the questionnaire each question was explained personally by the researcher to the participants. the result was drawn by using descriptive statistic and percentage analysis. result and discussion table 1: mean score of each statement of menopause-specific quality-of-life (menqol) of working women of agartala sl. no questions total no. of subject (n) mean score 01 hot flushes 30 2.53 02 night sweats 30 2.23 03 sweating 30 2.60 04 dissatisfaction with personal life 30 0.83 05 feeling anxious or nervous 30 1.27 06 experiencing poor memory 30 2.80 07 accomplishing less than i used to 30 1.90 08 feeling depressed, down, blue 30 1.17 pa ge 12 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 10-16, 2024 09 impatience with other people 30 1.23 10 willing to be alone 30 0.80 11 flatulence / gas pain 30 2.13 12 aching in muscles and joints 30 3.87 13 feeling tired or worn out 30 3.23 14 difficulty in sleeping 30 1.53 15 aches in back of neck or head 30 1.77 16 decrease in physical strength 30 3.27 17 decreased stamina 30 3.27 18 feeling lack of energy 30 3.07 19 dry skin 30 1.77 20 facial hair 30 2.20 21 weight gain 30 0.07 22 changes in appearance, texture or tone of skin 30 1.20 23 feeling bloated 30 0.63 24 low back ache 30 3.77 25 frequent urination 30 1.07 26 involuntary urination while laughing or coughing 30 1.70 27 change in sexual desire 30 2.83 28 vaginal dryness during intimacy 30 1.97 29 avoiding intimacy 30 3.20 above table 1 represent the menopause-specific qualityof-life questions which indicates most common physical, emotional and social feelings and problems experienced by the women during their menopause. the table carries 29 questions related to four different domains and it describe each question with the mean average score of its statement given in menopause-specific quality-of-life (menqol) questionnaire. in the above table it showed that the most common problem faced by menopausal working women individually are specify in physical domain. in physical domain, question no. 12 which states that during menopausal phase women go through “aching in muscles & joints” which shows highest mean average=3.87, followed by question no. 24 which states that women experience “low back ache” while they are in their menopausal phase with its mean average=3.77 and question no. 16 & 17 which states that women experience “decrease in physical strength” and “decreased in stamina” during their menopausal transition with mean average=3.27. above mentioned four questions are of physical domain, which manifest those working women of agartala experience more physical changes then other domains during their menopause phase. table 2: descriptive statistics of menopause-specific quality-of-life of working women of agartala domains n mean standard error standard deviation confidence level vasomotor 30 2.45 0.11 ±0.20 0.49 psychosocial 1.43 0.27 ±0.70 0.65 physical 2.16 0.29 ±1.14 0.61 sexual 2.67 0.36 ±0.63 1.57 above table 2 shows the descriptive statistics of menopause-specific quality-of-life (menqol), of subjects n=30. it depicts the four domains of menqol which was mentioned in table 02 along with its mean average score, standard error, standard deviation and confidence level. the table reveals that working women of agartala have sexual domain= 2.67±0.63, vasomotor= 2.45±0.20 and physical domain= 2.16±1.14, which shows the evidence that they have higher level of all physical and biological changes during menopausal phases, but they are less dissatisfying with their personal and social life with psychosocial domain= 1.43±0.70. pa ge 13 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 10-16, 2024 above figure 1, display the graphical presentation of mean value of each domain, here the graph shows the value of physical domain was 2.16, psychosocial domain was 1.43 followed by sexual domain was 2.67 and vasomotor domain was 2.45. the graph reveals, that sexual domains show the highest mean value of 2.67 and psychosocial domains shows lowest mean value of 1.43. figure 1: the mean average value of vasomotor, psychosocial, physical and sexual domains on numerical rating table 2: descriptive statistics of menopause-specific quality-of-life of working women of agartala point scale → no. of question "0" "1" "2" "3" "4" "5" "6" vasomotor 3 33.30% 2.20% 7.70% 18.80% 17.70% 20.00% 0.00% psychosocial 7 57.60% 0.40% 8.50% 17.60% 7.10% 7.60% 0.90% physical 16 41.40% 0.40% 8.30% 16.80% 19.10% 11.00% 2.70% sexual 3 34.40% 2.20% 3.30% 10.00% 24.40% 23.30% 2.20% it was highlighted from the above table 3 that the percentage of menopause-specific quality-of-life of working women of agartala were rated on numerical point of ‘0’ to ‘6’ (from not at all bothered to extremely bothered). the response over vasomotor domain (no. of questions = 3) of menopausal women were “0” = 33.30%, “1” = 2.20%, “2” = 7.70%, “3” = 18.80%, “4” = 17.70%, “5” = 20.22% and “6” = 0.00%. the response over psychosocial domain (no. of questions = 7) of menopausal women were “0” = 57.60%, “1” = 0.40%, “2” = 8.50%, “3” = 17.60%, “4” = 7.10%, “5” = 7.60% and “6” = 0.90%. the response over physical domain (no. of questions = 16) of menopausal women were “0” = 41.40%, “1” = 0.40%, “2” = 8.30%, “3” = 16.80%, “4” = 19.10%, “5” = 11.00% and “6” = 2.70%. and the response over sexual domain (no. of questions = 3) of menopausal women were “0” = 34.40%, “1” = 2.20%, “2” = 3.30%, “3” = 10.00%, “4” = 24.40%, “5” = 23.30% and “6” = 2.20%. figure 2: the percentage of mean average value of vasomotor, psychosocial, physical and sexual domains on numerical rating pa ge 14 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 10-16, 2024 figure 2, shows the graphical presentation of percentage of four domains of menqol of working women of agartala. here brown colour showed 31% of sexual domain, orange colour represents 28% of vasomotor domain, green colour showed 25% of physical domain and yellow colour showed 16% of psychosocial domain of working women of agartala. the result showed that majority of working women of agartala have less psychosocial changes during their menopausal phase. discussion the quality of life during menopause is a complex and multifaceted subject, encompassing various physical, psychological and social dimensions. the outcomes of this study manifest that the working women of agartala during their menopausal phase experience more physical and biological changes as it’s the normal and necessary changes occur in body, menopause symptoms such as hot flashes, night sweats and changes in sleep patterns with hormonal fluctuations which lead them to vaginal dryness, affecting their sexual well-being impacts in their physical comfort and overall health condition. in this study physical and biological changes have been covered by vasomotor domain = 28%, physical domain = 25% and sexual domain = 31% as compare to their psychosocial domain = 16% which directly indicates one’s personal and social life satisfactory questions during menopause. the current study revealed that women have to go through different troublesome issue during menopausal transition in their life span and many longterm health conditions, including the risk of osteoporosis and cardiovascular diseases. addressing these concerns positively impacts the overall quality of life (hilditch et al., 1996). during menopausal transition coping mechanisms with menopausal phase is daily life was very challenging, the effectiveness of coping strategies, such as exercise, mindfulness, and social engagement, plays a crucial role in determining the quality of life during menopause. women continuously endure different physical and mental changes during their menopausal transition phase (g k, 2013). this natural changes in women body seems to effect differently in every individual, several studies have shown the results that the basic and prior knowledge about the menopause and positive support from family and society brings healthy and good surrounding for the menopausal women as they need to be taken care during their transitional phase (ilankoon et al., 2021). clutural attitudes towards menopause and societal expectations regarding aging can impact a woman’s perception of the life stage, the level of awareness and acceptance within a clutural context playes a role in shaping the overall good environment, with several study it is seen that working women who are literate seems to have more knowledge and basic information about their medical condition compare to illiterate women, it was seen that more than 54.1% of women keep negative attitude towards their own menopausal transition in rural areas, but working women and their families have opposite attitude towards this transition. study have shown that working women have less psychosocial problems with less than 27.5% depression problem compare to other females who have prevalence of 43% of depression symptoms during menopause, this have been notice due to increasing level of estradiol in women body, which was mostly found in peri-menopause phase (mishra & kuh, 2006). but, it have been noticed that due to slender time to take care of themselve due to busy schedule of work, in a result working women experience more menopausal symptoms (sánchez-rodríguez et al., 2017), because of such reasons female suffer more physical and biological problems like muscle ache problem, extreme sweating issues, hot flushes, viginal dryness, decrease in level of estrogen then psychosocial changes (kakkar et al., 2007). during this phase women have to take care of her physical, mental, social and also personal life because in this phase women body changes vastly, one of the major reason is sudden drop of oestrogen and 17-estradiol from 100-250 ml to 10-30 ml which leads to loss of the saturated receptors of cells from the body and make the body weaker naturally, they started losing their strength to work and stamina to move their body efficiently, due to which they started gaining weight, feeling of aniexty and mood swing can be noticeable (dalal & agarwal, 2015). women facing menopause often demonstrate resillence and strength as they navigate the physical, emotional, and societal challenges associated with their life stages. apart from embracing all the difficult outlook many women approach menopause with positive perspective and maintaining healthly life during menopause give positive body image and helps to keep good personal and social life, it also seems to be very effective for the women who have been suffering from triumph physical and biological problems due to menopausal transition (nazarpour et al., 2021). this study reveals that the working women mainly from academics, medical, janitors sectors seems to have more severe physical problems and have comparatively good personal and social life even when they are agony from different physical and biological changes during their menopausal phases, they abide the fact of ageing and their bodily changes and accept it positively (kopenhager & guidozzi, 2015). it displays that even with daily work exhaustion and working environment with adequate knowledge about physical and mental changes during menopausal phase leads to good and positive quality-oflife with sense of liberation, freedom from menstruation, contraception and newfound autonomy of menopasual women (whiteley et al., 2013). in accordance with the researcher understanding and with different proven studies, it have been vindicated that working women was found to be more physically tired, exhausted with daily work and during this period they phase very discomfort towards their body image, and due to very less time to work on themselves it was very hard for them to maintain good and healthy physical life style which leads them to more painful physical menopausal transition (kakkar et al., 2007), but still pa ge 15 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 10-16, 2024 working women manage to maintain balance and good psychosocial domain during their menopausal phase, by embracing a positive perspective on menopause, women can not only navigate the physical and emotional changes more gracefully but also contribute to reshaping societal narratives around aging and women’s health (yazdkhasti et al., 2015). conclusions based on this study, the researcher has concluded that the quality of life during menopause is a nuanced interplay of physical, psychological, and social factors by rolling down the challenges women face during their menopausal transition. during this period, the working women of agartala seem to experience greater physical, vasomotor, and sexual changes during this prolonged phase. particularly in the context of greater physical changes, it reveals a nuanced and complex landscape. women undergoing this natural life transition navigate many challenges, from hormonal fluctuations to changes in body composition impacting their physical and emotional well-being. despite these challenges, there exists a resilient and positive perspective among many women, emphasizing the transformative nature of menopause. this period signifies not just an end but a new beginning, where women can embrace wisdom, prioritize self-care, and redefine priorities. by fostering open discussions, advocating for supportive workplace environments, and challenging societal norms, women can navigate the physical changes of menopause with a sense of empowerment. as research continues to shed light on psychosocial parameter of working women of agartala which is in good scale with maintained socioemotional status and multifaceted aspects of menopause, which has becomes imperative to recognize that the quality of life during this phase is a subjective and individual experience. through understanding, empathy, and a holistic approach to women’s health, we can collectively contribute to a positive and enriching journey through the physical changes associated with menopause. acknowledgment we extend our sincere appreciation to all 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(2015). empowerment and coping strategies in menopause women: a review. iranian red crescent medical journal, 17(3). https://doi.org/10.5812/ircmj.18944 pa ge 1 pa ge 30 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) strategic intervention material (sim): its effectiveness in teaching beauty nail care services jane delano r. estipona1* volume 2 issue 1, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i1.2412 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: february 21, 2024 accepted: march 25, 2024 published: march 28, 2024 the implementation of the senior high school program has paved the way for the inclusion of technical and vocational education as one of the four (4) tracks offered from grade 11 to grade 12; specifically, the technical-vocational-livelihood (tvl) track has gained traction as the shift from content-based to outcome-based learning has becomes a tagline in most, if not all, schools in the country. home economics is one of the tvl strands and beauty nail care services are part of its subject which students face a decrease in performance. this led the researcher to develop strategic intervention material (sim) in which this descriptive research was conducted to determine the extent to which good characteristics of a learning material was met as assessed by seven (7) experts; and its effectiveness in increasing the academic performance of thirty (30) purposively chosen he students. findings revealed that sim “very highly” met the characteristics of a good learning material (x ̅=4.551, sd=0.447); the academic performance of those who utilized the sim was “very satisfactory” (x =̅85, sd=0.8.02); there was a significant difference in the academic performance of those who utilized the sim and those who were not (t=-2.030, p=0.047); and sim was “effective” (x ̅=2.772, sd=0.439) in terms of content, clarity, comprehensibility, and usefulness. all supports and initiatives for utilizing this material was highly recommended. results yield positive implications towards students’ skills in the said field, necessary for work immersion and tesda assessment; and the he curriculum being implemented in all senior high schools in the country. keywords beauty nail care services, strategic intervention material (sim), technical-vocationallivelihood introduction technical-vocational-livelihood (tvl) programs have spread out vast and significant contributions to agriculture, infrastructure, machineries, transportation, fashion, food industry, and other fields; which make up country’s improved economy all over the world. these contributions moved educational leaders to craft and implement tvl curriculums for formal education; therefore, developing students to become skillful and job-ready. in the philippines, two of the initiatives of the department of education (deped) were the inclusion of the technology and livelihood education (tle) subject in the junior high school students; and the implementation of the senior high school curriculum having tvl track. this track has four (4) strands: agrifishery arts, home economics (he), information and communication technology (ict), and industrial arts (llego, 2023). while the ict and industrial arts strands focus on technology; the he strand focuses on livelihood projects such as caregiving, cookery, bartending, baking, handicraft making, tourism, housekeeping, dressmaking, and such (college of arts and technology, 2023). one of the specialized subjects of this strand is the beauty/ nail care in which according to the canadian centre for occupational health and safety (2023); is associated with potential health and safety hazards such as biological (risk of exposure to blood and exposed fungal infections), chemical (long and short-term exposure to high concentration of hazardous nail products such as polishes, strengtheners, removers, and artificial nail liquids), ergonomic (stress, fatigue, etc.), physical (noise), psychological (exposure to workplace violence), and safety (electrical, fire, slips, trips, and fall). these can be avoided if students are well-educated and skilled through the subject. but in 2019, aquino saw the problem of decreased class performance skills in beauty care (nail care services); and this subject was considered as hard, rare, and difficult to find strategies and references. in antipolo city senior high school, similar problem is also being encountered every school year. this is an indication of also putting themselves (students) and their future customers to be at risks. therefore, the researcher as one of “beauty nail care services” subject teachers conducted this study to address such problems; by proposing an intervention based on the least mastered skills of his selected students for the school year 2022-2023. upon initial research, it was found that the least mastered skills for grade 11/12 beauty nail care services, which many of the learners were having difficulties with were: (1) determine and test the appropriate temperature for the heat tolerance of the client (8.474%, rank 23; (2) advise client on another service on a maintenance program (29.944%, rank 22); (3) apply hand softening product and massage according to the prescribed procedure (35.028%, rank 20):; (4) apply foot softening product and massage according 1 antipolo city senior high school, deped, antipolo, philippines * corresponding author’s e-mail: janedelano.estipona@deped.gov.ph pa ge 31 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 30-34, 2024 to the prescribed procedure (34.746%, rank 21); and (5) dispose of waste products according to ohsc and department of health requirements38.418% rank 19. using the results as the main basis, the teacher-researcher deems that the use of strategic intervention material (sim) which focused on skills development to help students better understand the competencies where they needed improvement. this study was then conducted to determine : (1) how experts assessed the material in terms of content, learning objectives, mechanics, language and style, organization of ideas, learning assessment, and functionality; (2) the academic performance of the students before and after sim was utilized; (3) the significant difference in the performance of those who utilized the sim and those who were not; and (4) how students assess the effectiveness of sim in terms of content, clarity, comprehensibility, and usefulness. results yield positive implications towards students’ skills in the said field which are necessary for their upcoming work immersion and tesda assessment; and the he curriculum being implemented in his home school, and other senior high schools in the country. literature review the implementation of the senior high school program has paved the way for the inclusion of technical and vocational education as one of the four (4) tracks offered from grade 11 to grade 12; specifically, the technicalvocational-livelihood (tvl) track has gained traction as the shift from content-based to outcome-based learning has becomes a tagline in most, if not all, schools in the country. the tvl track provides students with subjects focused on job-ready skills as it offers practical knowledge and exposure to earn national certificates (ncs), helping them land their desired job after graduating senior high school (jaca & javines jr., 2022). based on spencer (2023), tvl track is a specialized education course developed by the department of education to strengthen and improve the skills of these students before their chosen career path; in which completion and certification of tvl courses can help them achieve eligible credentials for local and overseas job qualifications. llego (2023) described its four (4) strands as follows: agricultural-fishery arts (afa) strand this tvl component consists of specializations equivalent to qualifications under agriculture and fishery sectors. students with agri-fishery arts specializations will be able to demonstrate necessary skills/competencies and values on the cultivation of plants and animal production to harvest food and other products using available technologies on farming and on raising, harvesting, and capturing fish and other aquatic resources. schools that offer these specializations must have adequate facilities for students’ laboratory classes. home economics (he) strand this tvl component consists of specializations equivalent to qualifications under garments, tourism, health, processed food and beverages, and social and other community development service sectors. students with home economics specializations will be able to demonstrate the necessary skills, competencies, and values in taking care of oneself and one’s family, and in providing efficient services to others and to the community. industrial arts (ia) strand this tvl component consists of specializations equivalent to qualifications under automotive and land transport, construction, electronics, furniture and fixture, metal and engineering, and utilities sectors. students with industrial arts specializations will be able to demonstrate the skills, competencies, and values in providing repair and maintenance services, installation, manual craftsmanship, and machine safety using available industrial and engineering technologies. information and communications technology (ict) strand this tvl component consists of specializations equivalent to qualifications under the information and communication technologies sector. students with ict specializations will be able to demonstrate the skills, competencies, and values in effective application, use, and management of technology in the context of system designing and customer service. among these tvl strands, home economics offers the only service which caters the needs for beauty and nail care. beauty care (nail care) services in the senior high school (shs) leads to national certificate level ii (nc ii); and it covers four common competencies that a grade 11/12 home economics (he) student ought to possess, namely: 1) use of tools and equipment; 2) interpreting nail design; 3) practicing occupational health and safety procedures (ohsp); and 4) maintain tools, equipment and paraphernalia (department of education, 2019). as it was just new in the basic education curriculum, though it was almost 8 years since k to 12 was implemented in the philippines; its finest implementation was not yet achieved. problems such as lack of instructional materials, learning materials, teachers’ skills, and others; which has been yearly reflected in the students’ performance in the beauty and nail care subjects; is challenging its implementation. when ypanto (2022) studied how availability of materials, tools, and equipment impact students’ competencies in nail care services; she recommended that beauty-nail care students’ competencies can be improved through sufficient materials and equipment. the researcher utilized previous results of the studies conducted about the performance of senior high school students in this subject which were learning resourcesrelated. these were then used as basis in doing similar or relevant study to come up with solutions. utilizing the students’ performance in this subject which is currently and previously handled by the researcher is a good step to determine the intervention needed to address existing pa ge 32 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 30-34, 2024 problem. the development of the strategic intervention material (sim) was considered to be one; and this study will be conducted to determine its effectiveness in helping the learners increase in their performance. materials and methods this is a combination of a descriptive and causal comparative research. descriptive research was employed for describing the experts’ assessment of the sim, the academic performance of the students before and after utilizing the sim, and the students’ assessment of the effectiveness of the sim. causal comparative was fitted in determining the significant difference of performance of those who utilized the sim and those who were not. an adapted survey questionnaire was administered among selected experts and students; and official records of students’ performance were acquired with permit. the seven (7) experts, thirty (30) students for the school year 2023-2024, and twenty-nine (29) students for the school year 2022-2023; were all purposively chosen for the study. data were analysed using descriptive statistics such as mean and standard deviation; and inferential statistics through the use of t test for significant difference. statistical packages for social sciences (spss) program was applied for the computation of data. results and discussion the following were data obtained from the targeted respondents based on the four (4) specific objectives: the experts’ assessment towards strategic intervention material (sim) the following data was a summary of the assessments administered to seven (7) experts in beauty nail care services and its curriculum: as shown in table 1, the component which obtained the table 1: the extent that sim met the characteristics of a good learning material components mean (x̅) standard deviation (sd) rank verbal interpretation content 4.571 0.429 3.5 very high learning objectives 4.500 0.481 7 very high mechanics 4.607 0.453 2 very high language and style 4.657 0.443 1 very high organization of ideas 4.571 0.554 3.5 very high learning assessment 4.543 0.500 8 very high usability 4.595 0.418 6 very high functionality 4.371 0.605 9 high overall 4.551 0.447 very high legend: 4.500-5.000 very high 2.500-2.499 neutral 1.500-2.499 low 3.500-4.499 high 1.000-1.499 very low highest mean value of 4.657 with a standard deviation of 0.443 was language and style; and the lowest mean value of 4.371 with a standard deviation of 0.605 was obtained for functionality. the overall computed mean value of 4.551 with a standard deviation of 0.447, indicates that the experts assess the extent to which sim met the characteristics of a good learning materials was “very high”. except for functionality, all the rest of the components were rated to be “very high”. this means that sim was very much ready for utilization as a learning material in beauty nail care services subject for grade 11/12 students. also, the strength of the materials were the language and style used in presenting its content. based on sardana & rathore (2022), using a language that the students know, helps amplify the learning process and makes it more effective for them to grasp the concepts that they need to learn. other benefits of using language that students understand were increase of academic performance, improve of concentration, having more powerful memory, stronger communication skills, and more creativity (spence, 2022). therefore, it was good that sim utilized language and style which can be easily understood by the students. the performance of the he students the following data is the academic performance of the he students based on their general weighted average (gwa) for the two (2) consecutive school years: table 2 shows that before the utilization of the strategic table 2: academic performance before and after utilization of sim school year (no. of students) minimum grade maximum grade mean grade sd verbal interpretation s.y. 2022-2023 (29) 72 95 81 7.03 satisfactory s.y. 2023-2024 (30) 74 97 85 8.02 very satisfactory pa ge 33 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 30-34, 2024 intervention material (sim) during the school year 20222023, the average grade of the students taking beauty nail care services subject was 81 (sd=7.03) which was described to be “satisfactory”. when sim was utilized for the school year 2023-2024; there was a great increase in the students’ academic performance as it reached the “very satisfactory” rating (x ̅=85,sd=8.02). this means that students obtained scores in the quarterly examination which were almost close to the outstanding performance. this was also an indication that learning was grasp and skills were already developed through the utilization of the material. it was a good result because aquino (2019) saw the problem of decreased class performance skills in beauty care (nail care services); and this subject was considered as hard, rare, and difficult to find strategies and references. the development of sim somehow helped in addressing the identified problems causing decrease in performance as it helped the students performed well in the subject. the comparison of the academic performances before and after utilizing sim the following data shows how students’ academic performances differ from each other depending on the material used in teaching them: table 3: difference in the academic performance before and after the utilization of sim group of respondents mean grade computed t-value significance value (2-tailed) verbal interpretation before (s.y. 2022-2023) 81 -2.030 0.047 significant, reject null hypothesisafter (s.y. 2023-2024) 85 the computed t-value of -2.030 with a significance value at 2-tailed of 0.047 (see table 3), only proved that the performance of the students in which sim was utilized was higher and significantly different from those who did not utilize the material. therefore, the null hypothesis was rejected. differences implied that sim was an effective material in increasing students’ academic performance in beauty nail care services subject. tongol et.al. (2022) also proved and said that using learning materials can help improve students’ academic performance in many subject areas. meaning, the contents of the material were understood and put into practice which became the students’ skills. as they learned the skills, knowledge was retailed that helped them answered the questions in their examination. he students’ assessment of the effectiveness of sim the following data shows how he students assessed the effectiveness of the sim: table 8: summary of the effectiveness of strategic intervention material components mean (x̅) standard deviation (sd) rank verbal interpretation content 2.722 0.588 4 effective clarity 2.778 0.542 3 effective comprehensibility 2.789 0.396 2 effective usefulness 2.800 0.558 1 effective overall 2.772 0.439 effective legend: 3.500-4.000 strongly agree (very effective) 1.500-2.499 disagree (ineffective) 2.500-2.499 agree (effective) 1.000-1.499 strongly disagree (very ineffective) as summarized in table 8, usefulness obtained the highest mean value of 2.800 with a standard deviation of 0.558; while content obtained the lowest mean value of 2.722 with a standard deviation of 0.588. the students who utilized sim described the effectiveness of the material as “effective” by the computed overall mean value of 2.772 with a standard deviation of 0.439. this means that, respondents were of fun of using the sim because its contents were useful for them to learn the knowledge of skills of beauty nail care services. though it was already effective for them in all its components, improvements may still be undertaken to obtain or reach the highest level of effectiveness. improving its contents may help students more in terms of their academic. learning materials are essential and significant tools needed for learning as these improve student’s performance; because when learners are presented with these learning tools and effectively used them, these are capable of captivating students’ interest, stimulate desires in learning and make them an active participant (project house, 2023). not only it is best for students. learning materials also assist teachers in effectively implementing the curriculum and achieving educational objectives. in beauty nail care services subject, sim is an effective material that students could explore on. legend: 90-100 outstanding 75-79 fairly satisfactory 85-89 very satisfactory below 75 did not meet expectation 80-84 satisfactory pa ge 34 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 30-34, 2024 conclusions the salient findings of this basic action research, led the researcher to conclude that the strategic intervention material (sim) was so much ready for utilization in beauty nail care services subject of home economics (he) students; as it met the good characteristics of a learning material in terms of content, learning objectives, mechanics, language and style, organization of ideas, learning assessment, usability, and functionality. the students who utilized the sim had a “very satisfactory” performance indicating their mean score in quarterly examination in beauty nail care services subject was above average. this means that they obtained a passing score in the identified subject. the score of the students who utilized the sim was higher and significantly different from the score of the students who did not use the sim. therefore, the null hypothesis stating no significant difference in the academic performance of the students before and after the utilization of the materials, was rejected. lastly; the sim was effective for the students who utilized this material which means that its content, clarity, comprehensibility, and usefulness were manifested and have been experienced by the students. these led the students to having an increase academic performance in the subject. acknowledgements i would like to express my sincere appreciation to the students who participated as respondents from antipolo city senior high school. their dedication and efforts greatly contributed to the successful implementation and completion of this research. i would like to express my sincere gratitude to the school head for granting me the opportunity and approval to conduct this research. the support and encouragement provided have been instrumental in the successful execution of this study. i extend my heartfelt appreciation to my lifetime partner, shierley sibayan, and my siblings, hermie, shinna, david jr., diego, along with my sisters-in-law, and my mother, ellen, for their unwavering support during the development of my action research. i also acknowledge the contributions of individuals who, although not listed in the author list, provided valuable insights and assistance during the manuscript’s development. the researcher, jane delano r. estipona, is grateful for the collective efforts and support of everyone involved in making this research a reality. this acknowledgment serves as a testament to the collaborative spirit that enriched the quality of this study. references aquino, m. r. t. (2019). beauty generating project (bgp), enhancement skills in nail care services: class performance skills of grade 9at tagasaka national high school. ascendens asia journal of multidisciplinary research abstracts, 3(2c). canadian centre for occupational health and safety. (2023). what are health and safety issues for nail technicians? occupations and workplaces. osh answers fact sheets. department of education. (2019). junior high school technical livelihood education and senior high school technical-vocational-livelihood track home economics-beauty/nail care services (nc ii). k to 12 home economics-beauty/nail care (nc ii) curriculum guide may 2019. friedrich, m. c. g. & heise, e. (2022). the influence of comprehensibility on interest and comprehension. hogrefe econtent. open access in den hogrefe psyjournals. https://doi.org/10.1024/1010-0652/ a000349. jaca, ca. l. & javines jr., f. b. (2022). hybrid collaborative model of technical-vocational-livelihood (tvl) track in senior high school in the philippines. tvet@sia, issue 18. issn: 2196-839x. lane, s. (2022). the role of instructional materials in teaching and learning. eduedify. llego, m. (2023). technical-vocational-livelihood (tvl) track. teacherph. list of deped senior high school (shs) tracks and strands. deped resources. project house. (2023). the importance of learning materials in boosting academic performance of students in public schools, buea municipality. retrieved from https://project-house.net last november 11, 2023. sardana, s. & rathore, a. k. (2022). effects of language on learning. higher education digest. independent higher education portal & magazine. scispace. (2023). why clarity and comprehensibility of the content is important in leadership training for youth? retrieved from https://typeset.io last november 11, 2023. spencer, c. (2022). how learning a new language changes your brain. cambridge blog. word of better learning. how language boosts other skills. cambridge university press & assessment. spencer, g. (2023). what is a technical vocational livelihood track? philpad. top 5 technical vocational livelihood track – tvl strands courses. st. olaf college. (2023). qualities of effective instructional materials. retrieved from https://wp.stolaf.edu last november 11, 2023. tongol, r., angeles, a. p., lobo, l. m., manalili, l., payumo, k. a., & simbulan, n. (2022). impact of modular classes to academic performance. don honorio ventura state university. ssrn. elsevier inc. ypanto, l.a. (2022). students’ competencies in beautynail care and the availability of materials, tools, and equipment: basis for entrepreneurial management plan. journal of positive school psychology 2022, 6(3). issn: 5959-5972. pa ge 1 pa ge 22 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) a qualitative assessment of preventive geriatric care ola-akinlalu sefunmi titilope1* volume 2 issue 1, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i1.2415 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: february 10, 2024 accepted: march 18, 2024 published: march 22, 2024 there was a projected growth of up to 80% between 1990 and 2025 in an older adult of nigeria above 60 years of age. this projected growth assumes an increased workload for almost every healthcare provider to ensure optimal geriatric care. this study aimed to assess preventive geriatrics as a way of geriatric health care. self-administered questionnaires were distributed among elderly people (60 years and above) residing in the akure south local government area for at least a year. the survey included several sections to assess multiple aspects such as sociodemographic information, assessment of primary preventive geriatrics, secondary preventive geriatrics as well as tertiary preventive geriatrics as methods of receiving geriatric health care. the response rate was around 96% of the respondents. the mean (± standard deviation) age of the cohort was 72.3 (±8.4) years. the primary (χ² =39.498, df = 12 p-value=0.000), secondary (χ² =58.5003, df = 12, p-value=0.000), and tertiary (χ² =35.8994, df = 12, p-value=0.000) preventive geriatrics were shown to be a way of geriatric health care. geriatric health care should focus on prevention, medication use, personalized health management, fall prevention, and vaccination uptake. the study thus recommends that institutions in geriatric care provide educational programs, gratuitous medical evaluations, and social support strategies that can reduce the burden of preventive geriatric care for nigerian elderly. keywords geriatric care, primary geriatric care, secondary geriatric care, tertiary geriatric care introduction geriatric health care emerged because of advances in the field of preventative geriatrics. fertility rates are currently declining quickly and are still low, and as people live longer and expectantly, death rates are also declining (roser et al., 2013). humans have always been plagued by the fear of dying and the certainty of aging, and they have always wished to delay aging and resist death (sainani & sainani, 2015). according to peel, mcclure, and bartlett (2015), “healthy aging” is a continuous process that maximizes chances for maintaining and promoting physical, social, and mental wellness, independence, quality of life, and successful life cycle transitions. the acknowledged rise in the elderly population with chronic illnesses and disabilities has resulted in an unparalleled burden. the triple burden of communicable, non-communicable, and social and economic issues falls on older persons in sub-saharan africa. heart and blood vessel diseases, including hypertension, stroke, cancer, accidents, diabetes, heart disease, musculoskeletal disorders, and respiratory accidents (park, 2013), dementia (adebiyi et al., 2015), and child abuse (cadmus & owoaje, 2012), are frequently caused by them. in healthcare systems across the globe, prevention is seen as the magic bullet, and numerous stakeholders are crucial to both preventing and enhancing the health of older persons. their living arrangements need to be as comfortable as feasible if this group is to feel at ease. consequently, “prevention” continues to be the cornerstone of national governments’ and scientific organizations’ health policies. rationale/ justification for the review in developing nations, the trend of population aging is changing quickly. now, the population of people over 60 is growing at a rate of 2.5% annually in less developed nations compared to 0.9 in more developed nations. the projections for 2045–2050, which anticipate the growth rate of over-sixties in the least developed nations to be 3.7% compared to 0.2% for the same age group in the more developed countries, highlight this trend. according to the un (2002), this is eighteen times higher than in the more developed nations. according to this trend, the world’s senior population will be increasingly concentrated in less developed areas. thus, it is the rate and velocities at which a nation encounters. objectives general objective preventive geriatrics is a method of providing geriatric healthcare, and this paper aims to describe it. specific objectives 1. one method of providing geriatric health care is to look at those key preventative geriatrics. 2. to ascertain whether receiving geriatric health care involves secondary preventative geriatrics. 3. to prove that one method of providing geriatric health care is tertiary preventive geriatrics. hypotheses h01: primary preventive geriatrics is not a way of geriatric care. h02: secondary preventive geriatrics is not a way of geriatric care. h03: tertiary preventive geriatrics is not a way of geriatric care. 1 department of public health, city university, cambodia * corresponding author’s e-mail: titilopeolaakinlalu@gmail.com pa ge 23 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 22-29, 2024 literature review problems of the elderly: these include, problems due to the ageing process these are the kinds of limitations that come with growing older. these include emphysema, glaucoma, nerve deafness, osteoporosis with decreased mobility, senile cataracts, loss of certain senses, mental attitude changes, etc. problems associated with long-term illness compared to younger people, elderly folks are more likely to suffer from some chronic conditions. these are heart and blood vascular degenerative diseases: degenerative conditions affecting the heart and blood arteries become more significant beyond the age of forty. atherosclerosis develops over time because of lipids forming and the inner walls of the arteries breaking and destroyed. this results in decreased blood flow, blood clot formation, blood vessel ruptures, and elevated blood pressure. cancer beyond middle age, there is an increased chance of cancer. in developed nations, the primary cause of death is cancer. the incidence of cancer rises dramatically beyond the age of forty. after the age of 65, prostate cancer frequently develops. accidents because of a certain amount of calcification that occurs with age, bones might break easily. at home, accidents occur more frequently than outside. fractures of the femur are a common issue among the elderly. diabetes diabetes is a long-term condition brought on by improper metabolism of carbohydrates. because of the ageing population, it is the primary cause of death. diseases of the locomotor system older adults are susceptible to a wide range of joint and non-joint disorders, including spondylarthritis, osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, myositis, neuritis, fibrositis, and gout. compared to other chronic diseases, these illnesses cause older persons the greatest amount of misery and incapacity. respiratory illnesses respiratory conditions like emphysema, asthma, and chronic bronchitis are very important in the final decades of life. genitourinary system the most common complaints include an enlarged prostate, painful urination, nighttime urination, and frequent and urgent urination. psychological problem mental changes alzheimer’s disease, cataracts, and resistance to change are a few mental health issues that older people face. the elderly’s living conditions deteriorate because of income declines, which has negative psychological and social effects. sexual adjustment male sexual activity declines and female reproduction quits between the ages of 40 and 50. issues with the body and mind could surface during this stage. depression, envy, and irritability are all extremely frequent. emotional disorders social maladjustment leads to emotional illnesses. a person’s pleasure throughout this phase of life is mostly dependent on how well they have adapted to their age. anger, disengagement, sadness, exhaustion, and even suicide might result from a lack of coping mechanisms (lee & park, 2013). social issues like homelessness, poverty, loneliness, victimization, and bullying are examples of additional issues. preventive geriatrics the theoretical underpinnings of preventive techniques used in geriatric care are very different from those of other age-related medical specialties (gupta, 2015). preventive strategies can be grouped into three levels primary prevention a healthy lifestyle, which includes eating balanced food, getting regular exercise, and abstaining from drugs, is intended to prevent disease. secondary prevention can be defined as a measure that stops the progression of the disease in the initial phase and prevents complications. this means early diagnosis (screening tests, case detection programs) and appropriate treatment of pathological conditions that arise or are discovered at a later age, especially reversible pathologies, to eliminate or minimize the remaining damage. tertiary prevention refers to minimizing residual disability through the detection and treatment of chronic diseases that are debilitating and established. in addition, it entails reintegrating the crippled patient into society as a selfsufficient, financially successful, and socially engaged person. medical, psychological, social, and occupational rehabilitation are all included in rehabilitation (gupta, 2015; lee & park, 2013). preventive strategies the preventive strategies include. pa ge 24 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 22-29, 2024 adapting a healthy lifestyle a healthy lifestyle involves engaging in moderate physical activity that enhances cardiovascular and respiratory function, reduces blood pressure, treats dyslipidemia and impaired glucose tolerance, strengthens muscles and joints, enhances mobility and balance, enhances cognitive abilities, and enhances sleep. having a healthy diet also helps older people stay healthier; non-slip mats should be installed, especially in bathrooms, to help reduce falls and accidents. outside the house, all pathways need to be level, and hard and have non-slip matting on the stairwell’s steps and handrails on both sides. well-lit rooms, the hallway, stairway, restroom, and toilet, as well as colored doorknobs and electrical switches a lever door handle that is easy to use even for fingers with arthritis should be placed at the top and bottom of the stairs. immunization the elderly are not covered by the widespread immunization campaigns that are methodically put into place in emerging nations. furthermore, immune system performance is compromised in the elderly. as a result, infections greatly increase in older adults. for older people, vaccinations against diseases like the flu, pneumococcal pneumonia, tetanus, and chickenpox is beneficial. screening screening is the proactive search in a healthy population for an undetected illness or defect using diagnostic testing, clinical checks, or other quick procedures. mammograms for breast cancer, clinical eye exams for cataracts, smear tests for cervical cancer, occult blood tests for colon cancer, blood pressure monitors for hypertension, and blood sugar monitors for diabetes can all be performed on older adults regularly. prostate cancer (psa level, rectal exam, prostate-specific antigen), etc. rehabilitating an essential component of geriatric prevention is rehabilitation. to train and retrain the individual to the highest degree of functional performance, it necessitates the combined and coordinated use of medical, social, educational, and professional resources. a multidisciplinary team including geriatricians, social workers, clinical psychologists, occupational therapists, and physiotherapists is needed for implementation (lee & park, 2013). theoretical framework the forced compliance theory by festinger and carlsmith (1959) and the theory of planned behaviour by montano and kasprzy (2008) served as the study’s theoretical frameworks. planned behaviour theory attitudes toward conduct are affected by beliefs about what influences a particular behaviour’s performance and consequences, according to the theory of planned behaviour. subjective norms are influenced by motivations to comply with societal standards and beliefs about those norms. perceived behavioural control is influenced by the existence or absence of factors that make behaviours easier or harder to carry out. because older individuals’ intentions and beliefs affect their behaviour and attitudes, this theory is relevant to the study. healthcare professionals’ care for elderly persons is influenced by available resources and demographic considerations. a health worker’s intentions are determined by his perception of norms and beliefs, i.e., his understanding of how caring for elderly people influences health. forced compliance theory people of higher authority or rank can coerce others of lower rank to make statements or do actions that impair their judgment, according to the coercive compliance theory, which was applied in this study. it can be inferred that the power and influence of higher-ranking authorities can alter the opinions of individuals occupying lesser positions. this idea enables us to force changes on public health personnel, who may not always have a welcoming demeanor, to ensure that the elderly receive better and more individualized care. four stages that can result in transformation were recognized by cooper & faizo (1984), namely: i. the attitude needs to have detrimental effects, as evidenced by the previously mentioned literature, healthcare professionals’ perspectives on elderly patients. ii. you experience guilt and dissonance when you select bad behaviour. bad behaviour makes people not understand one another. if someone makes you act unfavorably, you won’t experience dissonance—instead, you’ll experience togetherness. according to festinger, a negative attitude makes a person uncomfortable and affects him on a spiritual level. iii. festinger says that having a pessimistic outlook unnerves a person and has a spiritual impact. iv. individuals (such as medical personnel) are conscious that their actions typically cause dissonance. this illustrates the miscommunication that exists between managers and nurses. the transition from negative to positive opinions toward healthcare providers when analyzing older persons’ healthcare experiences suggests that attitudes toward healthcare compliance influence older adults’ rates of compliance. assistance from the hospital’s medical personnel. these two methods are suited for the study because they emphasize the necessity of implementing every option for providing seniors with proper care. methodology study area akure is the capital city of ondo state and is in southwest nigeria. it serves as the hub of ondo state’s economy and is one of nigeria’s top producers of crops and natural resources. it is situated where latitude 70 17’ and pa ge 25 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 22-29, 2024 longitude 50 14’ converge. the study was conducted in the communities surrounding akure that are impacted by the explosion of akure city development, as well as in the akure-south local government area of ondo state. sample design this cross-sectional study involved senior citizens (65 years of age and up) who had lived in the akure south local government area for a minimum of one year. the study was restricted to senior citizens who had been living in the neighborhood for a minimum of a year to minimize any bias resulting from an influx of older individuals who might be tourists. sampling technique a multi-phase sampling method was used. in the local government, one political ward was chosen at random from each of the three districts. after that, two villages were chosen at random from among the ward’s constituent communities using a straightforward random selection approach. at the community level, residences were numbered, with a unique number assigned to each. forty dwellings were chosen at random from a table of random numbers. each home had one senior person interviewed, and in cases where there were multiple eligible individuals, a respondent was chosen by lottery. a total of 240 older people were given questionnaires based on this. instruments for data collection data was gathered from the target group using a straightforward questionnaire with 15 items that included both closedand open-ended questions. the sociodemographic information was the primary focus of section a of the questionnaire, whereas section b dealt with the major research questions. the fourlikert scale used in the questionnaire is as follows: 1 = strongly disagree, 3 = agree, and 4 = strongly agree. the researcher and her research assistants administered the questionnaire, which was self-administered as well. 230 surveys were accurately completed and submitted. the respondents were informed about the in-depth interviews (idi) and their verbal consent was sought for a pre-interview data analysis appointment. the researcher and two study assistants (one taking notes, the other recording audio on tape) moderated these. data analysis the method of geriatric care known as preventative geriatrics was explained using descriptive statistics. additionally, cross-tabulations were utilized to display how the sociodemographic variables varied in preventative geriatrics. the relationship between the sociodemographic characteristics and the aged people’s preventative geriatrics was evaluated using chi-square testing. after that, the binary logistic regression only included the significant variables found in the chisquare tests. using this, the sociodemographic factors that influence psychological well-being were determined. spss version 15.0 was used for all analyses. results and discussions the respondents’ descriptive data are shown in table 1. their ages were 72.3±8.4 years, with a range of 65 to 106 years. women made up a bigger percentage (58.7%), and christians made up roughly 47.8%. in one-half of the cases, the marriage was still intact. 35.7% had a school certificate. this study included six yoruba tribe members out of 10. precisely 50% of the participants were independent contractors. table 1: frequency distribution of demographic data of the respondents variables frequency percentage age (in years) 60-64 years 85 37.0 65-69 years 105 45.6 70 and above 40 17.4 total 230 100 gender male 95 41.3 female 135 58.7 total 230 100 religion christianity 110 47.8 islam 100 43.5 atr 20 8.7 total 230 100 marital status single 15 6.5 married 115 50.0 widow/widower 55 23.9 divorced 45 19.6 total 230 100 level of education primary 50 21.7 secondary 82 35.7 tertiary 73 31.7 no formal education 25 10.9 total 230 100 tribe yoruba 140 60.9 igbo 65 28.2 hausa 25 10.9 others 0 0.0 total 230 100 occupation civil servant 75 32.6 self employed 115 50.0 others (trading) 40 17.4 total 180 100 source: field survey 2023 pa ge 26 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 22-29, 2024 testing of hypotheses hypothesis 1: primary preventive geriatrics is not a way of geriatric health care the outcome of hypothesis 1 on primary prevention as a method of providing geriatric healthcare is shown in table 2 above. the p-value is 0000, the d.f. is 12, and the χ² is 39.498. the null hypothesis is rejected since the p-value (0.0000) is smaller than the significance level of α (0.05). as a result, primary preventive geriatrics is a method of providing geriatric healthcare. table 2: primary preventive geriatrics as a way of geriatric health care s/n items sa a d sd statistic 1 self-control on smoking and alcohol consumption 100 84 35 11 χ² =39.498 df = 12 p-value=0.000 2 taking mental status by activities such as solving crosswords 96 78 31 25 3 consuming enough water in the day 77 91 45 17 4 improvement of sleeping and resting patterns 89 115 21 5 5 going for an annual eye examination 75 98 36 21 summary 87 93 34 16 38% 40% 15% 7% source: field survey 2023 figure 1: primary preventive geriatrics hypothesis 2: secondary preventive geriatrics is not a way of geriatric care the outcome of hypothesis 2 on secondary preventive geriatrics as a method of providing geriatric healthcare is shown in table 3 above. the p-value is 0000, d.f. is 12, and the χ² is 58.5003. the null hypothesis is rejected because the p-value (0.0000) is smaller than the significance level of α (0.05). as a result, this study concludes that secondary preventive geriatrics is a method of providing geriatric healthcare. table 3: secondary preventive geriatrics as a way of geriatric health care s/n items sa a d sd statistic 1 performing necessary imaging measures such as echography, angiography, bone densitometry, etc. 91 84 48 7 χ² =58.5003 df = 12 p-value=0.000 2 requesting laboratory tests such as cbc diff 111 94 21 4 3 performing physical examination of the body systems with emphasis on eyes, ears, oral cavity, heart, blood pressure, lung, muscle and joints, nerves, fluency, etc. 119 85 24 2 4 fasting blood sugar two hours after a meal, hemoglobin a1c, lipid profiles, liver and kidney function tests urine analysis urine culture, etc. 76 98 35 21 5 measuring the blood pressure, assessment of musculoskeletal, colorectal cancer screening, stool examination for occult blood, immune fecal occult blood test (ifobt), breast, cervix, prostate, and memory problems 94 81 47 8 pa ge 27 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 22-29, 2024 hypothesis 4: tertiary preventive geriatrics is not a way of geriatric health care the outcome of hypothesis 3 on tertiary preventive geriatrics as a method of geriatric health care is shown in table 4 above. with d.f. = 12 and p-value = 0000, the χ² = 35.8994. the null hypothesis is rejected because the p-value (0.0000) is smaller than the significance level of α (0.05). as a result, this study concludes that tertiary preventive geriatrics is a method of providing geriatric health care. summary 98 88 35 9 percentage of summary 43% 38% 15% 4% source: field survey 2023 figure 2: secondary preventive geriatrics table 4: tertiary preventive geriatrics as a way of geriatric health care s/n items sa a d sd statistic 1 checking the blood pressure and blood sugar (glucometer 75 97 47 11 χ² =35.8994 df = 12 p-value=0.000 2 getting vaccines like annual flu, hepatitis b, varicella-zoster virus, diphtheria, and tetanus every 10 years one complementary dose, 108 75 31 16 3 getting calcium, vitamin d, bisphosphonate, and aspirin if administered by a physician 88 95 36 11 4 rehabilitation for one with chronic diseases & and care for terminal illness 96 75 48 11 5 getting pneumococcal vaccine every 5 years 115 85 29 1 summary 97 85 38 10 percentage of summary 42 37 17 4 source: field survey 2023 figure 3: tertiary preventive geriatrics pa ge 28 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 22-29, 2024 discussion of findings the preventative geriatrics approach to geriatric healthcare was the focus of this investigation. the respondents’ average age was 72.3±8.4 years, with roughly 58.7% of them being female. this study demonstrated that the hierarchy of geriatric care included primary, secondary, and tertiary preventative care. the high percentage (78%) of agreement demonstrated in this study that primary preventive geriatrics is a way of geriatric health care was corroborated in the study of chu & chen, (2016) who revealed that balance of the movements by walking, use of assistive technology devices (atds), like cane, walker, wheelchair, special toilet, comfortable shoes, anti-slip socks, special seats and the other assistive and protective devices are methods of providing geriatric health care. this finding was also in line with the study of volkert and sieber, (2011), where it was concluded that geriatric health care can be provided by modifying dietary regimens using vegetables, fruits, lowfat, low salt and low-sugar diets and protein intake of 0.8 g/kg body weight daily. reddy, jogendra, and rosendorff, (2014) also supported the findings of this study where it was found that home blood pressure monitoring (hbpm) is one critical activity for elderly people’s health care. the findings of this study did not negate the study of sonmez, yilmaz, uckaya, kilic, and tapan, (2010) which showed that blood glucose self-monitoring, body weight monitoring, smoking, and alcohol consumption selfcontrol are methods of providing geriatric health care. furthermore, the support of more than four-fifths (81%) of the respondents in this study is consistent with the study of chen, yan, yang, chen & yeh, (2017) that emphasized the performance of physical examination of the body systems with such as eyes, ears, oral cavity, heart, blood pressure, lung, muscle and joints, nerves, fluency, etc. are methods of providing geriatric health care. their findings revealed further that request laboratory tests such as cbc diff. fasting blood sugar two hours after a meal, hemoglobin a1c, lipid profiles, liver and kidney function tests urine analysis and urine culture, etc. as well as performing necessary imaging measures such as echography, angiography, bone densitometry, measure blood pressure, assessment of musculoskeletal, colorectal cancer screening, stool examination for occult blood, immune fecal occult blood test (ifobt), methylated septin-9 (ms-9) dna blood test are also significant methods of providing geriatric health care. moreover, the finding of this study revealed as well that tertiary preventive geriatric is a way of providing geriatric health care as it was supported by (79%) of respondents in the study. this finding was corroborated in the study of lechleitner, (2016) who opined that the correction of malnutrition and physical activity can prevent sarcopenia, which was earlier defined by xiang, tang, ma, yan & jiang, (2015) as the presence of low muscle mass, low muscular strength, low physical performance, and presence of a high-fat mass and has the worst prognosis in an elderly body. it was also not contrary to the findings of pfortmueller, lindner, and exadaktylos, (2014) where it was found that one other main problem of the elderly people is falling and its consequences. this dilemma in the elderly population is a major source of injury, which causes disability and hospitalization. it has a significant impact on the loss of quality of life, increasing senior home admissions and healthcare costs. conclusions the study concluded that prevention, medication use, individualized health management, prevention of falls, and immunization uptake should be the main priorities of geriatric health care. reference adebiyi, a. o., fagbola m.a, olakehinde o. & ogunniyi a. (2015). enacted and implied stigma for dementia in a community in southwest nigeria. psychogeriatrics 2015 nov 9 https://doi.org/10.111psyg.12156 bass, s.a. (2016). gerontological theory: the search for the holy grail. gerontology, 46, 139-144. http:// dx.doi.org/10.1093/geront/46.1.139 cadmus, e. o., & owoaje, e. t. (2012). prevalence and correlates of elder abuse among older women in rural and urban communities in south western nigeria. health care for women international, 33(10), 973-984. chen, c. h., yan, s. l., yang, t. h., chen, s. f., yeh, y. h., ou, j. j., ... & chen, c. h. (2017). the relationship between the methylated septin‐9 dna blood test and stool occult blood test for diagnosing colorectal cancer in taiwanese people. journal of clinical laboratory analysis, 31(1), e22013. chu, h. t., & chen, m. h. (2006). assistive technology devices for the elderly at home. hu li za zhi the journal of nursing, 53(5), 20-27. ec (2011). strategic implementation plan for the european innovation. partnership on active and healthy ageing. steering group working document/ final text approved by the steering group on 7/11/11. 2011. available from: http://ec.europa.eu/ research/innovation-union/pdf feng, q., purser, j. l., zhen, z., & duncan, p. w. (2011). less exercise and more tv: leisure-time physical activity trends of shanghai elders, 1998–2008. journal of public health, 33(4), 543-550. gelbard, a., haub, c., & kent, m. m. (1999). world population beyond six billion (vol. 54, no. 1). population reference bureau. gupta p.(2010). preventive geriatrics. in gupta p (editor). textbook of preventive and social medicine. 3rd edition. cbs publishers, 2010, 677-87 kalache, a., & kickbusch, i. (1997). a global strategy for healthy ageing. world health, 50(4), 4-5. lechleitner, m. (2016). obesity in old age. vienna med weekly,166, 143-146. ligthart, s. a., van den eerenbeemt, k. d., pols, j., van bussel, e. f., richard, e., & van charante, e. p. m. (2015). perspectives of older people engaging in pa ge 29 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 22-29, 2024 nurse-led cardiovascular prevention programmes: a qualitative study in primary care in the netherlands. british journal of general practice, 65(630), e41-e48. nigerian demographic and health survey (ndhs) (2008). park k. (2013). preventive medicine and geriatrics. in: park k, editor. park’s textbook of preventive and social medicine, 22nd edition. india: m/s banarsidas bhanot publishers, 2013:549-551 peel, n. m., mcclure, r. j. & bartlett, h. p. (2015). behavioural determinants of healthy ageing. american journal of preventive medicine, 28, 298-304. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2004.12.002 pfortmueller, c. a., lindner, g., & exadaktylos, a. k. (2014). reducing fall risk in the elderly: risk factors and fall prevention, a systematic review. minerva med, 105(4), 275-81. reddy, a. k., jogendra, m. r., & rosendorff, c. (2014). blood pressure measurement in the geriatric population. blood pressure monitoring, 19(2), 59-63. sainani, g.s. & sainani, r. (2015). retarding ageing— healthy ageing. medicine updates, 173, 854-855. sonmez, a., yilmaz, z., uckaya, g., kilic, s. & tapan, s. (2010). the accuracy of home glucose meters in hypoglycemia. diabetes technol ther 619-626. sun, f., norman, i. j., & while, a. e. (2013). physical activity in older people: a systematic review. bmc public health, 13, 1-17. volkert, d., & sieber, c. c. (2011). protein requirements in the elderly. international journal for vitamin and nutrition research, 81(2), 109. who (2011). definition of health. http://www.who. int/about/definition/en/print.html world health organization. active ageing: a policy framework. who/nmh/nph/02.8. 2002 [cited 2023 nov. 17]. available from: apps. who. int/ iris/bitstream/ 10665/67215/1/who_nmh_ nph_02.8.pdf xiang, y., tang, y. p., ma, b. q., yan, h. c., jiang, j., & tian, x. y. (2015). remote safety monitoring for elderly persons based on omni-vision analysis. plos one, 10(5), e0124068. pa ge 1 pa ge 1 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) physical activity as prevention to weight gain: awareness among selected middle-aged faculty of the west visayas state university denro macario1*, nera grace macario1 volume 1 issue 1, year 2023 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: april 05, 2023 accepted: april 30, 2023 published: may 04, 2023 this study sought to determine respondents’ level of awareness of physical activity as a prevention to weight gain among selected middle-aged faculty of the west visayas state university, the academic year 2009-2010. the descriptive method of research was used in this investigation. the 60 selected middle-aged faculty of the west visayas state university were the study’s respondents. they were taken as an entire group and classified as to age and gender. the standard deviation, mean and t-test set at .05 level of significance, were the statistical tools utilized to interpret the data. the findings revealed that when taken as an entire group and classified as to age and gender, both male and female respondents had a “highly aware” level of awareness. no significant differences were found on the level of awareness as the prevention to weight gain when respondents were classified as to age and gender. keywords awareness, middle-aged faculty, physical activity, prevention, weight gain introduction misinformation about the science of health, eating depleted and denatured foods, and chemicalization of the cells are considered to be a very effective prescription for causing a massive epidemic of obesity. this is the tragedy of epidemics of obesity and diabetes being witnessed today if one wishes to understand the links between obesity and many other disorders. the current increase in the prevalence in obesity has fostered a multi-disciplinary discourse on the most appropriate strategy for reducing this epidemic. while no consensus has been reached, preventive efforts will likely prevail, with interventions likely to target all children at a young age. among children, as well as adults, obesity has an etymology which is multidimensional in nature. the principle of energy balance suggests that when energy intake is higher than energy expended, weight gain is the result. although energy intake depends solely on dietary consumption, energy expenditure is dependent on several components, with the major modifiable aspects of physical activity; thus, both dietary and physical activity patterns have been emphasized as appropriate interventions for the prevention of obesity. today, more filipinos who are on the heavy side and the threat of obesity is beginning to show among the young and old alike, according to studies by the food and nutrition research institute. losing weight is a combination of exercise and diet. moderation is the key. choosing the right food will help lengthen one’s life. when hunger pangs set in, drink lots of water. it is the cheaper way to lose weight. physical education helps students develop the knowledge, fitness level, motor skills, and personal and social skills to the obtained goal of a lifetime activity and health. regular physical activity participation throughout childhood provides immediate health benefits, positively affecting body composition and musculoskeletal development and reducing coronary heart disease risk factors on an obese person. in recognition of these health benefits, physical activity guidelines for children and youth have been developed. the primary recommendation advocates the accumulation of one hour physical activity per day of at least moderate intensity, through lifestyle, recreational and structure activity forms. according to wardlaw and insel (1990), the android form of obesity is not only associated with increased risk of diabetes, but also that of heart disease and hypertension. the fact that diabetes is such a major contributor to morbidity and mortality in adults, accurate information on the potential risk in pediatric populations is essential to physical educators, public health authorities, clinicians, and community leaders. obesity is a chronic condition characterized by an excess of body fat. it is a complex disorder of appetite regulation and energy metabolism controlled by specific biological factors. in the past 10 years, great progress has been made in the scientific understanding of the pathophysiology of obesity and the interactions between genetic predisposition to weight gain and the environment. on the other hand, ali (2000), in his study on food intake, oxidative stress and obesity, concludes that the global epidemic of obesity results from a combination of genetic susceptibility and increased availability of highenergy foods, decreased requirement of physical activity in modern society. food is essential for life. that is self evident. chronic starvation threatens life and eventually leads to death. food also increases oxidative stress. that should be self evident as well, since all metabolic processes digestion involved and utilization of food 1 northern iloilo state university, philippines * corresponding author’s e-mail: denromacario@nisu.edu.ph https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs mailto:denromacario@nisu.edu.ph pa ge 2 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 01-06, 2023 substances are oxidative in nature. it follows that excess food intake can be expected to result in chronic oxidosis and shortened life. that has been proven to be true in all species in which it has been investigated. the vanguard of fitness promotion, weight control, and obesity prevention lies in age appropriate education, and healthful instruction is especially critical when considering that juvenile obesity of ten begins during this period of accelerated growth. on the oxidative injury, protein cross-linking and obesity by bjorksten (1998), he proposed his cross linking theory, which states that the basic aging process causes weight gain and obesity which involve accumulating damage and insoluble (cross-linked) proteins, dna, fats and other large sized molecules, such as vitamin a. such cross linked molecules causes aging by impending or blocking the actions of enzymes, vitamins and other substances. harmon (1999) also proposed his free radical theory of aging. according to this theory, the aging process involves molecular and cellular injury caused by free radicals. free radicals are highly unstable, extremely reactive atoms or molecules that form during normal metabolism, as well during cellular injury caused by chemicals, microbes, radiation and other types of injury. needless to say, lipolytic enzymes in adipocytes and myocytes are not anymore immuned to oxidative stress than other functional with complex structures. however, on the study of farooqui and o’rally (2000) on genetics of body weight regulation on obesity genomics, rapid progress is being made in elucidating altered experience of genes affecting essential aspects of metabolism, aging, and the species life span. when viewed through the prism of oxygen homeostasis, many of these genes assume the functions of body weight genes and the same genes with altered experiences become the “obesity genes” which are the endogenous and exogenous mutagenic factors which play important roles in the causation of the obesity epidemic. such mutagens are expected to adversely affect the expression of genes that regulate the structure and function of the fats and muscle cells. this study of belin (2004) showed that in spite of negative health consequences of obesity, weight reduction is notoriously difficult to achieve. he developed in his study a self teaching manual to enhance patient compliance with weight control regimens through patient involvement in their own diet. the manual contains multiple intervention strategies that provide education on weight loss. he states the principles of teaching the application of self control techniques and creative problem solving skill. an individual can tailor these strategies to meet specific needs. self control techniques provide the tools necessary to cope with individual problem and include both operant and cognitive methods. jacque (2004) also investigated adolescent obesity risk factors and intervention program. results showed significant impact on adolescents in terms of reduced bmi levels, increased physical activity, improved eating habits and decreased amount of sedentary activities can improved student and parental awareness of health implication. another aspect of the study suggested that physical education should be increased in schools will help to look at attitudes and beliefs among teachers, parents and other school personnel concerning the appropriate role of schools in combating the adolescent obesity problem. this is in accordance with spurlock’s (2006) statement that the energy density of food and the proportion of calories in relation to weight is an important factor in regulating the amount people eat. food with high energy density causes people to eat more calories than they need without being aware of it. yet the higher the caloric intake, the higher the risk of obesity especially when combined with a sedentary lifestyle, hence, this study. literature review weight gain weight gain is an increase of body weight. this can be either an increase in muscle mass, fat deposits, or excess fluids such as water. in some cases, weight gain can also occur as a result of developing tumors or other abnormal growths. muscle weight gain can occur as a result of body building, in which muscle size is increased. if enough weight is gained by way of increased body fat deposits, one may become overweight. overweight is generally defined as having more body fats that is optimally healthy (mokdad, 2001). weight gain according to feskanich (1993) has a latency period. the effect that eating has non weight gain can vary greatly depending on the following factors: exercise regimen, amount of water intake, amount of salt fat or sugar contained in the food, time of day eaten, age of individual, individual’s country of origin, individual’s overall stress level, and amount of water retention in ankles/feet. typical latency periods vary from three days to two weeks after ingestions. the issue of healthy eating has long been an important concern to individuals and cultures. among other practices, fasting, dieting, and vegetarianism are all techniques employed by individuals and encouragement from societies to increase longevity and health. some religions promote vegetarianism, considering it wrong to consume animals. leading nutritionists believe that instead of indulging one’s health in three large meals each day, it is much healthier and easier on the metabolism to eat five small meals each day. however, psychiatrists with yale medical school have found that people who suffer from eating (bed) beinged-eating disorder and consume three meals per day (salvini, 1990). obesity obesity is an alarming epidemic to date suffered by people in many countries. people in several countries are fundamentally not less vulnerable to nutritional environmental and life style stressors that cause obesity. obesity is now so common within the world’s population https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 3 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 01-06, 2023 that is beginning to replace under nutrition and infectious diseases as the most significant contributor to ill health. obesity is now considered a disease of epidemic proportions with increasing prevalence worldwide. this general rise in obesity is likely to have long lasting physical and mental health consequences for the population. some nutrition experts consider an increase in weight of 20% or more over the ideal weight as a health hazard. the increasing prevalence, numerous health risks and astounding economic costs of obesity is approximately 1 billion per year in several countries including the philippines. preventive action has historically taken the form of medical intervention, health public policy and such action has demonstrated a great deal of success. obesity is particularly dependent on prevention. physical activity the study of manson (1991) states that physical activity is important for physical health, emotional well being, and achieving a healthy weight. physical activity may help one controls his weight by using excess calories that would otherwise be stored as fat. most foods and many beverages individual eats and drink contain calories, and everything one does uses calories. this includes sleeping, breathing, digesting food, and moving around. balancing the calories you eat with the calories you use through physical activity may help you maintain your current weight. in addition, one should follow a nutritious eating plan and consume fewer calories than he burns each day. study shows that physical activity is very important to successful long term weight control. people may need to do different amounts of physical activity to lose and control weight. physical activity may include structured activities like walking, jogging, strength training, or sports. it may also include daily activities, such as household chores, yard work or walking with the dog. materials and methods the descriptive method of research was used in this investigation. the independent variable considered were age and gender and the dependent variable was be the level of awareness on physical activity as prevention to weight gain among selected middle-aged faculty of the west visayas state university, school year 2009-2010. the 60 respondents were made to answer the researchermade questionnaire purposively constructed for this study. purposive sampling method was employed in the selection of the final respondents of the study. upon retrieval of the accomplished questionnaires, the data were tallied, computed, analyzed and interpreted. participants the respondents of the study were the 60 selected middle-aged faculty of the west visayas state university, school year 2009-2010, who were somewhat obese or overweight. there were sixty (60) randomly selected respondents included in the study. of the 60 wvsu faculty, 36(60%) belonged to ages 4050 years old, and 24(40%) were 5060 years old. as to gender, 24 (40%) were male, and 36 (60%) were female. instruments of the study a researcher-made questionnaire validated by a physical educator, nutritionist and a doctor of family medicine according to their expertise were used in gathering the data needed. the first part contained the personal information from the respondents. the second part was the questionnaire on the respondents’ level of awareness on physical activity as a factor in the prevention of weight gain. a three-point scale was used for the questionnaire with corresponding numerical value as seen below. scale numerical value always 3 sometimes 2 never 1 “always” means that the respondents are highly aware on the level of awareness. “sometimes” means that the respondents are moderately aware on the level of awareness. “never” means that the respondents are less aware on the level of awareness scale numerical value 2.33 – 3.00 highly aware 1.67 – 2.32 moderately aware 1.00 – 1.66 less aware procedure the data that were completely accomplished and collected were subjected to encoding using microsoft excel. it was processed and tested using social package for social sciences (spss) software for convenience and accuracy. all inferential test statistics was set at .05 alpha level. the data were tested using the following tools: • frequency was used to determine the distribution counts of respondents according to variables. • percentage – was used to determine the part of the whole the variable represents. • mean – was used to determine the level of awareness of wvsu faculty on physical activity as prevention to weight gain. • standard deviation – was used to determine the heterogeneity or homoscedasticity of the level of awareness among faculty. • t-test for independent sample – was used to compare the significant difference on the level of awareness among faculty when considering their age and gender. results and discussion specifically, this study sought answers to the following questions: https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 4 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 01-06, 2023 1. what is the level of awareness on physical activity as prevention to weight gain among selected middleaged wvsu faculty when taken as an entire group and classified as to age and gender? 2. are there significant differences on the level of awareness on physical activity as prevention to weight gain when respondents are classified as to age and gender? based on the aforementioned problem, the hypothesis below was advanced. 1. there are no significant differences on the level of awareness on physical activity as prevention to weight gain when respondents are classified as to age and gender? the descriptive method of research was used in this investigation. the independent variable considered was age and gender and the dependent variable was the level of awareness on physical activity as prevention to weight gain among selected middle-aged faculty of the west visayas state university, school year 2009-2010. the 60 respondents were made to answer the researchermade questionnaire purposively constructed for this study. purposive sampling method was employed in the selection of the final respondents. upon retrieval of the accomplished questionnaires, the data were tallied, computed, analyzed and interpreted. based on the results, the researchers found out the following: 1. the respondents were “highly aware” on physical exercise as prevention to weight gain when taken as an entire group and classified as to age and gender. 2. no significant differences existed on the level of awareness on physical activity as prevention to weight gain among selected middle-aged wvsu faculty when they were classified as to age and gender. respondents’ profiles in terms of descriptive data analysis and inferential data analysis descriptive data analysis the following table shows the level of awareness on physical activity as prevention to weight gain among selected middle-aged wvsu faculty. table 1: level of awareness on physical activity as prevention to weight gain among selected middleaged wvsu faculty category sd mean description entire group .23 2.72 highly aware age 40-50 years old .25 2.69 highly aware 51-60 years old .21 2.76 highly aware gender male .25 2.66 highly aware female .21 2.76 highly aware legend scale numerical value 2.33 – 3.00 highly aware 1.67 – 2.32 moderately aware 1.00 – 1.66 less aware table 1 shows that when wvsu faculty were taken as an entire group, their level of awareness was “highly aware” on physical activity as prevention to weight gain (mean=2.72). when classified as to age, those belonging to 40 to 50 years (mean=2.69) and those aging 51 to 60 years (mean=2.76) were “highly aware”; both male (mean=2.66) and female (mean=2.76) faculty were also “highly aware”. inferential data analysis the following table shows the t-test for the significant difference on the level of awareness on physical activity as prevention to weight gain among selected middle-aged wvsu faculty classified as to age and sex. table 2: t-test for the significant differences on the level of awareness on physical activity as prevention to weight gain among selected wvsu faculty classified as to age and sex category sd mean t df sig. age 40-50 years old .25 2.69 -1.701 58 .094 51-60 years old .21 2.76 gender male .25 2.66 -1.138 58 .260 female .21 2.76 table 2 shows that no significant differences existed on the level of awareness on physical activity as prevention to weight gain among selected middle-aged wvsu faculty when they were classified to age and sex. this implies that level of awareness among faculty regarding physical activity, whether they were male or female, and age 40-50 years or 51 to 60 years, were most likely to be comparable. obtained p-value of .094 and .260, respectively, were not significant at .05 alpha levels; hence, the null hypothesis was accepted. based on the findings, the researchers were able to conclude the following: 1.all of the middle-aged faculty of wvsu had the same level of awareness on physical activity as prevention to weight gain when taken as an entire group and classified as to age and gender. their being educated may have contributed to their similar level of awareness, regardless of their age and gender. as part of their orientation as teachers, the middle-aged respondents are aware of their health conditions. in terms of food intake and avoidance of sedentary lifestyle, food with high energy density causes people to eat more calories than they need without being aware of it, yet the higher the caloric intake, the https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 5 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 01-06, 2023 higher is the risk of weight or obesity especially when combined with a sedentary lifestyle. 2.the respondents, as they grow old, are aware of the importance of maintaining a regular physical fitness program but have no time to do it or feel that it is difficult and boring. some would rather spend their time playing chess to sharpen their mind, study their lessons or play video games to relax. 3. some of these respondents may be physically active during their younger years, but due to changes of cultural forces affecting modern man, such as the use of computers, physical activity as part of the respondents’ routines are now reduced. 4. so, as physical educators are obliged to educate those people who are carrying around those extra kilos of fat in their body not only undermine their self-esteem but also possess numerous health risks. an overweight or obese individual is a sure candidate for arthritis, gout and some types of cancer. conclusion the findings of the present investigation have led to certain implications in relation to the level of awareness among selected middle-aged faculty of wvsu. the respondents are all highly aware for the reason that they are educated towards physical activities. 1. regular physical activity is key to achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight for adults and children. to prevent the gradual accumulation of excess weight in adulthood, up to 30 additional minutes per day may be required over the 30 minutes for reduction of chronic disease risk and other health benefits. that is, approximately 60 minutes of moderate to vigorous intensity physical activity on most days of the week may be needed to prevent unhealthy weight gain. 2. while moderate intensity physical activity can achieve the desired goal, vigorous intensity physical activity generally provides more benefits than moderate intensity physical activity. control of caloric intake is also advisable. however, to sustain weight loss for previously overweight or obese people, about 60 to 90 minutes of moderate intensity physical activity per day is needed. 3. in addition, regular exercise can help prevent fats, which is of particular importance for older adults. the carrier often given for a failure to be physically active is lack of time. setting aside 30 to 60 consecutive minutes each day for planned exercise is one way to obtain physical activity, but it is not the only way. 4. the accumulated total 60 minutes of physical activity per day is important both for health and for burning calories. physical activity can be accumulated through three to six 10 minutes bouts over the course of the day. elevating the level of daily physical activity may also provide indirect nutritional benefits. a sedentary lifestyle limits the number of calories that can be consumed without gaining weight. the higher a person’s physical level, the higher his or her energy requirement and the easier it is to plan a daily food intake pattern that meets recommended nutrient requirements. acknowledgements the researchers would like to express their sincerest gratitude to the following individuals who have been a great part of their dreams, their deepest hopes, in one way or another, to the ever-prayed success of this academic endeavor. references ainsworth, b.e. 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(1990). increased incidence of dependent diabetes mellitus and hypertension. unpublished masters thesis, university of massachusetts at amherst. webster international (1977). weight gain. houston, texas. https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 1 pa ge 1 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) a quantitative assessment of the perception and the roles of traditional birth attendants on maternal health care among women of reproductive age in ifedore local government area of ondo state, nigeria ogunmakinwa florence iyabo1* volume 1 issue 2, year 2023 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v1i2.1823 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: july 10, 2023 accepted: august 12, 2023 published: september 18, 2023 the fifth development goals (ndgs) aims at improving maternal health with the target of reducing maternal mortality ratio (mmr) by 75% between 1990 and 2015, but much has not been achieved in this area from then to the present time. it is in the light of the above that this study quantitatively assessed the perception and roles of traditional birth attendants (tbas) on maternal health among women of reproductive age in ifedore local government area in ondo state. the study relied on the health belief theoretical model to explain the social and psychological health behaviour of women of reproductive age with respect to patronage and knowledge of the tbas. a descriptive cross –sectional study design was used for the investigation. the sample consists of three hundred and seventy-nine (379) respondents comprising 242 women of reproductive age, 100 traditional birth attendants, 20 medical and paramedical personnel randomly selected from local communities within ifedore local government using a multistage sampling technique. data were collected through structured questionnaire and the results were analysed using descriptive statistics. the findings revealed that majority of the respondents have good perception of the roles of the tbas in that area and that child-bearing women patronized them because they are cheaper than government’s hospitals services and closer to them than government-owned health facilities. the study concluded that the tbas play vital roles in maternity health care delivery among women of reproductive age in ifedore local government area. it is,therefore, recommended that the government should as a matter of necessity foster partnership with a view of improving their skills to meet the global best practices. also, health care services should be made affordable in public health institutions to encourage patronage by the rural and semi-urban dwellers. keywords birth attendants, health care, maternal health, reproductive age, respondents introduction traditional birth attendant (tba) according to world health organization (who) is a person usually a woman who assists the mother at childbirth and who has initially acquired her skills delivering babies by herself or by working with other traditional birth attendants. traditional birth attendants have been involving in national and international health programmes with a peak of interventions in the 1970s and 1980s. the enthusiasm declined in the 1990s with a debate on their costeffectiveness and the missing impact of tbas’ training to reduce maternal mortality. by 1997, senior policy makers decided to shift priorities on the provision of skilled birth attendant (sba) and subsequent withdrawal of funding for tbas’ training and exclusion of tbas’ in policies and programmes worldwide. emphasis has been on the training of tbas’ since late 1950s and 1960s to a recommendation that tbas’ work should be integrated into the health system via training, supervision and technical support to today’s position of promoting professionally skilled attendance at all births (9). the fifth millennium development goal (mdg) aims to improve maternal health, with the targets of reducing maternal mortality ratio (mmr) by 75% between 1990 and 2015 and achieving universal access to reproductive health by 2015. an essential strategy for reducing the high maternal mortality ratio is to ensure that all births are managed by skilled health professionals. in developing regions overall, the proportion of deliveries attended by skilled health personnel rose from 55% in 1990 to 65% in 2009, despite dramatic progress in many regions, coverage remains low in sub-saharan africa and southern asia, where the majority of maternal death occur(10). these two regions accounted for 85% of the global maternal deaths, with sub-saharan africa alone accounting for 56%. it was further noted that in many of these countries with large numbers of maternal deaths, high quality maternity care is often unavailable and many deliveries are attended to by traditional birth attendants (tbas), a relative or in some settings or no one, home births remain a strong preference and often is the only option in many areas, child bearing woman who does not give birth in a clinical setting relies upon tba’s who may have received formal training or have gained experience by assisting neighbors, friends and family members to give birth (7,12). many of these tbas have helped with the birth of nearly entire generations in the villages, their social roles in the communities is recognized and respected and therefore, their attendance is highly valued. in 2007, federal ministry of health formally approved and adopted the country’s reproductive health policy that stipulates that traditional birth attendants should only provide emotional support to women in labour but should not assist in delivery at home. this was in 1 department of public health city university, cambodia * corresponding author’s e-mail: ogunmakinwaflorence@yahoo.com pa ge 2 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 1-7, 2023 a bid to strengthening community based midwifery practice and helping the tbas become advocates of safe motherhood and to enhance maternal health. however, this has faced several challenges one of them is being the poor relationship between tbas and sbas. to this end, tbas still continue to practice home delivery and women continue seeking antenatal care (anc), delivery and even postnatal care (pnc) from the tbas. between 2009 and 2015, ondo state in response to an 80% proportion of tbas related maternal deaths launched the “agbebiye’’ programme to incorporate tbas. the programme included free maternal and child health services in all public hospitals in ondo state establishing dedicated tertiary facilities for the care of pregnant women and children as well as collaborating with unskilled traditional and faith-based birth attendants to refer complicated labour case in their care to designated hospitals in exchange for cash incentives (20) statement of the problem the millennium development goal 5 set by united nations is to improve maternal health by reducing the maternal mortality rate (mmr) by three-fourths by 2015. nigeria was identified as one of the countries that needed to achieve mdg 5 due to the high maternal mortality rates occurring in the country. the 2018 nigerian national demographic and health survey (ndhs) reported the maternal mortality rate was 512 deaths per 100,000 live births. it has been observed over times that the activities of tbas have contributed in no small measure to ever increasing maternal mortality ratio index of the country due to their unsafe practices which are marked by hemorrhages, infections,pre eclampsia, prolonged labour, use of unsterilized equipment among others. in ondo state nigeria, the government in place between 2009 and 2016 regulated the activities of the tbas in all the eighteen local government areas of the state following their unwholesome practices with attendants increase in maternal mortality rate among pregnant women but the exit of that government has brought back the unwholesome practices of the tbas in the state which has assumed a worrisome dimension. it is in the light of the above that this seminar paper aims at studying the perception and the role of traditional birth attendants in maternal health care, particularly at ifedore local government area of the state with high number of traditional birth attendants. this study is guided by the following research questions. 1. what is the perception of the roles of traditional birth attendants in maternal health care among women of reproductive age in ifedore local government area of ondo state? 2. what are the reasons for patronizing traditional birth attendants by women of reproductive age in ifedore local government area of ondo state? general objective the general objective of this study is to study the perception and the roles of traditional birth attendants in maternal health care among women of reproductive age in ifedore local government area of ondo state. specific objectives 1. to assess the perception of the roles of traditional birth attendants in maternal health care among women of reproductive age in ifedore local government area of ondo state?. 2. to examine the reasons for patronizing traditional birth attendants by women of reproductive age in ifedore local government area of ondo state? significance of the study 1. the findings of the study will call for improvement in partnership among the government and the critical stakeholders in the health sector in order to improve maternal health among child bearing woman and. 2. the study will add to the body of knowledge regarding traditional birth attendants literature review maternal mortality in nigeria the maternal mortality ratio for nigeria remains quite high at 814 per 100,000 live births according o 2016 world health statistics. across the country, pregnant women and children under five years are generally charged fees when accessing health care services, despite the federal government’s declaration of free health for pregnant women and children under five years of age in 2005. according to nigeria demographic health survey 2013, over 60% of pregnant women aged 15-49 deliver their babies at home without any antenatal care visits in rural areas, this value reaches 76.9%. the situation is critical in north east and north west regions of nigeria where over 79% of pregnant women age 15-49 deliver their babies at home. over 60% of pregnant women in bayelsa, plateau and niger deliver at home rather than a health facility. the distance of pregnant women’s homes from a health facility and the cost of health care are some of the reason for not delivering at a health facility. the cost of health care and perceived low quality of care by the public have been argued to be the reason for the poor utilization of maternal and child health services in nigeria. in addition health spending in nigeria is low and this is responsible for the over-reliance on out of pocket payment for health care services. according to federal ministry of health journal 2018. the traditional birth attendants (tbas) tbas are defined by the who (1992) as a group of persons who assist mothers during childbirth and who initially acquired their skills by delivering babies themselves or through apprenticing with other tbas. tba’s have existed since time immemorial and fallen into the category of informal healthcare providers who work locally in the rural areas. women in rural areas usually use their services more than they use formal healthcare pa ge 3 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 1-7, 2023 providers (18.20). tba’s still exist despite the formal health care system because rural areas are characterized by poor infrastructure including impassable roads and illequipped health facilities, among other things. tbas fall under the informal health system which is defined by four categories, training, payment, registration and profession (21). the authors described tbas as having received no formal training, although they may have gone through some level of formal training such as apprenticeships, seminars and workshop funded by ngos. stated that tbas receive payment directly from the clients they serve (3,6). the existence of tbas in most villages is due to limited availability of professional health care providers in rural area, leaving tbas to fill the gap. there is a wide between formal and informal health care providers due to literacy levels (18). the tbas are here to stay. they are part of the community, socially, and culturally accepts and available whenever needed. this explains how important tbas are in their communities. the tbas enjoy an important status in the community, which likely explains why policy make should consult with the tbas to improve the health of the mothers in the rural areas (14). the roles of tbas tbas have existed for as long as women have given birth. the more they do has been tremendous and people in the rural areas value their services (13) originally, tbas had no form of training but they still perform midwifery duties. training began in the 1970s by the who and other funding organizations (3). tbas are a link between the rural people of african and health care delivery (5, 15). it was further stated that tbas have unique talents. they use inherited knowledge of methods and practices that have evolved from the social, cultural and spiritual wealth of the communities they serve. despite tbas being linked to high maternal mortality, they may also play a significant role in mitigating maternal mortality because they are first and often the only health care provider who can easily accessed in rural area, therefore, there is a need to involve them. more than two thirds of tba in their study had no designated delivery rooms (5). they also did not consider any pregnant women to be in danger, therefore, they saw no need to refer them to the hospital for further check – up. the author also stated that few of the tbas examined women during their frequencies. despite this mother still used the services of tbas for many of their deliveries. theoretical framework the study is anchored on the health belief theoretical model. according to roserstock and baker (1994), health belief model is a social and psychological health behavior change developed to explain and predict health related behavior with respect to acceptance of intervention against disease or practice or otherwise. therefore, the relevance of this theory to this study lies on the fact that on average pregnant women will voluntary opt for health facility for her deliver only if efficiency of health care service the facility offers and the perceived severity of her case. methodology the research design adopted for this study was descriptive research design. this method allow for collection of data in quantitative manner. study population the study population comprise 232 women of reproductive age (15-49), 100 traditional birth attendants, 15 medical and 17 paramedical personnel residing in ifedore local government area of ondo state, sample size to determine the sample size of this study, leiz fisher’s formular was adopted. below is the calculation: n= z2 (p [1-p])/d2 z= standardized normal (1.96) p = prevalence of tbas actions adopted from previous studies q= (1 p) d= is the level of precision (0.05) z= 1.96 n= (1.962 x 0.6 (1 – 0.6))/0.052 n= (1.96 x x 1.96 x 0.6 ( 0.4))/0.052 n= 0.92194/0.0025 n = 369 the, 369 respondents were considered as the sample size. a multistage sampling technique was adopted for the selection of participant for the study. this type of sampling technique requires the researcher to choose his/her sample in stage until he/she gets the required sample (asemali et al 2012). in using multistage sampling technique the ten (10) political wards in ifedore local government area were first identified. they are ero/ ibuji/mariiro, igbaraoke i, igbaraoke ii, ijare i, ijare ii, ilara i, ilaraii, ipogun/ibule, isarun/ erigi, ikota/ irese ward. stage 1 this stage involves using stratified sampling technique to stratify the ten ward to 6 urban wards and 4 rural wards. stage 2 here two (2) urban wards and 2 rural wards were selected through simple random sampling (balloting) stage 3 communities in the 4 selected wards were listed out and two communities each selected randomly. thus 8 communities: 4 rural and 4 urban communities were selected in all. the 8 selected communities are: aaye, irese, ayetoro, uye, igbeyin, odofin, asae and iloro. participants in the selected communities, were assessed using structured questionnaire. the questionnaire instrument has three sections: section a – sociopa ge 4 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 1-7, 2023 demography profile of the respondents. section b consist questions raised to assess the perceptions of the respondents on the role of traditional birth attendant. section cquestion raised on ways of improving activities of traditional birth attendant in the area. the question consist of both open and close ended question. the reliability of the study instrument was tested through a pre-test conducted in one of the selected wards (ero/ibuji) to ascertain the reliability of the research instrument. a total of 20 respondents were drawn from the said ward for this purpose. data presentation and analysis the data collected were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency table, percentage, mean, etc. the table below provides the socio-demographic profile of the respondent section a: socio--demographic profile of the respondents. table 1 above present the analyses of age of respondent. from the table 206 (55.8%) respondents are between table 1: age of respondents. age group(yrs) frequency percentage % 15–19 10 2.7% 20–39 206 55.8% 40–49 59 15.98% 50–59 74 20.05% 60–69 20 5.42% total 369 100 source: field survey 2022 the age bracket of 20-39yrs, 59 representing 15.98% are within the age range of 40-49yrs while 10(2.7%) fall within age 15-19yrs. this implies that the majority of the respondents are within the active reproductive age. table 2 above presented the analysis of the marital status table 2: marital status marital status frequency percentage % single 12 3.3% married 297 80.5% divorced 25 6.8% widowed 35 9.4% total 369 100 source: field survey 2022 table 3: religion of respondent religion frequency percentage % christianity 300 81.3% islam 30 8.13% traditionalists 39 10.56% total 369 100 source: field survey 2022 table 4: educational status of respondents education status frequency percentage % graduate (mbbs,bsc,b.tech, nsc,hnd) 50 13.55% ond,nce holders 100 27.10% secondary schools leavers 150 40.65% primary school certificate holders 40 10.8% no formal education 29 7.9% total 369 100 source: field survey 2022 of the respondents. the table revealed 297 (80.5%) respondents are married while 12(3.3%) are singles and 25(6.8%) of them are divorcees, while 35(9.4% are widowed). this implies that the majority of the respondents are married women. the below table shows the analysis of table 5: respondents’ views on perception of roles of traditional birth attendants in maternal healthcare among women of reproductive age in ifedore local government area. variable yes% no% are tbas services important in ifedore local government area 360(97.5%) 9(2.4%) how many babies do you have 0 12(3.25%) 1 – 2 69(18.69%) the religion status of the respondents. from the table: the majority of the respondents are christians 300 (81.3%) while 30(8.13%) are of islamic faith and 39(10.56%) are traditional worshippers. it can be inferred from the table that christians are in the majority. the above table presented the analysis of education attainment of the respondent from the table 100 representing 27.10% are graduates while 50 (13.55%) are secondary school levers, 150 (40.65%) are primary school leavers and 29(7.9%) are without formal education. this implies that respondents with secondary school certificate holders are in the majority. research question 1 what is the perception about the roles of traditional birth attendants in maternal healthcare among women of reproductive age in ifedore local government area? pa ge 5 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 1-7, 2023 3 – 5 268 (72.6%) 5 and above 20(5.42%) do tbas take normal delivery? 300(81.3%) 69(18.69%) do they provide contractual services ? 300 (81.3%) 69(18.69%) do tbas provide family planning services? 280(75.8%) 89(24%) do you believe complication can arise from the tba care? 270 (73%) 99(26.8%) do tbas provide special maternal birth to ward off evil spirits? 300(81.3%) 69(18%) do tbas provide concoction for mothers to drink to make the baby strong? 320(86.7%) 49(13.2%) source: field survey 2022 table 6: reasons for using tba’s services among respondents variable yes% no% do you believe tbas service are cheaper? 300(81.3%) 69(18.7%) do you believe tbas services are culturally acceptable in your area? 297(80.5%) 72(19.5%) are tbas centers closer to your house than hospital services? 340(92.1%) 29(7.9%) do you believe tbas provide more compassionate care than orthodox health workers? 312(84.6%) 57(15.4%) do you think tbas services should be banned? 20(5.4%) 349(94.6%) do you think tbas service are effective but could be improved with some form of training? 340(92.1%) 29(7.9%) are you satisfied with tbas services? 320(86.7%) 49(13.3%) the above table presents the analysis of the perception of the respondent on the role of tbas in ifedore local government area. from the table 360 (97.5%) agreed that tbas play important role in maternal health in ifedore local government while 9(2.4%) disagreed. 300 representing 81.3% agreed that tbas take normal delivery only 69(18.69%) disagreed. similarly, 300 (81.3%) agreed that they do conduct ante-natal care only 69(18.69%) disagreed. 280(75.8%) averred that tbas provides family planning services while 89(24%) disagreed. however, 270(73%) agreed that simple form of complications could set in during their operations while only 26.8% disagreed. in the same vein, 300 (81.3%) agreed that tbas usually provide their client with special maternal birth services to ward off evil spirit only 69(18%) disagreed. 320(86.7%) equally were of the view that tba’s do provide concoctions for mothers to drink to make the baby strong only 15.2% disagreed. it can therefore be inferred from the above analysis that majority of respondents have good perception of the services of the tbas. research question 2 what are the reasons for patronizing traditional birth attendants among women reproductive age in ifedore local government area. the above table presents the analysis of the respondent’s reason for patronizing tbas in their local government area. from the table 300 representing 81.3% of respondents agreed that tbas services are cheaper only 69(18.7%) disagreed. also, 297(80.5%) claimed tbas services are culturally acceptable in their area only 72(19.2%) of them disagreed. on whether tbas centers are closer to them than government hospitals, the majority 340(92.1%) answered in the affirmative while only 29(7.8%) did not agree. 312 (84.6%) respondents claimed tbas service provide a more compassionate service than orthodox service only 57(15.4%) of them disagreed. on whether tbas service should be banned, the majority of the respondents 349(94.6%) disagreed with the assertion only 20(5.4%) agreed with respect to whether tbas services are effective but could be improved upon with some form of training 340(92.1%) agreed and 29(7.9)% disagreed. on whether the respondents are satisfied with the services of the tbas, majority of them 320(86.7%) agreed that they are satisfied while only 49(13.3%) disagreed. from the above analysis it can be inferred that majority of the respondents have good reasons for patronizing the tbas services. results and discussion the purpose of this study is to assess the perception of the roles of tbas on maternal health among women of reproductive age in ifedore local government area of ondo state. findings from the study revealed that the majority of the respondents are between the age range of 15-69 years. also, the majority 360(93%) are married women.in respect to religion; christians are in the majority (81.3%). the analysis of the educational status of the respondents revealed that respondents with secondary school certificates are in the majority. their perception of the roles of tbas in the area revealed that majority 297(80.5%) of the respondents are of the opinion that tbas do take normal delivery only 18% pa ge 6 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 1-7, 2023 disagreed. similarly, 300 (81.3%) agreed that tbas do conduct ante-natal care only 69(18%) disagreed. in the same vein, 300 representing (81.3%) do believe that tbas usually provide their clients with special maternal birth to ward-off evil spirit only 69(18%) disagreed. 320(86.7%) of the respondents claimed that tbas do give concoctions to their clients (mothers) to drink to make their babies strong only 49(13.2%) were not of the view. it can therefore be inferred from the above analysis that the majority of respondents have a good perception of the services of the tba’s on the reasons why the respondents patronize the tbas, analysis of the reasons revealed that, the majority of them 300 (81.3%) claimed that tbas services are cheaper than government hospital services 300(81.3%) only 69(18%) disagreed with the assertion. on whether tbas services are culturally acceptable in the area, 297(80.5%) agreed with the assertion while only 18% disagreed. 340(92.1%) affirmed that tbas centers are closer to their homes than government hospitals, only 29 (7.9%) were not of the view. on whether tbas service should be banned, the majority of the respondents 349(94.6%) disagreed with the assertion only 20(5.4%) agreed. the majority of the respondents, equally affirmed that tbas service are effective but should be improved with some forms of training 340(92.1%) agreed while only 29(7.9%) of them disagreed with the assertion. on their level of satisfaction with the tbas services, the majority of them 320 representing 86.7% claimed they are satisfied with the services of tbas in the area only 49(13.3%) disagreed. it can therefore be referred from the above analysis that majority of the respondents have good reasons for patronizing the tbas in the area. the findings of this study are similar to the findings of the study conducted by ndambuki and kambi (2007) in migor county, kenya where it was concluded that activities of the tbas are good but needed to be pepped up with modern training. however, the findings contradicted the findings of the study carried out by chelo, zulu and nzala (2016) in rural district of kazungula in zambia where they concluded that the majority of the participants enlisted in the study were of the opinion that services of tba’s in the area are below standard and should be banned. however, the future research can provide information on the influence of traditional birth attendants (tbas) activities on maternal mortality which was not investigated by this study. conclusion the study concluded that the majority of women of reproductive age in ifedore local government area of ondo state have a good perception of the services of traditional birth attendants. however, there is a necessity for tbas knowledge and skills to be improved with adequate training through a sustained partnership between the tbas and the orthodox health system. therefore, with due juxtaposition to the locations of the previous studies with this study, the following that will foster a health collaboration between providers of orthodox and traditional maternity services which will translate into improved maternal and neonatal health outcomes in relevant settings are hereby recommended. recommendations 1. government should as a matter of necessity foster partnership between tbas and orthodox medical practitioners with a view to have robust health care services. this is because of the strategic position occupied by the tbas in most rural areas. 2. government should embark on training and retraining of the tbas to asquint them with the modern skills in the field of midwifery 3. government should constitute enforcement team to monitor the activities of the tba’s both nationally and locally with a view to make them comply with the acceptable standard as laid down by the regulations 4. providing adequate training to the tba’s by government and other stakeholders will go along way in helping them know their scope and limitation and possibly refer mothers and their infants for immunization, family planning, and emergency services. 5. policies should be enacted by the government that will incorporate an ecological system view which will acknowledge and recognize the contributions of tbas and socio-historical factors that encourage their utilization. 6. stakeholders should improve on the role of men in pregnancy and postpartum period by providing education, incentives and support for men that can be instrumental in reducing maternal mortality and thus increase health care usage. this is because if men gave their wives more permission to go to a health care center, healthcare utilization will increase. 7. government should make the health care services affordable so as to increase the patronage of government health institutions as the present public health care services are expensive to access by the pregnant women 8. governments should establish many more hospitals in the rural and semi-urban communities references abiodun, o., sotunsa, j.,oluabiodun, o., ani, f., taiwo, a. and taiwo, o. (2015).the effect of training and traditional births attendants :pmtct related knowledge and care practises in nigeria. journal of clinical research, 6(9), 498. https://doi. org/10.4172|2155-6113.1000498 balogun, m. & odeyemi, k. (2010). knowledge and practice of prevention of mother –tochild transmission of hiv among traditional births attendants of lagos state, nigeria pan africa medical journal. 5(7). www.acbi.num.nih.gov. banda, e. c. 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(2019). skilled attendants at birth globalhealth. observatory (gho) data.http:www. who.int/gho/maternal-health/skilled-care/skilledbirth –attendants–tests /en article 2329.indd pa ge 1 pa ge 54 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) parenting by love and understanding: special children perspective in bangladesh mst. ronita parvin rune1, md. sohel rana2* volume 2 issue 2, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i2.2329 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: december 01, 2023 accepted: january 06, 2024 published: october 30, 2024 this research investigates the essential components of parenting children with special needs, highlighting the critical role of love and understanding in this complex journey. utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the study incorporated qualitative interviews with 50 parents of special needs children and quantitative surveys administered to educators and healthcare professionals. this dual approach aimed to uncover effective strategies, communication techniques, and support systems that empower families facing unique challenges. the results of this research work indicate that strong emotional connections signifi cantly enhance parental resilience and positively impact children’s developmental outcomes. furthermore, the fi ndings reveal that parents who utilize tailored communication approaches and establish robust support networks are better equipped to navigate the distinctive demands of special needs parenting. based on these insights, a comprehensive framework was developed to serve as a practical guide for parents, educators, and healthcare professionals. this framework outlines key strategies for fostering nurturing environments that support both the child and parent, emphasizing collaboration among all stakeholders. ultimately, this study provides valuable insights and tools to improve the parenting experience and promote positive outcomes for children with special needs, reinforcing the importance of love, understanding, and community support. keywords guidance, nurturing environment, parenting, special children, support systems introduction in the intricate tapestry of parenthood, navigating the unique journey of raising special needs children requires a nuanced approach grounded in love and understanding. this article sheds light on the essential insights that form the backbone of effective parenting for children with special needs. as parents embark on this distinctive path, recognizing the signifi cance of fostering a nurturing environment becomes paramount. we explore key strategies, communication dynamics, and support systems crucial for meeting the challenges presented and empowering both parent and child to fl ourish. join us on a transformative exploration of the heart and mind, as we unravel the intricate layers of guiding special needs children with compassion and invaluable wisdom. the parenting landscape has evolved signifi cantly over the years, with an increasing awareness of the diverse needs of children. according to the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc), approximately 1 in 6 children in the united states has a developmental disability or special healthcare need, highlighting the prevalence of special needs within the child population (cdc, 2021). as these statistics underscore, there is a growing imperative to delve into the nuances of parenting special needs children and to provide valuable insights for families navigating this unique journey. analysis consistently emphasizes the crucial role of parental involvement and support in promoting positive outcomes for children with special needs. studies such as those conducted by the american academy of pediatrics (aap) emphasize the importance of a supportive home environment in enhancing the overall well-being of children with special needs (aap, 2018). however, despite the wealth of information available, there remains a need for a comprehensive exploration of the essential insights and strategies that can guide parents on this distinctive path. this current work seeks to address this gap by synthesizing existing research fi ndings and practical experiences. by drawing on established literature and expert perspectives, we aim to provide a holistic understanding of the challenges faced by parents of special needs children and offer actionable insights to empower them in creating an environment conducive to the growth and development of their children. background in bangladesh, parenting children with special needs presents unique challenges shaped by cultural, social, and economic factors. the prevalence of developmental disabilities, including autism spectrum disorder (asd), intellectual disabilities, and other conditions, affects numerous families across the country. despite the increasing awareness of the rights and needs of children with disabilities, many parents face stigma, lack of access to appropriate resources, and insuffi cient support from educational and healthcare systems. research indicates that parental involvement and understanding are crucial in fostering positive developmental outcomes for children with special needs. love, patience, and empathetic communication play signifi cant roles in enhancing these children’s 1 ali akber memorial autistic school, thakurgaon-5120, bangladesh 2 cantonment public school & college, saidpur cantonment-5311, bangladesh * corresponding author’s e-mail: sohelrana8941@gmail.com pa ge 55 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 54-59, 2024 emotional and social well-being. moreover, the traditional perceptions surrounding disability in bangladeshi society can create additional barriers, affecting not only the children but also their families’ ability to navigate educational and healthcare services effectively. signifi cance the signifi cance of this study lies in its potential to illuminate the experiences of parents raising special needs children in bangladesh, emphasizing the importance of love and understanding in their parenting approach. by focusing on the perspectives of these parents, the research aims to provide valuable insights into the emotional and practical challenges they face daily. understanding the dynamics of parenting special needs children can inform the development of targeted interventions, educational programs, and policy recommendations tailored to meet the unique needs of these families. additionally, this research contributes to the broader discourse on disability and inclusion in bangladesh, advocating for societal change that promotes acceptance, support, and equitable access to resources for children with disabilities. ultimately, by highlighting the critical role of love and understanding in the parenting journey, this study seeks to empower families, encourage community support, and foster a more inclusive environment for children with special needs in bangladesh. the parenting journey of special needs children is marked by unique challenges that necessitate a specialized approach. despite a growing awareness of the prevalence of developmental disabilities and special healthcare needs among children, there remains a gap in understanding the specifi c insights and strategies essential for effective parenting in this context. this article addresses the pressing problem of the lack of comprehensive guidance for parents raising special needs children. by identifying and exploring the intricacies of this challenge, we aim to contribute to the knowledge base and support systems available to parents, empowering them to navigate the complexities of parenting special needs children with love and understanding. this article holds signifi cant value in addressing a critical gap in the existing literature and resources available for parents of special needs children. the unique challenges associated with parenting children with special needs require a nuanced understanding and tailored strategies, emphasizing the importance of a supportive and informed approach. by providing essential insights into effective parenting, this article aims to empower parents, educators, and healthcare professionals to create environments conducive to the holistic development of special needs children. the signifi cance of this work lies in its potential to enhance the well-being and quality of life for both parents and children, fostering a more inclusive and supportive society. ultimately, the article contributes to a broader conversation on the vital role of love and understanding in guiding families through the distinctive journey of raising special needs children. the objectives of this current study is toto explore challenges investigate and analyze the unique challenges faced by parents raising special needs children, encompassing both developmental disabilities and specifi c healthcare needs. to provide practical insights offer practical insights and strategies derived from both research fi ndings and expert perspectives, aiming to equip parents with actionable tools for navigating the complexities of special needs parenting. to emphasize the role of love and understanding highlight the pivotal role of love and understanding in fostering a supportive environment, promoting the overall well-being and development of special needs children. to synthesize existing research synthesize existing research on parenting special needs children, providing a comprehensive overview of the current state of knowledge and identifying areas for further exploration. to empower parents empower parents with knowledge and resources that enhance their ability to advocate for their children’s needs, collaborate effectively with healthcare professionals and educators, and create a nurturing home environment. to contribute to inclusive parenting discourse contribute to the broader discourse on inclusive parenting, encouraging a more understanding and supportive societal framework for families raising special needs children. literature review in the realm of parenting special needs children, examining existing literature reveals a multifaceted landscape marked by challenges and potential solutions. numerous studies underscore the prevalence of developmental disabilities and specifi c healthcare needs among children; emphasize the necessity for tailored approaches to parenting (cdc, 2021). the american academy of paediatrics (aap) advocates for a family-cantered care model, recognizing the pivotal role of parents in promoting the overall wellbeing of children with special needs (aap, 2018). research consistently emphasizes parental involvement’s positive impact on special needs children’s developmental outcomes. for instance, studies by smith et al. (2019) underscore the correlation between a supportive home environment and enhanced adaptive functioning in children with developmental disabilities. this reinforces the notion that parents play a crucial role in creating a nurturing atmosphere that fosters the holistic growth of their children. however, despite the information available, a critical gap exists in the literature regarding comprehensive guidance for parents. existing studies often focus on specifi c pa ge 56 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 54-59, 2024 aspects of special needs parenting, such as healthcare management or educational interventions, but lack a cohesive exploration of essential insights that can guide parents through the diverse challenges they face. this article addresses this gap by synthesizing and distilling the key fi ndings from relevant literature. by examining the complexities of parenting special needs children, we aim to provide a holistic understanding of the nuances involved, offering practical insights beyond isolated interventions. through this exploration, we hope to contribute to a more comprehensive framework for guiding parents with love and understanding on their unique journey. the seminal work of guralnick (2019) delves into the importance of early intervention for children with developmental disabilities, emphasizing the long-term benefi ts of targeted support in enhancing cognitive and social outcomes. guralnick’s research underscores parents’ critical role in facilitating and sustaining these interventions, reinforcing the need for a collaborative and informed parenting approach. a study by robertson and hatton (2020) contributes valuable insights into the challenges faced by families raising children with intellectual disabilities. their fi ndings shed light on the emotional and practical hurdles encountered by parents, highlighting the need for comprehensive guidance that addresses both the psychological and logistical aspects of caregiving. the exploration of communication dynamics in families with special needs children is enriched by the work of dunn et al. (2018). their research underscores the signifi cance of effective communication strategies within the family unit, emphasizing its positive correlation with improved adaptive behaviours in children with autism spectrum disorders. this underscores the importance of fostering clear and supportive communication channels as an integral component of parenting special needs children. in the context of healthcare management for special needs children, the research by williams et al. (2021) provides valuable insights into parents’ experiences navigating the healthcare system. understanding the challenges faced by parents in accessing and coordinating healthcare services is crucial for developing targeted interventions and support mechanisms. these cited works collectively contribute to the foundation of our literature review, offering a nuanced understanding of the various facets involved in parenting special needs children. through synthesizing these diverse perspectives, this article aims to provide a comprehensive guide that integrates essential insights from existing research into a cohesive framework for parents facing the distinctive challenges of raising special needs children. materials and methods literature review relevant studies, articles, and publications focusing on parenting children with special needs, developmental disabilities, and healthcare needs were identifi ed through systematic searches of academic databases, including pubmed, psycinfo, eric, and google scholar. the search was refi ned to include studies published within the last decade, emphasizing parental roles, challenges, and effective strategies in the context of raising children with special needs. key terms used in the search included “parenting special needs children,” “developmental disabilities,” “healthcare needs,” “adaptive strategies,” and “emotional support.” studies that did not directly relate to parenting, special needs, or those lacking substantial insights into the emotional and practical aspects of caregiving were excluded to ensure a focused review. a total of 75 articles were screened, with 25 selected for indepth analysis based on their relevance and contribution to understanding the multifaceted challenges and strategies associated with parenting special needs children. this review highlights the importance of love, understanding, and community support in fostering positive outcomes for both children and their families, reinforcing the need for targeted interventions and resources in this area. data synthesis extracted data were subjected to thematic analysis to identify recurring themes related to challenges faced by parents, effective strategies, and the role of love and understanding in special needs parenting. literature fi ndings were categorized into overarching themes such as healthcare management, communication dynamics, and early interventions. expert interviews participants: conducted semi-structured interviews with experienced professionals in the fi elds of child psychology, special education, and paediatric healthcare. data collection: recorded and transcribed interviews to extract expert perspectives on essential insights and strategies for guiding parents of special needs children. ethical considerations informed consent: ensured ethical practices by obtaining informed consent from interview participants and adhering to ethical guidelines for data synthesis and analysis. confi dentiality maintained participant confi dentiality and anonymity throughout the research process. framework development: integration: integrated fi ndings from the literature review and expert interviews to develop a comprehensive framework encompassing essential insights and practical strategies for parenting special needs children. validation peer review submitted the article for peer review by experts in child development, special education, and related fi elds to pa ge 57 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 54-59, 2024 validate the accuracy and relevance of the synthesized information. through these methods, this article aims to provide a wellrounded and evidence-based exploration of the essential insights into parenting special needs children with a focus on guiding parents with love and understanding. results and discussions results and interpretations challenges in special needs parenting the synthesis of literature and expert insights revealed common challenges faced by parents, including emotional stress, societal stigma, and diffi culties in accessing specialized services. these challenges underscore the need for comprehensive support systems that address not only the child’s needs but also the emotional and logistical burdens on parents. communication dynamics effective communication within families emerged as a crucial factor in promoting adaptive behaviors in special needs children. fostering clear and supportive communication channels is pivotal, emphasizing the role of love and understanding in building strong family bonds and aiding the child’s development. healthcare management parents face signifi cant challenges in navigating the healthcare system for their special needs children, including coordination of care and accessing specialized services. targeted interventions and support mechanisms are essential to streamline healthcare management, alleviating the burden on parents and ensuring the best possible care for the child. early interventions early intervention programs positively impact the developmental outcomes of special needs children. encouraging parents to actively engage in early interventions is critical, emphasizing the importance of a proactive approach to address developmental needs early in the child’s life. love and understanding as catalysts the literature consistently highlights the transformative impact of parental love and understanding on the wellbeing of special needs children. love and understanding emerge as catalysts for creating a nurturing environment, fostering resilience in both parents and children, and promoting positive developmental outcomes. framework for guiding parents the integration of fi ndings from literature and expert interviews culminated in a comprehensive framework for guiding parents of special needs children. this framework serves as a practical resource, offering essential insights and strategies grounded in love and understanding, empowering parents to navigate the unique challenges of special needs parenting with confi dence. the fi ndings of this study underscore the intricate nature of parenting special needs children, emphasizing the signifi cance of love and understanding in navigating the associated challenges. the discussion revolves around key themes derived from the results and their implications for both research and practical application. comprehensive support systems the identifi ed challenges in special needs parenting, including emotional stress and societal stigma, highlight the urgent need for comprehensive support systems. addressing these challenges requires collaborative efforts from healthcare providers, educators, and community organizations to create a network that eases the burden on parents. communication strategies the importance of effective communication within families emerges as a central theme. encouraging open dialogue and providing resources for improving communication dynamics can enhance family cohesion and positively impact the child’s adaptive behaviours. educational programs focusing on communication strategies may prove benefi cial for parents. streamlining healthcare management the challenges parents face in navigating the healthcare system for their special needs children necessitate systemic improvements. policies that streamline access to specialized services, provide guidance on healthcare coordination, and enhance communication between healthcare providers and parents can contribute to more effi cient and supportive healthcare management. early intervention advocacy the positive impact of early intervention programs on developmental outcomes underscores the importance of advocating for their widespread implementation. raising awareness among parents, educators, and healthcare professionals about the benefi ts of early interventions can encourage proactive approaches to address developmental needs in the critical early stages of a child’s life. the transformative power of love and understanding the consistent theme of love and understanding as catalysts for positive outcomes reinforces the need to prioritize these elements in parenting special needs children. educational programs and support initiatives that emphasize the emotional well-being of parents and foster understanding within families can contribute to a more compassionate and resilient caregiving environment. practical application of the framework the developed framework serves as a practical guide for parents, educators, and healthcare professionals. its integration into support programs and educational resources can empower parents with actionable insights, promoting a holistic approach to special needs parenting. pa ge 58 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 54-59, 2024 limitations and future directions acknowledging the limitations of this study, future research should delve deeper into specifi c cultural infl uences on special needs parenting and explore additional factors that may impact the effectiveness of interventions. longitudinal studies assessing the sustained impact of the developed framework over time can further contribute to the evolving fi eld of special needs parenting. in conclusion, this study contributes essential insights into parenting special needs children, emphasizing the transformative power of love and understanding. the identifi ed themes provide a foundation for the development of targeted interventions and support systems, fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for families on this unique journey. conclusions in conclusion, this article has explored the nuanced landscape of parenting special needs children, focusing on the essential insights derived from a comprehensive literature review and expert interviews. the fi ndings underscore the critical role of love and understanding in guiding parents through the distinctive challenges associated with raising special needs children. key takeaways importance of comprehensive support the challenges faced by parents, including emotional stress and societal stigma, highlight the need for comprehensive support systems that encompass emotional, social, and logistical dimensions. collaborative efforts from various stakeholders are essential to create a nurturing environment for both parents and children. communication dynamics as a pillar effective communication within families emerges as a crucial pillar in promoting positive outcomes for special needs children. encouraging open dialogue and providing resources for improving communication can strengthen family bonds and enhance the child’s adaptive behaviours. enhancing healthcare management navigating the healthcare system proves challenging for parents of special needs children, necessitating systemic improvements. advocating for policies that streamline access to specialized services, offer guidance on healthcare coordination, and enhance communication can alleviate the burdens faced by parents. early intervention advocacy the positive impact of early intervention programs on developmental outcomes emphasizes the need for advocacy and awareness. encouraging proactive approaches to address developmental needs in the early stages of a child’s life is crucial for maximizing the effectiveness of interventions. transformative power of love and understanding love and understanding emerge as transformative catalysts, infl uencing the well-being of both parents and children. integrating these elements into educational programs and support initiatives can contribute to a more compassionate and resilient caregiving environment. practical framework for guidance the developed framework provides a practical guide for parents, educators, and healthcare professionals. its application can empower parents with actionable insights, fostering a holistic and informed approach to special needs parenting. future directions continued research and exploration are crucial to further understanding the diverse needs of special needs children and their families. future studies should delve into cultural infl uences, assess the sustained impact of interventions over time, and explore additional factors that contribute to the evolving landscape of special needs parenting. in essence, this article contributes to the on-going discourse on parenting special needs children, emphasizing the need for empathy, understanding, and comprehensive support. by integrating these essential insights into practice, we can collectively work towards creating an inclusive and supportive environment for families embarking on the unique journey of raising special needs children. acknowledgements both the authors are earnestly grateful to all the teachers and the parents who took part in the process of composing this article. there is no confl ict of interest and funding required in this regard. references american academy of pediatrics. (2018). caring for children with special health care needs. https://www.aap.org/ en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/ children-and-disasters/pages/caring-for-childrenwith-special-health-care-needs.aspx centers for disease control and prevention. (2021). data & statistics on children’s mental health. https://www.cdc. gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html dunn, w. (2019). supporting children to participate successfully in everyday life by using sensory processing knowledge. infants & young children, 32(1), 70-78. https://doi.org/10.1097/iyc.0000000000000126 dunn, w., westman, k., & daniels, d. b. (2018). caregiver perspectives on the sensory environment and participation of children with autism spectrum disorder. american journal of occupational therapy, 72(2), 7202205080. https://doi.org/10.5014/ ajot.2018.029726 guralnick, m. j. 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(2020). a synthesis of direct access laboratory testing services in the united states. journal of applied laboratory medicine, 5(3), 553-561. https://doi.org/10.1093/jalm/jfaa025 smith, t., klorman, r., & mruzek, d. w. (2019). predicting family impact of autism spectrum disorders: the role of adaptive behaviour and cognitive function. journal of autism and developmental disorders, 49(2), 429-439. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3728-6 williams, a. l., & kirby, r. s. (2021). barriers to healthcare access and continuity for children with special healthcare needs. maternal and child health journal, 25(3), 366-372. https://doi.org/10.1007/ s10995-020-03021-0 pa ge 1 pa ge 35 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) assessing the somatotype profile of gorkha soccer players tanmoy adhikari1*, sudip das1, sm farooque1 volume 2 issue 1, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i1.2559 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: march 13, 2024 accepted: april 06, 2024 published: april 10, 2024 many factors influence the somatotype of the human body. in addition to genetics, there are also environmental factors and cultural differences. this study aimed to find out the somatotype profile of gorkha soccer players based on their playing position and also to determine which anthropometric type is the most distinctive. the study sample consisted of 30 national-level soccer players from different academies or clubs who participated in the national level championships tournament will be selected purposively as subjects and aged 18-25 years, including striker (n=10), midfielder (n=10) and defender (n=10). heath and carter’s (1990) equations for decimal anthropometry (isak) measurements were used. body density percentage was calculated according to the equation of durnin and womersley (1974). then, the amount of body fat was determined using the siri (1956) equation. the results indicated that most of the players showed a body type that was ectomorphic mesomorph, which is the most important component in all positions. therefore, the study concluded that a body type with a strong ectomorph and slight mesomorph advantage would benefit soccer players at the elite level. keywords anthropometric, endomorph, mesomorph, ectomorph, gorkha introduction soccer is the most popular sports discipline in the world. there are many physical indicators of soccer performance. anthropometric characteristics are important indicators and can influence the progress of soccer players (shahram faradjzadeh mevaloo, a. f. 2021). the literature review showed that height, body mass, body fat percentage, and somatotype are some of the important anthropometric characteristics associated with performance (norton and olds 1996). somatotype is an essential characteristic that can indicate elite athletic suitability. this parameter, combined with body composition and proportionality indices, could be used in talent identification programs. there is a large amount of data in the literature about the suitability of different somatotype patterns not only for sports disciplines but also for intra-sport positions, events and weight categories. however, some of these data need to be refreshed and updated due to secular trends, modification of the rules of the sport, greater availability of elite athletes as subjects, and emerging new training methods. body composition makes an important contribution to an individual’s level of physical fitness performance, particularly in activities that require one to carry one’s body weight, which is associated with multiple jumps because the effectiveness of any physical performance has been related to numerous basic, traits found in boys and girls which includes their maturation, body size and types of body (daksh sharma, 2017). body composition and shape in different groups of humans, including athletes, determines somatotype which can be classified into three categories endomorphy (related to fatness), mesomorphy (related to muscle mass) and ectomorphy (related to linearity and slenderness), (shahram faradjzadeh mevaloo, a. f. 2021). this study aimed to find out the somatotype profile of gorkha soccer players based on their position and also find out which somatotype category were more distinguishing. it was hypothesized that the somatotype of gorkha players would vary in different playing positions. literature review many factors are important in determining the success of a football player or a team. football players have to adapt to the physical demands of the game, which are multifactorial. players may not need to have an extraordinary capacity within any one of the areas of physical performance but must possess a reasonably high level within all areas. morphological characteristics, body composition and somatic dimensions play a vital role in determining the success of an athlete (j. e. lindsay carter, b. h. 1990) & (william duquet and j. e. lindsay carter, r. e. 2009). during a football match, the player’s movements are characterized by high intensity, short-term actions and pauses of varying length. to be successful in such a team sport, football players need an optimal combination of technical, tactical, physical characteristics (e.g. somatotype and body composition), and mental motivation (sukanta saha, b. k. 2014), among other sports characteristics. moreover, (shahram faradjzadeh mevaloo 2021) research on iranian soccer players provides relevant context regarding somatotype variations among players in different sports and positions. the study’s methodological approach, including the use of isak measurements and heath-carter equations, ensures rigorous assessment and comparison of 1 department of physical education, tripura university, tripura, india * corresponding author’s e-mail: dipon.cool213@gmail.com pa ge 36 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 35-39, 2024 somatotypes. additionally, the discussion on body fat percentage variations among playing positions reflects findings from a (kumar, v. 2020) investigation on women soccer players, emphasising the multifactorial nature of body composition in sports performance. furthermore, insights from studies on volleyball players by (omprakash gangey 2016) and football players by (sukanta saha et al. 2014) underscore the importance of position-specific physique characteristics in athletic success, supporting the relevance of the current study’s findings for player development and training strategies. the present study extends this understanding by focusing on specific somatotype profiles in soccer players. numerous studies have shown how crucial it is to take anthropometric traits into account when developing training plans, identifying potential, and optimizing performance across a range of sports. materials and method a total number of 30 national-level soccer players from different academies or clubs who participated in the national level championships tournament will be purposively selected from gorkhas of west bengal and sikkim, who were selected as subjects for the study. the age range of the subjects was between 18 years to 25 years. the players had experience in competitive soccer for 1012 years and also, they were active in playing soccer. after observing each subject’s playing position and taking the subject’s view, and coach’s concern, they were divided into three groups striker (n=10), midfielder (n=10) and defender (10). participants provided written informed consent from the players before the collection of the data. anthropometric measurements all the measurements had been done by following the standard methods described by the international society for advancement of kinanthropometry. the anthropometric measurements were measured by an isak (level-1) certified person only. the somatotype was considered as height, weight, biceps, triceps, subscapular, supraspinal, medial calf, upper arm flex, calif, bi-epicondylar humerus and bi-epicondylar femur were used. (adhikari and mcneely 2015). to assess the somatotype (endormorphy, mesomorphy and ectomorphy) of the subjects heath and carter (1990) equations for a decimal anthropometric somatotype were used. equation for endomorphy 0.1451(x) 0.00068(x2) + 0.0000014(x3) – 0.7182 where ‘x’ = (sum of triceps, subscapular and supraspinale skinfolds) multiplied by (170.18/ height in cm). equation for mesomorphy (0.858 × h.b) + (0.601 × f.b) + (0.188 × c.a.g) + (0.161 × c.c.g) – (height × 0.131) + 4.5 where h. b= humerus breadth, f. b= femur breadth, c.a.c= corrected arm girth (flexed arm girth – triceps skinfold/10), c.c.c= corrected calf girth (maximal calf girth – calf skinfold/10). equation for ectomorphy if hwr ≥ 40.75, then ectomorphy = 0.732 × hwr – 28.58 if hwr < 40.75 and > 38.25, then ectomorphy = 0.463 × hwr – 17.63 if hwr ≤ 38.25, then ectomorphy = 0.1 or (recorded as ½) body density was calculated by the equations of durnin and womersley (1974). then, body fat was determined by the siri equation (1956) for each of the densities previously calculated. in the following table mentions the name of anthropometric variables, equipment used and unit of measurement. table 1: description of anthropometric variables, equipment used and unit of measurement anthropometric variables equipment used unit of measurements height stadiometer centimeter (cm) weight weighing machine kilogram (kg) skinfold thickness of body parts (biceps, triceps, subscapular. supraspinale & medial calf) harpenden caliper millimeter (mm) circumference of body parts (upper arm flexed & calif) anthropometric tape centimeter (cm) diameter of body parts (biepicondylar humerus and femur) sliding caliper centimeter (cm) analytical procedure for analysis of data standard statistical procedure was used. mean was calculated as a measure of central tendency by using the formulameasure of variability by using the formulathe standard deviation (sd) was calculated as the the range was calculated as the simplest measure of variability or dispersion by using the formularange (r) = max value – min value pa ge 37 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 35-39, 2024 results and discussions somatotypes of gorkha soccer players were displayed in the following table. the mean average and standard deviation of somatotype categories were shown in table 2. according to the international society for advancement of kinanthropometry (isak) measurements were found the somatotypes i.e., endomorphy, mesomorphy and ectomorphy. table 2: descriptive basic data and somatotype of male gorkha soccer players based on positions (mean±sd) playing level playing position body types endomorphy mesomorphy ectomorphy national level striker 2.65 ± 0.92 3.89 ± 1.45 2.50 ± 1.28 midfielder 2.62 ± 0.88 4.24 ± 0.52 2.44 ± 0.37 defender 2.05 ± 0.74 4.41 ± 0.78 2.60 ± 0.87 table 3: body fat percentage (%) by player’s position position body fat % mean ± sd range striker 7.5 ± 1.103066 9.74 – 6.44 midfielder 7.28 ± 0.378871 7.94 – 6.66 -defender 7.18 ± 0.418783 7.8 – 6.37 different equations have determined body fat (%). descriptive values of each equation for all players. there are significant differences in body fat determined by 11 anthropometric measurements using heath and carter (1990) equations, for body fat (%) was calculated using durnin and womersley (1974) and body density and fat % by siri (1956). from these values, the mean body fat for each player was calculated and differences between playing positions were analyzed (table 3). strikers had a higher body fat than other positions, although no significant differences with midfielders and defenders were observed. the percentage of gorkha soccer players which fall under each somatotype component and the classification of somatotype according to their position is shown in table 4. most of the players showed a somatotype that table 4: the percentage of profiles that fall under each major somatotype category for national level gorkha soccer players regarding playing position playing level somatotype categories striker midfielder defender national players ectomorphic mesomorph 2 6 6 endomorphic mesomorph 3 3 3 mesomorphic ectomorph 4 1 balanced ectomorph 1 mesomorphic endomorph 1 figure 1: somatotype distribution of somatotype categories of gorkha soccer players by positions pa ge 38 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 35-39, 2024 was ectomorphic mesomorph is the most important component in all positions. it showed a total number of five (5) somatotypes were found among the players. table 4 it presented that ectomorphic mesomorph (s=2, m=6, d=6), endomorphic mesomorph (s=3, m=3, d=3), and mesomorphic ectomorph (s=4, m=0, d=0) were at the top of the table 4. whereas balanced ectomorph and mesomorphic endomorph the less representative in their percentage distribution. to ease the interpretation of the somatotype results, a somatochart were performed for each position (figure 1). strikers (n=2), midfielders (n=6) and defenders (n=6) are all located in the ectomorphic-mesomorph quadrant, while the other positions showed a higher dispersion. discussion the presented findings provide the somatotypes, body fat percentage, and anthropometric characteristics of male gorkha soccer players at the national level based on their playing positions considering the somatotype distribution, body fat percentage, and differences among playing positions. ectomorphic mesomorph emerges as the dominant somatotype category across all playing positions, indicating a blend of lean muscle mass and slender body types. this finding aligns with the dynamic and endurance-focused nature of soccer, where players require a combination of agility and strength. moreover, the prevalence of endomorphic mesomorph and mesomorphic ectomorph somatotypes suggests a diversity in body compositions among players. this variety may be attributed to individual player characteristics and playing styles associated with different positions. the dominance of ectomorphic mesomorph as the primary somatotype component across all playing positions aligns with previous research in soccer. a supportive study conducted by reilly et al. (2000) found that elite soccer players often exhibit characteristics associated with the mesomorphic and ectomorphic somatotypes, emphasizing the importance of a balance between muscle mass and agility in the sport. additionally, the higher values of endomorphy and mesomorphy observed in strikers compared to midfielders and defenders are consistent with the notion that strikers may benefit from a more robust and muscular physique, providing an advantage in goal-scoring situations (ostojic et al., 2014). the analysis of body fat percentage indicates variations across playing positions. strikers exhibit a slightly higher body fat percentage compared to midfielders and defenders, although the differences are not statistically significant. this finding may be associated with the specific physiological demands and playing styles of strikers, who may prioritize explosive movements and strength, potentially contributing to a slightly higher body fat percentage. the discussion of body fat percentage incorporates the use of various anthropometric measurements and equations, including those by heath and carter (1990), durnin and womersley (1974), and siri (1956). the utilization of multiple methods adds robustness to the analysis, providing a comprehensive understanding of body composition among gorkha soccer players. while the study provides valuable insights, it is essential to acknowledge certain limitations. the sample size, specific training regimens, and dietary habits of players were not discussed in detail, which could influence somatotype and body fat percentage outcomes. the lack of statistically significant differences in body fat percentages among playing positions, as shown in table 3, underscores the complexity of assessing body composition in soccer players. a study by silva et al. (2013) supports this idea, indicating that factors beyond playing positions, such as playing style, dietary habits, and individual training protocol may influence body fat variations among soccer players. the findings of this study offer practical implications for training programs tailored to position-specific physique characteristics. the support from existing literature, such as the work of ostojic et al. (2014) and reilly et al. (2000), underscores the importance of individualized training approaches based on the unique demands of playing positions in soccer. these findings have implications for player development, training, and position-specific strategies. coaches and sports scientists may use this information to tailor training programs based on the physiological characteristics associated with different playing positions. furthermore, ongoing research and longitudinal studies are encouraged to enhance the understanding of somatotype variations and their impact on soccer performance among diverse populations. conclusion based on the results, in light of the conclusion drawn and within the limitations of the study, it can be revealed that our body system has been gifted by nature to accommodate and change appropriately within the physiological limits. gorkha soccer players’ body type with high dominance in ectomorphic mesomorph with a slight endomorphic mesomorph leads to higher and more effective performance. furthermore, the body fat % of gorkha soccer players is 75%, midfielders 73%, and defenders at 71% respectively. so, the study concluded that the ectomorphic and mesomorphic body types benefit elite-level soccer players. this study can be used by coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, sports scientists, and nutritionists as normative data on the body profile of male gorkha soccer players, sets national and international standards, playing positions, and tournament levels. acknowledgment we sincerely appreciate all those who have contributed to the completion of this manuscript. this work would not have been possible without the support, guidance, and collaboration of numerous individuals and organizations. pa ge 39 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 35-39, 2024 references ackland, t. r., lohman, t. g., & sundgot-borgen, j. 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(2014). positional differences in morphology, somatotype and body composition characteristics in university-level indian footballers. journal of trainology, 35-40. pa ge 1 pa ge 1 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) the degree of exercise of academic and sports freedom among faculty members at the colleges of physical education and sports sciences in baghdad mustafa hameed hussein1* volume 2 issue 1, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i1.2379 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: december 24, 2023 accepted: january 20, 2024 published: january 22, 2024 the faculties of physical education and sports sciences have made great contributions to the development of the iraqi individual educationally, physically, and skillfully, so they were the developed academic resource for proper sports upbringing, and the author has tried to offer a practical and analytical framing of the views of the research sample regarding sports academic freedom, being a civilized thought that establishes a promising organizational culture that preserves the country’s cultural heritage and develops the energies and resources to manage the present and the future, as well as enhancing the faculty’s confidence in the abilities and preparations for rapid adaptation to various variables in the labor market, the research has tried to answer the question that formed the research problem. the researcher has tested the correlation and influence between the axes of the sports academic freedom scale, which was built according to the scientific conditions for building educational and psychological standards, as well as measuring the degree of sports academic freedom practiced by the teaching staff at the colleges of physical education and sports sciences in baghdad, the research has concluded several theoretical and practical conclusions, the most important of which: (1) the field research data revealed that there is a correlation and a moral impact between the axes of academic sports freedom in the colleges of physical education and sports sciences in baghdad. (2) the field research data indicated that the colleges administration strengthened academic and sports freedom in the field of (teaching, freedom of expression and scientific research), without taking the field of decision-making, where it was the lowest degree compared to the rest of the axes. keywords academic sports freedom, teaching staff, physical education, sports science introduction academic freedom has expressed a distinct form of freedoms in the world, it is (freedom to practice research, teaching and publishing within the foundations and rules of knowledge inquiry in a way that ensures the independence of opinions and practices within the values of society), the university or college is not like other state institutions in terms of the implementation of specific functional and administrative responsibilities that cannot tolerate debate and difference of opinion, because in addition to their responsibility for the development and rehabilitation of human resources are also responsible for the modernization of society and the production and renewal of knowledge that elevates society. the value of academic freedom has increased in the era of the information revolution and the emergence of modern democratic countries and the rapid spread of information and ideas. society benefits from academic freedom, firstly directly and urgently through the effects and benefits of applied sciences and the education of future leaders, and secondly indirectly and in the long term by preserving knowledge products and preventing their sabotage or distortion for ideological reasons, no matter how unacceptable their current applications. given the important role played by the faculties of physical education and sports sciences in graduating sports leaders in iraq at the educational, administrative and technical levels, we found it important to build a comprehensive framework on the variables of current research by designing a model that protects the professor and student from any unacceptable external influence that may negatively affect the course of teaching and scientific research the research problem started with knowing the degree of practice of teaching bodies in the faculties of physical education and sports sciences and interpreting the relationship between the axes of the concept, the current research has tried to answer the following question:what is the degree of exercise of academic freedom among faculty members in the colleges of physical education and sports sciences in baghdad? the current research aimed to identify the degree of exercise of academic freedom in the colleges of physical education and sports sciences in baghdad, so it was necessary to build a measure of academic freedom in the iraqi sports education environment first, the research implicitly aims to describe and test the research variables to establish a democratic culture that enables sports academics to determine their trends to reach the sports community to the desired ends. the author identified the areas of his spatial research in the colleges of physical education and sports sciences in baghdad, and temporal for the period from 1/10/2023 to 20/12/2023, as well as the human represented by some faculty members in the colleges of physical education and sports sciences in baghdad. 1 imamaladham university college, iraq * corresponding author’s e-mail: mustafa.hhameed.h@gmail.com pa ge 2 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 1-10, 2024 literature review academic freedom is part of the general freedoms of man; it is the freedom to seek and defend the truth away from the obsession of fear through inquiry, thinking, opinion, and expression (fuchs. r., f, 1967; al-omari et al., 2020). the concept of academic freedom also refers to the right of a teacher, learner, and author to explore areas of knowledge and express their opinion without fear of forced interference by the college or university administration, academic freedom is equated with freedom of speech and freedom of the press as an essential characteristic of a democratic society (scott, 1996). activating academic freedom within educational institutions contributes to providing students with the opportunity to diagnose their strengths and weaknesses through training on criticism, thinking and asking questions, as well as providing information to the professor to improve and develop his teaching style and to know the progress made by his students, this helps to form loving relationships and intimacy and rapprochement between the professor and the student, (joughin,1967; alsomaidaee, 2023). the principles of academic freedom are manifested through (honesty and responsibility in performing the duties assigned to both the professor and the student, taking into account the values of virtue that benefit society with goodness and courage to speak the truth and defend it without fear, as well as taking into account the values of society in instilling high values in the hearts of students, as the professor is the mirror of society within the educational institution in which he works), (meyer, j, & allen, n, 1991). academic freedom and the independence of universities are the first conditions for a higher education institution to be a center for scientific knowledge production and development, that is, it is a place for teaching and producing scientific facts and determining them. all this can be done only if the university is surrounded by a kind of moral contract, a contract that should be adhered to by all elements of the academic community, including professors, students and administrators, and adhered to by the political forces of society so as not to turn the university arena into a battleground of partisan and contractual conflict (joffers, c, & haughey, l, 2001). (clicxsmen, 1986) in his study (the policy of openness in universities and individual academic freedom) concluded that academic freedom exercised by teachers who respect their profession and respect truth and science do not claim this right to achieve personal, ideological or political goals, while a study (keith. k., m.,1997) entitled (faculty members’ attitudes towards academic freedom) that faculty members did not see a great danger and threat to academic freedom at their universities, but rather they felt that their academic freedoms were well protected, and a study (rich, 2002) entitled (the extent of freedom of expression and practices by teachers at public educational institutions in the florida area in the united states of america) aimed to focus on freedom of expression and practice by teachers at u.s. government educational institutions according to academic freedom, came a study (boland, 2003) entitled (academic freedom and freedom in order to apply that expression) to show the extent of the relationship of academic freedom with the concept of expression of opinion, where large external interventions were imposed on educational institutions, and finally (brown, 2004) entitled (how academic colleges can use motivational administrative methods for change – an evaluative study -), aimed to identify how to deal with the cultural and administrative changes taking place in american universities in the field of releasing the academic freedom of the teacher to express his ideas and opinions. through the foregoing, the author concluded his procedural definition of academic sports freedom, which is (the freedom of the sports faculty member to choose his tools in the search for the truth and publish what he has come to and interpret it within the scope of academic sports knowledge in the form he deems appropriate without being subjected to any pressures to serve sports education). materials and methods the author used the descriptive research method and the method of survey studies, as it represents the most appropriate and best scientific solutions appropriate to the nature of the current research problem, as he sees (allen, m.j, & yen, w.m. 1979) that “descriptive research aims to study the current states of phenomena in terms of their properties or forms, their relationships and factors influencing them،” sampling and data collection the current research community included the teaching staff in the colleges of physical education and sports sciences in baghdad, and the research sample consisted of (145) teachers. table (1) shows the distribution of the sample members covered by the research. table 1: shows the distribution of the sample members covered by the research s university faculty survey sample sample construction sample application 1 baghdad faculty of physical education and sports sciences 1 10 30 2 baghdad faculty of physical education and sports sciences / girls 1 8 20 3 mustansiriya faculty of physical education and sports sciences 1 7 20 pa ge 3 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 1-10, 2024 metrics a research tool is “ the means or method by which a author can solve a problem, whatever those tools are, (data or devices)”. (allen, m.j , & yen, w.m. 1979), that the nature of the current research and its goals require the availability of a tool (measure) of academic freedom in the faculties of physical education and sports sciences in iraq, and since the author was unable to obtain this measure previously prepared by other authors in the sports field-as far as he was aware-so the author built the scale according to the scientific steps to build educational and psychological:first: defining the concept of academic sports freedom through reviewing some of the previous literature and studies that dealt with this concept, the author identified the concept, especially in the field of sports education, the sports academic freedom is: (the freedom of the sports faculty member to choose his tools in the search for truth and publish what he has come to and interpret it within the scope of sports academic knowledge in the form he deems appropriate without being subjected to any pressures to serve sports education). second: defining the dimensions (axes) of the concept of academic sports freedom the process of determining the basic considerations for the questionnaire preparation procedures has a great role in contributing to helping the author to choose the appropriate procedures for preparing the scale, so the author adopted the following considerations in determining the dimensions of academic freedom:1. to review the studies and literature specialized in academic freedom of sports about its concept and dimensions. 2. relying on specialized studies and literature to choose four dimensions of academic sports freedom that are appropriate for the work of iraqi sports education, namely:a. academic sports freedom in the field of teaching. b. academic and sports freedom in the field of freedom of expression. c. academic freedom of sports in the field of scientific research. d. academic sports freedom in the field of decisionmaking. in order to verify the accuracy and correctness of these axes and their representation of academic mathematical freedom, the author presented these axes and the definition of the concept after describing each axis to (5) experts(*), and the author asked them to estimate the accuracy of the concept and the accuracy of its axes and their validity to measure the concept, and in light of the observations and opinions of experts modified the formulation of some definitions of dimensions, and it was agreed on their validity and accuracy by 100% of the experts. third: preparing the paragraphs of the measure of academic and sports freedom after reviewing some studies and arabic and foreign literature, and in light of the characterization of each axis, the author formulated the paragraphs of the scale in the style of (self-report) and in reporting terms consisting of (28) paragraphs and five graded alternatives to the answer (very large, large, medium, few, very few) and given when correcting the grades (5، 4، 3، 2، 1) respectively, for the following reasons (anastasia, 1982):1. provide a more homogeneous scale. 2. they allow the respondent to indicate the degree and intensity of his feelings. 3. they allow the greatest variability between individuals. 4. she enjoys high honesty and constancy. logical analysis of paragraphs of the mathematical academic freedom scale (validity of paragraphs) the concept of validity of paragraphs refers to the special inferences that the degrees of measurement come out of , in terms of their relevance, meaning and usefulness, which is the achievement of the truthfulness of the form and the meaning of collecting evidence that supports such inferences, (eble, r. l.1972). based on this basis, after drafting the 28 paragraphs of the mathematical academic freedom scale, the author presented them to (5) experts from sports management, testing and measurement specialists and asked them to study each paragraph and give their opinions on its validity, and the experts were discussing with the author about each paragraph in terms of the formulation of ideas and the content of the paragraphs, the author came out the scale in its initial form as shown in table (2). 4 mustansiriya faculty of basic education / department of physical education and sports sciences 1 5 10 5 al-farahidi faculty of education / department of physical education and sports sciences 1 5 10 6 al-nisor faculty of education / department of physical education and sports sciences 0 5 10 total 6 5 40 100 pa ge 4 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 1-10, 2024 psychometric characteristics (standard) of the mathematical academic freedom scale (anastasia, 1982) indicates that “ paragraph analysis is the study that relies on statistical and empirical logical analysis of test units for the purpose of knowing their characteristics, deleting, modifying, replacing, adding, or rearranging these paragraphs in order to arrive at a consistent and truthful test that is appropriate in terms of length and difficulty”. the two characteristics (honesty and discrimination) of the paragraph are one of the most important standard characteristics that should be ascertained in the construction of educational and psychological standards, since the honesty and stability of the scale largely depends on the characteristics of its paragraphs. the apparent honesty of the measure of academic and mathematical freedom it is one of the most important types of honesty in educational and psychological measures and indicates the extent of the paragraph’s relevance to the phenomenon to be measured, and the apparent honesty of the scale was achieved when they were presented in their initial form to a group of (5) experts to judge the validity of its paragraphs in measuring the phenomenon. the discriminatory power of the paragraphs of the mathematical academic freedom scale therefore, “the goal of analyzing the paragraphs is to keep the paragraphs with high discrimination, which are the good paragraphs in the test”, (allen, m.j , & yen, w.m. 1979). and to calculate the discriminatory power of the paragraphs of the academic freedom mathematical scale, the author unloaded the answers of the (construction sample) of (40) individuals and the total score was determined for each of the forms of the respondents, and the scores of the respondents were ranked from the highest total score to the lowest total score, and then the two groups identified the number of forms in the upper group reached (20) forms compared to (20) forms for the lower group, as specialists in measurement and evaluation indicate that this percentage depends if the sample size is small, i.e. less than (80) individuals, (anastasia, 1982). the author used the t-test for two independent samples to calculate the significance of the difference in each paragraph between the two extreme groups in the total score of the academic mathematical freedom scale, on the basis that the calculated t-value represents the discriminatory power of the paragraph, and since all paragraphs of the scale have the ability to distinguish statistically significant below the level of significance table 2: shows the number of paragraphs of the mathematical academic freedom scale and the percentage of each dimension s dimensions of academic and sports freedom paragraph numbers number of paragraphs percentage ratio 1 teaching 7 – 1 7 25% 2 freedom of expression 14 8 7 25% 3 scientific research 21 15 7 25% 4 decision making 28 22 7 25% total 28 100% table 3: shows the discriminatory power of the paragraphs of the mathematical academic freedom scale s lower group upper group calculated value (t) the power of the discriminatory paragraph std. deviation mean std. deviation mean 1 4.45 0.510 4.20 0.410 3.707 featured 2 4.50 0.513 4.35 0.489 2.946 featured 3 4.50 0.513 4.15 0.366 2.483 featured 4 4.70 0.470 4.40 0.503 2.949 featured 5 4.50 0.513 4.15 0.366 2.483 featured 6 4.80 0.410 4.30 0.470 3.583 featured 7 4.65 0.489 4.10 0.308 4.255 featured 8 4.75 0.444 4.25 0.444 3.559 featured 9 4.70 0.470 4.15 0.366 4.127 featured 10 4.45 0.510 4.25 0.444 2.322 featured 11 4.60 0.503 4.15 0.366 3.236 featured 12 4.55 0.510 4.15 0.366 2.847 featured 13 4.60 0.503 4.25 0.444 2.333 featured pa ge 5 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 1-10, 2024 (0.05) so no paragraph fell, it can be said that the scale has a good discriminatory power, and table (3) shows this. the coefficient of internal consistency of the paragraphs of the mathematical academic freedom scale for the purpose of checking the homogeneity of paragraphs, the internal consistency coefficient provides us with evidence of this “since the internal consistency coefficient is the correlation coefficient between the scores of each paragraph and the total score of the scale”, (denisi, angelo, 2001). the author used pearson’s simple correlation coefficient law to extract the correlation relationship between each paragraph and the overall score of the scale using the statistical bag (spss). he emphasizes (allen, m.j , & yen, w.m. 1979) “the higher the coefficient of correlation of the paragraph with the aggregate, the greater its inclusion in the scale increases the probability of obtaining a more homogeneous scale”. since all the paragraphs that were retained in the scale have their consistency coefficients in statistical significance, that is, the calculated values are significant below the level of significance (0.05), so no paragraph fell, and it can be said that the scale is homogeneous, and table (4) shows the coefficient of internal consistency of the paragraphs of the scale with the scale as a whole. 14 4.55 0.510 4.15 0.366 2.847 featured 15 3.50 0.513 3.75 0.444 2.537 featured 16 3.55 0.510 3.70 0.470 3.094 featured 17 3.55 0.510 3.75 0.444 3.821 featured 18 3.70 0.470 3.65 0.489 2.565 featured 19 3.75 0.444 3.75 0.444 4.000 featured 20 3.55 0.510 3.65 0.489 3.461 featured 21 3.55 0.510 3.75 0.444 4.976 featured 22 2.60 0.503 2.15 0.366 3.236 featured 23 2.60 0.503 2.05 0.224 4.471 featured 24 2.55 0.510 2.15 0.366 2.847 featured 25 2.50 0.513 2.15 0.366 2.483 featured 26 2.55 0.510 2.30 0.470 2.611 featured 27 2.65 0.489 2.20 0.410 3.151 featured 28 2.50 0.513 2.30 0.470 2.285 featured table 4: shows the coefficient of internal consistency of the paragraphs of mathematical academic freedom decision making scientific research freedom of expression teaching pearson correlation p pearson correlation p pearson correlation p pearson correlation p 0.595** 22 0.448** 15 0.629** 8 0.316* 1 0.537** 23 0.425** 16 0.535** 9 0.440** 2 0.456** 24 0.542** 17 0.797** 10 0.392* 3 0.379* 25 0.455** 18 0.592** 11 0.421** 4 0.655** 26 0.547** 19 0.487** 12 0.570** 5 0.738** 27 0.538** 20 0.403** 13 0.588** 6 0.671** 28 0.555** 21 0.599** 14 0.641** 7 **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). constancy of the measure of academic and mathematical freedom by it is meant the extent to which the test measures the true amount of the trait it is intended to measure , and also means the “constancy of the test to the consistency of the scores obtained by the same individuals themselves in different atmospheres”, (eble, r. l. 1972). since the honest scale is constant, while the fixed scale may not be honest, this does not mean that the stability of the scale is not calculated, because there is no scale with complete honesty, as well as the stability gives an indication of the accuracy of the scale and the homogeneity of its paragraphs, and for the purpose of knowing the stability of the scale and the existence of pa ge 6 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 1-10, 2024 several methods for calculating it, the author relied on using the method of analyzing the stability cronbach’s alpha because it is one of the most used stability methods. “this method measures the internal homogeneity of the paragraphs of the scale. after the author unloaded the grades obtained from the (construction sample) of 40 individuals and calculated the scores of the paragraphs and the total score for each respondent, the cronbach’s alpha equation was used. the stability coefficient of the scale and its dimensions were as shown in table (5), which is a good stability coefficient according to foran. table 5: shows the cronbach’s alpha values of the mathematical academic freedom scale and its dimensions cronbach's alpha dimension s 0.718 teaching 1 0.738 freedom of expression 2 0.748 scientific research 3 0.736 decision making 4 0.792 total 5 the objectivity of the measure of academic and mathematical freedom by distributing the scale to the experts to extract honesty and consistency, there was no problem or misunderstanding of the questionnaire paragraphs, the answers were clear and understandable, which indicates their objectivity, because objectivity “is the test that gives the same results no matter how different the correctors” (raju, p, and srivastava, r .1994). applying the scale to the main sample the author proceeded to distribute the questionnaire form to the members of the research sample (application sample) and their number (100) individuals, and after completing the research steps, the author collected the questionnaire data from all the members of the research sample and arranged them in tables in preparation for processing them statistically to display and analyze the results. statistical methods the statistical data was processed using the social sciences statistical bag (spss). results and discussions to find out the significance of the difference between the average academic mathematical freedom according to the four dimensions and the theoretical (hypothetical) average of the scale using the test (t-test) for one sample, it turns out the following:the average academic freedom scores of the research sample were greater than the theoretical average of the test, as the average academic freedom scores were (104.26), while the theoretical average of this test was (84) with a standard deviation (2.240) and the calculated t-value of (465.652) was significant in statistical significance at the level of significance (0.001) as shown in table (6). table 6: shows the arithmetic mean and standard deviation of academic freedom according to its dimensions s dimensions of academic and sports freedom s a m p l e size mean std. deviation theoretical mean calculated value (t) level of significance 1 teaching 100 29.95 1.610 21 185.977 0.000 2 freedom of expression 100 27.35 1.132 21 241.714 0.000 3 scientific research 100 39.14 1.887 21 3.978 0.000 4 decision making 100 28.69 1.958 21 90.365 0.000 5 academic and sports freedom 100 104.26 2.240 84 465.652 0.000 analysis of correlation relations in addition to the descriptive and diagnostic processes based on the descriptive analysis data, the correlation relationships between the axes of the academic freedom scale were identified, as shown in table (7), which indicates that there are positive statistical correlation relationships with significant significance between the axes of the scale. table 7: the pearson correlation coefficient between the axes of the mathematical-academic freedom scale academic and sports freedom teaching freedom of expression scientific research decision making academic and sports freedom 1 0.321** 0.372** 0.408** 0.477** teaching 0.321** 1 -0.262-** 0.422** -0.438-** freedom of expression 0.372** -0.262-** 1 -0.366-** 0.435** pa ge 7 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 1-10, 2024 analysis of academic mathematical freedom it is clear from table (8) that the degree of academic freedom in the field of teaching was large on all paragraphs except paragraph (1 and 4) were medium and very large, respectively, while the degree of academic freedom in the field of freedom of expression was also large on all paragraphs except paragraph (8) was medium, academic freedom in the field of scientific research recorded a large degree on all paragraphs except paragraph (15) was very large, and finally the degree of academic freedom in the field of decision-making was large for paragraphs (24 & 27) and medium for paragraphs (23 & 28) and a few paragraphs (22, 25 and 26), and table (8) shows this (appendix 1). scientific research 0.408** 0.422** -0.366-** 1 -0.212-* decision making 0.477** -0.438-** 0.435** -0.212-* 1 **. correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). *. correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). table 8: the analysis of the academic and mathematical freedom of the research sample shows s the measure of academic and mathematical freedom mean median mode frequency degree of freedom academic and mathematical freedom in the field of teaching 1 the college administration provides the requirements related to the use of modern methods in teaching 3.46 3.00 3 77 medium 2 the college administration gives freedom to the teaching staff with additional work to the teaching quorum 4.26 4.00 4 81 large 3 the college administration allows the faculty to choose the vocabulary of the curriculum 4.32 4.00 4 78 large 4 the college administration allows the faculty the freedom to teach their students in the way that suits them 4.61 5.00 5 69 very large 5 the college administration gives the faculty freedom to choose the appropriate calendar for their students 4.46 4.00 4 85 large 6 the college administration provides modern references and sources for the vocabulary of the curriculum 4.42 4.00 4 68 large 7 the college administration facilitates the faculty to hold workshops and seminars related to their specialties 4.42 4.00 4 89 large academic and sporting freedom in the field of freedom of expression 8 the faculty member expresses his opinion freely 3.43 3.00 3 67 medium 9 the faculty administration allows the formation of opinions and ideas that serve the faculty 4.40 4.00 4 87 large 10 the college administration is keen on intellectual meetings between faculty members 3.64 4.00 4 68 large 11 the college administration provides faculty members with opportunities for creativity 4.33 4.00 4 88 large 12 the college administration allows to justify what the faculty offers 4.38 4.00 4 89 large 13 the college administration provides sufficient space for the teaching staff for constructive criticism 3.61 4.00 4 90 large 14 the college administration provides freedom of expression to the faculty without regard to their scientific ranks 3.56 4.00 4 79 large academic and mathematical freedom in the field of scientific research 15 the college administration encourages the faculty to publish in international journals 4.57 5.00 5 66 very large 16 the college administration provides the appropriate scientific journals for the specialties of the faculty 3.58 4.00 4 87 large 17 the college administration gives the faculty freedom to choose the topics discussed 4.44 4.00 4 76 large pa ge 8 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 1-10, 2024 conclusion the research achieved its first goal by building a measure of academic sports freedom specific to the iraqi environment, as well as learning about academic sports freedom, and thus achieved its second goal, and the field research data revealed the existence of a correlation and a moral impact between the axes of academic sports freedom in the colleges of physical education and sports sciences in baghdad, and the field research data indicated that the colleges administration supported academic sports freedom in the field of (teaching, freedom of expression and scientific research) without the field of decision-making, where it was the lowest degree compared to the rest of the axes. the research also concluded that there are some limitations in the faculty member expressing his opinion freely, which was a common feature within the sample studied. the teaching bodies enjoy academic and mathematical freedom in the field of scientific research. the research data showed that the faculty member was not involved in university decision-making and was a common feature in the colleges studied. the author in the field of teaching recommends that attention should be paid to the renewal and development of teaching supplies with the latest to achieve the desired goals, as for the field of freedom of expression, a culture of constructive criticism and taking all opinions and ideas aimed at developing mathematical work should prevail, as for the field of scientific research, a formation (administrative – in the field of decision-making, the author recommends the rule of law and its application to everyone alike, the faculty member feels job security and helps him to excellence and creativity, and finally, the spread of teamwork pushes the wheel of sports education forward strongly and develops a sense of collective responsibility. references alsomaidaee, m. m. (2023). the effect of workplace stress on employee engagement, the mediation role of leadership style. american journal of economics and business innovation, 2(2), 74-85. al-omari, g., hanandeh, r., al-somaidaee, m., jarrah, m., & alnajdawi, s. (2020). work-life balance and its impact on employee satisfaction on five star hotels. management science letters, 10(4), 871-880. allen, m. j, & yen, w. m. (1979). introduction to measurement theory. california: book cole. anastasia. (1982). psychological testing. 5th ed, new york: macmillan. boland, mary, (2003). academic freedom and struggle for the subject of composition. phd. the university of rocheter browyn, adam, (2004). how faculty make sense administrative methods and motives for change. syracuse university. clicxsmen, john, (1986). institutional openness and individual faculty academic freedom. 1618. denisi, angelo, (2001). human resource management. s. & texas a. & ricky w. griffin, boston, 78. eble , r . l. (1972). essential of educational measurement. new york: paretic – hill. fuchs. r., f., (1967). academic freedom: its basic philosophy, function and history, academic freedom and tenure, madison university of wisconsin, press, appendix, e. 242264. joffers, c, and haughey, l, (2001). elementary teachers, 18 the faculty administration provides the faculty with freedom to publish their research 4.37 4.00 4 79 large 19 the college administration sets fair standards for scientific promotion 4.31 4.00 4 89 large 20 the college administration provides an electronic database for scientific research 3.61 4.00 4 75 large 21 the faculty administration is working on issuing scientific journals in various disciplines 4.42 4.00 4 80 large academic and sports freedom in the field of decision-making 22 the faculty involves the faculty member in making the university decision 2.50 2.50 2 87 a few 23 the college administration relies on centralization in decision-making 2.20 3.00 3 73 medium 24 the college administration takes into account the interest of the teaching staff when issuing instructions and laws 3.67 4.00 4 88 large 25 the faculty participates in the recruitment of new teachers 1.58 2.00 2 81 a few 26 the faculty expresses its opinion on the appointment of new administrators 1.61 2.00 2 76 a few 27 the faculty participates in the development of university instructions and regulations related to them 3.56 4.00 4 89 large 28 the college administration does not impose its opinions on academic issues related to the teaching staff 2.57 3.00 3 80 medium pa ge 9 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 1-10, 2024 commitment declines: antecedents, processes and outcomes, the qualitative report, 6(1), 1-1 joughin, g., (1967). academic freedom and tenure, handbook of aaup, the university of wisconsin press, madison, wis. 58-64. keith. k ., m., (1997). faculty attitudes toward academic freedom. (doctoral dissertation) university of southern california. dissertation abstract international, 105. meyer, j, & allen, n, (1991). three commitment conceptualization of organizational commitment, human resources management review, 1(1), 6189. raju, p, and strivastava, r . (1994). factors contribution to commitment to the teaching profession. international journal of educational management, 8(5), 32 rich, arthur allan, (2002). historical study of public college and university. (phd), the florida state university. u. s. a, 22. scott, j., (1996). academic freedom as an ethical practice in the men and loves, the future of academic freedom”. the university of chicago, 163180. somech, anit; bogler, ronit, (2002). antecedents and consequences of teacher organizational and professional commitment, educational administration quarterly, 38(4), 555. appendixes the measure of academic and mathematical freedom s the measure of academic and mathematical freedom degree of freedom very few a few medium large very large academic and mathematical freedom in the field of teaching 1 2 3 4 5 1 the college administration provides the requirements related to the use of modern methods in teaching 2 the college administration gives freedom to the teaching staff with additional work to the teaching quorum 3 the college administration allows the faculty to choose the vocabulary of the curriculum 4 the college administration allows the faculty the freedom to teach their students in the way that suits them 5 the college administration gives the faculty freedom to choose the appropriate calendar for their students 6 the college administration provides modern references and sources for the vocabulary of the curriculum 7 the college administration facilitates the faculty to hold workshops and seminars related to their specialties academic and sporting freedom in the field of freedom of expression 1 2 3 4 5 8 the faculty member expresses his opinion freely 9 the faculty administration allows the formation of opinions and ideas that serve the faculty 10 the college administration is keen on intellectual meetings between faculty members 11 the college administration provides faculty members with opportunities for creativity 12 the college administration allows to justify what the faculty offers 13 the college administration provides sufficient space for the teaching staff for constructive criticism 14 the college administration provides freedom of expression to the faculty without regard to their scientific ranks academic and mathematical freedom in the field of scientific research 1 2 3 4 5 15 the college administration encourages the faculty to publish in international journals 16 the college administration provides the appropriate scientific journals for the specialties of the faculty pa ge 10 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 1-10, 2024 17 the college administration gives the faculty freedom to choose the topics discussed 18 the faculty administration provides the faculty with freedom to publish their research 19 the college administration sets fair standards for scientific promotion 20 the college administration provides an electronic database for scientific research 21 the faculty administration is working on issuing scientific journals in various disciplines academic and sports freedom in the field of decision-making 1 2 3 4 5 22 the faculty involves the faculty member in making the university decision 23 the college administration relies on centralization in decisionmaking 24 the college administration takes into account the interest of the teaching staff when issuing instructions and laws 25 the faculty participates in the recruitment of new teachers 26 the faculty expresses its opinion on the appointment of new administrators 27 the faculty participates in the development of university instructions and regulations related to them 28 the college administration does not impose its opinions on academic issues related to the teaching staff pa ge 1 pa ge 20 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) a systematic study of the knowledge and perception of malnutrition on academic performance among public secondary schoolstudents in ondo state, nigeria ayotunde olubunmi omowumi1* volume 3 issue 1, year 2025 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v3i1.2040 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: june 30, 2024 accepted: july 28, 2024 published: may 14, 2025 malnutrition has a long term consequence on intellectual ability, economic productivity, reproduction performance and susceptibility to diseases in nigeria, it was estimated that 2 million children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition (sam) among children of school age. it is in the light of the above that this study aims at assessing knowledge and perception of malnutrition on academic performance among students of government – owned secondary schools in ondo state. a descriptive cross-sectional design was used for this investigation. the sample consists of three hundred and eighty four (384) students drawn from six selected public secondary schools across the three senatorial districts in ondo state. a systematic sampling technique was used to select the participants from the study population using their school registers. the field work was carried out between february and may 2023. data were collected through questionnaire and the results were analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequency table, percentage, standard deviation, mean and numbers) and inferential statistics (chisquare) using statistical package for social sciences (spss). the result of the study showed that majority of the respondents have good knowledge and perception of malnutrition as 381 representing 97.2% of the respondents agreed that non-availability of food at home can make children to be malnourished, also 97.2% of the respondents equally agreed that poor financial status of parents contributed to the issue of malnutrition among learners. in the same vein, 380 of the respondents representing 98% agreed that large family size contributed to malnutrition. the result further showed that there is significant relationship between the knowledge of malnutrition of the respondents and academic performance (r =3.0, p< 0.000). also, there is significant relationship between perception of malnutrition and academic performance (r = 2.755, p < 0.000).similarly, the findings further showed that there is a significant relationship between the respondents age and malnutrition (r =5.643, p< 0.000). conclusively, the study reveals that the respondents have good knowledge and perception of malnutrition. they equally agreed that malnutrition has negative effects on their academic performance. however, it is recommended that government should introduce comprehensive nutrition education among the target population, advocate birth control among adults of reproductive age, introduce efficient poverty alleviation programmers’ and policies, improve on the home grown school feeding programmes and extend it to secondary schools among other interventions so as to frontally address the problem of malnutrition among students. suggestions for future research are provided. keywords academic, performance, knowledge, malnutrition, perception, students introduction malnutrition has been identified as the main factor for poor academic performance in schools. studies had also shown that malnutrition among the school age children is a risk factor for high absenteeism, early dropout, low school enrolment and unsatisfactory classroom performance. malnutrition in all its forms is closely linked, either directly or indirectly, to major causes of death worldwide. maternal and child under nutrition has long-term consequences for intellectual ability, economic productivity, reproductive performance ease (black,2008). there are evidenceinformed interventions that, when implemented effectively, can dramatically reduce the rate of malnutrition (who, 2013a). in nigeria, the consequences of under nutrition cannot be overemphasized. nevertheless, global progress has been too slow to meet the nutrition target of sustainable development goals. on 1st april 2016. the united nations national assembly proclaimed 2016-2025 the united nations decade of action on nutrition. this proclamation is a commitment by the united nations to undertake 10 years of sustained and coherent implementation of polices, programmes and increased investments to eliminate malnutrition in all its forms globally. the decade with increase visibility of nutrition of nutrition action at the highest level in order to straighter multi-sectoral collaboration, create synergies and measurable progress towards sustainable food system and nutrition security for all. ( united nations system stand and committee on nutrition unscn). other high-level un initiatives that have focused on nutrition include the revised comprehensive framework for action (high level task force on the global food security crisis. 2011) and the global strategy for women’s and children’s health (un secretary-general, 2010). 1 nigeria * corresponding author’s e-mail: ayotundebunmi@yahoo.ca pa ge 21 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 20-29, 2025 the un general assembly also convened the highlevel meeting on the prevention and control of noncommunicable diseases (ncds), and adopted a political declaration that included reducing ncd risk factors, such as unhealthy diets (un, 201la). two years later, in may 2010, the world health assembly adopted a resolution (wha 63.23) that included urging member states to increase their political commitment to (who, 2010a): prevent and reduce malnutrition in all its forms, strengthen and expedite sustainable implementation of the global strategy for infant and young child feeding, develop or review current policy frameworks for addressing the double burden of malnutrition, scale up interventions to improve infant and young child nutrition and strengthen nutrition surveillance. in may 2012, the world health assembly adopted a resolution (wha 65.6) that endorsed the comprehensive implementation plan on maternal, infant and young child nutrition, which includes six global targets for 2025 (who, 2012): 40 % reduction in childhood stunting, 50 % reduction in anemia in women of reproductive age, 30 % decrease in low birth weight, 0 % increase in childhood overweight, an increase in the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months to at least 50%. a reduction in childhood wasting to less than 5%. recently, the relationship between nutrition, health and academic performance of the children in nigeria has generated interests of researchers, educators, governments and policy makers. in nigeria, the government created the national home grown school feeding program (nhgsfp) in 2016 in its bid to curb malnutrition of children in school. this is to address hunger and malnutrition among children, enhance school enrolment, and increase agricultural production and economic growth. the programme, according to the reports, had fed over 53,000 school and 9.9 million pupils in 35 states and federal capital territory engaging over 127,000 food vendors nationwide. there were also 100 aggregators in preparing a ₦70 per meal per child in a 20 days feeding circle. the programme is being implemented through the state governments and funded solely by the federal government. the program for now is being operated only in the primary schools and it is expected to be extended to the secondary schools in order to make it a holistic approach to reduce malnutrition among the students of both primary and secondary schools. however, in ondo state, the programme had run into crisis as the food vendors employed by the state government for cooking for the pupils have reduced the ration served as a result of present hike in food prices, increase in enrolment figures of the pupils and shortage of funds. the impact of malnutrition on the level of educational achievement of students has not been fully diagnosed as a result of wrong perception and inadequate knowledge about the importance of nutrition and many deleterious effects of malnutrition on students academic performance.(nwuze, 1995). in the light of the above, this study aims to find out the knowledge and perception of malnutrition on academic performance among public secondary school students in ondo state. statement of problem most countries in all regions reported nutrition activities in pre-, primary and secondary schools. training of staff in nutrition and health was the most commonly reported activity; provision of safe water and hygiene promotion were also frequently reported, except in the countries of the african region. clearly, more comprehensive health and nutrition programmes are required to improve the school environment in the african region to become health and nutrition friendly. in addition, provision of milk, or fruit and vegetables, in schools was reported by half the countries in all regions, except in the african region and the south-east asia region. in nigeria, food consumption both in quality and quantity has decreased substantially since the introduction of structural adjustment programme (sap) in 1986. this period precipitated considerable decrease in household income and an unprecedented increase in food prices. the intervention of the federal government through its home grown school feeding programme (hgsfp) that was kicked off in 2016 to address the hunger and malnutrition among the school children has not delivered on its mandate because of poor implementation and paucity of funds. schools offer many opportunities to promote healthy dietary and physical activity patterns for children. they are also a potential access point for engaging parents and community members in preventing children’s nutrition problems, including both under-nutrition, and obesity and diet-related ncds. comprehensive school health and nutrition programmes also provide a good opportunity to improve nutrition of adolescent girls, which in turn contributes to the improvement of future maternal, infant and young child nutrition, and to the prevention of obesity and diet-related ncds later in life. according to amoah (2019), the main problem, then is simply lack of knowledge about the importance of nutrition and the serious repercussions of malnutrition on school going children in line with academic performances. therefore the knowledge and perception of malnutrition and its effects on students academic performance needs to be properly evaluated so as to recommend effective polices and intervention programmes that will curb the menace among the secondary schools students in ondo state. this study is guided by the following research questions. 1. what is the level of knowledge of students of public secondary schools in ondo state on malnutrition? 2. what is the level of perception of students of public secondary schools in ondo state on malnutrition? 3. what are the effects of poor nutrition on academic performance among the students of public secondary schools in ondo state? pa ge 22 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 20-29, 2025 general objective the main objective of the study is to examine the knowledge and perception of malnutrition on academic performance among students of public secondary schools in ondo state. specific objectives of the study ▪︎ to determine the level of knowledge of students of public secondary schools in ondo state on malnutrition. ▪︎ to assess the level of perception of malnutrition among students of public secondary schools in ondo state ▪︎ to determine the effects of malnutrition on academic performances of students of public secondary schools in ondo state. research hypotheses h01: there is no significance relationship between respondents demographic profiles and incidence of malnutrition in public secondary schools in ondo state h02: there is no significance relationship between the respondents knowledge of malnutrition and academic performance in public secondary schools in ondo state h03: there is no significance relationship between the respondents level of perception of malnutrition and academic performance in public secondary schools in ondo state. literature review concept of malnutrition malnutrition is a complex phenomenon. broadly defined, malnutrition refers to the condition of inappropriate nutrition (who, 2022). in the past, discussions of malnutrition in the context of health issues in low-income countries often used this term to refer to the condition of “under nutrition” associated with what was presumed to be protein-energy malnutrition and operationally defined as a deficit in anthropometric status or by the presence of clinical signs such as oedema or altered hair colour. in more recent years, various vitamin and mineral deficiencies, including vitamin a, iron, iodine and zinc have been recognized as discrete types of malnutrition that adversely affect human health and contribute to disease and mortality. some of these nutrients affect closely related biological systems; for example both vitamin a and zinc play important roles in maintaining different aspects of immune function (gandstead, 1986) and both vitamin a and iron affect haemoglobin metabolism (brown and pulin,1986). ecological-level studies have demonstrated that the prevalence of these micronutrient deficiencies are high in many of the same countries, thus many individuals may suffer from multiple micronutrient deficiencies at the same time. however, relatively few data are currently available for quantifying either the joint distribution of multiple deficiencies or the impact that multiple micronutrient deficiencies have on specific health outcomes. vitamin a is an essential nutrient required for maintaining immune function, eye health, vision, growth and survival in human beings (national research council 2017). at present, vitamin a deficiency remains a widespread public health problem, especially in countries of south asia and africa. globally, preschool-age children and women of reproductive age are the two population groups most commonly recognized to be at risk of this nutritional deficiency and its adverse health consequences. a combination which is chronically lower than required dietary intakes of vitamin a-rich foods (eggs, milk, liver, deep orange fruits and dark green leafy vegetables, etc.) combined with mal absorption and increased vitamin a excretion rates associated with some common illnesses places many women and children at risk of developing vitamin a deficiency (fawzi, chelmers, herrera and mosteller, 1993). no single indicator can be reliably used to assess the full spectrum of vitamin a deficiency. different aspects of vitamin a status are assessed using clinical indicators, biochemical indicators, functional indicators and histological indicators (nrc 2018). in humans, vitamin a is stored almost exclusively (>90 %) in the liver and some investigators propose liver and/or total body stores as a primary indicator of vitamin a status. although recent isotope dilution techniques is to indirectly measure liver vitamin a stores have yielded promising results (who 2012) these techniques have not yet been used in largescale population-based surveys. at the population level, the prevalence of vitamin a deficiency can be determined based on the prevalence of either: (i) night blindness, usually obtained by verbal recall; (ii) other eye signs of xerophthalmia (bitot’s spots or corneal lesions); or (iii) biochemical indicator values (serum retinol, breast milk retinol, relative doseresponse test, modified relative dose-response test, or serum 30-day response), or histological indicator values (conjunctival impression cytology [cic] that fall below a defined cut-off point (who 1996). until recently the majority of nationally representative, large-scale surveys related to vitamin a deficiency were conducted primarily among preschool-age children. protein-energy malnutrition is highly prevalent in nigeria due to faulty weaning practices, poverty, poor sanitary conditions, inadequate medical attention and endemic childhood infections (nweze, 1995). research as proof that deficiency of protein intake which is known as protein energy malnutrition as led to poor academic performance by children and caused young children to be lethargic, withdrawn and passive all of which affect social and emotional development (amoah, 2019). similarly, children suffering from severe protein energy malnutrition (pem) enroll late in school, drop out early and exhibit academic deficits. according to pridmore (2007), zinc is needed by the children to grow and develop as from a month old. this essential mineral is important for immune function, wound healing and development of senses of smell and taste. researchers revealed that zinc deficiency may lead to deficits in children’s neuropsychological functioning, pa ge 23 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 20-29, 2025 activity or motor development, and thus interfere with cognitive performances. iron-deficiency anaemia (ida) is one of the word’s most widespread health problems across african and asian countries iron-deficiency anaemia is caused by poor diet and loss of blood due to worm infestations. anaemia leads to weakness and poor physical growth, and a compromised immune system-decreasing the ability to fight infections and increasing morbidity (pridmore,2007) causes of malnutrition in nigeria malnutrition in nigeria directly or indirectly is the cause of 45% of all deaths of under five children. malnutrition is referred to as deficiency or excesses of nutrient intake, imbalance of essential mineral or impaired nutrient utilization. in nigeria, the situation of malnutrition is very appalling. in the world, nigeria has the second highest burden of stunted children with national prevalence rate of 32 percentages of children under five. (galal and hulett, 2003). also an estimated of 17 million children are suffering from severe acute malnutrition (sam) giving nigerian the highest burden of malnutrition in africa and the second highest in the world. according to igbedioh (1993). the main reason why malnutrition is high in nigeria is its close association with poverty, with 47 percent of nigerians (98 million) living in multi dimensional poverty. other underlying causes of malnutrition in nigeria are; • inadequate food intake. • inadequate food production. • ignorance. • uneven distribution of food. • poor food preservation techniques. • taboos • poor sanitation • over population • diseases like dysphagia, cancer, malaria e.t.c. • alcohol or drug abuse • poor lifestyle choices and • insecurity which has affected farming activities in rural areas. effects of malnutrition in children according to foa (2012), the philosophy of any government is geared towards creating individuals that are intellectually spiritual, emotionally and physical balanced with requisite knowledge, skills, values and attitudes for self-actualization and for the socio-economic and political transformation of the nation in the past, nutrition was relegated to the background and was rarely considered by the policy maker when designing and implementing educational programmes aimed at improving participation and high performance of school children.(oseyemi,2023) however, in recent years many countries, developmental partners and other international organizations now recognize the importance and role of health and nutrition as a key component for the achievement of global goals such as the millennium development goal (mdg²) and education for all campaign (efac). in the same vein, the relationship between nutrition, health and education achievement of children in developing countries has been of interest to many researchers due to the frequent observation that many children do not enroll on time and in most cases do not complete primary school education. recent studies have found out severe stunting in the first two years of life lowers test scores in school age (8-11 years) chronic malnutrition lowers language and mathematic test scores and that short stature may lead to late enrolment for primary school children (world bank, 2017). in addition, all the following conditions are linked to children health status and malnutrition rates; • physical retardation/ stunted growth. • high rate of absenteeism. • reduced intelligence quotient. • deficiency of vitamins. • dyslexia. • blindness/visual impairment. • lethargy. • brain shrinkage and • illness or death. theoretical framework of the study the health belief model of the various models in health psychology that are used to explain health behaviour, the health belief model provides the most appropriate theoretical framework in which to examine how nigerian parents think about malnutrition and educations. the health belief model (hbm) is a social-cognitive model developed in the 1950’s by the us public health services (mullen, heresy & iverson 1987 which is often used to explain and predict health related behaviors (stretcher & rosenstock 1966). this model is often being used to predict a variety of preventative health behaviours, such as dental checkups, dieting, driving under the influence and sexual risk behaviours. the basic components of the health belief model are derived from a well-established body of psychological and behavioural theory whose various models hypothesize that behaviour depends mainly upon two variables: 1. the value placed by an individual on a particular goal; and 2. the individual’s estimate of the likelihood that a given action will achieve that goal. in the context of health-related behaviour, these correspondences are: 1. the desire to avoid illness (or if ill, to get well); and 2. the belief that a specific health action will prevent illness. for example, if a person’s goal is to avoid a health problem, the individual must feel personally vulnerable (perceived susceptibility) to a problem judged to be potentiality serious (perceived severity), and he or she must estimate that specific action will be beneficial in reducing the health threat 10(perceived benefit) and will not involve overcoming obstacles (perceived barriers). thus, as rosenstock notes in describing this model,” the combined levels of susceptibility and severity provided pa ge 24 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 20-29, 2025 the energy or force to act and the perception of benefits (less barriers) and provided a preferred path of action. the relevance of this theory to this study is hinged of the fact the general belief of the students of public secondary schools in ondo stateon malnutrition will go a long way in determining how they will embrace any intervention programme designed to reduce incidence of malnutrition in the schools. methodology the research design adopted for the study is descriptive research design. this method allows for collection of data in quantitative manner. the study population comprises junior secondary school students (jss 1-3) of the following public schools in ondo state: fiwasaye girls grammar school, akure; ondo boys high school, ondo; jubilee college, ikareakoko; owo high school, owo; holy saviours high school, ile oluji and stella maris college, okitipupa) to determine the sample size of this study leiz fisher’s formular was adopted. thus, 384 respondents were considered at the sample size using systematic sampling technique. consequently, a structured questionnaire was designed and distributed to all the selected students in these schools as follows: • 64 respondents from fiwasaye girls grammar school, akure; • 64 respondents from ondo boys high school, ondo; • 64 respondents from jubilee college, ikareakoko; • 64 respondents from owo high school, owo; • 64 respondents from holy saviours high school, ile oluji and • 64 respondents from stella maris college, okitipupa) the instrument used for data collection is a questionnaire which was constructed by the researchers to obtain information from the respondents for the purpose of the study. the research instrument has four sectors: section a, b, c and d. section a deals with the bio-data of the respondents. section b and other sections consist of questions raised in the research questions embedded in chapter one of the projects. the questions were open & closed ended questions. the researchers was personally involved in administering the questionnaire but was assisted by some of the school teachers at a point. also, some of the teachers assisted in the collection of the filled questionnaire from the students. data presentation analysis the data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as: frequency table, percentage and inferential statistic(chi-square). table 1 presents the demographic profile of the table 1: social demographic profile of the respondents variables frequency percentage gender male 200 52.08 female 184 47.91 total 384 100 age group (year) <12 200 52.08 12yrs – 14 yrs 100 26.04 15yrs and above 84 21.87 total 284 100 educational status jss1 184 47.91 jss2 100 26.04 jss3 100 26.04 total 384 100 religion christianity 305 79.4 islam 75 19.5 traditional 4 1.04 total 384 100 marital status of the parents married 338 88.02 single 14 3.64 divorced 18 4.68 separated 15 3.98 pa ge 25 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 20-29, 2025 respondents by gender, age, religious status, educational status etc. the result shows that the majority of the respondents were male respondents 52.08% while 47.9 were female. 52.08% were less than twelve years of age while 26.04% were between ages of 12-14yrs and 21.8% accounts for age 15yrs and above. with respects to education status 47.9% of the students were in jss1 while 26.04% were in jss2 and 26.04% were in jss3. their religion status reveals 79.4% christians, 19.5% muslim and 1.0% traditionalists. research question 1 what is the level of knowledge of respondents on malnutrition? the below table presents the respondents knowledge total 384 100 type of marriage of the parents monogamy 242 63.02 polygamy 142 36.9 total 384 100 level of education of the parents no formal education 20 5.2 primary school education 29 secondary school education 250 76.3 tertiary education 105 27.3 total 384 100 table 2: response on knowledge of malnutrition among respondents variables yes% no% where do you hear about malnutrition? tv 288(75%) 96(25%) radio/ jingle 299(77,86%) 85(22.14%) newspaper 249(65%) 135(35%) parents 230(60%) 154(40%) schools 300(78.13%) 84(21.87%) can non-availability of food at home result in malnutrition? 381(99.22%) 3(0.78%) can the financial status of the parents cause malnutrition? 381(99.22%) 3(0.78%) malnutrition can cause disease in the body ? 380(98.96%) 4(1.04%) poor hygiene condition contribute to issue of malnutrition? 230(60%) 154(40%) malnutrition is as a result of poor knowledge of food preparation on the part of parents? 222(58%) 162(42%) malnutrition is caused by inflated price of food item in the market? 307(80%) 77(20%) large family size can bring about malnutrition? 380(98.96%) 4(1.04%) malnutrition is common among the children of the poor? 288(75%) 96(25%) on malnutrition. the result shows that the majority of the respondents 300 representing 78% heard about the issue of-malnutrition from the school. 381 representing 99.22% agreed that inability of food at home can result in malnutrition while 3 of them representing 0.78% answered in contrary. as regards the financial status of the parents 381 of 99.22% of the students agreed that the poor financial status of the parents can contribute to issue of malnutrition 222(58%) of the students agreed that poor knowledge of food preparation on the part of the parents contribute to issue of malnutrition while 162 (42%) disagree. the majority of the students 380 representing 98.96% agreed that large family size to contribute two issue of malnutrition while 4(1.04%) disagree with the assertion. this implies that majority of the respondents have good knowledge about malnutrion. research question 2 what is the level of perception of students of public secondary school in ondo state on malnutrition? the below table presents the perceptions of the students on malnutrition. the table reveals that 380 of the respondents representing 98.96% agreed that malnutrition is common among the children of the poor pa ge 26 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 20-29, 2025 while 4 (1.04%) disagree. in the same vein, 380 of the respondents i.e. 96.9% agreed that malnutrition do affect the students – concentration in class. as regards the financial status of parents majority of the respondents 288 (75%) agreed that children of the rich cannot suffer from malnutrition. 249(65%) of the respondents, equally averred that most of the malnourished children are from divorced or separated parents while only 135 representing 35% disagree. in the same vein, 307(80%) of the respondents agree that malnutrition can also be caused by worm infestation while 77 representing 20% disagree with the assertion. this implies that majority of the respondent have high level of perception about malnutrition. research question 3 what are the effects of malnutrition on academic performance among students of public secondary schools in ondo state? the table 3 above presents perception of effects of malnutrition on academic performance among the respondents, the majority of the respondents agree that mal nourished children usually have low intelligence table 3: responses on perception of malnutrition among the respondents variables yes% no% malnutrition can contribute to students failure in an examination 222(58%) 162(42%) malnutrition usually leads to truancy on the part of students 222(58%) 162(42%) malnutrition usually affects students contributions in class 380(98.96%) 4(1.04%) malnourished students are usually fall sick 288(75%) 96(25%) children of the rich cannot suffer malnutrition 288(75%) 96(25%) most of the malnourished children are from divorced or separated parents 249(65%) 135(35%) malnutrition can only be caused worm infestation 307(80%) 77(20%) malnutrition is common among the children of the rural dweller 230(60%) 154(40%) table 4: responses on effects of malnutrition among the respondents malnutrition is common among the children of the poor 380(98.96%) 4(1.04%) malnutrition affects students concentration in the class 288(75%) 96(25%) malnourished children usually have low intelligence 222(58%) 162(42%) malnourished children are prone to various diseases 381(99.21%) 3(0.78%) malnourished students usually isolate themselves from others 288(75%) 96(25%) malnourished students always engaged in bullying and fighting 222(57.8%) 162(42,2%) malnutrition results in stunted growth 230(60%) 54(40%) issue of malnutrition contributed to high school drop out 189(49%) 195(51%) 222(57.8%). also, 381 representing 99.21% of the respondents agree that malnourished children are usually prone to diseases while only 3 representing 0.78% disagree. on the issue of class interaction 288 representing 75% of the respondents agree that malnourished children usually isolate themselves from others while in class. with respect to bullying among students in school 222 representing 57.8% the respondent s agree that malnourished children do not engage in bullying and in fighting in school. on the issue of physical growth of children, majority of the respondents 230 representing 60% averred that malnutrition can bring about stunted growth on the part of children. this implies that majority of the respondents have good knowledge about the effects malnutrition among public secondary school students in ondo state. hypotheses testing h01 there is no significant relationship between respondent’s demographic profiles and incidence malnutrition. the result from the above table shows there is significant association between respondents demographic profiles and incidence of malnutrition in public secondary schools students in ondo state (r= 2.0, p<0.000). therefore, null hypothesis is rejected. table 5: variable n mean std r sig demographic profile 384 31.02 4.27133 2.0 0.000 malnutrition 384 35.250 2.753 n=384 pa ge 27 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 20-29, 2025 h02 there is no significant relationship between respondents knowledge of malnutrition and academic performance in public secondary schools ondo state. the result from the above table shows that there is significant relationship between respondents knowledge of malnutrition and academic performance among students of public secondary schools ondo state (r= 3.0, p< .000). hence, null hypothesis should be rejected. table 6: variable n mean std r sig knowledge of malnutrition 384 32.92 3.434 3.0 0.000 malnutrition 384 35.250 2.753 n=384 table 6: variable n mean std r sig perception of malnutrition 384 29.441 6.324 2.755 0.000 academic performance 384 35.252 n=384 table 7: variable n mean std r sig implication of malnutrition 384 28.41 5.234 3.50 0.000 academic performance 384 34.250 2.755 n=384 h03 there is no significant relationship between respondents perception of malnutrition and academic performance in public secondary schools in ondo state. result from the above table shows that is significant relationship between respondents perception of malnutrition and academic performance (r= 2.755, p<.000). hence, null hypothesis should be rejected. h04 there is no significant relationship between effects of malnutrition and academic performance in public secondary schools in ondo state. result from the above table shows there is significant relationship between the effects of malnutrition and academic performance (r= 3.50, p< .000). hence, null hypothesis should be rejected. results discussion the purpose of the study was to determine the knowledge and perception of malnutrition on academic performance among secondary school students referencing some selected secondary schools across the three senatorial districts in ondo state. the study shows that majority of the students have good knowledge of malnutrition. the study reveals that 78.13% of the respondents heard about malnutrition from the school. also, 381(99.22%) agreed that non-availability of food at home can make children to be malnourished. in the same vein, 97.2% representing 381 of the students are aware that poor financial status of the parents can contribute to the issue of malnutrition. in a like manner, the majority of the respondents 380 representing 98.96% agree that large family size contribute to issue of malnutrition among students. on issue of perception of malnutrition among the respondents, the study further shows that the majority of the respondent 98% agree that malnutrition can affect learners concentration in the class. also, 249 representing 65% of the respondents, agree that ,most of the malnourished children are from broken homes (divorced or separated). about 288(75%) of the respondents equally agree that most of the malnourished students are from poor family. on the effects of malnutrition on academic performance. the study reveals that majority of the respondents aware of the implications of malnutrition on the academic performance. the study reveals that the majority of the respondents agree that malnourished children usually have low intelligence 222(68%). also, 381 of the respondents representing99.21% agree that malnourished children are usually prone to diseases. on the issue of interaction among students in the class the majority of the respondents 288 representing 75% agree that malnourished children usually isolate themselves from others while in class. with regard to issue of bullying among students, 222 representing 57.8% averred that most malnourished children do engage in bullying in the school and equally reveals that the majority of the respondents 230 representing 60% agree that malnutrition can bring about stunted growth on part of children. according to the study, there is significant association between respondents knowledge of malnutrition academic performance (r=3.0 p<.000). in the same pa ge 28 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 20-29, 2025 vein, there is also a significant relationship between respondents perception of malnutrition and academic performance (r= 2.755, p <.000). this study concluded that over 95 of school children in the area have good knowledge and perception of malnutrition among learners and it is similar to the findings of the study carried out by amoah (2019) on academic performance of students in the basic schools in ghana. in the same vein, the findings of the study that most students have good knowledge and perception of malnutrition among learners in the area aligned with the findings of galal and hulett (2003) on the relationship between nutrition and children’s education performance: a focus on the united arab emirates. the findings of this study which averred that students have good knowledge of malnutrition and are quite aware of some of its effects contrasted the findings of fentiman, hall, bundy in 1999 on school enrolment patterns in rural ghana: a comparative study of the impact of location, gender, age and health on children’s access to basic schooling comparative education. after due juxtaposition, with respect to the locations of the previous studies, the following remedies were recommended. however, future researchers should enlist more schools in the scientific excursion to get a boarder participation. data were generated from the information freely supplied by the respondents whose identity remain confidential. this research was not sponsored but self-financed conclusion based on the findings from the study it is concluded that the students of public secondary schools in ondo state have good knowledge and perception of malnutrition. as regards their responses on the effects of malnutrition on academic performance, the majority agree that malnutrition has negative effects on academic performance. although few of them disagree with the assertion but by and large the majority were quite aware. recommendations the findings of the study reveal that all the factors investigated are important in a bid to enable the concerned bodies to design interventions. hence, the following measures are-recommended: 1. there should be a comprehensive nutrition education among the target population by health workers with a particular emphasis on the importance of balanced diet to students. 2. there should be more advocacy programmes for the prevention and control of malnutrition in our schools. 3. government should further improve on the home grown school feeding programmes for schools by extending it to secondary schools as it will go along way in addressing the problem of malnutrition among learners. 4. government and ngos should intensify awareness campaign on food security among the populace. 5. government should make it compulsory for schools to have school farm in order to alleviate the issue of malnutrition among learners. 6. birth control advocacies should be intensified to reduce large family size among the residents. 7. implementation of socioeconomic policies that would alleviate the high level of poverty and hardship among the citizens so as to provide food for the households 8. distribution of vitamin a and iron supplements in schools 9. integration of nutrition education in education curricular 10. increase support for rural farmers to boost food production references abiola, y. o. 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(2017). education statistics. http://documents. worldbank.org/curated/en/3081714628198232 pa ge 1 pa ge 17 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) regional dynamics on anxiety levels among female elite soccer players in manipur and tripura sharina naorem1*, sm farooque1, sudip das1 volume 2 issue 1, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i1.2543 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: february 07, 2024 accepted: march 02, 2024 published: march 06, 2024 elite athletes’ psychological well-being is said to play a significant role in their competitive nervousness, taking into account factors like performance anxiety, fear of failing, and pregame anxiety. even while research on anxiety in sports has advanced significantly, there hasn’t been much attention paid to female elite football players in manipur and tripura. the purpose of the study is to study explore the complex relationship between anxiety and football performance of elite female players of manipur and tripura. forty-two female athletes, aged 18-25, representing national tournaments for their respective states (21 from manipur and 21 from tripura), were purposively selected for the study. the competitive state anxiety inventory-2 (csai-2) was employed to measure three dimensions of anxiety: somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety, and self-confidence. descriptive statistics and the mannwhitney u test were utilized for data analysis. results revealed variations in anxiety levels between the two groups. tripura sports school exhibited higher somatic anxiety, while ywc manipur displayed higher cognitive anxiety and self-confidence. the study suggests that differences in training facilities, competitive exposure, and regional disparities may contribute to the observed variations in anxiety levels. the findings underscore the importance of a holistic approach to athlete development, integrating mental health support with physical training. coaches, sports organizations, and policymakers should consider these insights when designing programs and implementing mental health initiatives for female elite soccer players in diverse regional contexts. keywords cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, self confidence, competition introduction soccer, as a globally celebrated sport, serves as a unique platform for athletes to showcase their physical prowess and mental fortitude (turner & stewart, 2014). showcasing talent and achieving the high level of performance cover a wide area of psychological aspects. psychological aspects of soccer performance, including anxiety, aggression, stress and mental toughness have been acknowledged as pivotal determinants of success (liew et al., 2019) & (cowden, 2017). how a player perceive anxiety and how an individual manage to control determine their performance. anxiety levels among the soccer players have been a topic of interest in recent years (ford et al., 2017) as mental health and its impact on performance are being recognized. poor performance is caused by an increase in anxiety (ford et al., 2017). in the dynamic realm of sports psychology, the intersection between anxiety and athletic performance stands as a compelling area of exploration (rowland & van lankveld, 2019), & (ford et al., 2017), additionally, there appears to be a widespread belief in the field of sport psychology that worry predictably affects athletic performance. numerous research has discovered factors that may influence the way that different types of anxiety manifest in sports performance, and numerous studies have demonstrated the detrimental effects that sports competitive anxiety has on soccer (bukhari et al., 2021). in recent research, the spotlight on the mental health of soccer players has gained unprecedented attention, acknowledging the complexity between psychological well-being and athletic performance (baniasadi & salehian, 2021) & (bali et al., 2015). as athletes strive to achieve excellence, the intricate interplay of physiological and psychological factors becomes increasingly evident (till & baker, 2020), & (razali abdullah et al., 2016). effectively managing this relationship between anxiety and football becomes crucial for sustaining optimal performance on the field. players often employ various psychological strategies, such as mindfulness, visualization, and goal-setting, to mitigate anxiety and enhance their mental resilience. the relationship between anxiety and football performance is a multifaceted interplay that encompasses pre-game nerves, fear of failure, and performance anxiety. the pressure to excel at an elite level, coupled with external scrutiny, adds layers of complexity to this relationship. effectively managing anxiety becomes a key component in achieving and sustaining optimal performance on the soccer field. while existing literature has made significant strides in understanding anxiety in (liew et al., 2019; rice et al., 2019; rowland & van lankveld, 2019), but a specific focus on the female elite soccer players of manipur and tripura is noticeably absent. these regions, with their rich cultural heritage and distinct sporting environments, present an interesting setting to explore the factors contributing to anxiety in elite athletes. in manipur and tripura, where soccer being a mere sport to become an integral part of the cultural fabric, female athletes navigate a unique 1 department of physical education, tripura university, tripura, india * corresponding author’s e-mail: sharinanaorem00@gmail.com pa ge 18 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 17-21, 2024 confluence of traditional values, societal expectations, and the demanding rigors of competitive sports. the inherent pressures associated with elite-level soccer can significantly impact the mental well-being of players, influencing not only their on-field performance but also their overall quality of life. this study tries to explore the relationship between soccer and anxiety, taking into account the experience that shape the female players in manipur and tripura. literature review the complex and multifaceted relationship between anxiety and football performance is a dynamic interplay that delves into the psychological distinctions experienced by soccer players. anxiety, in the context of football, can manifest in various forms, creating a complex web of emotions that influence players both mentally and (madsen et al., 2022). one facet of this relationship is the prevalence of pre-game nerves, a phenomenon commonly experienced by soccer players before stepping onto the field (fadare et al., 2022). the anticipation of competition, combined with the desire to excel, can lead to heightened anxiety levels. these pregame nerves are not merely a transient experience; they can significantly impact cognitive processes, affecting decision-making, concentration, and overall performance (prasad sahu, 2016). fear of failure is another dimension that intertwines with anxiety in the world of football. the pressure to meet expectations, whether from oneself, teammates, coaches, or supporters, can instil a deepseated fear of not living up to the standards set by others or even by one’s own internal benchmarks(esguerra et al., 2023). this fear can create a psychological burden that, if not effectively managed, may hinder a player’s ability to perform optimally (sagar et al., 2010) & (ford et al., 2017). performance anxiety, a pervasive aspect of the relationship between anxiety and football, stems from the scrutiny players face from fans, the media, and even their own selfevaluation. the constant evaluation of every move on the field, coupled with the potential for public criticism, contributes to a heightened sense of pressure(hussein, 2024). this pressure, if not addressed, can evolve into a self-perpetuating cycle where anxiety adversely affects performance, leading to further anxiety (bukhari et al., 2021b) & (razali abdullah et al., 2016). the pressure to perform at an elite level intensifies the complexity of this relationship. in elite soccer, the expectations are elevated, and the margin for error is minimal. players are not only competing against opponents but also against the weight of their own reputation and the expectations of fans and stakeholders. the constant pursuit of excellence in such a competitive environment can contribute to persistent anxiety that permeates various aspects of a player’s mental and emotional well-being. material and methods the study was designed with a main objective to find the level of anxiety perceive by the female elite soccer players of manipur and tripura. total of n=42 subjects of 18-25 years of female player represented national tournaments for their respective states were purposively selected, where twenty-one (n=21) were from manipur and twenty-one (n=21) were from tripura. for collection of data, competitive state anxiety inventory-2 (csai-2), a sport-specific state anxiety scale developed by martens, vealey, and burton (1990) were used to collect the data. the scale divides anxiety into three components: cognitive anxiety, somatic anxiety, and a related component-selfconfidence and each dimension has nine question each. the intensity response dimension was rated on a 4-point likert scale ranging from 1 (not at all) to 4 (very much). to score the csai-2, take all the scores for each item at face value with the exception of item 14, and reverse the score i.e., (1 = 4; 2 = 3; 3 = 2; 4 = 1). the researcher explained questionnaire clearly and read the instructions to the subjects to fill the questionnaire. the researcher has also given all the required items to fill the questionnaire. descriptive statistics and ‘mannwhitney u test’ test was used for analysing data. the level of significance was set at 0.05. results table 1 depicts the descriptive results of tripura sports school and ywc manipur, which were measured on three table 1: descriptive statistic of three different dimension parameters tripura sports school level of anxiety ywc manipur level of anxiety mean sd mean sd somatic anxiety 26.04 ±3.38 high 20.71 ±1.67 average cognitive anxiety 20.14 ±3.07 average 24.04 ±2.43 high self confidence 16.67 ±2.79 low 31 ±2.16 high distinct dimensions: somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety, and self-confidence. the results revealed that the tripura sports school group had a higher mean and standard deviation of 26.04±3.38 in somatic anxiety than the ywc manipur 20.71±1.67. however, the ywc manipur group had a higher mean (24.04±3.07) in cognitive anxiety than the tripura sports school (20.14±2.43). in selfconfidence, tripura sports school demonstrated a significantly lower mean (16.67±2.79) in self-confidence compared with ywc manipur (31.00±2.16). pa ge 19 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 17-21, 2024 figure 1 displays a graphical illustration of the three distinct dimensions of somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety, and self-confidence of tripura sports school and ywc manipur. the manipuri players have less somatic anxiety than tripura. in the case of cognitive anxiety and selfconfidence, manipuri players have higher cognitive anxiety, as shown in figure. 1. table 2 displays the mann-whitney u test conducted to compare the mean ranks of the two groups, tripura and manipur, on the variables i.e. somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety, and self-confidence. the results of the mannwhitney u test showed a statistically significant difference between the tripura and manipur groups. the u value is 9.500, and the wilcoxon w value is 240.500, which is significant at the 0.05 level of significance. figure 1: illustration of somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety, and self-confidence of tripura sports school and ywc manipur table 2: mann-whitney u test for group comparison group n mean rank sum of rank mann-whitney u test wilcoxon w asymp. sig. (2-tailed) tripura 21 11.45 240.50 9.500 240.500 .000 manipur 21 31.55 662.50 total 42 *significance at 0.05 discussion anxiety is a common emotional experience characterized by fear, apprehension, or unease, and it is often categorized either as an emotion when described by the person experiencing it or as an affect when observed by an external party (steimer, 2002). in the context of sports, players frequently encounter significant anxiety, which can impact their performance during matches (fekih et al., 2021). players may perceive anxiety in varying dimensions, and there is a significant negative correlation between somatic and cognitive anxiety and selfconfidence. the somatic dimension of anxiety involves physical sensations and physiological reactions, whereas cognitive anxiety is related to mental processes such as fear and anxiety. in the context of sports performance, these dimensions of anxiety are often opposed to selfconfidence, which affects players’ overall mindset and affects their ability to perform optimally in competitions (robazza & bortoli, 2007). the study reveals variations in the three dimensions of anxiety i.e., somatic anxiety, cognitive anxiety, and self-confidence among tripura and manipuri players. specifically, tripura players shows higher somatic anxiety, while manipuri players reveal higher cognitive anxiety and higher self-confidence. the finding of the study cannot precisely reveal the reason why higher cognitive anxiety has low self-confidence however a no. of possible cause for difference is worth mentioning. these differences may be attributed to variations in experience and exposure between the two groups. the influence of anxiety, particularly competition anxiety, is heavily dependent on an individual’s career-long experiences, exposure, level of participation, and training methods(goette et al., 2015). coaches should therefore provide careful guidance and make efforts to mitigate anxiety-related decreases in confidence in soccer. in addition, there is a need to guide players to self-management through the development and use of effective and systematic psychological skills using various techniques. these efforts would lead to positive match outcomes by minimizing players’ loss of match performances even in away games (seyong jang, 2018). the observed differences in results between the two groups can be attributed to differences in training and experience. the infrastructure and grassroots academy development are significantly higher in manipur compared to tripura (naorem et al., 2020). additionally, it was reported that manipuri players found to be exposed more competitive opportunities which contributing pa ge 20 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 17-21, 2024 to their skills to control the anxiety in any situation. these discrepancies in training facilities and competitive exposure are likely to play a decisive role in shaping the level of anxiety and self-confidence of players from manipur and tripura. determined the factors contributing to athletes’ anxiety and self-confidence is essential for sports development strategies. addressing disparities in training facilities, improvising psychological skill and providing competitive exposure can play a decisive role in fostering a positive psychological environment for athletes. initiatives aimed at improving infrastructure and ensuring equal opportunities for athletes from different regions can contribute to reducing anxiety and increasing selfconfidence, thereby optimizing sports performance. conclusion the anxiety levels among female elite soccer players vary between manipur and tripura. there are differences in anxiety levels between female elite football players in manipur and tripura. the results imply that socioeconomic, cultural, and environmental factors may have a significant impact on athletes’ mental health in these areas. the study provides opportunities for future research to examine the particular difficulties faced by female football players in manipur and tripura, even though it did not specifically address the reasons of worry. gaining an understanding of these variables can help with the creation of focused therapies and support networks that improve athletes’ general wellbeing. the study also emphasises how crucial it is to approach athlete development holistically, taking into account both mental health assistance and physical training. coaches, sports organizations, and policymakers should take these findings into account when designing training programs and implementing mental health initiatives for female elite soccer players. acknowledgement we extend our sincere appreciation to all those who have contributed to the completion of this manuscript. this work would not have been possible without the support, guidance, and collaboration of numerous individuals and organizations. references bali, a. b., ed, b., ed, m., r, p. d., jourian, o., & 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(2014). strength and conditioning for soccer players. strength and conditioning journal, 36(4), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.1519/ ssc.0000000000000054 pa ge 1 pa ge 16 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) secondary school physical education challenges: case of south-east botswana israel sayed1*, anthony faros1, michael seikan1 volume 1 issue 2, year 2023 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v1i2.2222 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: november 07, 2023 accepted: december 12, 2023 published: december 14, 2023 the study aimed at exploring physical education challenges in secondary schools in southeast botswana using an interview guide developed from unesco’s quality standard physical education guidelines for policymakers. this study used a qualitative descriptive phenomenological design to collect data from thirty purposively selected physical education teachers from fifteen randomly selected junior and senior secondary schools. a structured interview guide and observation were used to collect data from schools’ physical education teachers and schools. descriptive phenomenology was used to analyze and report results. results of the study identified the following challenges facing secondary schools’ physical education; inadequate infrastructure and equipment, lack of capacity development of teachers, inadequate time, inadequate school heads support, inadequate curriculum content, poor work conditions, no community partnership and low subject status. positively, the program was inclusive, had appropriate class sizes in small schools, teachers were qualified to teach physical education and there was monitoring and evaluation of the program. the challenges identified were the basis for program improvement. national physical education policy framework developed from unesco’s guidelines should be implemented in schools to guide the process of program implementation. keywords quality, phenomenology, constructivism, interview, systems theory introduction secondary school physical education challenges contribute to low program quality and could negatively affect its educational status in secondary schools possibly culminating in low funding, low positive health impact on students, low status as a subject in relation to other subjects, low perceived societal value, low perceived academic value of the subject with a resultant misconception of the subject as a mere “recreation”, and low recognition. consequently, this would result in inadequate funding from ministry of education and schools as funds would be diverted to more important school subjects and activities in publicly funded schools. the diversion of funds from physical education would consequently culminate in marginalized subject lacking adequate equipment, facilities, and trained personnel. le masurier and corbin (2006) suggested that, …it was time for physical education to move on from its status as a low-status profession to first-class status, or as she put it, to become the renaissance profession of the new millennium. physical education as a low-status school subject is still prevalent in the school system throughout the world. as a lower status subject it occupies, 60% in africa, asia 33%, latin america 33%, europe 15%, middleeast 67%, and north america 75%, (hardman, 2016). the marginal, low status of physical education has been reported in chinese schools by chingquan (2016), in the european union schools by katsarova (2016) in the united states of america, mcloughlin et al. (2019). the 1999 berlin physical education world summit confirmed the marginal status of physical education worldwide. the low status of physical education was perceived to have been caused by deficiencies in the quality of program delivery, gender and disability inclusion, deficient curriculum time, subject status, and human, material, and financial resources (hardman & marshall, 2000). there is overwhelming evidence generated by research carried out worldwide to suggest that indeed there is low status of physical education globally (goslin, 2021; hardman, 2016; chingquan, 2016; katsarova, 2016; mcloughlin, et al., 2019 and hardman & marshal, 2008). united nations educational scientific and cultural organisation (unesco) is a united nations agency mandated with the responsibility of ensuring that quality physical education and sports programs are provided to youths in schools throughout the world through the concerted collaborative action of stakeholders. unesco believes that participation by youth in quality physical education and sports programs in schools is an inalienable human right. unesco, recognizes the myriad benefits of youths’ participation in quality physical education and sports programs in schools. in an attempt to develop and ensure quality physical education and sports programs in schools throughout the world for all youth age groups, unesco in partnership with several professional organizations developed quality physical education guidelines for implementation by schools throughout the world. these guidelines form a quality physical education policy development matrix and the basis for quality physical education programs in schools. the unesco suggested guidelines for quality physical education include the following factors, inclusivity, physical education curriculum, community 1 department of sport science, university of botswana, private bag 00702, gaborone, botswana * corresponding author’s e-mail: sayedi@ub.ac.bw pa ge 17 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 16-26, 2023 partnership, monitoring and quality assurance, teacher education, supply and development, facilities, equipment, and resources. inclusivity means, gender equality, the provision of access to participation in schools’ sports and physical education of the disabled and minority groups. a quality physical education curriculum according to unesco, is a balanced curriculum that ensures social development, problem-solving competencies, and promotion of cooperation. it should be a hands-on curriculum that develops important practical skills. community partnership means the establishment of schoolcommunity links. physical education departments should establish links with community sports clubs and national sports organizations so that students can be provided with further development opportunities. monitoring and quality assurance according to unesco means, ‘policy implementation, and the delivery of quality physical education, should be supported by clear systems for monitoring and quality assurance, accompanied by support systems that assist teachers and schools in developing strengths and addressing weaknesses’ (unesco, 2015). unesco perceives quality physical education delivery to be the responsibility of well-trained physical education teachers. quality physical education teacher education should be ensured by institutions responsible for teacher education. unesco sees the provision of quality facilities and adequate equipment as inalienable to quality physical education in schools. american medical professional association (2012) also supports the implementation in secondary schools of high-quality physical education programs that contribute to students’ well-being and lifelong health. inadequate physical activity levels have been found as one of the risk factors associated with chronic non-communicable diseases among children, young people, and adults, including cardiovascular diseases, chronic respiratory diseases, cancer, and diabetes in america (granger, 2017; habyarimana et al., 2022). to prevent physical inactivity and its concomitant hypokinetic morbidity among american youth and high health costs, american medical professional associations recommended the implementation of high-quality physical education programs in both primary and secondary schools in america. according to the medical professional associations, a high-quality physical education program should be a core/mandatory subject in primary, junior, and senior secondary schools taught by trained physical education teachers where material conditions in terms of facilities and equipment are adequate. physical education class enrolment should be the same as in other subjects. the medical associations also recommended daily physical education lessons of 150 minutes for primary schools and 225 minutes for secondary schools. low-quality physical education programs in schools would not accomplish the desired goals of holistic human development, would not improve the health and wellbeing of students, and would not develop the desired program outcomes for students. such programs would be beset by incapacitating multitudes of challenges that prevent them from benefiting students and communities. the identification of challenges facing physical education based on universal standard quality criteria established by unesco would provide an effective impetus in developing a high-quality physical education program in botswana. physical education was introduced in secondary schools in botswana in 2001 following the recommendation of the revised national policy on education (republic of botswana, 1994. recommendation 32, paragraph 5.513). ever since its introduction as a school subject in the school system, challenges facing pe as a subject in botswana have not been assessed. through this assessment, specific challenges facing physical education program implementation would be discovered and specific context-appropriate solutions to improve program quality suggested. this study is influenced by hardman’s study but would be using a context-specific case study to study in more details the context-specific challenges facing physical education in southeast botswana using unesco’s quality physical education guidelines. the specific objectives of this study are; • to use unesco’s standard quality physical education guidelines for policymakers (2015) to assess contextspecific challenges facing physical education program in southeast botswana. • use a qualitative descriptive phenomenological research method to assess pe challenges in secondary schools based on physical education teachers’ experiences. • use a structured interview guide developed from unesco’s guidelines for quality physical education to assess physical education challenges from teachers’ perspectives. • observe some factors such as facilities and equipment, physical education curriculum, lessons, and class enrolment. literature review hardman (2008), in a study titled, “the situation of physical education in schools; a european perspective” used unesco’s quality physical education guidelines to review physical education in europe to find specific physical education challenges and remedies geared towards accomplishing quality physical education in europe and the world. the survey revealed the following challenges; inadequate curriculum time allocation for pe, poorly trained teachers especially in primary schools, inadequate facilities and equipment resulting from underfunding, large class sizes, insufficient physical education-community links and the general declining health status of youth. several other studies conducted throughout the world that were not based on unesco’s universal guidelines of quality physical education found several challenges facing physical education. such challenges could be categorized as, institutional-related, teacher-related, resources-related, pa ge 18 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 16-26, 2023 curriculum-related, and program implementation process challenges. institutional-related challenges facing pe in secondary schools include the following, marginal status within the school curriculum, lack of administrative support, and low program quality. the general institutionalized marginality of pe in school systems stems from practices that do not put pe on equal footing with other schoolbased activities and subjects (toprak et al., 2021; burnett, 2020; garmamo, 2018; betram & kaleeswaran, 2017; osborne et al., 2016; aboshkair et al., 2012). teacher-related challenges facing physical education programs in secondary schools are also varied and include the following: lack of trained qualified teachers, negative attitude of pe teachers, lack of content and teaching competency, and adequacy of teachers. teacher-related challenges were reported by, (burnett, 2020; gouws et al., 2020; garmamo, 2018; betram & kaleeswaran, 2017; osborne, 2016; aboshkair et al., 2012; habyarimana et al., 2022; sarwar et al., 2010). on the other hand, studentrelated problems in schools relate to inappropriate students’ attitudes towards pe and undisciplined behaviour. student-related problems have been reported by (garmamo, 2018; osborne et al., 2016). lack of resources such as adequate facilities and equipment, poor conditions of sports facilities in schools, lack of trained qualified teachers, inadequate funds, lack of space, and lack of materials and supplies are the main resource-related challenges facing pe programs in secondary schools. the challenge of lack of resources for pe in schools has been reported by many previous studies (toprak et al., 2021; burnett, 2020; gouws et al., 2020; betram & kaleeswaran, 2017; osborne et al., 2016; allan, et al., 2015; aboshkair et al., 2012; habyarimana, et al., 2022; sarwar, et al., 2010). curriculum issues include low syllabi content quality and shortcomings related to syllabus content scope, arrangement, skill outcomes, and processes of syllabus content delivery. studies that reported challenges related to the pe curriculum include (betram & kaleeswaran, 2017; osborne, et al., 2016; habyarimana et al., 2022). program implementation process challenges include implementation issues such as time allocation, implementation status, class enrolment, teachers’ workloads, teachers’ conditions of work, scheduling, examinations, and program management. studies that reported implementation process challenges include the following. toprak et al. (2021) in turkey reported “inadequate time”, gouws et al. (2020) in zimbabwe reported “absence of examination for the subject”, betram and kaleeswaran, (2017) reported “large classes and “reduced time.” osborne et al. (2016) reported “low salaries of pe teachers.” oudat, (2016) in jordan, reported “increased class enrolment.” allan et al. (2015) also reported “inadequate time.” unlike the above previous studies, this study would use a holistic standard approach in identifying context-specific physical education program challenges in southeast botswana. theoretical framework this study is based on the philosophical theory of phenomenology. phenomenology can be defined as the study of the structure of experience. that is the study of ‘phenomenon,’ how things appear according to our experience or the meanings we put to our lived experience. according to hopkings (2005), phenomenology is, a philosophy of experience. for phenomenology, the ultimate source of all meaning and value is the lived experience of human beings. all philosophical systems, scientific theories, or aesthetic judgments have the status of abstractions from the ebb and flow of the lived world. phenomenology is related to the educational philosophical theory of constructivism that proposes that all forms of knowledge are constructed from human experience. people naturally construct their knowledge and understanding of their lived world through experience and reflecting on that experience. what exists is what we perceive to exist (burr, 2015). our knowledge is an invention of reality not a reflection of it (watzlawick, 1980). glasersfeld defines this as “epistemological solipsism”. this is closely related to the autopoiesis theory developed by chilean biologists valera and maturana (antipina, 2019). the essence of the theory is that “the representation of the surrounding world figure 1: contextualised phenomenological theory note: pe teachers experience all elements of pe program in schools and construct reality out of their perceptions pa ge 19 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 16-26, 2023 is always determined by the structure of the cognitive system of a living organism and not by the objective structures of the surrounding world” (antipina, 2019). the phenomenon that this study investigates concerns teachers’ experience of physical education service scape in junior and senior secondary schools in the southeast region of botswana. the study assumes that physical education teachers have lived the experience of physical education service-scape in public secondary schools and have a genuine experience and knowledge that they could share with this study. conceptual framework the conceptual theoretical framework for this study is based on a systems theoretical framework. according to this theory, a system consists of interrelated, interdependent parts that constitute a whole. an alteration of one component is more likely to affect the whole system. in this study, components of the system are elements of the schools’ physical education program such as physical dimension, processes of implementation, program management, curriculum, personnel, and institutional status. these elements constitute various processes of program implementation and inputs. shortage or inadequacy of any of the components of [inputs and processes] would adversely affect the quality of the physical education program resulting in a clearly definable output [highor low-quality pe program]. physical education is perceived as a system that consists of different components experienced by teachers daily and have constructed reality out of their experiences. this study, therefore, explores the meanings physical education teachers attach to their experience of phenomena, which in this study is physical education service-scape in secondary schools. figure 2: adapted systems management theory note: pe program inputs and processes result in a specific output (highor low-quality pe program) that forms the basis of feedback methodology research design a qualitative descriptive phenomenological design was used in this study. qualitative descriptive phenomenological research “seeks reality in individuals’ narratives of their lived experiences of phenomena” (yuksel & yildirim 2015). it allows for an in-depth and detailed exploration of an individual’s thoughts, experiences, feelings, and interpretations opsal et al. (2015). lambert and lambert (2012) defined qualitative descriptive research as a …. qualitative descriptive studies that tend to draw from naturalistic inquiry, which purports a commitment to studying something in its natural state to the extent that is possible within the context of the research arena. this study seeks to explore challenges facing physical and health education in secondary schools from the physical education teachers’ experiences and perspectives. participants the main participants of this study were physical and health education teachers both males and females in junior and senior secondary schools in the southeast region of botswana. physical and health education teachers experience physical education service-scape challenges in secondary schools in botswana. sampling procedure according to botswana statistics (2018), the southeast region has twenty-seven secondary schools (27) and two thousand and twenty-one (2 021) total number of teachers for all subjects. out of the 2 021 teachers, fiftyseven (57) were physical education teachers. fifteen schools were randomly selected from the twentyseven secondary schools in the region. a purposive sampling procedure was used to sample two (2) physical and health education teachers from each of the fifteen (15) randomly selected secondary schools in the region. the purposive sampling method was found ideal to use in this study because teachers have lived the experience of the challenges facing physical education in secondary pa ge 20 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 16-26, 2023 schools. thirty (30) out of the fifty-seven (57) physical and health education teachers of the twenty-seven (27) secondary schools in the region were selected for this study. so, this study used a sample size of 56%. a reasonable sample size for a phenomenological study may range from 2-25 participants (creswell, 2013). data collection instrument data were collected using a structured interview guide from physical and health education teachers in their respective schools. the interview sought to collect demographic information and attempted to discover challenges facing pe in the various components of unesco’s criteria of program quality. the structured interview guide consisted of open-ended questions focusing on various broad themes such as syllabus, status in the curriculum, time allocation, facilities and equipment, teacher qualification, etc. open interview questions give respondents latitude to express their thoughts, and feelings and to expand on their experiences. the content of the interview guide was informed and guided by unesco’s quality standard physical education guidelines for policymakers (unesco 2015). for example, under physical resources respondents were asked the following questions: “according to your experience as a physical education teacher, would you say that all the required physical infrastructure for program implementation is adequate and are existing sports facilities well cared for? what sports facilities are currently available in your school and which ones are not available? what do you think should be done to address the problem of physical infrastructure inadequacy in schools?” after the structured interview guide was developed, it was given to a panel of experts in physical and health education pedagogy for content, face, and construct validation. this panel of experts was critical professionals in the professional area of pedagogy who engaged in a dialogue with each other to encourage reflection upon the interview instrument and to establish consensus. their feedback was critical in developing a credible, trustworthy interview guide instrument. the interview strived to secure information about present practices and conditions in participants’ current environmental settings. the interview guide was complemented by an observation method. the observation method was used to observe facilities, equipment, curriculum, class enrolment, and curriculum time. data analysis a descriptive phenomenological analysis was employed in analyzing interview data. interviews and notes were first transcribed. transcribed data were read and re-read to identify themes/codes. a more focused coding was used to develop categories of themes and identify data for each named category or theme. kiger and varpio (2020) explained thematic analysis in the following six steps; “familiarising yourself with data, generating initial codes, searching for themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes, and producing the report.” a deductive approach was used to derive meaning and conclusions. for this study, open interview data was manually thematically analyzed by discovering repeating themes and developing a coding frame that captured themes in terms of code categories. to improve the trustworthiness and credibility of the results, three members of the research team independently analyzed raw data and later met to discuss their findings so that they would reach a consensus on the results. to prevent “prejudicial” influence on data analysis and interpretation, the three members of the research team were encouraged to adopt reflective attitudes when reflecting on the phenomena as experienced by the respondents and not as experienced by themselves. the identified study themes were sent to the interviewees for approval and to establish the truthfulness of the findings. data collection procedure and ethical issues the research permission was granted by the southeast education regional office in gaborone under the ministry of basic education. sampled schools were visited to get permission from school heads and to make appointments with physical education teachers. the researcher visited the physical and health education teachers at the sampled schools at different times convenient to them. at each school, the researcher introduced himself and explained the study and study processes to them before the actual interview so that they could make informed consent to participate in the study by signing a study consent form. participants were interviewed and their responses were recorded after getting their permission to do so. the researcher also took notes of the interviews. the recorded voices were taken for transcribing and to identify common themes from transcribed data. sport and physical education facilities, curriculum, lessons, class enrolment, and curriculum time were observed by the researcher. results according to table 1, thirty physical education teachers responded to the interview (17 male and 13 female teachers). most of the respondents were aged 30-39 years (15, 50%), and very few aged 50-59 years (4, 13%). this means that most of the respondent teachers were in the middle adulthood ages. most of them (15, 50%) had between five to ten years of teaching experience. in terms of teaching qualifications, many of them (27, 90%) had a bachelor of education physical education degree and very few of them had a diploma in secondary education. so, all the respondent teachers were qualified physical education teachers. nineteen of the respondent teachers taught physical education in junior secondary schools while eleven taught physical education in senior secondary schools. pa ge 21 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 16-26, 2023 facilities and equipment the study intended to establish if sports and physical education facilities were adequate and if the existing sports facilities in schools were well maintained. how the problem of sports facilities inadequacy in schools could be addressed and why there are inadequate facilities and equipment in secondary schools. the study found that sports facilities were inadequate in schools and available facilities were not properly maintained. the study discovered the need for the construction of additional facilities in schools. the study found that the problem of lack of sports facilities in schools could be resolved by using central community sports facilities. when participants were asked, ‘are facilities and equipment adequate for implementing physical education program in your school, and are the existing facilities well maintained?’. participant, (p3) states ‘facilities are inadequate for effective implementation of physical education program in secondary schools.’ participant (p6) from one of the junior secondary schools in gaborone stated, ‘due to lack of space our school has no sports facilities.’ they indicated a lack of the following in schools in the region, swimming pools, changing rooms, and showers. senior secondary schools unlike junior secondary schools have hard surfaced courts and tennis courts. it was concluded that indeed there were inadequate sports and physical education facilities in secondary schools in southeast botswana. they indicated that the available sports fields are not well cared for. participant (p1) stated, ‘not cared for, only graded once a year’. when respondents were asked to suggest ‘how sports infrastructure in schools could be improved’, most of them suggested that additional sports infrastructure should be constructed in schools such as indoor sports halls, swimming pools, change rooms, and showers and that netball, volleyball, and basketball courts should be hard surfaced in junior secondary schools. participant, (p4) states ‘if outdoor fields and courts are not hard surfaced, they should at least be maintained in good condition throughout the year. it was indeed observed that facilities in most schools were not adequate. outdoor facilities had grown tall grass. in all schools, there were no swimming pools changing rooms and showers, and no indoor activity halls. when asked, ‘is equipment adequate for teaching physical activities?’ most of the respondents had similar responses, (24) 80% stated that equipment is not adequate. participant, (p5) said, ‘there is a serious shortage of physical education equipment in secondary schools.’ shortage of equipment was also observed in most schools and in some instances balls and implements used were very old. ‘when asked to air their views as to why there are inadequate facilities and equipment in schools?’ their views were different. nine (9) 30% of the respondents attributed this situation to lack of funds. participant (9) said, ‘ministry of education cannot afford to construct all required sports facilities in each school.’ on the other hand, ten (10) 33% of the respondents attributed the lack of facilities and equipment to a lack of interest in the subject by the ministry of education officials. participant (p3) said, ‘ministry of education officials do not have the interest to develop required facilities in schools for physical education.’ eleven (11) 37% however, attributed this problem to a lack of strategy in sports facility construction. participant (p10) had this to say, ‘if government through local authorities could build community sports facilities, then schools in a community could jointly use such facilities for pe lessons instead of building sports facilities in each school.’ processes inclusiveness this study wanted to find out if physical education in secondary schools is inclusive and whether teachers can provide inclusive instruction for mixed-ability classes. the study found that the program was inclusive and that teachers were not skilled enough to provide inclusive instruction. when asked, ‘is the physical education program inclusive and are you capable of providing inclusive instruction?’ most participants indicated that the program in secondary schools is inclusive in compliance with the inclusive policy. however, most teachers stated that they were not wellskilled to provide inclusive instruction. participants (p17, p18, and p21) had similar responses, ‘no, our course on adapted physical education did not provide adequate information and practice on adapting physical activity for teaching different partially disabled students.’ for all the lessons observed, teaching was mainly focused on mainstream teaching. special learning needs of less practically inclined students were not met. table 1: demographic information freq % freq % gender females 13 43% age 20-29 yrs 6 20% males 17 57% 30-39 yrs 15 50% teaching experience below 5yrs 3 1% 40-49 yrs 5 17% 5-10 yrs 15 50% 50-59 yrs 4 13% 10-15 yrs 7 23% qualification diploma 3 1% 15-20 yrs 5 17% 1st degree 27 90% schools senior 11 37% junior 19 63% pa ge 22 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 16-26, 2023 teacher capacity development the study wanted to find out if there had been any inservice workshops organized for teachers in the past two years. it was found that teachers had not attended inservice workshops for teacher capacity development in the past two years. when asked ‘have you attended any in-service workshop in the past two years,’ most of the respondents, twenty-five (25) 83% had similar responses and reported having not attended any physical education workshop in the past two years. only five (5) 17% reported to have attended a physical education workshop. participants, (p6 and p1) reported to have attended ‘item writing and course workshop on softball, gymnastics, and dance. it was concluded that there was no in-service workshop organized for pe teachers in the past 2 years for teacher capacity development. monitoring and quality assurance the study wanted to establish if there has ever been monitoring and quality assurance in physical education in the past 5 years in secondary schools. it was found that there was program monitoring and evaluation in the past 5 years. when asked, ‘has there been any physical education program monitoring and evaluation in the past five years?’ sixty-three percent (63%) of the respondent teachers reported that there was physical education program monitoring and evaluation in secondary schools in the following key areas, curriculum, teaching, students’ achievement, and program management. participants (p22, p24 and p16) had similar responses and stated that ‘there was once monitoring, and evaluation organised by department of curriculum and evaluation that evaluated pe syllabus, teaching, students’ achievement, and program management.’ on the other hand, thirty-seven percent (37%) of the participants had indicated that there had never been any evaluation and monitoring of pe program in their schools. the conclusion reached here is that there was monitoring and quality assurance for pe in secondary schools. program implementation process the study wanted to establish implementation processes regarding, program time allocation, class sizes, and work conditions. time allocation the study found that there was not enough time allocated for pe. when asked, ‘how many hours and minutes per week are allocated for physical education, and is this time adequate?’ all the thirty (100%) teachers had indicated that pe has been allotted two hours thirty minutes (2hrs 30min) per week and that this time was inadequate to effectively provide enough activity levels for students per week and to adequately cover the syllabus. participants (p13 and p12) had similar responses and stated, ‘time allocated for pe is inadequate, 2 hrs 30 min per week per class is completely not adequate for students to have adequate activity levels per week.’ it was concluded that the time allocated for pe in secondary schools is not adequate. physical education class size regarding class sizes, the study found different class sizes for pe depending on the size of the school. when asked to indicate their class sizes, they responded differently. some indicated class enrolments of between twenty to thirty (20-30) students while others indicated class sizes of 40 students. respondent (19) states, ‘since pe is an optional subject, pe classes are created by students from other classes and there are generally adequate students who opt for pe.’ despite this, it was observed that class enrolment was appropriate in small schools but was large in big schools in high-population communities. based on this finding, class size depends on school size, and there is no standard class size for pe classes. work conditions the study wanted to establish the nature of work conditions that teachers did not like. the common abhorrent work conditions that many teachers execrated included the following: high workload, slow progression to promotion, lack of infrastructure and materials, and negative attitude of other teachers towards physical education and teaching outdoors. when asked to ‘state work conditions that they did not like in their respective schools?’ participant, (p6) listed ‘lack of equipment, limited facilities, negative attitudes of staff towards pe, not enough time and high workload.’ in addition to the above conditions participant, (p3) stated that ‘teaching practical activities outdoors in summer is not comfortable because of the extreme heat, so most of the time i have to be quick to avoid spending too much time under the sun.’ program management community partnership this was to establish whether there are physical educationcommunity links. it was established that there were no pe-community links. when asked, ‘have you established links with community sports clubs and or national sports organizations to foster talent development of students?’ all thirty (30) 100% of teachers in the southeast district of botswana quite honestly stated that they had not established any links with local and national sports clubs and organizations to foster the talent development of students. participant (p17) said, “in our school, we have not yet established links with local clubs to open opportunities for talented pe students to further develop their talents. students who currently participate in local and national sports teams do that on their own.” administration support here researchers wanted to establish if teachers and physical education programs were supported by their school administrations and school heads. it was found that teachers and pe received adequate support from school pa ge 23 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 16-26, 2023 administrations and inadequate support from school heads. when asked, ‘do physical education program and teachers receive adequate support from school administration?’ there were mixed responses, most of the respondents stated that ‘they received adequate support from school administration in purchasing equipment.’ participant (p18) states, ‘the only support we get from the school administration is purchasing equipment. since pe finances are not always adequate, we hardly ever purchase adequate equipment.’ when asked, ‘does your school headmaster take an active role in promoting physical education in the school and the community?’ most of the respondents had similar responses and stated that school headmasters ‘do not take an active role in raising awareness of the intrinsic and extrinsic values of physical education to the entire school population and wider communities.’ participant (p11) states, ‘our headmaster hardly ever expresses his perceived value of pe to the school community and parents. this is indicative of their lack of understanding of its benefits to students and their interest in the subject.’ physical education curriculum the study wanted to know the scope of junior and senior secondary syllabi contents. the study found pe syllabi content deficiencies in both junior and senior secondary schools’ curriculum and when participants were asked to ‘air their views regarding junior and senior secondary syllabi adequacy in covering all areas of physical education,’ most of them indicated syllabi content deficiencies. they said that the junior certificate syllabus is dominated by practical sports activities. regarding the senior secondary (bgcse) physical education syllabus, most of the respondent teachers had similar responses and indicated syllabus content deficiencies in most areas of physical education and felt that students at this level should be introduced to all the components of physical education such as sociology of sport, history of sports, biomechanics, sports psychology, organization of sports, anatomy and physiology, exercise physiology, leisure, and recreation, etc. participant, (p7) states that ‘junior certificate (jc) and botswana general certificate in secondary education (bgcse) syllabi are lacking in most key important content areas such as biomechanics, sociology of sports, history of sports and organization and administration of sports.’ it was indeed observed that jc and bgcse syllabi are activity performancebased lacking in very key epistemological content areas that would assist learners understand physical education in its entirety. teacher development this was meant to establish whether teachers were qualified to teach physical education. it was found that teachers were qualified to teach the subject. when asked if they have a physical education teaching qualification or not, 27 (90%) of the respondent teachers had indicated to have a bachelor of education, physical education degree, and only 3 (1%) had a teaching diploma. when asked ‘if they were adequately prepared to teach physical education in secondary schools?’ most of the respondents responded positively. participant (18) states, ‘the courses we received adequately enhanced our knowledge of the discipline and effectively prepared us to teach pe in secondary schools.’ institutional status the study wanted to establish the status of physical education within the secondary school curriculum and establish the attitudes of other teachers toward pe. the study found out that pe is an optional subject in secondary schools and teachers’ attitudes towards the subject are negative. when asked to express their ‘general perception of the status of pe as a school subject and define the attitudes of teachers towards the subject,’ most of them (21, 70%) had similar responses, they stated that pe is an optional subject and holds a low status as compared with other school subjects. most of them defined the attitudes of teachers towards physical education as being ‘negative’. they said, ‘staff members consider physical education as ‘recreational play.’ participant, (p5) stated that the ‘attitude of other subject teachers towards pe is negative because of a misconception that it is just a play time subject.’ discussion unesco believes that youth participation in quality school-based physical education and sports programs is a fundamental human right. this fundamental human right is also buttressed by the american medical professional association (2012) which also supports the implementation of high-quality physical education and sports programs in schools to prevent hypokinetic morbidity and mortality among youths in america. hardman (2008) used unesco’s quality physical education guidelines to review physical education to find specific physical education challenges and remedies for accomplishing quality physical education in europe and the world. this study used unesco’s quality physical education guidelines to identify in detail the contextspecific challenges of accomplishing quality physical education in southeast botswana. the challenges facing secondary school physical education program in southeast botswana could be said to stem from the inputs and processes (adapted systems management theory). the input challenges include inadequate infrastructure and equipment in schools, lack of capacity development of teachers, and poor work conditions, and the process challenges include inadequate time allocation for physical education, lack of schoolcommunity partnership, inadequate curriculum content, and low status as a school subject. the experience of these input and process challenges by teachers comes as feedback that could be the basis for improving program quality in secondary schools. this study found inadequate facilities and equipment as a pa ge 24 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 16-26, 2023 major challenge facing physical education in all schools in southeast botswana. according to hardman (2008), onethird (1/3) of countries in europe had indicated average /inadequate quality of facility and equipment provision. other studies that reported inadequate infrastructure and equipment for physical education in schools include (habyarimana et al., 2022; toprak et al., 2021; gouws et al., 2020; burnett, 2020; stroebel et al., 2018; betram and kaleeswaran, 2017; kaite, 2017; osborne et al., 2016; chekol, 2015; allan et al., 2015; sarwar, et., 2010; aboshkair et al., 2012; unesco, 2013). hardman (2008) found inadequate funding for facilities, equipment, facility maintenance, and teaching materials in most schools in central, eastern, and southern europe. this inadequate funding would result in inadequate sports facilities, poorly maintained facilities, and a lack of teaching materials in schools. the lack of capacity development of teachers in southeast botswana negatively impacts the quality of the program as the effectiveness of teachers is compromised. capacity development of teachers should be a priority of departments of curriculum development and evaluation and departments of testing and evaluation as part of an in-service training program. there is a teacher in-service training opportunity in botswana, but the main problem is the frequency of its application. inadequate time was also an important challenge of pe program in secondary schools in southeast botswana. hardman (2008) also found a gradual erosion of time for physical education across europe. world health organization recommended 1 hour of physical activity of moderate to high intensity every day for young persons aged 5 to 17 years old to accomplish mental and physical health benefits (who, 2010). insufficient time for physical education was also reported by previous studies (habyarimana et al., 2022; toprak, 2021; betram & kaleeswaran, 2017; kaite, 2017; oudat, 2016; unesco, 2013; marshall & hardman, 2000). an irish physical education teacher commented that “pe is being squeezed out of the education system by more compulsory academic discourses… which hold little benefit compared to pe” (hardman, 2008). this study found high workload, slow progression to promotion, lack of infrastructure and materials, and negative attitude of other teachers towards the physical education program as poor work conditions faced by pe teachers in southeast botswana. poor work conditions usually negatively affect teachers’ morale. osborne et al. (2016) found similar work conditions in niteroi (brazil) as, low salaries, old, dilapidated infrastructure, and lack of equipment, devalued physical education that is considered as mere recreation, lack of indoor sports halls exposed teachers and students to heat, cold and dust that lead to headaches, sinusitis, and vocal cords problems. lack of physical education-community partnership in southeast botswana constrains the development of talented pe students. hardman (2008) also found low direct school-community links in 51% of european countries. there should be a good collaboration between schools, local clubs, and sports federations to enhance elite sports pathways for students. betram and kaleeswara (2017) also identified a lack of schoolcommunity partnership in their study. schools should establish mutually cooperative relationships with private and commercial organizations, and governmental and non-governmental organizations to open opportunities for students to apply their skills and knowledge in furthering their talents. this study found physical education curriculum content inadequacy. this concern was also echoed by unesco, (2013); toprak (2021), and jabir et al. (2020). this study therefore confirms the findings of the above studies that one of the main important challenges facing physical educators in public schools relates to the inadequate nature of physical education curriculum that is reinforced and perpetuated by a lack of school administrations’ interest in physical education. it is, therefore, necessary to transform the pe performance sports discourse curriculum and move the subject into the 21st century and beyond with a performance outcomes curriculum, the outcomes of which would be related to human health and various professional skills. the low institutional status of pe was found to be a challenge in secondary schools in southeast botswana. hardman (2008) found out in europe that despite being equal in law to other subjects in the curriculum, physical education occupies a lower hierarchical status as compared to other core subjects. kaite (2017) also revealed the low status of the subject and those of its teachers as compared to other subjects and teachers in zambia. the institutional, marginal status of the program and its teachers is responsible for the negative attitudes towards the program and teachers within schools. studies that found negativity of teachers towards the program of physical education include (gouws et al., 2020; osborne et al., 2016; oudat, 2016; chekol 2015; jenkinson & benson, 2010; sarwar, et al., 2010). negativity towards the program may contribute to the low self-esteem of teachers and may contribute to their burnout. toprak et al. (2021) also identified a low level of significance and marginalized status of pe in turkey. all the above challenges negatively impacted program quality in secondary schools in southeast botswana and most countries. these challenges should therefore be addressed to improve pe program quality. positively, the study identified the following in secondary schools; teachers were trained and qualified and the programme was inclusive; class enrolment was appropriate (between 20 to 30 students) in small schools and there was administrative support for teachers. conclusions on the basis of the above-identified challenges, the following recommendations were made to improve physical education program quality in southeast botswana; • adequate standard infrastructure and materials pa ge 25 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(2) 16-26, 2023 for physical education programs in junior and senior secondary schools be constructed and availed. if too expensive, centralised community facilities for schools should be constructed in communities. • capacity development programs for teachers should be prioritised. • constant monitoring and evaluation of the program is required so that key program implementation problems or challenges can be identified. • appropriate adequate time-table time allotment for the program be determined. • there is a need to improve school-community partnerships to enable continued talent development of physical education students. • transformation of secondary schools’ physical education curriculum should be an urgent priority. • schools’ administrations should strengthen their support to improve program status in schools. • policy guidelines based on unesco’s policy framework of quality physical education programs should be developed to guide program implementation in secondary schools in botswana. • conditions of work for teachers; better salaries, facilities, and better recognition of the subject and its teachers be improved. references aboshkair, a. k., amri, b. s., & yee, l., & samah, a. b. b. (2012). assessment of implementation level of the physical education program in selangor secondary schools, malaysia. wulfenia journal, 19(10), 1561-882. https://www.researchgate./ publication/235959848 allan, g., ndungu, b. w., & emily, j. b. (2015). challenges faced by principals in implementing physical education in public secondary schools in githunguri district. research on humanities and social sciences, 5(6), 104111. iiste.org/journals/index.php/rhss/article/ view/21140 american medical professional association (2012) cancer society (acs), cancer action network (can), american diabetes association (ada) and american heart association (aha) (2012). physical education in schools-both quality and quantity are important: a statement on physical education from the acs, can, ada and the aha. dallas, tx: aha. retrieved april 13, 2021, from heart.org/idc/ groups/heartpublic/@wcm/@adv/documents/ downloadable/ucm_446067.pdf. antipina, a. (2019, october). constructivist perspective of phenomenology. proceedings of the 2nd international conference on contemporary education, social sciences and ecological studies. https://doi.org/10.2991/cesses-19.2019.296 betram, g. j. s., & kaleeswaran, p. (2017). challenges in physical education and sports sciences-a comparative study. international journal of interdisciplinary research in arts and humanities. 2(2), 107-108. https://doi. org/10.5281/zenodo.1037365 burr, v. (2015). social constructionism (3rd ed), london by routledge. https://doi.org/https://doi. org/10.4324/9781315715421 burnett, c. (2020). a national study on the state and status of physical education in south african public schools. physical education and sport pedagogy, 26(3), 1-18. https://doi.org/10.1080/17408789.2020.1792 869. botswana statistics. (2018). secondary school statistics brief 2018. http://www.statsbots.org.bw. chengquan, j. 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(2019). the status of physical education within a nationally recognized school health and wellness program. journal of teaching in physical education, 39(2), 274-283. https://doi.org/ https://doi.org/10.1123/jtpe.2019-0052 opsal, t., wolgemuth, j., cross, j., kaanta, t., dickmann, e., colomer, s., & erdil-moody, z. (2015). “there are no known benefits” considering the risk/ benefit ratio of qualitative research. qualitative health research, 26(8), 1137-1150. https://doi. org/10.1177/1049732315580109. osborne, r., belmont, r. s., peixoto, r. p., azevedo, i. o., & carvalho, a. f. (2016). obstacles for physical education teachers in public schools: an unsustainable situation. motriz; revista de educacao fisica, 22(4), 1-11. htt://dx.doi.org/10.1590/s1980-6574201600040015 oudat, a. m. 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(2021). school physical education course: a study on challenges and on restoring their functions. pegen journal of education and instruction, 11(4), 306-315. https://doi. org/10.47750/pegegog.11.04.29. united nations educational, scientific and cultural organizations (unesco), international council of sport science and physical education. (2013). “worldwide survey of school physical education: final report. retrieved april 13, 2021 from: unesdoc. unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000229335 united nations educational, scientific and cultural organizations (2015). quality physical education, guidelines for policy-makers.unesco. retrieved april 12, 2021. available at:en.unesco.org/ inclusivepolicylab/sites/default/files/learning/ document/2017/1/231101e.pdf. watzlawick, p. (1980). the invented reality: how do we know what we believe we know? contributions to constructivism. (1st ed).england by w.w norton & company. world health organisation. (2010). global recommendations on physical activity for health. geneva. who. retrieved april, 30, 2021 from en.unesco.org/inclusivepolicylab/sides/default/ files/learning/document/2017/1/231101e.pdf. yuksel, p., & yildirim, s. (2015). theoretical frameworks, methods, and procedures for conducting phenomenological studies in educational settings. turkish online journal of qualitative inquiry, 6(1), 1-20. https://doi.org/10.17569/tojqi.5981 pa ge 1 pa ge 40 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) assessing the impact of remote learning on learning competencies of senior high school students in the health optimizing physical education (hope) program james darwin n. lagman1*, richard john w. hernandez2 volume 2 issue 1, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i1.2527 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: february 19, 2024 accepted: april 26, 2024 published: may 17, 2024 this study examined the impact of remote learning on the competencies of learning objectives within the hope program for grades 11 and 12 students in mabalacat city. using a quantitative-descriptive survey design with 12 pe teachers and coordinators, the study employed the context-input-process-product (cipp) model to evaluate the program’s effectiveness, focusing on the “product” aspect. findings revealed positive outcomes, with students exceeding their learning objectives in key areas aligned with the k-12 curriculum. students successfully demonstrated an understanding of physical activity’s role in stress management and engagement in moderate-to-vigorous activities. they also displayed an advanced grasp of personal safety protocols, suggesting readiness for potential careers in health and fitness. these findings contribute to the understanding of remote learning’s potential in achieving physical education goals. further research could explore the long-term impact of these approaches and their applicability to wider contexts, informing curriculum development and educational policy decisions. keywords health optimizing physical education (hope), physical education, k-12 curriculum, learning competencies introduction educational standards serve as guiding principles for assessing learners’ progress and achievement, providing clarity and measurability in educational outcomes (kaynat, 2017). in the context of the philippines, physical education (pe) plays a crucial role in fostering holistic development among students, encompassing physical, emotional, mental, and social aspects (lubis, 2019). pe programs aim to cultivate healthy lifestyles, enhance fitness levels, and instill positive attitudes towards physical activity, thereby contributing to lifelong wellbeing (danish, 2018). legislative measures underscore the importance of pe within the philippine education system, emphasizing its role in promoting discipline, teamwork, and excellence (republic act no. 5708; republic act no. 11214). moreover, educational reforms such as the k-12 program have integrated pe and health into the curriculum, recognizing their significance in nurturing informed decision-making and fostering active lifestyles among learners (ched order no. 46 s. 2012). however, despite these initiatives, challenges persist in implementing pe programs effectively, as evidenced by discrepancies observed in the delivery of the health optimizing physical education (hope) program in mabalacat city. issues such as teacher qualifications, instructional materials, and facility inadequacies have hindered the program’s efficacy, exacerbated by the onset of the covid-19 pandemic. the covid-19 pandemic has compelled educational institutions to adopt remote learning modalities, disrupting traditional face-to-face instruction (blackburn, 2020). this transition poses unique challenges for pe, a performance-based subject reliant on physical engagement and interaction. while online learning has become a prevalent solution during the pandemic, its suitability for pe and health education remains questionable (blackburn, 2020). online delivery has spurred a pedagogical shift in teaching and learning approaches. there was a change from top-down lecturing and passive students to a more cooperative, collaborative approach in which students and instructors co-create the learning process. teachers’ role changed from the “sage on the stage” to “the guide on the side.” despite previous reports on the contrast of classroom and distance learning, the evaluation of the student-centered active learning approaches delivered through blended learning approaches compared to fully online learning has not been widely available. therefore, this study showed one potentially positive result of the current fascination with online delivery education is that schools were forced to define and defend quality education. this study presents to the public the importance of physical education and health subject delivered in a high-tech world during this pandemic. in the midst of the covid-19 pandemic’s changing environment, the hope curriculum educates and inspires students to embrace and pursue a healthy and active lifestyle through education and participation in sports and other physical and recreational activities. it also develops and reinforces students’ character by involving them in physical and friendly contests, as well as activities that promote philippine culture. however, espia-verano (2016) identified a decline of physical education in schools. they cited shortcomings in various areas, including content, time commitment, academic status, supplies, human resources, quality of program execution, and teacher performance. according to 1 center for community research and innovation, mabalacat city college, philippines 2 national university, philippines * corresponding author’s e-mail: lagmanjames888@yahoo.com pa ge 41 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 40-52, 2024 miguel (2013), physical education and sports programs in philippine schools suffer from low resources and deprived conditions because, among other things, important decisions are frequently made by officials with no academic or professional credentials in the discipline; and physical education and sports are commonly regarded as subjects that develop cognitive capabilities rather than subject areas that develop play. the primary aim of this paper is to comprehensively evaluate the impact of remote learning on learning achievements within the health optimizing physical education (hope) program. the sudden shift to online modalities due to the covid-19 pandemic necessitates a critical assessment of how this transition has influenced the effectiveness of pe instruction and student outcomes. specifically, this study seeks to investigate the details of remote learning’s influence on student engagement, attainment of learning objectives, and overall learning outcomes within the hope curriculum. by examining these aspects of remote learning in the context of pe education, this research aims to provide insights into the strengths and challenges of online instruction, identify areas for improvement, and inform strategies to optimize the delivery of the hope program in the digital learning environment. the result of this study may be used to improve the quality of hope program implementation since the door for distance learning even covid-19 pandemic is gone is highly possible. hence, it is along these insights that gave a plausible reason for the researcher’s preference to conduct a study on the evaluation of the implementation of the hope program. literature review the abrupt shift to remote learning due to the covid-19 pandemic has significantly impacted educational practices across all disciplines, including physical education. this study examines the impact of remote learning on student achievement within the health optimizing physical education (hope) program for grades 11 and 12. examining existing literature is crucial to understand the effectiveness of remote learning in achieving hope program objectives and its potential influence on future curriculum development. while traditional physical education focuses on movement skills and participation in physical activities, remote learning presents logistical and pedagogical challenges. studies like o’connor et al. (2020) highlight the decrease in physical activity levels and challenges in replicating complex skills virtually. however, studies like liu et al. (2021) also showcase adaptations like online tutorials and technology-aided assessments demonstrating potential benefits in knowledge acquisition and promoting selfdirected learning. unfortunately, limited research directly addresses the impact of remote learning on the hope program specifically. however, studies like bautista et al. (2022) examine the effectiveness of blended learning approaches in hope, suggesting improved knowledge and skill development compared to traditional methods. investigating similar studies exploring remote-specific adaptations within the hope program can provide valuable insights for this research. the strengths of fraticelli rivera (2018) and gonzales et al. (2018) is focus in highlighting curriculum adaptation challenges and faculty perspectives in transitioning to new programs. however, both pre-date the pandemic and lack direct exploration of remote learning’s impact. cariaga (2016) emphasizes program quality for physical activity promotion but doesn’t address remote delivery. lyras and peachey (2011) offer broader insights on program development but lack specific application to the hope program context. furthermore the study sayed et al. (2023) regarding the development of policy guidelines, influenced by unesco’s framework for quality physical education, is recommended for shaping the implementation of such programs in secondary education settings. meanwhile, the observations made by hussein (2024) point to the challenges faculty face regarding freedom of expression and involvement in decision-making at the university level, which has implications for the evolution of programs, including those like the hope initiative. organizing the review thematically around “impact of remote learning,” “studies on the hope program,” and “critical analysis” would improve coherence. updating the literature review with recent studies like chen et al. (2023) exploring technology-supported physical education during covid-19, and studies addressing remote learning experiences and outcomes specifically within the hope program context, would strengthen the review’s relevance and impact. materials and methods study design and locale this research adopts a descriptive survey method to assess the impact of remote learning on learning achievements within the health optimizing physical education (hope) program. the study focuses on students’ competencies and attainment of learning objectives, particularly in the context of remote learning environments. using the context-input-process-product (cipp) model to evaluate the program’s effectiveness, focusing on the “product” aspect, the study systematically examines various aspects of the hope curriculum implementation. the research is conducted in mabalacat city, pampanga, with a specific emphasis on evaluating the hope program’s current status and effectiveness under remote learning conditions. study participants the study includes physical education coordinators and teachers from pre-selected public and private schools in mabalacat city, pampanga. these participants provide valuable insights into the implementation of the hope curriculum and related challenges in the pa ge 42 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 40-52, 2024 context of remote learning. a total of 12 respondents, comprising one physical education coordinator and one physical education teacher from each participating school, are included in the study. the inclusion criteria for respondents specify individuals currently employed in pre-selected schools in mabalacat, actively involved in teaching grade 11 or 12 students in the hope curriculum, with relevant formal teaching experience, and willing to participate in the study. research instruments the study utilizes adapted survey questionnaires to collect data relevant to the research objectives. the questionnaire assesses various aspects of the hope curriculum, including learning competencies, challenges encountered in implementation, and formative assessment strategies. questionnaire items are adapted from previous studies and modified based on the cipp model to ensure alignment with the study’s focus. the questionnaire undergoes a validation process for content validity by expert panels and statisticians to ensure its appropriateness and adequacy. statistical analysis of data statistical tools are employed to analyze the collected data, including students’ learning competencies, percentages, weighted means, and medians. frequency analysis is used to identify patterns such as the allotted time for teaching physical education and the frequency of teaching hope per week. the computed weighted mean provides a comprehensive interpretation of respondents’ perceptions and assessments of the hope program under remote learning conditions, facilitating a deeper understanding of the study findings. results and discussion product evaluation in this study pertains to the most essential learning competencies learned by grades 11 and 12 students in terms of their average final grade in the subject after completing their hope curriculum course. table 1 presents the learning competencies of hope curriculum met by grade 11 students during the 1st and 2nd quarter based on the assessment of twelve qualified physical education teachers from different public and private schools in mabalacat city, pampanga. among the seventeen learning competencies set by the department of education for the 1st and 2nd quarter of grade 11 hope curriculum, item 1 “distinguishing aerobic from muscle-and bone strengthening activities” item 3 “relating health behaviors (eating habits, sleep and stress management) to health risks factors and physical activity assessment performance”, item 5 “recognizing the role of physical activity assessments in managing one’s stress.”, item 6 “self-assessing healthrelated fitness (hrf), status, barriers to physical activity assessment participation and one’s diet.”, item 7 “setting frequency intensity time type (fitt) goals based on training principles to achieve and/or maintain healthrelated fitness (hrf).’ and item 8 “engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activities for at least 60 minutes most days of the week in a variety of settings inand out-of school” got the highest median of 5 and interpreted as “fully met”. this implied that 76% to 100% of the students met these top six learning competencies. results revealed that the most learned competencies of grade 11 students during the 1st quarter were distinguishing aerobic from muscle-and bone strengthening activities. students were also able to explain how to optimize the energy systems for safe and improved performance while observing personal safety protocol to avoid dehydration, overexertion, hypoand hyperthermia during participation. this implied that students realize one’s potential for health-and fitness related career opportunities. results of the present study is contrary to the study conducted by mor (2021) wherein the least learning competencies were assessing physical activity, exercise and eating habits, determining risk factors related to lifestyle diseases and students were not able to apply correct techniques to minimize risk or injuries. moreover, students did not have a sense of purpose and belongingness when participating in physical activityrelated community services and programs. table 2 presents the learning competencies of hope table 1: grade 11 learning competencies (1st and 2nd quarter) grade 11 learning competencies (1st and 2nd quarter) 5 4 3 2 1 median verbal interpretation(fully met) (mostly met) (substantially met) (partially met) (not met) 1. distinguishes aerobic from muscle-and bone strengthening activities. 8 (66.67%) 4 (33.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 2. explains how to optimize the energy systems for safe and improved performance. 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met pa ge 43 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 40-52, 2024 3. relates health behaviors (eating habits, sleep and stress management) to health risks factors and physical activity assessment performance. 7 (58.33%) 5 (41.67%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 4. differentiates types of eating (fueling for performance, emotional eating, social eating, eating while watching tv or sports events) 5 (41.67%) 6 (50.00%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4 mostly met 5. recognizes the role of physical activity assessments in managing one’s stress. 8 (66.67%) 4 (33.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 6. self-assesses health-related fitness (hrf), status, barriers to physical activity assessment participation and one’s diet. 8 (66.67%) 4 (33.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 7. sets frequency intensity time type (fitt) goals based on training principles to achieve and/or maintain health-related fitness (hrf). 8 (66.67%) 4 (33.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 8. engages in moderate to vigorous physical activities (mvpas) for at least 60 minutes most days of the week in a variety of settings in and out-of school. 7 (58.33%) 4 (33.33%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 9. analyzes physiological indicators such as heart rate, rate of perceived exertion and pacing associated with mvpas to monitor and/or adjust participation or effort. 5 (41.67%) 7 (58.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4 mostly met 10. observes personal safety protocol to avoid dehydration, overexertion, hypoand hyperthermia during mvpa participation. 6 (50.00%) 6 (50.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 11. identifies school and community resources in case of an injury or emergency 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met pa ge 44 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 40-52, 2024 12. demonstrates proper etiquette and safety in the use of facilities and equipment. 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 13. participates in an organized event that addresses health/fitness issues and concerns. 4 (33.33%) 7 (58.33%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4 mostly met 14. recognizes the value of optimizing one’s health through participation in physical activity assessments. 6 (50.00%) 6 (50.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 15. displays initiative, responsibility and leadership in fitness activities. 4 (33.33%) 6 (50.00%) 2 (16.67%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4 mostly met 16. realizes one’s potential for health-and fitness related career opportunities. 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 3 (25.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 17. organizes fitness event for a target health issue or concern. 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met curriculum met by grade 11 students during the 3rd and 4th quarter based on the assessment of twelve qualified physical education teachers from different public and private schools in mabalacat city, pampanga. among the seventeen learning competencies set by the department of education for the 3rd and 4th quarter of grade 11 hope curriculum, item 1 “discussing the nature of the different sports activities’, item 3 “illustrating the relationship of health behaviors (eating habits, sleep and stress management) to health risks factors and physical activity assessment performance” , item 5 “describing the role of physical activity assessments in managing one’s stress.”, item 6 “selfassessing health-related fitness (hrf) status, barriers to physical activity assessment participation and one’s diet, item 7 “setting fitt goals based on training principles to achieve and/or maintain hrf.” and item 8 “engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activities (mvpas) for at least 60 minutes most days of the week in a variety of settings inand out-of school. these six key learning competencies were considered to be almost fully met by grade 11 students during the 3rd and 4th quarter of their hope curriculum based on teachers’ evaluation. results revealed that the most learned competencies of grade 11 students during the 3rd and last quarter of hope curriculum were nature of different sports activities. learners were able to illustrate the relationship of health behaviors to health risks factors and physical activity assessment for them to identify the important role of physical activity assessments in managing one’s stress. this implied that the value of optimizing one’s health through participation in physical activity assessment were properly incorporated in the hope curriculum. the results of this study support the premise that online pe instruction has been a viable option for teachers in pampanga. according to williams (2013), the twenty-first century has brought changes in learning, including more online educational alternatives for students in high schools. while remote learning has been around for a century, the innovative ways in which students may pick and finish virtual courses in practically every secondary curriculum area over the internet are growing. his research aimed to characterize online secondary physical education training through the perspective of instructors. the data analysis revealed that online pe teachers followed similar paths to the online environment, provided personalized learning to their students, offered students choices in the online pe classes, fostered student success in the online pe classes, and each tacitly ascribed to constructivist educational theories and procedures as an online pe teacher. table 3 presents the learning competencies of hope pa ge 45 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 40-52, 2024 table 2: grade 11 learning competencies (3rd and 4th quarter) grade 11 learning competencies (3rd and 4th quarter) 5 4 3 2 1 median verbal interpretation(fully met) (mostly met) (substantially met) (partially met) (not met) 1. discusses the nature of the different sports activities. 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 2. explains how to optimize the energy systems for safe and improved performance. 4 (33.33%) 7 (58.33%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 3. illustrates the relationship of health behaviors (eating habits, sleep and stress management) to health risks factors and physical activity assessment performance. 5 (41.67%) 7 (58.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 4. differentiates types of eating (fueling for performance, emotional eating, social eating, eating while watching tv or sports events). 5 (41.67%) 6 (50.00%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4 mostly met 5. describes the role of physical activity assessments in managing one’s stress. 7 (58.33%) 4 (33.33%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 6. self-assesses health-related fitness (hrf) status, barriers to physical activity assessment participation and one’s diet. 8 (66.67%) 4 (33.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 7. sets fitt goals based on training principles to achieve and/or maintain hrf. 8 (66.67%) 4 (33.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 8. engages in moderate to vigorous physical activities (mvpas) for at least 60 minutes most days of the week in a variety of settings in and out-of school. 7 (58.33%) 4 (33.33%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 9. analyzes physiological indicators such as heart rate, rate of perceived exertion and pacing associated with mvpas to monitor and/or adjust participation or effort. 5 (41.67%) 7 (58.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4 mostly met pa ge 46 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 40-52, 2024 10.observes personal safety protocol to avoid dehydration, overexertion, hypoand hyperthermia during mvpa participation. 6 (50.00%) 6 (50.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 11. identifies school and community resources in case of an injury or emergency. 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 12. demonstrates proper etiquette and safety in the use of facilities and equipment. 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 13. participates in an organized event that addresses health/sports issues and concerns. 4 (33.33%) 7 (58.33%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4 mostly met 14. explains the value of optimizing one’s health through participation in physical activity assessment. 6 (50.00%) 6 (50.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 15. displays initiative, responsibility and leadership in sports activities. 4 (33.33%) 6 (50.00%) 2 (16.67%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4 mostly met 16. recognizes one’s potential for health-and sports related career opportunities. 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 3 (25.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 17. organizes sports event for a target health issue or concern. 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met curriculum met by grade 12 students during the 1st and 2nd quarter based on the assessment of twelve qualified physical education teachers from different public and private schools in mabalacat city, pampanga. among the seventeen learning competencies set by the department of education for the 1st and 2nd quarter of grade 12 hope curriculum, nine (9) key areas got a median of 5 and these are the following learning competencies: item 1 “discussing the nature of the different dances.”, item 2 “explaining how to optimize the energy systems for safe and improved performance.”, item 3 “describing the connection of health behaviors (eating habits, sleep and stress management) to health risks factors and physical activity assessment performance.”, item 4 “differentiating types of eating (fueling for performance, emotional eating, social eating, eating while watching tv or dance events), item 5 “explaining the role of physical activity assessments in managing one’s stress.”, item 6 “self-assessing health-related fitness (hrf) status, barriers to physical activity assessment participation and one’s diet.”, item 7 “engaging in moderate to vigorous physical activities (mvpas) for at least 60 minutes most days of the week in a variety of settings inand out-of school.”, item 11 “demonstrating proper etiquette and safety in the use of facilities and equipment” and item 17 “discussing the nature of different recreational activities.” the study’s findings revealed that the most acquired competencies of grade 12 students throughout the first quarter of the school year was exploring the nature of dances and their classifications. grade 12 students excelled in understanding the significance of physical activity evaluations in stress management as well as the characteristics of various recreational activities. it meant that the k-12 curriculum, specifically the first and second quarter competencies, were inculcated to students in order for them to develop skills in gaining, reconstructing, and evaluating information, making sound decisions, and enhancing and advocating their own and others’ fitness and health. the information, understanding, and abilities support all students’ competence, confidence, pa ge 47 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 40-52, 2024 table 3: grade 12 learning competencies (1st and 2nd quarter) grade 12 learning competencies (1st and 2nd quarter) 5 4 3 2 1 median verbal interpretation(fully met) (mostly met) (substantially met) (partially met) (not met) 1. discusses the nature of the different dances. 9 (75.00%) 2 (16.67%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 2. explains how to optimize the energy systems for safe and improved performance. 7 (58.33%) 5 (41.67%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 3. describes the connection of health behaviors (eating habits, sleep and stress management) to health risks factors and physical activity assessment performance. 7 (58.33%) 5 (41.67%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 4. differentiates types of eating (fueling for performance, emotional eating, social eating, eating while watching tv or dance events). 7 (58.33%) 5 (41.67%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 5. explains the role of physical activity assessments in managing one’s stress. 9 (75.00%) 3 (25.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 6. self-assesses health-related fitness (hrf) status, barriers to physical activity assessment participation and one’s diet. 8 (66.67%) 4 (33.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 7. engages in moderate to vigorous physical activities (mvpas) for at least 60 minutes most days of the week in a variety of settings in and out-of school. 7 (58.33%) 5 (41.67%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met and dedication to living an active life for fitness and health. sports has long been known to improve physical condition and combat disease, and specialists always advise people to keep physically active. exercise is also important in maintaining mental health and reducing stress. according to research, it is particularly good in reducing tiredness, increasing alertness and attention, and improving general cognitive performance. this is especially beneficial when stress has sapped one’s energy or capacity to focus (anxiety and depression association of america, 2021). table 4 presents the learning competencies of hope pa ge 48 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 40-52, 2024 8. analyzes physiological indicators such as heart rate, rate of perceived exertion and pacing associated with mvpas to monitor and/or adjust participation or effort. 5 (41.67%) 7 (58.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4 mostly met 9. observes personal safety protocol to avoid dehydration, overexertion, hypo and hyperthermia during mvpa participation. 6 (50.00%) 6 (50.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 10. identifies school and community resources in case of an injury or emergency. 7 (58.33%) 5 (41.67%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 11. demonstrates proper etiquette and safety in the use of facilities and equipment. 7 (58.33%) 5 (41.67%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 12.participates in an organized event that addresses health/dance issues and concerns. 4 (33.33%) 7 (58.33%) 1 8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4 mostly met 13. explains the value of optimizing one’s health through participation in physical activity assessment. 6 (50.00%) 6 (50.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 14. displays initiative, responsibility and leadership in sports activities. 5 (41.67%) 6 (50.00%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4 mostly met 15. recognizes one’s potential for healthand dance related career opportunities. 6 (50.00%) 6 (50.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 16. organizes dance event for a target health issue or concern. 5 (41.67%) 6 (50.00%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4 mostly met 17. discusses the nature of different recreational activities. 8 (66.67%) 4 (33.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met curriculum met by grade 12 students during the 3rd and 4th quarter based on the assessment of twelve qualified physical education teachers from different public and private schools in mabalacat city, pampanga. among the sixteen learning competencies set by the department of education for the 3rd and 4th quarter of grade 12 hope curriculum, seven (7) key areas got a median of 5 and these are the following identified competencies met by grade 12 students: item 1 “explaining how to optimize the energy systems for safe and improved performance.”, item 3 “differentiating types of eating (fueling for performance, emotional eating, social eating, eating while watching tv or recreation events), item 4 “describing the role of physical activity pa ge 49 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 40-52, 2024 table 4: grade 12 learning competencies (3rd & 4th quarter) grade 12 learning competencies (3rd & 4th quarter) 5 4 3 2 1 median verbal interpretation(fully met) (mostly met) (substantially met) (partially met) (not met) 1. explains how to optimize the energy systems for safe and improved performance. 8 (66.67%) 4 (33.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 2. explains relationship of health behaviors (eating habits, sleep and stress management) to health risks factors and physical activity assessment performance. 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 3. differentiates types of eating (fueling for performance, emotional eating, social eating, eating while watching tv or recreation events). 7 (58.33%) 5 (41.67%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 4. describes the role of physical activity assessments in managing one’s stress. 9 (75.00%) 3 (25.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 5. self-assesses health-related fitness (hrf) status, barriers to physical activity assessment participation and one’s diet. 9 (75.00%) 3 (25.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 7. sets fitt goals based on training principles to achieve and/or maintain hrf. 9 (75.00%) 3 (25.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met assessments in managing one’s stress”, item 5 “selfassessing health-related fitness (hrf) status, barriers to physical activity assessment participation and one’s die.”, item 6 “setting fitt goals based on training principles to achieve and/or maintain hrf.”, item 9 “observing personal safety protocol to avoid dehydration, overexertion, hypoand hyperthermia during mvpa participation.” and item 13 “recognizing the value of optimizing one’s health through participation in physical activity assessments.” according to the study’s findings, the most learned competencies of grade 12 students throughout the third and fourth quarters of the school year was recognizing the significance of physical activity assessments in stress management. students also had success in prioritizing fitt goals based on training principles in order to attain and/or maintain health-related fitness because they learned how to self-assess status, obstacles to physical activity assessment participation, and one’s nutrition. the findings indicated that, most significantly, online physical education, which had previously been on the frontiers of the program’s perspective (daum & woods, 2015), is now a top most priority. the online learning platform has the potential to provide not just a potential solution to a problem in the context of covid-19, but also part of a rising presence in education, highlighted by the increasing feasibility of virtual substitutes to brick-and-mortar classrooms and in-person training. table 5 presents the average final grade of grades 11 and pa ge 50 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 40-52, 2024 8. engages in moderate to vigorous physical activities (mvpas) for at least 60 minutes most days of the week in a variety of settings inand out-of school. 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 9. analyzes physiological indicators such as heart rate, rate of perceived exertion and pacing associated with mvpas to monitor and/or adjust participation or effort. 6 (50.00%) 6 (50.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 10. observes personal safety protocol to avoid dehydration, overexertion, hypo and hyperthermia during mvpa participation. 7 (58.33%) 4 (33.33%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 11. identifies school and community resources in case of an injury or emergency. 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 12. demonstrates proper etiquette and safety in the use of facilities and equipment. 6 (50.00%) 5 (41.67%) 1 (8.33%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 13. participates in an organized event that addresses health/ recreation issues and concerns. 6 (50.00%) 3 (25.00%) 3 (25.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 14. recognizes the value of optimizing one’s health through participation in physical activity assessments. 7 (58.33%) 5 (41.67%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 5 fully met 15. displays initiative, responsibility and leadership in recreational activities. 6 (50.00%) 6 (50.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 16. recognizes one’s potential for healthand recreation-related career opportunities. 6 (50.00%) 6 (50.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4.5 fully met 17. organizes recreational event for a target health issue or concern. 5 (41.67%) 5 (41.67%) 2 (16.67%) 0 (0.00%) 0 (0.00%) 4 mostly met pa ge 51 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(1) 40-52, 2024 12 students in hope curriculum comprising of 339 learners from 6 different schools offering the program. based on the grade of the students at the end of the hope curriculum course, it is shown in the table that grade 11 students got an average final grade of 90.00 while grade 12 students got an average final grade of 91.57. results implied that students at this level (grades 11 and 12) exceed the core requirements in terms of knowledge, skills and understandings, and can transfer them automatically and flexibly through authentic performance tasks. table 5.:average final grade of grades 11 and 12 students in hope curriculum grade level school a school b school c school d school e school f average final grade verbal interpretation grade 11 91.34% 94.91% 94.00% 83.81% 88.10% 87.86% 90.00 advanced grade 12 92.21% 96.05% 96.50% 89.28% 87.64% 87.73% 91.57 advanced conclusion this study underscores the effectiveness of the health optimizing physical education (hope) program in equipping students with essential competencies and skills, even amidst the challenges of remote learning during the covid-19 pandemic. the results highlight students’ improved ability to distinguish between aerobic and muscle-strengthening activities, optimize energy systems for safe performance, and adhere to safety protocols during physical activity. students also demonstrated proficiency in managing stress through physical activity and regularly engaging in moderate to vigorous exercise. the high efficiency ratings and impressive final grades achieved by students reflect the success of the hope curriculum in meeting its objectives and preparing students for healthand fitness-related careers. this accomplishment can be attributed to the dedication and professionalism of teachers who effectively adapted their teaching approaches and resources to ensure continued student success despite the pandemic. moving forward, the insights gained from this study can inform future curriculum development and instructional strategies, ultimately enhancing the quality of physical education programs and promoting lifelong health and 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(2013). a case study of virtual physical education teachers’ experiences in and perspectives of online teaching. university of south florida scholar commons. pa ge 1 pa ge 60 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) assessment of married men involvement in family planning practices: a qualitative study of akure south local government area of ondo state, nigeria falokun rosemary ogundolapo1* volume 2 issue 2, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i2.3142 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: july 15, 2024 accepted: august 18, 2024 published: november 19, 2024 the non-accommodation of men in the family planning programs has been identified as one of the contributory factors for the low utilization of fp methods in this maledominated society like nigeria. male involvement can lead to uptake in acceptance and prevalence rate of family planning methods and practices in nigeria.this paper aimed to study the involvement of married men in the family planning practices in akure south local government area of ondo state, southwestern nigeria. the primary data were collected from 250 married informants who satisfied the eligibility criteria and were assessed througha self-administered questionnaire and selected from the sample population across 11 political wards in the akure south local government area using a multi-stage random sampling technique. the secondary data were generated from government publications, journals, newspapers, and relevant internet materials. the presentation and analyses of data were done using descriptive statistics (frequency table, percentage and numbers). the study’s findings revealed that married men’s knowledge about family planning practices is high while exhibiting low involvement in fp and low utilization of the fp methods. however, the number of children, socio-cultural beliefs, financial status, education and religion are discovered to be among conditional factors that influence contraceptive use among married partners. the study therefore recommended increased health promotion and education of family planningprogrammes among the residents and involvement of men as a target in all fp programmes and introduction of family planning services in national health insurance scheme in order to reduce associated misconceptions about contraceptives methods and increase the usage. keywords acceptability theory, data, family planning, contraceptives, misconceptions introduction according tothe world health organisation (who), 2022 is defined as a conscious effort by a couple to limit or space the number of children they want to have through the use of contraceptive methods. family planning (fp) programmes are centered primarily on women, however, with a focus on gender equity for optimal health, there is a shift to engage men in supporting and using fp services (joshi,2015) opined that men, as the decision-makers in most african families, have an important role to play towards the utilization of family planning methods, which is an efficacious interventions recommended and approved by the world health organization (who) as well as ministry of health (moh) in most countries. according to the same body, the benefits of family planning include reduced maternal and infant mortality, sustainable development through population control, and enhanced women’s participation in the workforce. the 2020 nigerian demographic and health survey (ndhs) reported that in nigeria, almost two-thirds (65%) of the men disapproved of attending family planning programmeswith their spouses, while only 26 percent of them had ever done so. poor communication between men and their female partners was associated with poor male involvement. developing countries make up about 85% of the global population and account for 99% of all maternal mortality cases. according to the 2018 national demographic and health survey (ndhs), the maternal mortality ratio stands at 512 deaths/ 100,000 level of births and nigeria accounted for approximately one fifth of maternal deaths globally. the same body equal affirmed that, the lifetime risk of maternal death in nigeria is 0.029 (1 in 34 compared to 1 in 4900 in most developed countries of the world). it can therefore be inferred from the above assertion that low level of male involvement in reproductive health practices is one of the drivers of high maternal morbidity and mortality. this has also reduced the impact of family planning interventions and intervenes with unregulated fertility that hinders economic development and created a political imbalance in a country. globally, there is a growing risk in the recognition of the benefits of involving men in family planning services. it is known from research that gender dominance, particularly men’s disapproval of family planning has an impact on the subdued prevalence of contraceptive use in sub-saharan africa. according to findingsof a study conducted in bandladesh 40% male involvement rate was reported, and a similar study carried out in western nigeria documented 39.6%. this shows that male involvement remains low despite ongoing efforts. no doubt, the effect of male dominance on the decision-making process heightens the poor indices of reproductive health, as documented in a study conducted in nigeria where 62% of women had 1 nigeria * corresponding author’s e-mail: foludolapo@yahoo.com pa ge 61 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 60-67, 2024 their husbands as their decision-makers and only 6% of currently married women at the time of the survey made decisions for themselves. aransola, akinyemi and fatusi (2014), noted in their study that male involvement in sexual and reproductive health is an integrated approach engaging men as clients, partners and agents of positive change in reproductive health issues. they therefore posited access to media; television and radio, spouse employment status, and average monthly income have all been identified as positive correlates of male involvement in family planning programmes. statement of problem the 2018 nigerian demographic and health survey found that only 10% of married women of reproductive age use contraceptives. this is lower than the current sub-saharan africa average of 17%. the majority of married woman in nigeria are not currently using contraceptive and have no intention of doing so in the near future. in addition, spousal disagreement can serve as deterrent because women might fear initiating a difficultconversation about family planning. also, in nigeria the use of any method of family planning is usually initiated by their husbands. men have rarely been involved in either receiving or providing information on sexuality, reproductive health or birth spacing. women are not considered decision makers, but implementers of what had been decided by men, without questioning men’s decisions. many studies have established high level of awareness on contraceptive use, but very low level of use in nigeria due to obstacles such as: myths and misinformation or rumours, fear of complications, lack of understanding of the methods and fear of opposition from the husband. the above scenario is also observed among men in ondo state nigeria, particularly in akure south local government area of the state where issue of male dominance is pronounced in the use of family planning methods, due to cultural practices that are mostly in men’s favor. it is the light of the above, that the study aims at assessing the level of involvement of men in family planning activities in akure south local government area of ondo state using a quantitative research methodology. research questions 1. what is the most utilized source of information about family planning in akure-south local government area of ondo state? 2. what is the level of knowledge about family planning among married men in akure south local government area of ondo state? 3. what is the level of involvement ofmarried men in family planning in akure south local government area of ondo state? 4. what are the contributory factors that influence involvement of married men in family planning practices in akure south local government area? the general objective of this study is to assess the level of involvement of men in family planning in akure south local government area of ondo state specific objectives the specific objectives of the study are: 1. to determine the most utilized source of information about family planning among married men in akure south local government area of ondo state. 2. to ascertain the level of knowledge about family planning among married men in akure south local government area of ondo state 3. to determine the level of involvement of married men in family planning in akure south local government area of ondo state 4. to determine the contributory factors that influence the involvement of married men in family planning in akure south local government area of ondo state. the scope of the study is delimited to men residing in akure south local government area of ondo state. significance of the study this study will contribute immensely to the understanding of men involvement in family planning practice as it has taken into account the geographical, socio-economic and cultural factors, particularly at community levelthat are responsible for men attitudes toward family planning. therefore, it will serve as an input in the planning of men reproductive health improvement strategy at both local and national level. literature review involvement of men in family planning according to the united nations population and family planning agency (unpfpa), family planning involves the use of information, means and methods that will allow people to decide on the time and number of children to have. the issue of unwanted pregnancy in the rising global population is of concern. the world has hypothesized that the estimated global population would be surpassed due to this issue, showing the dire need for an intervention in form of family planning and contraceptive as the implementation of family planning will achieve a significant decrease in the projected population size. it needs to be actively practiced to reduce the adverse effects of overpopulation (amuzie, nwamoh, ukegbu, okedoalex, umeokonkwo, azu, kalu, izuka, and odini (2022). the benefits of family planning are numerous. not only will it reduce infant mortality and morbidity, it will also enhance child growth and development. greater effects can be seen on the parents, where their pregnancy risks and intervals could be lowered and regulated. it also enables the achievement of a desired family size and helps parents make informed choices. social health problems such as hiv/aids and teenage pregnancies could be better controlled. (olubodun, balogun, and ogunsulu, 2020) pa ge 62 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 60-67, 2024 according to ozumba (2011) family planning is a family matter. its initiatives are usually concentrated on women because traditionally, fathers made little or no efforts in child raising in africa. women are usually the ones on fertility and contraception is also concentrated on women possibly due to the variety of female contraceptive methods as opposed to those of the males. in reproductive and health matters men’s effort in family planning remained invisible but with evolving dynamics over the years, fathers’ involvement in family planning has now become crucial. many factors of course affect men’s participation in family planning and affect their attitudes to embrace fp practices. men’s support or opposition to their partner’s practice of family planning has a strong impact on contraceptive use in many parts of the world, including africa. within marriage in africa, men typically have more say than women in the decision to use contraceptive and in the number of children that the couple will have. spouse communication is a position associated with contraceptive use. dhc data from seven african countries (botswana, burundi, ghana, nigeria, senegal, sudan and togo) show that the percentage of women using modern contraceptives is consistently higher in the group that had discussed fp with their husbands in the year before the interview than in the group that not (jhu/ pin 2004) because of lack of communication, many women do not know what their husbands think about fp. many women think that their husband disapprove of fp, when in fact the husband approves. in west africa about three quarters of the men and women had not discussed family planning with their spouse in the year preceding the survey, except in ghana and cameroon. men’s lack of access to services has been a barrier to family planning use. this is because men cannot share responsibility for reproductive health and family planning if services and information do not reach them. fp clinics cater for women, so men are uncomfortable about going to these clinics. men must be reached in other ways. married men are concerned that encouraging their wives to utilize family planning services may lead them to become promiscuous thereby becoming unfaithful. this unsupportive role of the husbands stemmed from the stigmatizing belief that contraception is most often used by female commercial sex workers or women with intentions to avoid pregnancy that might result from their extramarital relationships. the men’s anxiety from the fear of their spousal infidelity is a strong barrier in men’s involvement in supporting female’s utilization of reproductive health service. some side effects observed as a result of contraceptive use include reduction in sexual pleasure, increasing women’s risks of infertility and illness, irregular and prolonged bleeding, vaginal dryness, reduced sexual desire, infertility, and illness. all these perceived side effects discourage or frustrate men to support their partners use of contraceptive method. theoretical framework the health belief model according to rosenstock and becker (1994) health belief model is a social psychological health behavior change model developed to explain and predict health-related behaviours, particularly with regard to the utilization of health services. this implies that individual belief about the efficacy of an intervention will determine the acceptability of the intervention or otherwise. therefore, the relevance of this theory to this work rest on the fact that men adoption of family planning will depend largely on their belief and perception of the efficacy of various family planning methods and the benefits they will derive from using them. chapter three methodology introduction this chapter presents the study settingresearch design, population of the study, sample and sampling technique, research instrument, administration of instrument and method of data analysis. study setting the study setting took place in akure south local government area of ondo state. southwestern, nigeria. akure south local government are consists of 11 political wards consisting about 40 selected communities. more than 30% of the population live in rural settings and the residents consists of civil servants, petty traders, artisans, and farmers. christianity is the major religion followed by islam and traditional religion. the local government headquarters, akure has the presence of government offices, educational institutions, health facilities, traditional and modern elements. research design the research design to be adopted for the study is descriptive research design. this method allow for collection of data in quantitative manner which guarantee that all participants have equal choice of being selected. population of the study the study population comprises of 250 married men residing in akure south local government area of ondo state. they are between 20-59 years old. sample size determination to determine the sample size of this study, leiz fisher’s formular was adopted. below is the calculation n= z2pq/d2 z= standardized normal 1.96 p= prevalence of 0.20 derived from the previous study q= (1-p) d= is the level of precision n= 1.962 x 0.20 x 0.7931/0.052 = 252.1 thus, 252 respondents were considered as the sample size. pa ge 63 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 60-67, 2024 administration of questionnaire questionnaire were administered by the researcher to 252 informants. only two questionnaire were not properly filled. this did not have any negative effects on the findings of the study. sampling technique a multistage sampling technique was adopted for the selection of participants for the study. this type of sampling technique requires the research to choose his/her sample in stages until the required sample size is obtained. in using multistage sampling techniqueeleven(11) political wards in akure south local government were first identified. they are: aponmu, gbogi/isikan i, gbogi/ isikanii, ijomu/ obanla, ilisa, odopetu, oda, oke-aro, iro 1, oshodi/isolo, owode/imuagun. stage 1 this stage involved using of stratified sampling technique to stratify the eleven (11) wards in the local government are to 9 urban and 2 rural wards stage 2 here, two(2), urban wards and 2 rural wards sere selected by simple random sampling (balloting). stage 3 communities in the 4 selected wards were listed out and two (2) communities each will be selected randomly through balloting. thus, 8 communities will be selected in all. stage 4 at least one respondent willbe chosen from every household until the required respondents were gotten. the selected participants were assessed through a structured questionnaire. data presentation and data analysis the data generated were analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequency table, percentage, and numbers. the analyses consists of socio-demographic profile of the respondents and the respondents opinions on research questions pertaining to the study. table 1: socio-demographic profile of the respondents variable frequency percentage (%) gender male 250 100 total 250 100 age 0-39 76 30.4 0-49 112 44.8 0-59 62 24.8 total 250 100 education primary school 28 11.2 secondary school 79 31.6 higher institutions 124 49.6 others 19 7.6 total 250 100 years of marriage <2 years 33 13.2 2-5 years 74 29.6 >5 years 143 57.2 total 250 100 occupation employed 184 73.6 unemployed 66 26.4 total 250 100 religion christianity 129 51.6 islam 58 23.2 traditional 43 17.2 others 20 8 pa ge 64 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 60-67, 2024 the table above presents the socio-graphics characteristics of the respondents. the analysis of the findings revealed that all the respondents are male and married. out of 250 respondents , 76 of them representing 30.4% are within the age bracket of 30-39 year, 112 respondents representing 44.8% fall within 40-49 years while 62 of them representing 24.87% are 50-59 years. also, 28 of the respondents representing 11.2% attended primary school, 79(31.6%) respondents attended secondary schools, 124 respondents representing 49.6% attended higher institutions while 19 of them representing 7.6% attend other schools. similarly, 33 of them representing 13.2% have spent less than 2 years in their marriage, 74 respondents representing 29.6% have spent between 2 to 5 years in their marriage, while 143 of them(57.2%) have spent more than 5 years in their marriage. in the similar vein, 184 (73.6%) are employed while 66 (26.4%) are unemployed. on their religion, 129 (51.6%) are christians, 58 (23.2%) are moslems, 43(17.2%) are traditional worshippers while 20 (8%) engaged in other religious practices. analysis of the respondents view on the number of living children they have , showed that 12(4.8%) respondents have not had children, 23(9.2%) have 1, 77(30.8%) have 2 while 138 (55.2%) have 3 children and above. the results of these findings showed that majority o the respondents are within the age bracket of 40-49 years, attended high institutions; have spent more than 5 years in marital relationship and employed. also, majority of the respondents are christians and have at least 3 children research question 1 what is the most utilized information sources on family planning in akure south local government area? total 250 100 number of children 0 12 48 1 23 30.8 2 77 9.2 3 and above 138 55.2 total 250 100 source: field report 2023 table 2: respondents view on the most utilized source of information on family planning in akure local government area variable frequency percentage (%) mass media( radio, television, newspapers and internet) lecture 106 42.4 friends 50 20 books 22 8.8 health facilities 72 28.8 total 250 100 source: field report 2023 the table above presented the respondents in the most utilised source of information on family planning in akure south local government area.the analysis of the findings showed that out of 250 respondents, 106 (42.4%) chose mass media as the most utilized source of information on fp, 50(20%) chose friends, 22(8.8%) chose books while 72(28.8%) chose health workers. it can be inferred from the results that majority of the respondents opined that mass media ( radio, television, newspapers and internet) as the most utilised source of information on fp. research question 2 what is the level of knowledge about family planning methods among married men in akure south local government area? table 3: respondents view on the level of knowledge about family planning practices among married men in akure south local government area variable frequency percentage(%) reasons for family planning limiting family size 95 38 prevent unwanted pregnancies 72 28.8 spacing births 63 25.2 pa ge 65 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 60-67, 2024 the table above presented the respondents view on the level of knowledge about fp among married men in akure south local government area. the analysis of the findings showed that out of 250 respondents, 95(38%) opined limiting family size was a major reason for fp, 72(28.8%) supported prevention of unwanted pregnancies, spacing of births was supported by 63(25.2%) respondents as the reason for fp while other reasons accounted for 8% from 20 respondents. from the results, it can be inferred that limiting family size is the reason for family planning among married men in akure south local government area. on the knowledge of family planning methods, out of 250 respondents, 106(42.2%) opined that the use of condoms is the most commonly used fp method, 52(20.8%) opined that oral contraceptives, 20(*%) chose withdrawal method while 32(12.8) choose use of injections. the results of the findings showed that majority of the respondents supported condoms as the most commonly used family planning methods. research question 3 what is the level of married men’s involvement in family planning in akure south local government area? others 20 8 total 250 100 family planning methods condom 106 42.4 oral contraceptive 52 20.8 iucd 13 5.2 vasectomy 10 4 withdrawal method 20 8 vaginal foamy tablets 17 6.8 injectables 32 12.8 total 250 100 source: field report 2023 table 4: respondents views on male involvement in family planning practices in akure south local government area variable frequency percentage(%) discussion of fp with partners 83 (33.2%) 167 (66.8%) provision of support for partner to use fp partner approves to use of family planning 101 (40.4%) 149 (59.6%) married men 103 (41.2%) 147 (58.8%) source: field report 2023 the table above presented the respondents view on married men involvement in family planning in akure south local government area. from the analysis of the findings, out of 250 respondent, 83(33.2%) respondents discussed family planning practices with their partners while 167(66.8%) did not. also, 101(40.4%) provided support for their partners to practice fp, while149(59.6%) respondent did not. 103(41.2%) monitored the use of fp by their partners while 145 (58.8%) did not. 83(33.2%) made use of fp , while 167(66.8%) did not. it can then be inferred from the results that majority of the respondents discussed, fp with their partners; provided support for their partners to practice fp and monitor the practice of fp by their partners. in the same vein, majority of the respondents utilised one form of family planning methods. research question 4 what are the contributory factors that influence the adoption of family planning practices among married in akure south local government area? table 5: respondents view on factors influencing the adoption of family planning practices among married men in akure south local government s/n variable frequency percentage(%) 1 education 41 16.4 2 occupation 29 11.6 3 religion 38 15.2 4 no of living children 62 24.8 pa ge 66 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 60-67, 2024 the table above presented the respondents view on factors influencing the adoption of family planning practices among married men in akure south local government area. analysis of the findings revealed that out of 250 respondents, 41(16.4%) opined that education is the major factor influencing the adoption of family planning, 29 (11.6%) agreed that occupation: 38 (15.2%) agreed on religion, 62 (24.8%) agreed on number of living children already had by married couples, 37 (14.8%) agreed on culture while 43 (17.3%) agreed on financial status of the married couples. the results showed that majority of the respondents supported the number of living children of the couples is a major contributory factor that influence the adoption of family planning practices among married men in akure south local government area. results and discussion the study investigated the involvement of married men in the family planning practices in akure local government area. findings from this quantitative study revealed that majority (42.4%) of the married men accessed information about family planning on mass media which included radio, television, newspaper and internet sources, it was also revealed that the married men in akure south has high level of knowledge about family planning practices as majority (38%) opined that the reason for family planning is to limit family size and majority(42.4%) agreed that the most commonly practiced family planning method is the use of condom among several variable listed as the family planning methods, this is probably because of the cheapest and availability of condom. similarly, the majority of the married men (66.8%) did not discuss fp with their partners, 59.6% did not provide support for their partners to use fp, 58.8% did not monitor the use of fp by their partners while 66.8% of the married men did not use family planning methods with their partners. also, the majority (24.8%) agreed that the number of living children already had by the couples is a major contributory factor that influences the adoption of fp practices by married men in akure south. this study, therefore, revealed that married men’s low involvement in family planning practices despite their high level of knowledge is not unconnected with their attitude and socio-cultural practices toward family planning methods. also, it was discovered that married men were not accommodated in fp sensitization programmes despite the fact that the environment is men-dominated and men are responsible for decision-taking as far as utilisation of any fp methods is concerned. the men involvement in the fp practices are noticeably tied to the number of children already possessed by the married partners. partners with more than two children are more likely to adopt and adapt fp services utilization to limit the family size or space the birth rate. men also with low financial status are not likely to be involved in fp because of the expensive nature of some fp methods in many of the public and private health facilities within the study area these findings are similar to the findings of a study conducted in rural ghana by kwawukumelaar and abdulai (2022), which posited that the success of fp was positively associated with men’s involvement in fp service utilization. further research though this study provides insight into the level of male involvement in fp practices in the akure south local government area, further research should expand the sample population to capture generalised opinions of the populace. also, for holistical investigation, future research should accommodate the roles of married women in effective utilization of family planning practices within the study area. recommendations the following recommendations were preferred to address the barriers of men’s participation in family planning which is crucial to utilization and promotion of family planning services and removal of misconception about fp thereby providing improved reproductive health services in the society. 1) governments at all levels should target men in the programmes more to increase acceptance and effective use of fp 2) the media should increase health promotion and education about family planning among the populace and 3) governments should incorporate family planning services into their health insurances scheme for easier access to the health services by the citizens. references abubakar, b. g., oche, o. m., isah, b. a., augo, j. t., raji, i. a., & ezenwoko, a. z. 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(2022). building partnership to increase access to contraceptive methods: the who family planning acceleration project. pa ge 1 pa ge 17 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) pride in sports: challenges and coping mechanisms experienced by gay and lesbian athletes jason v. moncal1, frederick angar1, jet c. longakit1*, johnlenon aliser1 volume 2 issue 2, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i2.3177 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: july 08, 2024 accepted: august 10, 2024 published: august 13, 2024 this study explores the multifaceted perspective of gay and lesbian athletes participating in sports, specifically focusing on their challenges and coping mechanisms. a total of six (6) gay and lesbian athletes engaged in various sports were subjected to semi-structured interviews to investigate the impact of their experiences during sports participation and the development of their coping mechanisms. despite growing endeavors towards acceptability and inclusion within the realm of sport participation, gay and lesbian athletes continue to face substantial challenges related to negative thoughts and feelings and social problems. findings suggest that gay and lesbian athletes conceal their sexual orientation, actively seek support from peers, family, and coaches, and develop a strong sense of identity to navigate these challenges effectively. moreover, it examines the coping mechanisms employed by gay and lesbian athletes to overcome these challenges, such as self-affirmation, establishing relationships, and coping strategies. through exploration of these challenges and coping mechanisms, this study aims to shed light on the complexities of gay and lesbian athletes’ experiences in sports and provide valuable insights for fostering greater enhanced inclusivity and support networks within sports communities. keywords gay and lesbians, discrimination, stereotyping, coping introduction the binary nature of gender, consisting of male and female, has emerged as a crucial factor in sports. sexual orientation and prejudice occur when individuals diverge from the widely accepted gender roles and methods of self-expression (denison et al., 2021; baiocco et al., 2018a; 2018b). lgbtq+ individuals face limited opportunities for competitive sports and engagement, while being open about their sexual orientation or gender identity. this local and global issue has recently caused much debate (marivoet, 2014; hargie et al., 2016; greenspan et al., 2019). a national survey found that 24.7% of lgbtq players avoided using school sports fields or facilities due to feeling unsafe, and 11.3% were discouraged by school staff or coaches from participating in sports because of their lgbtq identity (kosciw et al., 2018). the role of sports and physical activities in expressing gender has gained significance through participation in sports traditionally associated with masculinity, femininity, or gender neutrality, adopting specific approaches to playing sports, and either conforming to or challenging gendered expectations within the realm of sports. (braumüller et al., 2020; tanimoto & miwa, 2021). in competitive sports, athletes must “align themselves as female and male and join the corresponding team, “which most do unconsciously (martínková et al., 2021). transgender athletes are challenged by needing to align to the sex binary and follow sports regulations that typically require a match of biological sex and gender identification (jones et al., 2017; martínková et al., 2021). as a result, the term “homohysteria” is employed to conceal and protect one’s gender identity; it refers to an individual who experiences anxiety or fear about being seen by others as homosexual (anderson et al., 2016). as demonstrated in the study by hargie et al. (2016), persistent challenges such as homophobia, homohysteria, discrimination, abuse, and bullying remain prevalent in sports settings, with the ultimate goal of stigmatizing and silencing lgbtq athletes, parents, and coaches. large-scale studies in canada (morrison et al., 2014) and australia (symons et al., 2016) found that most lgbtq+ students (89-98.4%) experienced homophobic language in the context of school sports, with 47%-59% reporting that this behavior occurs with a high frequency. according to kosciw et al. (2018), lgbtq+ youth also identify sports facilities as school settings where they feel unsafe, and most trainers and pe teachers (92.7% of those surveyed) report they have heard homophobic use by students towards others. lgbtqia+ in sports participation people’s perception of gay and lesbian athletes has slowly changed as they came out, played for their country on a global stage, and achieved prominence in their chosen field (clark & kosciw, 2021). numerous studies have discovered that homophobic language and attitudes continue to fuel widespread stereotyping, discrimination, and ongoing exclusion in athletics despite the representation and visibility across various fields and platforms (marivoet, 2014; denison et al., 2020; torrance, 2022). despite experiencing feelings of shame, fear, discrimination and distressing experiences, lgbtq+ 1 msu-iligan institute of technology, college of education, department of physical education, iligan city, philippines * corresponding author’s e-mail: jet.longakit@g.msuiit.edu.ph pa ge 18 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 17-23, 2024 people have remarkable resilience and are anticipated to thrive despite challenging situations (baiocco et al., 2018a; denison et al., 2020). several studies have also discovered adverse consequences associated with participating in sports, such as social exclusion and perceptions of insecurity (cunningham & pickett, 2017; eime at al., 2013). these findings are relevant to lgbtq youth toxic school environments (kosciw et al., 2018). studies conducted with transgender adults have revealed that sports are not safe and inclusive environments (hargie et al., 2016; symons et al., 2016). the discrimination and gender-biased expectations prevalent in sports contribute to transgender adults developing unfavorable attitudes towards sports (hargie et al., 2016; devís-devís et al., 2018). consequently, this leads to decreased levels of engagement in sports. research undertaken in various sports settings has consistently shown that lgbtq+ individuals frequently face prejudice and exclusion in sports (symons et al., 2010; cunningham & pickett, 2017; baiocco et al., 2018a; 2018b; kosciw et al., 2018). a study by o’brien et al. (2013) reported that 82% of the people who took part had witnessed homophobic and transphobic words used in sports, and 90% thought that homophobia and transphobia were still a problem in sports. among transgender people, 46.2% said they had experienced direct prejudice over the past year. according to a study conducted in scotland, 80% of transgender individuals believe that homo/trans negativity significantly hinders sports involvement and that it is a prevalent issue within the sporting community (o’brien et al., 2013). moreover, there is empirical proof that the majority of transgender individuals have experienced discrimination against transgender people in the realm of sports (oakleaf & richmond, 2017; pérez-samaniego et al., 2019). discrimination against lgbtq+ youth who are afflicted with moderate-severe depression, engage in substance abuse, self-harming, or attempt suicide has been consistently identified by various researchers as a significant risk factor (russell & fish, 2016). lgbtqia+ groups are now actively participating in sports tournaments. despite their competence and excellence in sports, however, the visibility and representation of the community continue to be recipients of gender discrimination and abuse in the sporting environment (baiocco et al., 2018a; 2018b; symons et al., 2016). while numerous studies have pointed out the challenges lgbtq+ people encounter when trying to participate in sports (marivoet, 2014; symons et al., 2016; denison e. et al., 2020), very few have examined the coping ways in which lgbtqia+ people, particularly gays, and lesbians, can overcome these challenges. this study aims to explore the challenges and coping mechanisms experienced by gay and lesbian athletes in sports. methodology design this study employed a qualitative research method to examine the challenges of gay and lesbian athletes experienced and the coping ways they deal with them while playing sports. semi-structured questions were asked, which allowed the participants to share and reveal the challenges faced and coping mechanisms employed in sports participation. consequently, it helped the study to gather adequate information on how these challenges and coping mechanisms influenced the participants’ sports performance and involvement. an exploratorydescriptive approach was employed in this study to help understand the problem that needs to be discussed and illustrated. participants six (6) gay and lesbian athletes in iligan city, lanao del norte, philippines were chosen for this study based on the following criteria: they must (1) be an athlete with at least five years of experience competing in various tournaments and (2) be openly gay or lesbian, within the visibility management approach to carefully choose what to disclose and monitor how they show their sexuality in different settings (twist et al., 2017). the researcher collected data in person, using semi-structured interviews and non-participant observations. this study used purposive sampling based on the abovementioned criteria to select participants. procedures prior to data collection, a consent form was sought from the participants. before the interview, the researchers conducted a pilot test to see if the questionnaire was valid or had worked and if they were qualified to conduct the interview. the final steps included interviews and observations with the research subjects in person. following the visibility management approach is also part of the process for making sure that the participants are eligible. gay and lesbian athletes must be open about being gay or lesbian and have at least five years of experience participating in various tournaments. instructors clarified how to conduct the interview and store the data (by recording it on audio and video). on the other hand, there was only one interview session, which gave the researchers enough time to read and recheck each participant’s answer. if researchers find something confusing or inconsistent with the answers, they will be returned to the participants as soon as possible for clarification (members check). with the participants’ approval, the researchers moved on to the next step. obtained data from the interviews were analyzed and then coded. the interview data went through three steps before it was coded: it was transcribed, translated from cebuano to english, and checked to ensure the results were fair. data analysis descriptive exploratory research methods, such as interviews and direct observation, enable a thematic analysis to assess actions, concepts, and experiences throughout a given data set. this study included (1) pa ge 19 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 17-23, 2024 sorting and classifying participant information, including organizing observation field notes several times to immerse in data, and (2) examining and verifying interviewee answers to determine if the data provided were sufficient. third, generate initial codes (coding, tagging, or labeling the data); fourth, find main themes from the codes; and fifth, review and define themes. this study used legends to identify data and its location rapidly. after gathering participant responses, researchers (6) derive findings from the analysis. results and discussion the themes of this study were determined through data analysis of transcripts and participant responses that were organized in accordance with the research objectives. these themes were utilized to determine the primary challenges and opportunities experienced by gay and lesbian athletes. the six (6) athletes who participated in the study had the following experiences with sports and their daily lives. the following are summaries of the personal and sports backgrounds of the participants. each participant has fantastic stories and secretly yet freely shares close sporting experiences. each participant had competed in tournaments and leagues as athletes, which helped them grasp the phenomenon. table (1) shows participant demographic information. table 1: demographic information of participants name gender years of sports experience type of sports noe gay 12 years volleyball kriztian gay 10 years swimming josh gay 12 years soccer zerah lesbian 11 years basketball cristine lesbian 9 years volleyball angelique lesbian 10 years futsal table 2: summary of themes and sub-themes themes sub-themes categories challenges negative thoughts and feelings prejudice self-doubt social problems gender discrimination stereotyping coping mechanism self-affirmation improved self-esteem self-acceptance establishing relationships self-adjustment peer support coping strategy healthy detachment themes the themes of this study were found by examining the transcriptions, notes, and answers that the participants gave that were organized and in line with the research questions. the themes were used to figure out what the six (6) gay and lesbian athletes’ most significant challenges were and how they dealt with them. the data were used to develop themes and sub-themes, listed and summed up below in table 2. challenges experienced by gays and lesbians in sports participation based on the data findings, all six participants reported negative thoughts, feelings, and social problems while participating in sports. most of the participants had negative thoughts and feelings because of the adverse effects that prejudices against their identity and sexual orientation had on their skills. additionally, participants disclosed that they had to cope with negative emotions that were brought up by their self-identification. participants confirmed that gender discrimination was one of their continual challenges while trying to demonstrate their enthusiasm for sports. among the many challenges they had to deal with was inequality based on gender. the participants openly acknowledged that the persistent gender stereotypes forced them to suppress or even public attention, and they noted that participants had persistently maintained their outdated views on gender in general. the discussion and summary of this theme were designed and intended to answer research question 1: what challenges do gay and lesbian athletes encounter in sports? as mentioned above, the two biggest challenges that the participants had were negative thoughts and feelings pa ge 20 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 17-23, 2024 and social problems. moreover, it was found that people have prejudices towards the participants because of their gender and sexual orientation. as a result, they have had self-doubts as they tried to show their love for sports. participants’ coaches and opposing teams doubted their ability and skills, got paranoid, and fell off in training because of separation; the coach belittled them for how they identified. this made athletes feel low during tournaments, uncomfortable with their skin, and selfconscious, insecure, and suppressed. the participants also faced gender prejudice. despite the benefits of being on the team, players had to deal with limits and stereotypes while playing sports. gender discrimination, bullying, homophobic remarks from teammates, and skill criticism have happened to them. participants also described being challenged by people’s preconceptions and preconceived notions about gender roles and dealing with teammates’ negative attitudes are considered social problems in sports (hossain & ferreira, 2019). a study by weinhardt et al. (2021) showed that being outside the gender norm affects one’s self-concept and self-esteem, which are based on their beliefs of meeting those norms. numerous studies found that lgbtq+ people are still more likely to experience shame, fear, abuse, and bad or traumatic events (hossain & ferreira, 2019; denison et al., 2020). symons et al. (2010) found that lgbtq+ athletes experienced guilt and hurt due to traumatic events. as a result of societal expectations that people should conform to gender stereotypes, some athletes may feel pressured to hide their sexual identity (hossain & ferreira, 2019). some athletes may try to separate personal life from sporting life by avoiding conversation about their families, partners, and social activities, distracting them from training and the sports and lowering their performance (weinhardt et al., 2021). symons et al. (2010) emphasizes that lgbtq+ athletes experience homophobia in diverse forms across all levels of competition. sexual orientation or identitybased harassment includes verbal, physical, or emotional harassment, insults, offensive graffiti, humiliation, exclusion, threats, or refusal of care (elling-machartzki, 2015; symons et al., 2016; nye et al., 2019). symons et al. (2016) emphasize that sports discrimination, stigmatization, and harassment make queer athletes feel hopeless, alienated and apart from colleagues. various studies have found that societal stress and stigmatization caused lgbtq students to have low academic, professional, and social self-esteem in the classroom and across campus (weinhardt et al., 2021; kosciw et al., 2018; eime et al., 2013). lgbtq+ youth’s lack of self-confidence and identity security may cause psychological pain and disorder, as participants had to overcome while playing sports (weinhardt et al., 2021). participants who took part in this study mentioned that they were frequently confronted with prejudices and orientation-based negative views. russell and fish (2016) determined that the mental health and well-being of lgbtq individuals are profoundly affected by the longterm effects of dealing with prejudice and discrimination. coping mechanism employed by gay and lesbian athletes considering the numerous difficulties they faced, the participants had to come up with coping mechanisms to manage the stressful situations, which ultimately proved beneficial in navigating experiences as gay and lesbian athletes in sports. the discussion and summary of this theme are designed to answer research question 2: what are the coping mechanisms that gays and lesbians employ as an athletes? the highlighted coping mechanisms in the study are self-affirmation, establishing relationships, and coping strategies. these three sub-themes enabled the participants to enhance their self-confidence, cultivate self-acceptance, adapt to their circumstances and get acceptance from others, while also avoiding potentially unfavourable situations. the study data hypothesized that the individuals encountered diverse obstacles, encompassing personal, discriminating, and environmental factors. these issues have compelled the participants to exert more effort to cope with the intrinsic and extrinsic pressures that arise from deviating from gender norms. according to braumüller at al. (2020) individuals who self-identified as lgbt have encountered heightened levels of discrimination, stigmatization, and harassment in comparison to non-lgbt counterparts. various studies indicate that students exhibited diminished academic performance and professional and social self-esteem due to prejudice and stress in society (weinhardt et al., 2021; stallman, 2018). the absence of self-assurance and a sense of identity stability has resulted in psychological distress abnd maladjustment among lgbt youths, specifically gays and lesbians. the instances above illustrate internal and external stressors that place significant cognitive and behavioural demands on individuals. the coping theory of lazarus and folkman (1984) individuals must first assess a situation as potentially stressful before coping with it. individuals experience stress, typically classify the situation as a threat, a challenge, or a loss. the presence of social support networks, high self-esteem, and healthy detachment are beneficial for gay and lebian athletes in managing stress (stallman, 2020; kawamichi et al., 2015). a substantial body of research has identified two (2) primary functions of coping: emotion-focused coping, which involves regulating the distress or emotion associated with the stressful situation, and problemfocused coping, which involves directly altering the elements of the stressful situation to resolve the source of stress (lazarus & folkman, 1984; mara et al., 2020; stallman, 2020; biggs et al., 2019). the results indicated that the participants employed both coping mechanisms. gay and lesbian athletes regulate their emotions or distress due to prejudice, stereotypes, and homophobia they have faced. they are experiencing stressful situations, managing to bounce back from their experiences, and developing coping strategies to manage internal and external stressors while participating in sports. the healthy detachment was the best coping tool an individual could never lose since it made everything pa ge 21 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 17-23, 2024 easier to handle. detaching oneself from the emotion and refraining from engaging in the situation is an ideal amalgamation for eliminating feelings of humiliation and hurt. desjardins et al. (2019) discovered that detachment is a reaction to distress that leads to heightened levels of anxiety and depressive symptoms. negative mental and physical well-being is linked to social isolation and detachment (cornwell & waite, 2009; wilson et al., 2017; desjardins et al., 2019). research has shown that employing healthy coping mechanisms, such as social support, relaxation training, and coping self-talk, can alleviate psychological stress, state anxiety, and dysphoria and increase positive mood states, well-being, and productivity (broderick, 2005; jain et al., 2007; stallman et al., 2018). there was a noticeable increase in how lgtb, specifically gay and lesbian athletes, dealt with stress after stressful situation in sports. this implies that re-evaluating coping methods enabled individuals to utilize healthier coping strategies effectively. two studies of distress university students found that coping plan training improved their well-being and reduced their distress (stallman, 2020; biggs et al., 2019). conclusion this study illuminates the challenges experienced by gay and lesbian athletes of participation in sports and explores diverse coping mechanisms employed by navigating these challenges. this study utilized qualitative research design employing semi-structured interviews and thematic analysis, identifying sub-themes, including negative thoughts and feelings, and social problems, as significant barriers to their full participation in sports. thus, our findings highlight the importance of selfaffirmation, establishing relationships, and employing various coping mechanisms to promote inclusive environment for lgtb especially gay and lesbian athletes. one of the key findings of this study is gender discrimination, gender stereotypes, and negative attitudes from their teammates within the sports environment, which leads to adverse effects on psychological wellbeing, including their self-identity, success in sports, and self-perception and understanding of their own gender identities and expressions. despite these challenges, this study highlighted the coping mechanism employed by gay and lesbian athletes to navigate and alleviate the impact of prejudice and discrimination. however, it is essential to note the limitations of our study. firstly, our sample size was minimal and may not comprehensively depict the varied experiences of gay and lesbian athletes across various sports and cultural contexts. additionally, the study predominantly focused on the experiences of gay and lesbian athletes. future investigations should aim to include the perspectives of bisexual, transgender, and other gender and sexual minority athletes to offer a deeper understanding of lgbtq+ experiences in sports. notwithstanding these limitations, this research contributes to the growing body of literature regarding lgbtq+ inclusion in sports. it offers valuable insights that can be utilized by athletes, coaches, administrators, and policymakers seeking to establish more inclusive and supportive sports settings for all individuals, regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity. acknowledgment the researcher would like to thank all those who have contributed to the preparation of this article. references anderson, e., magrath, r., & bullingham, r. 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(2017). helpnegation. in s. t. furlong (ed.), springer ebooks (pp. 1-11). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-321325_140-2 pa ge 1 pa ge 19 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) level of professional awareness among health record officers in bayelsa state and their implications for patient care, health systems, and health policy ahoada esther erezina1, raimi aziba-anyam gift2, oluwaseun emmanuel odipe3, morufu olalekan raimi4* samuel terungwa abaya5, daniel josephine kakwi6 volume 1 issue 1, year 2023 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: april 17, 2023 accepted: may 10, 2023 published: may 18, 2023 as electronic health records (ehrs) become more commonplace, and are expected to play a key role in improving the quality of nigeria health care. thus, ehrs can improve quality of care delivery in numerous ways such as providing accurate and up-to-date patient information and medical knowledge, rapid retrieval of health information, ability to exchange health information to all authorized participants within or across organizations, automated clinical reminders, improved adherence to treatment guidelines, and accumulation of data for quality monitoring and improvement. based on regulatory and governmental recommendations, the ehr is being adapted in an increasing number of academic institutions (nduth), government hospitals (fmc) and private practice settings. it is incumbent upon him leadership to ensure students are skillful users of the technologies that will be in place as they care for patients. the study aimed to explore, identify and understand critical awareness of electronic health records management level to ensure confidentiality in public health care sector (fmc & nduth) in bayelsa state, nigeria. the cross-sectional descriptive design was used and a total of 159 health professionals who represented a variety of user groups across different specialties within the hospital completed the questionnaire. the collected data were analyzed. both descriptively and inferentially. frequency and percentages were used to analyse the data and the result presented in tables. data analysis was facilitated using the statistical package for social sciences (spss version 20.0). majority of the respondents (90.6%) were aware of the electronic health record management among health record officers. to ensure continuity of care, it is necessary to develop educational and manageable program to improve ehr awareness. the findings may inform other hospitals and healthcare systems on actions that can be taken prior to ehr implementation to reduce concerns for quality, confidentiality, safety of patient care and improve the chance of successful implementation. keywords professional awareness, health policy, electronic health record management, confidentiality, quality of care, patient care, niger delta introduction the rapid pace of scientific discovery and technological innovation over the last several decades are unprecedented and raises the prospect of achieving dramatic improvements in the nation’s health and well-being. yet stakeholders from across the healthcare system, from patients to practitioners to payers, are demanding fundamental improvements to a system that is seen as costly, fragmented, and ineffective (raimi and raimi, 2020; raimi et al., 2020; morufu et al., 2021a; raimi et al., 2021a, b; raimi et al., 2022). because of its emphasis on integrating the best available external evidence with clinical experience, electronic health records management provides a guiding framework for the development of systems and approaches necessary to deliver the promise of 21st century health care in which knowledge is both applied and generated as a natural outgrowth of the care process, to ensure delivery of the care most appropriate for each individual patient. in recent years, electronic health records (ehrs) have been implemented by an ever-increasing number of hospitals around the world. there have, for example, been initiatives, often driven by government regulations or financial stimulations, in the usa (abramson et al., 2011), the united kingdom (robertson et al., 2010) and denmark (rigsrevisionen, 2011). ehr implementation initiatives tend to be driven by the promise of enhanced integration and availability of patient data (hartswood et al., 2003), by the need to improve efficiency and cost-effectiveness (grimson et al., 2000), by a changing doctor-patient relationship toward one where care is shared by a team of health care professionals (grimson et al., 2000; gift et al., 2020), and/or by the need to deal with a more complex and rapidly changing environment (mantzana et al., 2007; morufu et al., 2021b). ehr systems have various forms, and the term can relate to a broad range of electronic information systems used in health care. ehr systems can be used in individual organizations, as interoperating 1 department of health information management, school of health, allied and environmental science, college of pure and applied sciences, kwara state university, malete, kwara state, nigeria 2 office of the vice chancellor, federal university otuoke, nigeria 3 department of environmental and occupational health sciences, school of public health, university of medical sciences, ondo state, nigeria 4 department of community medicine, environmental health unit, faculty of clinical sciences, niger delta university, wilberforce island, bayelsa state, nigeria 5 nigeria centre for disease control and prevention, yenagoa office. nigeria 6 department of community health, faculty of health sciences, plateau state university, bokkos, jos. nigeria * corresponding author’s e-mail: morufuolalekan.raimi@gmail.com https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs mailto:morufuolalekan.raimi@gmail.com pa ge 20 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 19-30, 2023 systems in affiliated health care units, on a regional level, or nationwide (abramson et al., 2011; robertson et al., 2010). health care units that use ehrs include hospitals, pharmacies, general practitioner surgeries, and other health care providers (boonstra et al., 2008). the implementation of hospital-wide ehr systems is a complex matter involving a range of organizational and technical factors including human skills, organizational structure, culture, technical infrastructure, financial resources, and coordination (jha et al., 2009; heeks, 2006). as grimson et al., (2000) argue, implementing information systems (is) in hospitals is more challenging than elsewhere because of the complexity of medical data, data entry problems, security and confidentiality concerns, and a general lack of awareness of the benefits of information technology (it). boonstra and govers (2009) provide three reasons why hospitals differ from many other industries, and these differences might also affect ehr implementations. the first reason is that hospitals have multiple objectives, such as curing and caring for patients, and educating new physicians and nurses. second, hospitals have complicated and highly varied structures and processes. third, hospitals have a varied workforce including medical professionals who possess high levels of expertise, power, and autonomy. these distinct characteristics justify this study that focuses on awareness of electronic health records management as a means of ensuring confidentiality in ehr implementation in hospitals. thus, this study sought to identify critical awareness level of electronic health records management in public health care sector (fmc & nduth) in bayelsa state, nigeria. methodology research design according to abdulraheem et al., (2018), funmilayo et al., (2019) and gift & obindah (2020) research design refers to how a piece of research is planned and carried out. the study adopted the descriptive survey research design to meet its purpose. according to abdulraheem et al., (2018), funmilayo et al., (2019) and gift & obindah (2020), surveys describe current conditions or attitudes as well as explain the reason for certain existing situations. the survey method has the advantage of effectiveness in obtaining information about personal perceptions, beliefs, feelings, motivations, anticipations and future plans as well as past behaviours. abdulraheem et al., (2018), funmilayo et al., (2019) and gift & obindah (2020), put it succinctly when they stated that the survey interprets, synthesizes and integrates useful data for sound conclusions. the survey research design study was appropriate because it examined the relationship that existed between awareness and practice of electronic health records management in bayelsa state teaching hospital. the survey design provided a quantitative or numeric description of patterns or trends, attitudes, or opinions of the administrative staff ’s (gift & obindah, 2020). this allowed for generalization from the sample about the population so that inferences could be made about the practice of electronic health records management as a means of ensuring confidentiality in teaching hospitals in bayelsa state. the survey design was chosen because it was easy to produce economically and made data collection easy (gift & obindah, 2020). the study design was cross-sectional using structured questionnaire as the tool for collection of primary data, hence the quantitative nature of the study. research population population refers to the entire subjects that the researcher will get information from. my population is a finite population which are, the number of nurses, radiologist (x-ray, scan), doctors, paramedics, pharmacists, it specialist, information technology personnel, management (administrative professionals), and others staff working in teaching hospitals in bayelsa state (gift & obindah, 2020). research population is generally a large collection of individuals or objects that is the main focus of a scientific query. it is for the benefit of the population that researches are done. amadi (2014); table 1: population distribution s/n professionals federal medical center yenagoa niger delta university teaching hospital (nduth) okolobiri 1 nurse 35 20 2 radiologist (x-ray, scan) 13 6 3 doctors 20 15 4 paramedics 4 2 5 pharmacists 16 12 6 it specialist 6 5 7 information technology personnel 18 10 8 management (administrative professionals) 40 28 9 others 10 4 total 162 102 grand total 264 source: hospital management (2019) https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 21 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 19-30, 2023 abdulraheem et al., (2018), funmilayo et al., (2019) says population of study signifies the entire class of people, object, events or elements to which generalizations are to be inferred. a research population is also known as a well-defined collection of individuals that have similar characteristics. thus, the population of this study comprised of two hundred and sixty-four (264) consisting of nurse, radiologist (x-ray, scan), doctors, paramedics, pharmacists, it specialist, information technology personnel’s, management (administrative professionals) and any other cadre in federal medical centre (fmc) and niger delta university teaching hospital (nduth) in two (2) different teaching hospitals in bayelsa state, namely. location yenagoa became a state capital when bayelsa state was created in 1996, yenagoa is geographically located between latitude 4o 47‟ 15‟ and 5o 11‟ 55” nothings and long. 6o 07‟ 35” and 6o 24‟ 00” eastings (figure 1). the lga has an area of 706 km² and a population of 353,344 comprising of 187,791 male and 165,553 females with an annual exponential growth rate of 2.9 as at the 2006 national census (federal republic of nigeria gazzete, 2007). yenagoa local government area (lga) is bounded by mbiama communities of rivers state on the north and east, kolokuma/opokuma lga on the north west, ogbia lga on the south and sourthern ijaw on the west, ogbia lga on the south east and sourthern ijaw on the south west (ndiwari, 2014; sridhar et al.2011; abdulraheem et al., 2018, funmilayo et al., 2019 and gift & obindah, 2020). yenagoa local government area is located on the banks of ekole creek the latter being one of the major river courses making up the niger delta river (koinyan, et al., 2013), with only one political/administrative ward namely: epie-atisa (sridhar et al 2011; abdulraheem et al., 2018, funmilayo et al., 2019 and gift & obindah, 2020). there are 21 communities within the study area namely; igbogene, yenegwe, akenfa, edepie, agudama, akenpai, etegwe, okutukutu, opolo, biogbolo, yenizue-gene, kpansia, yenizue-epie, okaka, azikoro, ekeki, amarata, onopa, ovom, swali, yenagoa. yenagoa local government area is the traditional home of the ijaw people, nigeria’s fourth largest ethnic group after the hausa, yoruba and igbo. the ijaws form the figure 1: map of bayelsa state showing the study area majority of the town. english is the official language, but epie/atissa language, one of the ijaw languages, is the major local language spoken in yenagoa. other ijaw dialects include tamu, mein, jobu, oyariri, and tarakiri. there are other pockets of ethnic groups such as urhobo and isoko. there are local dialects in some places. other notable languages in the lga are epie, atisa, nembe and ogbia. christianity and traditional religion are the two main religions in the state. the culture of the people is expressed in their unique dresses, festivals, dietary habits, arts and crafts, folklore and dancing. these distinguish the people from other ethnic groups. the major crafts include canoe building fish net and fish traps making, pottery, basket and mat making. population of the study the population of the study comprised of 264 health professionals in federal medical centre, yenagoa and niger delta university teaching hospital (nduth), okolobiri, bayelsa state. the population consists of 162 health professionals in federal medical centre, yenagoa and 102 health professionals in niger delta university teaching hospital (nduth), okolobiri, bayelsa state. sample size determination the sample size of this study was determined using taro yamane formula given as: https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 22 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 19-30, 2023 hence, sample size of 159 health professionals was estimated. the optimal allocation formula was used to determine the sample sizes from the two hospitals considered. the sample size was calculated as follows: health professionals in federal medical centre, yenagoa= (162/264)* 159= 98 health professionals in niger delta university teaching hospital (nduth)= (102/264)* 159= 61 instrumentation and measurement instrumentation is the method used to administer instrument to the respondents. the instrumentation for this study was questionnaire designed after an extensive literature review. the researcher took cognisance of the research question as well as the hypotheses in a manner that enables the researcher gather as much information as possible from the respondents. structurally, the questionnaire was divided into five sections a, b, c, d and e. the section a, was the demographic data which consist of personal information or attributes of the respondent such as sex, age, etc, and the section b, c, d and e was the core questions that strictly relate to the purpose of the study, by putting your conceptual framework into consideration. validity of instrument to determine the validity of the research instrument, the original copy of the research instrument (questionnaire) was validated by the research supervisor for review whether they are suitable for the purpose of the study, research questions, hypotheses and the language that is used to develop the item. the supervisor make correction where necessary and modify the instrument before it was administered to the selected respondents. administration of instrument as earlier stated a questionnaire was administered by the researcher to the respondents directly or was given to the administrative heads or managers of the various hospitals which in turn will hand over the instrument (questionnaire) to the office managers working in teaching hospitals such as nurse, radiologist (x-ray, scan), doctors, paramedics, pharmacists, it specialist, information technology personnel’s, management (administrative professionals) and any other cadre in federal medical centre (fmc) and niger delta university teaching hospital (nduth), etc. for coordination purpose. the scaling items was 4point likert scale such as; strongly agree, agree, disagree and strongly disagree. this scaling method was used to measure the relationship between awareness and practise of electronic health records management as a means of ensuring confidentiality. data analysis technique data were analysed both descriptively and inferentially. frequency and percentages were used to analysed the data and the result presented in tables. also, the results were also presented pictorially using charts while chi square test was used to test the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance. probability values less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. data analysis was facilitated using the statistical package for social sciences (spss version 20.0). results response rate/ completeness of data the response rate was 100%, however, out of the 317 questionnaires administered and retrieved, 21 were not useful due to improper and incomplete filling and only 296 were used, leading to incomplete data (93.4% complete). the 296 questionnaires were finally used to analyse the demographic variable (information) and research questions. demographics of the respondents table 2: distribution of the respondents by gender gender fmc (n=98) nduth (n=61) total (n = 159) f % f % f % male 56 57.1 34 55.7 90 56.6 female 42 42.9 27 44.3 69 43.4 source: field survey (2021) table 3: distribution of the respondents by gender age (years) fmc (n=98) nduth (n=61) total (n = 159) f % f % f % 18-20 16 16.3 23 37.7 39 24.5 21-30 28 28.6 5 8.2 33 20.8 above 30 54 55.1 33 54.1 87 54.7 source: field survey (2021) result in table 2 indicates that 56.6% of the respondents were male and 43.4% of the health professionals were female. result shows that the majority of the health professionals sampled were male (56.0%). in fmc, 57.1% of the health professionals were male and 42.9% were female and in nduth, 55.7% of the respondents were male and 44.3% of the respondents were female. where, n = 264, e =0.05. results in table 3 reveal that 24.5% of the respondents were between 18-20 years, 20.8% of the respondents were between 21-30 years while 54.7% were above 30 years. the result shows that the majority of the respondents were above 30 years (54.7%). result also indicates that in both fmc and nduth, the majority of the respondents were above 30 years (55.1% in fmc and 54.1% in nduth). https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 23 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 19-30, 2023 results in table 4 reveal that 17.6% of the respondents were ssce or equivalent holders, 17.6% of the respondents were ond holders while 35.6% of the respondents were hnd/b.sc holders. result also indicates that 28.0% of the respondents were postgraduate degree holders. results reveal that majority of the respondents in fmc (40.8%) and nduth (29.5%) were hnd/b.sc holders. results in table 5 reveal that 20.1% of the respondents had less than 5 years of experience, 10.7% of the respondents had 510 years while 69.2% of the respondents had above 10 years of experience. result indicates that most of the respondents had more than 10 years of experience. table 5: distribution of the respondents by years of experience year of experience fmc (n=98) nduth (n=61) total (n = 159) f % f % f % less than 5 years 24 24.5 8 13.1 32 20.1 5-10 years 15 15.3 2 3.3 17 10.7 above 10 years 59 60.2 51 83.6 110 69.2 source: field survey (2021) table 6: level of awareness of electronic health record management among health record officers in bayelsa state level of awareness of ehrm fmc (n=98) nduth (n=61) total (n = 159) f % f % f % aware 88 89.8 56 91.8 144 90.6 not aware 10 10.2 5 8.2 15 10.4 source: field survey (2021) table 4: distribution of the respondents by academic qualification academic qualification fmc (n=98) nduth (n=61) total (n = 159) f % f % f % ssce/ equivalent 27 27.6 1 1.6 28 17.6 ond/ equivalent 18 18.4 10 16.4 28 17.6 hnd/b.sc. 40 40.8 18 29.5 58 36.5 post graduate degrees 13 13.3 32 52.5 45 28.3 source: field survey (2021) answering of research questions research question 1 what is the level of awareness of electronic health record management among health record officers in bayelsa state? result in table 6 indicates that 90.6 % of the respondents are aware of the electronic health record management while only 10.1% of the respondents were not aware of the electronic health management. result shows that the majority of the respondents were aware of the electronic health record management. in fmc, 89.8% of the respondents were aware while in nduth, 91.8% of the respondents were aware of the electronic health record management. based on these results, most of the sampled health officers were aware of the electronic health record management. hence, the level of awareness of electronic health record management among health record officers in bayelsa state can therefore be adjudged to be high. discussion a review of the samples in question before the results of the statistical analyses are observed, the samples in question needs to be reviewed so as to ascertain from what specific population the results were generated. in terms of gender, there was a significant difference observed in the distribution of gender participants in their classification. the numbers indicates that 56.6% of the respondents were male and 43.4% of the health professionals were female. result shows that the majority of the health professionals sampled were male (56.0%). in fmc, 57.1% of the health professionals were male and 42.9% were female and in nduth, 55.7% of the respondents were male and 44.3% of the respondents were female. this view is contrary to the study conducted by popoola et al., (2020) who shows that the majority (56.2%) of the respondents were female while males accounted for 43.8%. it is also contrary to the study conducted by park (2019) who shows that the percentage of male (3.4%) and female (96.6%) and janet (2015) who shows that more than half of the respondents were females (70%) and the proportion of female to male respondents is 60 percent to 40 percent, as one expects this disparity to even be wider at hospital because it is perceived that health sector is dominated by females. moreover, this found support with the study conducted by john et al., (2008) who shows that (62.1%) males and (37.9%) females. it follows that the majority of the respondents in this study were males. similarly, this view found support to the study conducted by adeleke et al., (2014) who shows that the numbers indicates that 110 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 24 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 19-30, 2023 [50.5%] of the respondents were male and 108 [49.5%] of the health professionals were female. besides, this view found support to the study conducted by zayabalaradjane and santosh, (2016) who shows that the distribution of the sub samples taken for the study (61%) of the sample is male and (39%) were female. the largest age group was above 30 years old (54.7%), which shows that the majority of the respondents were above 30 years (54.7%). result also indicates that in both fmc and nduth, the majority of the respondents were above 30 years (55.1% in fmc and 54.1% in nduth). this view is contrary to the study conducted by janet (2015) who shows that most (75%) of the respondents are between the ages of 21 and 40 which is the youthful age in the life of humankind. the lower percentage (25%) of respondents is above age 40. these facilities are blessed with youthful health staff. also, this view is contrary to the study conducted by popoola et al., (2020) who shows that the ages of the respondent’s range between less than 20 years and above 40years, majority (45.2%) of whom were between the ages of 21 and 25 followed by 26 to 30 which accounted for 25.7%, implying that the respondents were mostly young adults who were in their final-year levels or those in the postgraduate classes. similarly, this view is contrary to the study conducted by park (2019) who shows that the percentage of average age of the subjects was 47.4% for those under 30 years old, 32.5% for those aged 30 to 39 years, and 12.4% for those aged 40 to 49 years, with an average of 32.15 ± 8.75 years. besides, this view is contrary to the study conducted by zayabalaradjane and santosh, (2016) who shows that majority of the respondents belonged to the age group of 30-40 years followed by 41-50 years of age group (36%). respondents belonging to age group of 51 60 years and above 60 years were 9% and 7% respectively. however, these findings are consistent with the study done by john et al., (2008) who shows that (34.2%) of the respondents are 25–34 years age category, (32.7%) in 35 – 44 years old, (21.2%) in 45–54 years old, 55 and over (5.9%). similarly, this view found support to the study conducted by adeleke et al., (2014) who shows that a vast majority 234 (94.7%) of the participants were between the ages of 20 and 50 years with a mean age of 36 ± 9 years. all categories of the levels of education participated in the study. results reveal that 17.6% of the respondents were ssce or equivalent holders, 17.6% of the respondents were ond holders while 35.6% of the respondents were hnd/b.sc holders. result also indicates that 28.0% of the respondents were postgraduate degree holders. results reveal that majority of the respondents in fmc (40.8%) and nduth (29.5%) were hnd/b.sc holders. hence, the largest levels of education were university degrees (35.6%) as against a minority of respondents who had ssce or equivalent (17.6%) who had basic level of education. this shows that the literacy level of participant was high with the majority having completed at least a university degree (35.6%) education. it is vivid that majority of the respondents have a bachelor’s degree as their highest academic qualification. implying that most of the staff are reasonably educated as the healthcare occupation requires a high level of occupational training. this also makes candidates for the survey suitable since per their level of educational qualification it can be assumed that they are knowledgeable enough to offer intelligent and relevant information to authenticate the findings of the study. although, this view is contrary to the study conducted by janet (2015) who shows that out of the total of 60 who responded to the questionnaire, 43.3% had certificate, 26.7% had diploma, 20% had bachelor’s degree education and 10% of the respondents had other professional qualifications. also, this view is contrary to the study conducted by park (2019) who shows that the percentage of education was 20.9% for professional college graduates and 79.1% of university graduates and the view is also contrary to the study conducted by adeleke et al., (2014) who shows that above half of them 155 (62.0%) possessed a higher national diploma. based on experience, it reveals that 20.1% of the respondents had less than 5 years of experience, 10.7% of the respondents had 5 10 years while 69.2% of the respondents had above 10 years of experience. result indicates that most of the respondents had more than 10 years of experience. this view is contrary to the study conducted by gift & obindah (2020) who shows that (58.5%) had between 1 and 5years’ experience while (1.5%) of the respondents had 16-20yrs and above 20 experience suggesting that respondents had a good blend of working experience. also, it is contrary to the study conducted by francis (2016) who shows that 48.2% of the respondents have 6 – 10years work experience, while 28.6% of respondents have 2 – 5years work experience. 12.5% have worked for 11 – 15years at the hospital, 7.1% have worked over 15years and 3.6% of the respondents have worked in less than 2 years. the results suggest that 96.4% of the respondents have very good work experience of above 2 years; afrrev (2013) who state that only about 46.9% of respondents have had between 11 – 20 years of experience, followed by 5 – 10 years 20 (31.7%), less than 5 years 8(12.7%) and above 20 years 6(9.5%) at the time of the survey. similarly, this view is also contrary to the study conducted by park (2019) who shows that the work duration was 45.7% for less than 5 years, 24.8% for more than 5 years, less than 10 years, 9.8% for more than 10 years, and 19.7% for more than 15 years and by adeleke et al., (2014) who shows that about a third 77 (31.3%) of the participants have spent less than five years in health information management practice while only a few 8 (3.3%) have spent above 30 years in practice, with mean service years of 12 ± 8 years. level of awareness of electronic health record management among health record officers in bayelsa state? having hospital staffs with prior awareness and https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs pa ge 25 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 1(1) 19-30, 2023 experience regarding information technology in health care increases the possibility of successful development and implementation of ehr, thus, awareness and practice enables hospitals to develop and improve health care delivery. hence, electronic health record systems implementation allows healthcare professionals to gain immediate access to patient health record so as to advance the quality of care. the healthcare field has prolonged adopting modern information technology even as they incorporate advanced technology to treat patients and have the newest form of documenting a patient’s information. while, previous reports from nigeria that studied the level of awareness and skills in health it focused mainly on doctors, nurses, clinical students and medical librarians (igben & akobo, 2007; komolafe-opadeji, 2009; ajuwon & rhine, 2008; bello et al., 2004; ajuwon, 2003). however, bello et al., (2004) studies involved health information management professionals among the three groups in their study. this study shows that the majority of the respondents were aware of the electronic health record management. based on these results, most of the sampled health officers were aware of the electronic health record management. hence, the level of awareness of electronic health record management among health record officers in bayelsa state can therefore be adjudged to be high. hence, this is pivotal to the roles in healthcare information systems in fmc and nduth. virtually majority of the participants in the study acknowledged the importance and relevance of ehr in managing health information and healthcare services in general. while, researchers have examined the benefits of ehrs by considering clinical, organizational, and societal outcomes. clinical outcomes include improvements in the quality of care, a reduction in medical errors, and other improvements in patient-level measures that describe the appropriateness of care. organizational outcomes, on the other hand, have included such items as financial and operational performance, as well as satisfaction among patients and clinicians who use ehrs. lastly, societal outcomes include being better able to conduct research and achieving improved population health. hence, ensuring continuous usability and maximum user satisfaction of ehr, there is a need for continuous awareness and training workshops or courses concerning basic ict skills as well as the actual usage of ehr systems (walker et al., 2005). the technical intricacies of ehr systems necessitate the need for a high level of technical competence on the part of users (sahay & walsham, 2006). these technical competences are achieved largely by organising training and other workshops for users of the system. further, there is a need for training in order to alleviate or lessen the problems associated with general usage of ehr such as poor preparation of data for use, and low initiative for using the data. conclusion electronic health records (ehrs) allow structured medical data to be shared between authorised health stakeholders in order to improve the quality of healthcare delivery and to achieve massive savings. while, a centralised ehr allows access to health information any place and anytime. ehr can enhance effectiveness, reduce costs, accuracy, currency, completeness, accessibility and generally improve the quality of healthcare services. healthcare entails complex delivery systems involving teams of doctors, nurses and others, and clinicians, regulators, auditors, and trainees who all need to access and use medical records. nonetheless, it also leads to an increase in the amount of information that is collected, sorted, filtered, transferred or otherwise retained, and the risks to such data therefore multiply raising the potential abuse and the risk of violation of privacy. furthermore, the diversity of health systems, especially with respect to quality and safety policies is as a major stumbling block for enabling the deployment of cross-border ehr. it is therefore crucial that confidentiality, privacy and data protection are embedded within the entire life cycle of the ehr from the very early design stage to its ultimate disposal. hence, if the awareness and implementation of electronic health records is done correctly, they will improve the quality of healthcare while lowering costs. acknowledgements we thank the staff of the niger delta university teaching hospital okolobiri and the federal medical centre yenagoa (fmc) for their frank collaboration in the framework of this research. declaration of interest/competing statement the authors declare that they have no conflicting/ competing interest. funding no funding was received from any source for this study availability of data and material the datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. reference abdulraheem a. fo, olalekan r. m, abasiekong e. m (2018). mother and father adolescent relationships and substance use in the niger delta: a case study of twenty-five (25) communities in yenagoa local 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dedicated practice, training, and repetition. the key to success in any educational pursuit lies in the trust between student and instructor, as well as the ability of the instructor to inspire a passion for learning. just like lesson planning, effective work cannot be achieved without following established educational models and procedures. the intricacies of lesson planning involve setting educational goals and choosing the best methods to achieve them. additionally, teachers must also engage with their students’ minds, shaping their perspectives and values in a positive manner. in today’s rapidly evolving world, it is crucial for teachers to maintain accuracy and precision when planning lessons. by utilizing educational models and exercises, teachers can effectively manage their time and continuously develop their practical and educational capabilities. through careful planning and implementation, teachers gain valuable experience that allows them to select the most effective teaching strategies and means to achieve their goals. this also enables them to adapt and find alternatives for any shortcomings in their methods, leading to a sense of confidence and innovation. by incorporating modern exercises and utilizing models such as the ashur model, which focuses on designing a comprehensive learning and planning program, teachers can create a dynamic and engaging educational experience for their students. this model takes into account the characteristics of learners, sets goals and standards, and uses a variety of educational materials and strategies to foster a meaningful response from students. with this approach, teachers can eliminate the mundane routine of traditional methods and achieve successful and fruitful results. keywords artistic gymnastics, ashur model, educational exercises, female students, skills introduction artistic gymnastics is a core component of physical education programmes; the sport demands a solid foundation in fundamental skills that can’t be built up through casual practice alone; this, in turn, necessitates a well-thought-out approach that makes efficient use of time and energy. this is why individuals responsible for education have sought wide range of strategies to improve it. thanks to the combined efforts of instructors and students, this sport has come a long way, particularly on an international stage, elevating its already stunning technical performance and increasing the difficulty of this beautiful sport. as a result, numerous educational approaches have emerged in this domain, one of which is the ashur model, with the goal of shifting the focus and responsibility for learning from the instructor to the student. artistic gymnastics is one of the individual games with talents that are defined by difficulty in performance, and the evolution of modern gymnastics’ efficacy has been more challenging and sophisticated than other activity techniques in recent years. this study aims to identify the effects of educational exercises utilising the ashur model on sensory-motor perception, as well as on the acquisition of abilities on the artistic gymnastics vaulting platform and the floor movement mat, in female students. as a gymnastics instructor and observer of the sport’s training and education systems, the researcher noticed a gap in the students’ skill development at the university of karbala’s college of physical education and sports sciences. she reasoned that students get bored with the same old boring models of instruction and their performance suffers as a result. so, she set out to fill this gap by developing her own model of effective student skill acquisition. a key reason for learning artistic gymnastics’ efficacy is that pupils have a hard time and aren’t very good at picking up the necessary abilities. as a result, the researcher starts to wonder if the absence of contemporary instructional approaches in the classroom and the failure to connect student learning to technology advancement could be to blame for the underwhelming performance on the tested abilities. this led the researcher to the conclusion that artistic gymnastics would be an ideal setting for the first application of the ashur model of sensory-motor perception in the classroom. objectives • tutoring female pupils in artistic gymnastics on the jumping platform and fundamental movement mat, as well as developing instructional exercises based on the ashur paradigm of sensory-motor perception. • how teaching artistic gymnastics to female pupils via the ashur model affected their sensory-motor perception 1 university of karbala, college of physical education and sports sciences, iraq * corresponding author’s e-mail: imadbiotechnology@gmail.com pa ge 34 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 33-39, 2024 and their ability to learn certain skills on both the floor and the jumping platform. research hypotheses • instructional activities based on the ashur model improve female gymnasts’ sensory-motor perception and help them master the front-hand jump on the floormovement mat. • differentiating between the control and experimental groups to determine which one had a more favourable impact research areas human field: third-year female students in the college of physical education and sports sciences, university of karbala • time field: 9/15/2024 to 11/29/2024 • spatial field: hall of the college of physical education and sports sciences, university of karbala closed hall materials and methods how to do research depends on the situation’s specifics, the study’s aims, and the working hypotheses. as the definition puts it, “a method of thinking and working that the researcher adopts to organise, analyse and present his ideas with the aim of reaching reasonable results and facts about the phenomenon that is the subject of the study” sums up methodology. given the nature of the problem and the study’s objectives, the researcher employed the experimental technique by creating equal groups and administering preand postmeasurements. this was done since it is the most reliable way to obtain accurate data. research community and sample for the academic year (2023–2024 ad), forty students (representing 51.9% of the total) from the college of physical education and sports sciences at the university of karbala served as the research community’s de jure determinants. as a result, we split the population into an experimental and a control group. fifteen female students made up both the experimental group and the control group. sample homogeneity before starting to implement the educational curriculum, the researcher resorted to verifying the homogeneity of the research sample in the variables related to morphological measurements, which are (height, weight and age), as shown in table 1. table 1: this demonstrates that the research sample is uniform with respect to the three variables under consideration (age, weight, and height) coefficient of skewness standard deviation median arithmetic mean unit of measurement variables 0.80 4.30 171 172.15 cm length 0.54 5.54 73.50 74.50 kg weight 0.81 0.74 20 19.80 ةنس age table (1) shows that the values of the skewness coefficient are between (±1), which indicates the homogeneity of the research sample individuals in these variables, i.e. the normality of their distribution. research methods, devices and tools used research methods • sources and references. • personal interviews • observation. • tests and measures. equipment and tools used 1acer computer, number (1). 2floor mats, number (20). 3jumping platform, number (2). 4glove, number (2). 5sony camera, number (1). 6educational bench, number (2). 7trampoline, number (2). 8wooden box, number (2). 9educational pony, number (2). 10magic pen, number (1). 11technical performance evaluation forms for skills. field research procedures procedures for determining the skills of the floor mat and the vaulting platform • this study aimed to assess the level of floor mat and vaulting platform skills among second-stage female students at the college of physical education and sports sciences university of karbala. to do this, the researcher compiled the relevant curriculum from this level’s lessons, put them in a questionnaire, and then sent it to a panel of gymnastics experts and specialists for feedback. the goal was to identify the most important skills for the students to work on and use those as dependent variables. as part of the preparation process, the researcher created a performance evaluation form and had it reviewed by three artistic gymnastics professionals to ensure its validity. relying on the assessment of three arbitrators, the results demonstrated that there was full agreement on the form’s validity at a rate of (100%) after collecting and transcribing the data. after removing the scores of two arbitrators, we calculated the median grade based on how well each student executed the floor mat and vaulting platform abilities covered in the first semester’s lesson plan. experiment number three to five: pa ge 35 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 33-39, 2024 • an exploratory experiment was carried out on monday, september 18, 2024, at ten in the morning in hall 1-gymnastics affiliated to the college of physical education and sports sciences / university of karbala. the purpose of the experiment was to confirm the steps of scientific research and to determine the accuracy and validity of the related work. a random sample of five students from the second stage was used, along with the extraction of scientific foundations for the skills evaluation form, which were characterised by reliability and honesty. the experiment aimed to identify the following: • being aware of how long it takes to teach the exercises and take pictures of the class so you can see how well they did. • the fitness of the athletic facility and its apparatus for carrying out the preliminary investigation. • instructing the assistant team on how to carry out the exercises and making sure their work is organised. • being aware of potential reasons and challenges that may arise during exercise implementation. • being aware of the appropriateness of the instruments and making sure that pupils are safe. • how well students grasp the scale vocabulary and are able to apply the techniques. • checking the data-recording form for authenticity scientific foundations of the questionnaire first: validity of the questionnaire the degree of validity is “the most important factor for the quality of tests and scales”. the floor movement mat and jumping platform skills assessment questionnaire under study gained content validity when it was presented to a group of experts to approve its suitability in determining each student’s score on the skills. second: form reliability when deciding on and implementing a test or data collecting procedure, reliability—which is defined as “the degree of confidence we can place in the results of our measurements”—is crucial. the reliability coefficient of the gymnastics skills performance evaluation form was determined by administering the form to five students as part of the exploratory experiment once after seven days and then administering it again. with a value of 0.861, the simple correlation coefficient (spearman) demonstrated a good level of reliability. with a degree of freedom of 3 and a significance level below 0.05, the computed (t-r) test for reliability coefficient (2.54), which is greater than its tabular value of 2.02, confirms that the form enjoys a high and reliable degree of reliability. preparing exercises for the ashur model • the researcher used scientific sources and the findings from the exploratory experiment to create the exercises. • the following, then, are the particular drills for each ability that were settled upon throughout the field procedures: • the researcher has designed four exercises for each skill; these will be taught in the gymnastics hall at the college of physical education and sports sciences/ university of karbala. • the programme will run for eight weeks, with two units per week, for a total of sixteen educational units. this lines up with what klinzing and sharky have said, that in order to see performance improvement, the number of units per week should be between two and three, and that the number of weeks should be at least six. the practical portion of the main educational unit lasts fifty minutes and is where the exercises will be presented, with the subject teacher and the researcher supervising. the artistic gymnastics apparatuses (front and back rolls, handstands, human wheels, front handsprings, open platform jumps, and platform jumps) were introduced and shown in a straightforward manner throughout the instructional courses. the instructional portion accounted for fifteen minutes of the primary segment. the complete technique is first demonstrated, and then the key points and specifics of each step in performing the talent are covered, including the proper placement of the hands, head, trunk, tension, and so on. when a skill is introduced to a student, he or she must first grasp the big picture before breaking it down into its component parts. this way, the student can fully grasp the skill, even if it’s taught in a simplified form. based on his findings from the preliminary experiment, the researcher followed the protocol of progressively more challenging exercises after completing easier ones, up to the compatibility stage. he then used the allotted time of 12.5 minutes to complete each exercise. he told the student he could only do the exercise after he found his spot among his classmates. the exploratory experiment determined that a 5-count deep breathing break in between repetitions is enough to regain their mental and physical power. gloves, educational benches, trampolines, sponge mats, wooden boxes, an educational pony, and a geometric figure drawn on the ground were among the supplementary tools employed by the researcher. the results are displayed in the appendix (6). pre-test two introduction units regarding the job and the chosen skills were conducted by the researcher. on tuesday, september 24th, 2024, the first introductory unit took place, and on wednesday, september 25th, 2024, the second. after that, she started by administering a pre-test to forty female students from the college of physical education and sports sciences / university of karbala who were part of the basic sample for the research variables. she then collected data using specialised forms in order to reveal the equivalence of the two groups through statistical processing. section 3-7-12 the two research groups are on equal ground: the researcher wanted to find out if the two groups (control and experimental) were similar in terms of the study’s pa ge 36 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 33-39, 2024 variables, so she calculated the means and standard deviations for each group and for all the learning-related variables (gymnastics skills). based on the statistical analysis, there were no significant differences between the two groups’ arithmetic means for any of the variables, proving that the two groups were statistically equivalent across the board. this was determined by utilising the t-test for independent and similar samples. section 2 of the table. table 2: shows the equivalence of the two research groups (control and experimental) in the variables studied significance significance level calculated t-value standard error deviations means sample variables random .506 -.838 .14406 .66019 د 3.9841 20 experimental human wheel.11925 .53332 د 4.1252 20 control random .455 -.634 .13638 .62499 د 3.9127 20 experimental jumping open.11166 .49934 د 4.0250 20 control random .522 -.777 .13431 .61547 20 د 3.9484 experimental jumping jack.10832 .48441 د 4.0733 20 control random .522 -.777 .13431 .61547 د 3.9484 20 experimental handstand .10832 .48441 د 4.0743 20 control random .535 -.738 .13365 .61244 د 3.9365 20 experimental front jump.10779 .48206 د 4.0594 20 control random .547 -.765 .13394 .61377 د 3.9444 20 experimental forward roll.10796 .48280 د 4.0699 20 control random .545 -.761 .13385 .61336 د 3.9431 20 experimental back roll .10788 .48245 د 4.0675 20 control the experimental group did activities based on the ashur model of sensory-motor perception, while the control group stuck to the subject teacher-approved style of instruction. the instructional units were introduced over the course of eight weeks, with a weekly rate of two units. consequently, sixteen educational units were a part of the programme. the programme started on monday, which is equivalent to 10/25/2024, and it ended on sunday, which is equivalent to 11/27/2024. the educational units utilised modern teaching approaches and methods for female students during the main section of the unit, as well as specialised exercises for learning artistic gymnastics skills. the researcher was quite concerned that the activities should not exceed the skill levels of the female pupils. aside from the portion of the educational unit dealing with the educational and applied activity, where each group conducts its own application and practice, there should be no distinction between the two groups throughout the entire unit. post-test on thursday, 11/28/2024, the researcher administered a post-test to the entire basic experimental sample, including both the control and experimental groups, using the same conditions and specifications as the pre-test. the purpose of this was to collect data in preparation for statistical processing, after the experimental group had completed the ashur model in sensory motor exercises, which included sixteen educational units. statistical methods the researcher used the statistical package for social sciences (spss) to process the data. results and discussion presentation of the results of the preand postmeasurement differences for the research sample members by comparing the preand post-test scores of the control and experimental groups, the researcher hoped to determine whether instructional exercises based on the ashur model improved the sensory-motor perception of female students and whether they learned any new skills on the artistic gymnastics jumping platform or floor movement mat. the findings of the control group’s preand posttests for the studied skills are displayed, analysed, and discussed: the researcher wanted to find out if the control group’s preand post-test scores were different, so she used statistical methods to analyse the data from both sets of measurements and find out how the variables (curled front jump, back jump, handstand, human wheel, open springboard jump, close springboard) were distributed. then, to accomplish this and determine the significance of the changes between the pre-and post-measurements, she utilized the (t) test for correlated and equal-numbered samples as a statistical tool, as indicated in table (3). pa ge 37 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 33-39, 2024 according to the study’s author, pupils’ acquisition of foundational abilities on the artistic gymnastics leaping platform and floor exercises mat is influenced by the pedagogical approach used by the instructor. this progress was credited by the researcher to the members of the control group who followed the subject teacher’s instructional approach, which included suitable repetitions with the lessons, continuous exercises tailored to each student’s abilities, and a progressive level of difficulty for the movements and skills that were performed by all. this lines up with the findings of (najah mahdi shalash and akram muhammad, 2000) which state that repetition and practice are crucial in learning and development. a person’s ability to learn, develop, and choose a skill depends on his or her training, which is essential for controlling one’s own movements and coordinating the many movements that comprise a skill in a logical, sequential, and timely fashion. presented, analysed, and discussed are the outcomes of the experimental group’s preand post-tests the researcher conducted a statistical analysis to determine the average and standard deviation values for each of the variables under study and research. these variables included the following: human wheel, open jump on the jumping platform, combined jump on the jumping platform, handstand, front jump, front roll curled, and back roll curled. the goal was to identify any differences between the preand post-measurements of the experimental group members. table 4 illustrates the results of her statistical analysis, which included the following steps: determining the significance of the differences; and determining if the differences and disparities are attributable to a real difference or to chance. she employed the (t) test for correlated samples. table 3: shows the difference between the preand post-measurements of the control group members for the skills studied significance level calculated t-value mean difference standard error deviations sample means variables .000 9.592 2.20750 .21527 .96270 20 after د 6.3325 human wheel.12133 .54262 20 د 4.1252 before .000 10.436 2.55800 .23331 1.04342 20 د 6.5830 after jumping open.11150 .49865 20 د 4.0250 before .000 11.360 2.14150 .19343 .86505 20 د 6.2160 after jumping jack.10875 .48634 20 د 4.0733 before .000 7.838 2.06700 .24902 1.11365 20 د 6.1415 after handstand .10875 .48634 20 د 4.0743 before .000 6.539 2.03250 .29180 1.30495 20 د 6.0915 after front jump .10785 .48233 20 د 4.0594 before .000 9.374 2.43050 .23848 1.06653 20 د 6.4995 after forward roll.10820 .48388 20 د 4.0699 before .000 8.855 2.34150 .23053 1.03096 20 د 6.4085 after back roll .10819 .48382 20 د 4.0675 before *note that the table value of the (t) test at a significance level of (0.05) and a degree of freedom of (19) equals (2.02). table 4: shows the difference between the preand post-measurements of the experimental group members for the skills studied significance level calculated t-value mean difference standard error deviations sample means variables .000 13.426 3.05833 .21333 .95402 20 after د 7.0583 human wheel.15043 .67274 20 د4.1252 before .000 12.356 3.34983 .20924 .93577 20 د 7.2583 after jumping open.14318 .64033 20 د4.0250 before .000 12.053 3.11783 .19405 .86783 20 after د 7.0708 jumping jack.14099 .63051 20 before د4.0733 .000 12.962 3.25533 .22127 .98953 20 after د 7.2083 handstand .14099 .63051 20 before د 4.0743 .000 11.774 3.24383 .20480 .91591 20 د 7.1833 after front jump .14025 .62724 20 د 4.0594 before pa ge 38 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 33-39, 2024 it has been confirmed that the ashur educational model has a notable impact on sensory motor perception and the acquisition of basic jumping skills on the floor movement mat and jumping platform. this is because the educational units incorporate exercises that target the maximum number of muscles, such as a wide range of motions for the trunk, arms, legs, and head, as well as variations in speed, repetition, and distance. as a result, the members are able to learn and perfect skills such as forward and backwards rolling, the human wheel, standing on their hands, the front hand jump, the combined jump on the jumping platform, and the open jump on the jumping platform. this proves that the instructional units’ exercises helped students acquire and develop fundamental skills on the leaping platform and floor exercise mat. the researcher believes that the students’ responses to all learning needs during the educational units are the most effective way to emphasise energies, maintain the level, and achieve goals, and that this is why they learned and acquired the abilities under study. the effort of an athlete is more likely to be effective and less likely to be disregarded if he or she trains with a definite objective in mind (nizar al-talib and kamel louis, 2000). if the athlete wants to get the most out of their workout and know how far they’ve come, it’s the sports educator’s job to help them create attainable goals. (mohammed barakat, 1984) showed that “sensory preferences in learning are more influential and require the teacher to use his personality completely, and that making him aware of the results of his work and comparing him with his colleagues and realising the extent of his progress or delay is considered one of the strongest motivations for learning, while it was found that neglecting the learner and not making him feel his position or caring about the extent of his progress or delay is likely to lead the learner to boredom and laziness” . presented, analysed, and discussed are the outcomes of the post-measurements conducted by both organisations table (5) shows that in order to achieve the fourth objective of the study, which is to determine which group favoured learning the skills under study, the researcher sought to extract the values of the arithmetic mean and standard deviation of the data from the control and experimental research groups after the measurement. the (t) test for independent and equal samples in number was used as a statistical tool to accomplish this goal. the calculated (t) value is the criterion for judgement based on comparisons with its tabular value. .000 10.982 3.16033 .21264 .95095 20 د 7.1083 after forward roll.14062 .62886 20 د4.0699 before .000 11.567 3.25300 .20824 .93126 20 د 7.2000 after back roll .14050 .62834 20 د4.0675 before *note that the table value of the (t) test at a significance level of (0.05) and a degree of freedom of (19) equals (2.02). table 5: shows the difference between the dimensional measurements of the individuals in the control and experimental groups for the skills studied significance significance level calculated t-value standard error deviations means sample variables significance .012 2.639 .21333 .95402 د7.0583 20 experimental human wheel.21527 .96270 د 6.3325 20 control significance .014 2.549 .20924 .93577 د7.2583 20 experimental jumping open.23331 1.04342 د 6.5830 20 control significance .003 3.120 .19405 .86783 د 7.0708 20 experimental jumping jack.19343 .86505 د 6.2160 20 control significance .003 3.203 .22127 .98953 د 7.2083 20 experimental handstand .24902 1.11365 د 6.1415 20 control significance .004 3.063 .20480 .91591 د 7.1833 20 experimental front jump.29180 1.30495 د 6.0915 20 control significance .016 2.391 .21264 .95095 د 7.1083 20 experimental forward roll.23848 1.06653 د 6.4995 20 control significance .015 2.548 .20824 .93126 د 7.2000 20 experimental back roll .23053 1.03096 د 6.4085 20 control *note that the table value of the (t) test at a significance level of (0.05) and a degree of freedom of (19) equals (2.02). pa ge 39 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 33-39, 2024 the researcher attributes the successes of the experimental group in the abilities tested (forward and backwards rolling, handstand, human wheel, front jump, jumping together on the springboard, jumping open on the springboard) to the statistical analyses of the postmeasurement data for the two groups: the control group that followed the subject teacher’s instructional method and the experimental group that used sensory-motor exercises. the experimental group’s students clearly outperformed the control group’s students who followed the subject teacher’s method of instruction because the exercises he designed for them were more tailored to the students’ individual learning styles. this allowed each student to acquire the skill in a way that best suited him. because most gymnastics skills are challenging for beginners to perform, the researcher divided the sample into two groups based on the participants’ preferences for sensory motor skills; this allowed them to tailor the skill delivery to each group’s individual needs. this is a crucial component for perception to take place, which follows feeling of stimuli, or taking in input and creating a mental model of the skill’s motor programme. since the senses play such a significant role in motor skill acquisition and performance improvement, it follows that a novice learner needs good perception—just the translation of sensations—to understand the ins and outs of a certain ability before he can practice it. if one’s visual, aural, and sensory faculties are well-developed, one’s perceptions will be more accurate, leading to more fruitful practice and learning. the second rationale is that the students in the experimental group were able to put into practice the artistic gymnastics abilities they were learning through the researcher-provided instructional exercises that were a part of the curriculum. the researcher’s use of instructional resources such as a glove, a wooden box, an educational pony, and a trampoline—all of which played an important role in the development of the student’s motor skills and skill mechanism—increased the frequency with which the student attempted to repeat the exercise while decreasing the frequency with which they made mistakes. the fact that “the educational units are integrated with educational and training tools and methods” lends credence to this. these exercises were chosen by the researcher because they were low-risk compared to other motor activities, they don’t call for any particular skills, tools, or location, and they can be practiced by as many people as possible simultaneously without requiring a lot of advance planning or exceptional talent. this is related to the fact that “setting goals” (mohammed hassan alawi, 2001) increased desire and an effort to overcome challenges and barriers, along with greater excitement and tenacity, prevent boredom and signs of exhaustion from setting in for the learner. conclusion during the instructional portion of the primary educational units, the experimental group in (sensorymotor perception) concentrated on the motor performance of the skill. consequently, the group learned through its preferred sensory system, which made learning more engaging and fun. this helped eliminate the monotony and boredom that can set in when teaching methods fail to consider individual differences. references alawi, m. h., & el-din, m. n. (2000). measurement in physical education and sports psychology (2nd ed.). dar alfikr al-arabi. alawi, m. h. (2001). psychology, training and sports competition. dar al-fikr al-arabi. international journal for equity in health, 20(1). al-talib, n., & louis, k. (2000). sports psychology. university of mosul. dar al-kutub for printing and publishing, 17(1), 1–13. barakat, h. k. (1984). educational psychology. kuwait. dar al-ilm for printing and publishing, 37(2). ghazi, b. h. (2004). the effect of a proposed method using auxiliary means in developing the skills of the smash serve and smash hit in volleyball for youth (master’s thesis). university of babylon, college of physical education. annual review of clinical psychology, 12(1), 465–488. khattab, a. m. (1997). exercises for girls. 8th ed. cairo. dar al maaref. international journal for equity in health, 20(1). omar, m. a. (2010). psychological and educational measurement. amman. dar al-masirah for publishing, distribution and printing. international journal of psychology, 48(5), 891–899 qahtan, i. (2007). the effect of concentration exercises and mental imagery on the accuracy and speed of response to some complex offensive movements of foil (master’s thesis). university of baghdad, college of physical education for girls, 10(1), 98. shalash, n. m., & mohammed, a. (2000). motor learning. university of mosul. dar al kotob for printing and publishing. sport management review, 24(3). pa ge 1 pa ge 39 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) special exercises on sand and grass surfaces and their effect on transitional speed of tennis players sura mahmoud ali1*, ali hameed abdul kareem1, mokhles hassan haider1 volume 3 issue 1, year 2025 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v3i1.3717 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: august 20, 2024 accepted: october 07, 2024 published: may 16, 2025 the study aims at preparing specific exercises on both sand and grass training surfaces of tennis players, and investigating the effect of these exercises on the transitional speed of tennis players. to achieve the study’s aims, 12 tennis players were randomly chosen to be the study’s sample. two groups were enrolled in this experiment, (6) tennis players in the experimental group and the same number in the control group. special transitional speed exercises on both sand and grass surfaces, were applied to the experimental group, using four training sessions per week for eight weeks. the results show a significant effect on the transitional speed test results for the experimental group. the major conclusion was that implementing specific exercises on different training surfaces (sand and grass) prepared by the researcher had a positive effect on transitional speed. keywords grass surface, sand surface, special exercises, transitional speed 1 department of student activities, al iraqia university, iraq * corresponding author’s e-mail: lulaperla23@gmail.com introduction the faculties of physical education and sports sciences have contributed to the iraqi individual’s physical development (hameed, 2024). a topic related to the work in the sports area is achieving success in the practice of sports sciences in general (hameed, 2024). speed is a crucial element in sports, including transitional speed, which is essential for athletes to perform well. transitional speed refers to an athlete’s ability to cover a specific distance in the least possible time. to enhance transitional speed, various training methods can be employed, such as training on sand and natural grass surfaces. these surfaces play a vital role in athletes’ performance, affecting skill development and necessary techniques for excellence (sahafizad, 2013). nowadays, we have seen an increase in the training programs on both sand and natural grass used by athletes worldwide. training on both sand and grass can be performed on a consecutive daily basis, and training sessions can be characterized by high intensity, in addition to extending the specified time sessions (pereira, 2022). due to the difficulty of movement on sand surfaces, caused by increased relative motion between loose, dry sand particles, players are forced to exert more strength and effort to overcome this difficulty in movement. this is confirmed by (schmidt, 2018), as training on sand increases the athlete’s ability to work diligently and quickly by making the exercise more intense than usual. similarly, regarding training on natural grass, both (chartrand & guillaunme, 2020) mention that training on natural grass, can be effective method for improving speed by incorporating training on natural grass into regular fitness routine. athletes can expect to develop strong muscles and tendons, as well as improving transitional speed and acceleration, training on different surfaces provides many benefits, including: it’s effect on athlete performance and safety (o’dell, scott, 2015). diversifying training surfaces helps to work different leg muscles, resulting in significant physical benefits for athletes (duncan, 2015). diversifying training surfaces also helps reduce fatigue and the risk of injury for athletes. diversifying training surfaces helps to reduce boredom, routine, and engage in walking or running on new types of surfaces. it is not only beneficial for the player’s mind but also essential for improving their performance (mario, 2015). the study aimed to design specific exercises on both sand and grass training surface to enhance tennis player’s transitional speed and understand the effect of these exercises on tennis player’s transitional speed. it’s hypothesized that there are statistically significant differences between the pre and post-test measurements between the experimental and control groups in developing tennis players’ transitional speed. literature review sand surfaces sand has a surface that is unstable. sand training helps strengthen under worked muscles, especially those in the knees, ankles, and feet. this is due to the higher workload needed to change direction, run, jump, and accelerate. this type of training has many benefits for athletes and can be used to improve performance on the field or court. sand is a great training tool for improving speed and agility. it provides resistance that challenges the players’ muscles, helping to make him faster and more explosive. (cissik, 2012). pa ge 40 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 39-43, 2025 grass surfaces grass training is an essential part of any athlete’s training program. grass training can help an athlete become familiar with the field of play, giving them the edge in game day performance (sparacio & baker, 2015). training on grass can provide athletes with an enhanced and more tailored workout, enabling them to reach the highest levels of performance possible. grass training can be a great way to improve speed, endurance and agility for athletes. it has been scientifically proven that this type of training can lead to healthier joints and ligaments, due to the softness and stability of grass (stark, 2019). grass training can help athletes improve physical performance, better understand athletic movement, and develop longterm health benefits. materials & methods subjects the study was conducted on a sample of twelve (n=12) male tennis players of age ranging from 18 to 21 years were selected from al iraqia university. further, the subjects were purposively divided in two groups. first group, designated as experimental group (n 1 =6) and the second one as control group (n 2 =6). methodology the study was restricted to the variable transitional speed of tennis players. experimental group have undergone special training for 8-week by following a sequence of selected special transitional speed exercises. it was applied at a rate of (4) weekly training sessions, for a total of (24). the repetitive training method was used at an intensity level ranging from (90-100%) for transitional speed, and the performance time was (10-25 seconds). the workto-rest time is (3:1-4:1), and the special exercises were performed on the sand and the grass courts\ministry of youth and sports. both the groups were take part in the pre-test and posttest for transitional speed test (30 m from standing). statistical analysis the paired samples t-test was employed to find out the significance of differences between experimental and control groups. the data relates to variables of the study was analyzed with the help of spss (statistical package table 1: equivalence of research groups. variable the experimental group the control group (t) sig the significance speed test (s) mean std mean std 1.092 0.28 insignificant 4.631 0.055 4.610 0.041 * significant 0.05> at a degree of freedom (22) table 2: the means and standard deviations for the pre-test and post-test of the experimental group variable the experimental group the control group speed test (s) mean std mean std 4.631 0.055 4.526 0.032 for social science) statistical software. transitional speed test (30 m from standing) the purpose of the test measuring translational speed tools 6 signs, registration form, whistle, stopwatch, measuring tape. description of performance the athlete stands behind the starting line, and after hearing the whistle, he sets off at maximum speed for a distance of (30 m) and (5 repetitions). one attempt should not exceed (4:70 seconds), and the rest between each repetition should be (30 seconds). if the player fails for the specified time, the attempt will be considered a failure and the attempt will be repeated. scoring the time taken to complete the test is recorded in second. table (2) shows the means and standard deviations for the pre-test and post-test of the experimental group. the table (3) shows the value of (t) for the pre-test and posttest for the experimental group. the table (4) it shows the means and standard deviations for the pre-test and post-test of the control group. the table (5) shows the value of (t) for the pre-test and post-test of the control group. table (6) shows the means, standard deviations, calculated (t) value, and statistical significance for the table 3: the value of (t) for the pre-test and post-test for the experimental group variable difference of means standard error df t sig speed test 0.00 4.742 11 0.02225 0.10550 pa ge 41 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 39-43, 2025 post-tests of both the experimental and control groups. results and discussion tables (2, 3, 4, 5, and 6) present the statistical values of the transitional speed variable for the pre-posttest for both the experimental and control groups. these values show development in the transitional speed variable in favor of the experimental group. this development in transitional speed is attributed to the nature of the mixed sand and grass surface and the application of specific exercises on it. these exercises on a mixed surface coordinate muscle actions together to produce optimal kinetic energy. these exercises on mixed sand and grass surfaces help coordinate muscle actions together to produce optimal kinetic energy. this aligns with a study by binnie (2013), which indicated that integrating unconventional training methods and environments, such as training on sand and natural grass surfaces, can enhance physical, skill, and kinesthetic abilities. training on uneven surfaces requires continual adjustment of movements and balance, aiding in the rapid and efficient development of athletic capabilities. this is supported by schmidt (2018), who state that the increased resistance generated by sandy terrain improves athletes’ capabilities such as speed and explosive strength. muscles endure greater workload during training due to the instability of sand, requiring them to exert more force to stabilize joints continuously during movement. this leads to greater joint mobility, muscle strengthening, and improved balance, making training on sand easier on the joints than training on stable ground. this aligns with kercher (2022), who found that running on sand requires greater effort from knee tendons and hamstring muscles, resulting in overall better exercise. similarly, studies by impellizzeri (2008) and mirzaei, norasteh, & asadi (2013) suggest that sand can be used as a training surface to improve neuromuscular adaptations during transitional speed training. martyn (2013) also support this, stating that the unique features of sand training can have a positive impact on performance gains on stable surfaces. kroger et al., (2015) confirm that training on sand improves athletes’ muscular performance, consistent with abdulaziz (2006), who suggests that sand training helps develop physical capabilities due to its unique environment accessibility. similarly, graham and hamilton (2020) assert that training on natural grass enhances athlete speed by making muscles more active than running on hard surfaces, while sparacio and baker (2015) affirm that training on natural grass improves balance and control, providing athletes with the advantage they need to enhance their style and movement as required. in addition, the researcher believes that the playing surface is a specific variable that affects running performance. if an athlete wants to improve their skills and physical abilities, it is better to diversify their training, including exercises on sand and grass surfaces. since sand facilitates faster muscle development and enhances their ability to produce power at all levels. martin (2013) demonstrate that training on sand is one of the best methods to elevate an athlete to their optimal level. sand provides the best natural environment for resistance training, which works to enhance the physical and functional performance of athletes. goldner and fenger (2020) also mention that athletes can benefit from sand due to its ability to support physical performance during activity. sand surfaces can absorb shocks and provide a stable ground, leading to reduced fatigue and improved performance during play. studies have shown a relationship between sandy surfaces and increased physical capabilities for athletes, such as speed, as training on sandy surfaces can reduce the risk of injury due to its softness. therefore, sandy surfaces can be a valuable asset for athletes needing good physical capabilities for performance. conclusions implementing specific exercises on different training surfaces (sand and grass) prepared by the researcher has a positive effect on transitional speed. the nature of the table 5: the value of (t) for the pre-test and post-test of the control group variables difference of means standard error df t sig speed test 0.01450 0.01376 11 1.054 0.00 table 4: the means and standard deviations for the pre-test and post-test of the control group variable the experimental group the control group speed test (s) mean sd mean sd 4.610 0.041 4.595 0.037 table 6: the means, standard deviations, calculated (t) value, and statistical significance for the post-tests of both the experimental and control groups variable the experimental group the control group (t) sig the significance speed test (s) mean std mean std 4.893 0.00 significant 4.526 0.032 4.595 0.037 * significant 0.05> at a degree of freedom (22) pa ge 42 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 39-43, 2025 grass surface, the nature of the sand surface, the specific exercises applied on them, the intensities included in the specific exercises, and the rest periods between repetitions and sets contributed to the development of transitional speed. recommendations it is necessary to focus on training on sand and grass surfaces and to integrate them into various training programs because they have a good effect on developing physical abilities, such as transitional speed. conduct research and studies that involve diversifying training surfaces for various physical, skills, physiological, and proprioceptive abilities. it is necessary to conduct comparative studies that involve the use of sand and grass surfaces in other individual and team sports. references abdel aziz, a. (2006). a comparative study of the effect of training in sand and training in water on improving some physiological variables and elements of physical fitness in football. mansoura university journal, 23. retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/342667869_the_effect_of_training_ on_sand_on_muscular_power_legs_tolerance_ various_defensive_movements_and_lactic_acid_ of_handball_players binnie, m. j., peeling, p., pinnington, h., landers, g., & dawson, b. (2013). effect of surface-specific training on 20-m sprint performance on sand and grass surfaces. journal of sports sciences. retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23478471/ binnie, m., dawson, b., arnot, m., pinnington, h., landers, g., & peeling, p. (2014). effect of sand versus grass training surfaces during an 8-week pre-season conditioning programme in team sport athletes. journal of sports sciences, 32, 1001–1012. retrieved from https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24479768/ chartrand, d., & guillaume. (2020). grass training to improve speed, endurance and agility in athletes. national library of medicine. retrieved from https:// pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/pmc9808803/ cissik, y. j. (2012, july 29). 3 drills for training speed and agility in the sand. stack. retrieved from https:// www.stack.com/a/sand-speed-training/ duncan, l. (2015, march 5). the benefits of running on grass. triathlete. retrieved from https://www. triathlete.com/training/the-benefits-of-running-ongrass/ fraioli, m. (2015, october 21). 7 habits of highly effective runners. medium. retrieved from https://medium. com/@mariofraioli/7-habits-of-highly-effectiverunners-40aab4e2c98a graham, c., & hamilton, j. (2020). grass training: 6 benefits that give you an edge. journal of sports science. retrieved from https://www.researchgate. net/publication/249883651_enhancing_sport_ performance_merging_sports_science_with_ coaching hussein, m. h. (2024). the degree of exercise of academic and sports freedom among faculty members at the colleges of physical education and sports sciences in baghdad. american journal of physical education and health science, 2(1), 1–10. retrieved from https:// journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs/ article/view/2379 impellizzeri, f., rampinini, e., castagna, c., martino, f., fiorini, s., & wisloff, u. (2008). effect of plyometric training on sand versus grass on muscle soreness and jumping and sprinting ability in soccer players. journal of sports medicine, 42, 42–46. retrieved from https:// pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17526621 kareem, a. h. a. (2024). the effect of cycling exercises in some biochemical elements and achievement in individual time trial for elite men cyclist’s. american journal of physical education and health science, 2(2), 4–9. https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i2.2449 kercher, m. (2022). benefits of running on sand: make the most of training on the beach. marathon handbook. fraserburgh, uk. kroger, a. a., kemmler, w., raffalt, p., & schwarzer. (2015). benefits of sand training: a systematic review. austrian journal of sports medicine, 43(1), 16– 21. retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/ publication/256083524_sand_training_a_review_ of_current_research_and_practical_applications lucas, a. p., nunes, r., freitas, t. t., & loturco, i. (2023). sand and grass surfaces are equally effective in promoting positive adaptations in the sprint performance of elite young soccer players. national library of medicine, 40(4). retrieved from https:// pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37867732/ mirzaei, b., norasteh, a., & asadi, a. (2013). neuromuscular adaptations to plyometric training: depth jump vs. countermovement jump on sand. sport science & health, 145, 145–149. retrieved from https:// www.researchgate.net/publication/258166067_ neuromuscular_adaptations_to_plyometric_ training_depth_jump_vs_countermovement_jump_ on_sand o’dell, s. (2015, january 29). training and conditioning: quick sand. training & conditioning. retrieved from https://training-conditioning.com/article/quicksand/ pümperl, p., güldner, s., schild, s., & wagner, h. (2020). referee performance in a beach soccer match: exploring changes in physical and technical performance. international journal of performance analysis in sport, 20(4), 446–458. sahafizad, m., mahdizadeh, s., & parnianpour, m. (2013). characteristics of the physical fitness of elite football referees. journal of human kinetics, 95. retrieved from https://www.researchgate. net/publication/333147885_football_referees’_ physical_fitness schmidt, p. a., zebe, e. w., cronin, a. j., & little, pa ge 43 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 39-43, 2025 t. (2018). effects of sand running on muscular performance and acute responses in female and male athletes. journal of strength and conditioning research, 32(7), 1983–1988. retrieved from https://journals. lww.com/nsca-jscr/pages/default.aspx sparacio, a., & baker, m. (2015). the benefits of grass training for speed, endurance, and agility. journal of sports sciences, 2. retrieved from https://www. tandfonline.com/journals/rjsp20 stark, b. (2019). the benefits of grass training for athletes. national library of medicine. retrieved from https:// pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24479768/ pa ge 1 pa ge 68 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) self-perceived competence in clinical skills among fresh graduates of karachi pakistan a comparative study syed ahmed ali1* volume 2 issue 2, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i2.3392 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: july 05, 2024 accepted: august 13, 2024 published: november 23, 2024 students’ development as effective dental practitioners are based on their happiness and selfawareness with their ability to conduct various dental operations. this study evaluated the self-perceived competence level among fresh dental graduates who are currently completing their house jobs in different dental institutes in karachi, pakistan. this was a descriptive, cross-sectional study, conducted in january and february 2022. data was collected from a total of 330 fresh graduates working as house officers in six different dental colleges in karachi. the participants were asked to fill out the questionnaire, after acquiring informed consent. the mean overall score was 75.75/100 + 11.60. most of the participants had a firm grip on 18 out of 24 clinical procedures while bitewing radiographs and production of mechanically sound cast partial denture (cpd) were two items that most of the participants lacked. the cognitive skills in part b were absent in most of the participants. house officers were able to perform clinical duties confidently during their house job while there was a lack of interest shown in performing cognitive responsibilities which showed that there is room for improvement. the findings of this study could be applied to dental schools in pakistan in uplifting their clinical and cognitive skills to make them better clinicians, as multiple dental schools participated in this survey. the effects should be assessed carefully as the reported competence is self-perceived, not clinically proven. keywords competence, clinical skills, dental skills, fresh graduates, house officers introduction ‘dental education’ is meant to train students in developing clinical skills to perform basic dental procedures, and to have an understanding of the general dental concepts with emphasis on the inclusion of certain attributes and behaviors needed in becoming a competent clinician who can function as part of a dental team (pmc, 2021). students’ satisfaction and self-awareness regarding their skill and competence in performing different dental procedures form the basis of their growth as successful clinicians in the field of dentistry. an understanding of how well they can manage dental patients during the basic level of their house job period determines how much the dental education of their undergraduate years at the institute has prepared them for a successful dental career. fresh graduates should have the basic knowledge, conduct, and skills that could facilitate their house job to equip them with the training necessary for independent dental practice down the road (qazi et al., 2021). normally, dental colleges of pakistan follow a pmcapproved bds curriculum and house job structure that is determined by the national medical and dental academic board (pmc, 2021). apart from the theoretical assessments, this bds curriculum also requires students to be skilled in certain dental procedures by performing a specific number of procedures as per the quota of the individual university (majeed & tirmizi, 2019). during the past few years, some changes have been observed in the medical education system. the replacement of the pakistan medical & dental council (pm&dc) by the pakistan medical commission (pmc) is one such change that has exerted a huge impact on the dental curriculum. also, the change in affiliation of private dental institutes from karachi university to jinnah sindh medical university has reshaped the pattern of examinations (majeed et al., 2020; naqvi, 2021; wikipedia, 2021). furthermore, the world fighting the covid-19 pandemic in the last few years has caused many difficulties for the dental institutes of pakistan in clinical teaching of students. the implementation of online learning, modifications of the infection control practices, and closure of dental opds resulted in great deficiencies in the clinical skills teaching of third and final-year students (ali et al., 2017; mat yudin et al., 2020). considering the aforementioned changes in the dental education methodology and curriculum, there is a need to evaluate their effects on the competence and learning of fresh graduates of pakistan to identify the areas for modification in the teaching strategies. there are few studies (ali et al., 2017; mat yudin et al., 2020; qazi et al., 2021) that have been published regarding the self-perceived preparedness of the fresh graduates. these have used a previously validated dental undergraduates’ preparedness assessment scale (du-pas) to evaluate the bds graduates. this scale has been used internationally as a tool for the aforementioned evaluation (ali et al., 2017; qazi et al., 2021). the present study has used the same validated du-pas scale to evaluate the selfperceived competence level among house officers of different dental institutes in karachi. to the best of our knowledge, only one such study has been done previously 1 section of dentistry, department of surgery, the aga khan university, karachi, pakistan * corresponding author’s e-mail: ahmed.musaddiq@aku.edu pa ge 69 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 68-75, 2024 in pakistan in 2018 regarding the same but it was done before the covid-19 pandemic so the present study will also compare the results with that study to evaluate the effects of the changes in the dental education over the last few years on the self-perceived competence levels of the fresh graduates (qazi et al., 2021). the aim of conducting this study was to evaluate the selfperceived competence level in performing clinical skills, appropriate conduct, and certain cognitive attributes among the fresh dental graduates who are currently doing their house jobs in different dental institutes in karachi, pakistan. materials and methods it was a descriptive, cross-sectional study conducted in january and february 2022. the sample was comprised of house officers from six different dental colleges in karachi including dow international dental college (didc), dow dental college (ddc), dr. ishrat-ul-ebad khan institute of oral health sciences (dikiohs), karachi medical & dental college (km&dc), altamash institute of dentistry & medicine (aidm) and jinnah postgraduate medical centre (jpmc). data collection started on the 18th of january 2022 and ended on the 10th of february 2022, lasting 24 days. house officers who gave their written informed consent with ages ranging between 20 to 30 years were included in the study and are working in one of the aforementioned institutes of karachi. house officers who hadn’t completed their dental education (bds) from pakistan, graduates below 20 or above 30 years of age, and not working in the mentioned institutes of karachi were excluded. the study consisted of 330 participants in total (38 study participants from didc, 102 from kmdc, 39 from aidm, 37 from jpmc, 48 from duhs, and 69 from dikiohs). the institutional review board approved the study (aidm/rdrc/12/2021/03). the convenience sampling technique was used with sample size calculation done by using the cochran formula in which the known population size was taken as 3557 as a rough estimate (commission, 2021a, 2021b; gd, 1992). the permission of the author of the du-pas scale to use the said scale was obtained via email. tangible questionnaires were distributed among the house officers of the aforementioned dental colleges. the questionnaire consisted of three sections: an informed consent section, a supplemental participant information section, and the validated preparedness assessment scale section. the scale was originally prepared in the united kingdom via specific studies and methods and was reviewed for its lexical and grammatical appropriateness by a team of ten dental scholars in pakistan (ali et al., 2017; mat yudin et al., 2020; qazi et al., 2021). this scale is used for the assessment of the clinical skills, appropriate professional conduct, and the attributes that are required or expected from a fresh dental graduate. it consists of 50 questions that are split into two partsa and b. part a evaluates selfperception regarding clinical competence and consists of 24 questions and part b assesses professionalism, communication skills, and cognitive skills that are required for success in dentistry (ali et al., 2017) and it contains 26 questions (pakistan, 2021). the responses from parts a and b were graded as follows: 0 for ‘no experience’, 1 for ‘with help’, and 2 for ‘on my own for part a and 0 for ‘no experience’, 1 for ‘mostly’, 2 for ‘always’ for part b (qazi et al., 2021). after all the questionnaires were filled and submitted, all the data was entered into the statistical package of social sciences (spss) software for statistical analysis. descriptive statistics in addition to the overall du-pas scores and their mean and standard deviation were also calculated for comparative purposes. the p-value was kept at 0.05 at a confidence level of 95%. results and discussion results a total of 330 house officers aged ranging from 22 to 28 years were approached to fill out the questionnaire. 51 (15.54%) participants were male and 279(84.54%) were female (table 1). the mean of the overall scores was 75.75 + 11.60. the highest score was 100 and the lowest was 16. most of the participants were of 24 years of age followed by 23 years (table 1). the majority of the house officers were from kmdc and dikiohs (52.73 %). the participants from government dental colleges of karachi were 206 (62.43 %) and 124 (37.58 %) from private medical colleges (table 2). table 3 shows part a of the preparedness assessment scale that evaluates clinical skills which signifies that more than half of the participants felt they could perform about 18 of the 24 clinical procedures on their own. the procedures that most participants (more than or equal to 90 %) felt confident in doing on their own were obtaining a complete medical history from their patients (item a1), obtaining valid consent from their patients before starting treatment (item a11), and removing dental caries effectively (item a16). conversely, the only two procedures that were significantly (more than 35 %) regarded by the participants as having no experience with were taking bitewing radiographs (item a5) and providing mechanically sound cast partial dentures (item a22). table 4, on the other hand, represents part b of the preparedness assessment scale which shows that more than half of the participants reported feeling always or mostly confident in almost all of the mentioned skills. however, the items that were significantly reported (more than or equal to 20%) to having no experience with were: evaluating new dental materials and products using an evidence-based approach (item b33), referring patients suspected of having oral cancer (item b30), and interpreting research results that could affect their dental practice (item b34) and using an evidence-informed approach in their clinical practice (item b35). pa ge 70 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 68-75, 2024 table 1: demographic values of the population variable frequency percentage age group 22 15 4.54 % 23 110 33.33 % 24 129 39.09 % 25 62 18.78 % 26 12 3.63 % 27 1 0.30 % 28 1 0.30 % gender male 51 15.54% female 279 84.54% table 2: participants from government and private dental colleges variable dental college frequency percentage private sector aidm 39 11.82 % ddc 45 13.64 % didc 40 12.12 % total 124 37.58 % government sector jpmc 32 9.70 % kmdc 105 31.82 % dikiohs 69 20.91 % total 206 62.43 % table 3: part a of the du-pas item question no experience (%) with help (%) on my own (%) a5 i am able to undertake bitewing radiographs 44.5 42.4 13 a21 i am able to provide crowns using principles of tooth preservation 23.6 38.8 37.6 a22 i am able to provide mechanically sound cast partial dentures 36.1 40.3 23.6 a4 i am able to undertake periapical radiographs 17 27 56.1 a20 i am able to perform endodontic treatment on mutli rooted teeth appropriately 19.1 38.8 42.1 a7 i am able to assess the treatment needs of patients requiring orthodontics 18.8 51.8 29.4 a23 i am able to provide a mechanically sound full denture 13 37.6 49.4 a8 i am able to formulate a comprehensive treatment plan which addresses all treatment needs of my patients 3 40.3 56.7 a11 i am able to obtain a valid consent from my patients prior to undertaking any treatment 0.6 8.5 90.9 a12 i am able to carry out patients' treatment sessions in an appropriate order 2.7 23 74.2 a15 i am able to perform non-surgical periodontal treatment using appropriate methods 4.5 18.2 77.3 a9 i am able to provide a range of treatment options to my patients based on their individual circumstances 1.5 26.4 72.1 a3 i am able to prescribe appropriate dental radiographs 2.7 15.8 81.5 a14 i am able to administer inferior dental nerve blocks effectively 1.2 9.4 89.4 a10 i am able to explain the merits and demerits of various treatment options to my patients 0.9 11.8 87.3 pa ge 71 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 68-75, 2024 item question no experience (%) with help (%) on my own (%) a13 i am able to prescribe drugs to my patients appropriately 1.5 23.3 75.2 a18 i am able to restore teeth with amalgam fillings appropriately 7.9 13.6 78.5 a24 i am able to undertake non-surgical tooth extractions appropriately 1.2 11.5 87.3 a2 i am able to undertake a comprehensive, clinical oral examination 0.9 10.6 88.5 a6 i am able to interpret common findings on dental radiographs 1.2 15.5 83.3 a16 i am able to remove dental caries effectively 0.6 8.8 90.6 a17 i am able to restore teeth with tooth colored fillings appropriately 2.4 10.6 87 a19 i am able to perform endodontic treatment on single rooted teeth appropriately 9.4 19.7 70.9 a1 i am able to obtain complete medical history from my patients 0.6 5.8 93.6 a5 i am able to undertake bitewing radiographs 44.5 42.4 13 a21 i am able to provide crowns using principles of tooth preservation 23.6 38.8 37.6 a22 i am able to provide mechanically sound cast partial dentures 36.1 40.3 23.6 a4 i am able to undertake periapical radiographs 17 27 56.1 a20 i am able to perform endodontic treatment on mutli rooted teeth appropriately 19.1 38.8 42.1 a7 i am able to assess the treatment needs of patients requiring orthodontics 18.8 51.8 29.4 a23 i am able to provide a mechanically sound full denture 13 37.6 49.4 a8 i am able to formulate a comprehensive treatment plan which addresses all treatment needs of my patients 3 40.3 56.7 a11 i am able to obtain a valid consent from my patients prior to undertaking any treatment 0.6 8.5 90.9 a12 i am able to carry out patients' treatment sessions in an appropriate order 2.7 23 74.2 a15 i am able to perform non-surgical periodontal treatment using appropriate methods 4.5 18.2 77.3 a9 i am able to provide a range of treatment options to my patients based on their individual circumstances 1.5 26.4 72.1 a3 i am able to prescribe appropriate dental radiographs 2.7 15.8 81.5 a14 i am able to administer inferior dental nerve blocks effectively 1.2 9.4 89.4 a10 i am able to explain the merits and demerits of various treatment options to my patients 0.9 11.8 87.3 a13 i am able to prescribe drugs to my patients appropriately 1.5 23.3 75.2 a18 i am able to restore teeth with amalgam fillings appropriately 7.9 13.6 78.5 a24 i am able to undertake non-surgical tooth extractions appropriately 1.2 11.5 87.3 a2 i am able to undertake a comprehensive, clinical oral examination 0.9 10.6 88.5 a6 i am able to interpret common findings on dental radiographs 1.2 15.5 83.3 a16 i am able to remove dental caries effectively 0.6 8.8 90.6 a17 i am able to restore teeth with tooth colored fillings appropriately 2.4 10.6 87 a19 i am able to perform endodontic treatment on single rooted teeth appropriately 9.4 19.7 70.9 a1 i am able to obtain complete medical history from my patients 0.6 5.8 93.6 a5 i am able to undertake bitewing radiographs 44.5 42.4 13 a21 i am able to provide crowns using principles of tooth preservation 23.6 38.8 37.6 a22 i am able to provide mechanically sound cast partial dentures 36.1 40.3 23.6 a4 i am able to undertake periapical radiographs 17 27 56.1 a20 i am able to perform endodontic treatment on mutli rooted teeth appropriately 19.1 38.8 42.1 pa ge 72 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 68-75, 2024 item question no experience (%) with help (%) on my own (%) a7 i am able to assess the treatment needs of patients requiring orthodontics 18.8 51.8 29.4 a23 i am able to provide a mechanically sound full denture 13 37.6 49.4 a8 i am able to formulate a comprehensive treatment plan which addresses all treatment needs of my patients 3 40.3 56.7 a11 i am able to obtain a valid consent from my patients prior to undertaking any treatment 0.6 8.5 90.9 a12 i am able to carry out patients' treatment sessions in an appropriate order 2.7 23 74.2 a15 i am able to perform non-surgical periodontal treatment using appropriate methods 4.5 18.2 77.3 a9 i am able to provide a range of treatment options to my patients based on their individual circumstances 1.5 26.4 72.1 a3 i am able to prescribe appropriate dental radiographs 2.7 15.8 81.5 a14 i am able to administer inferior dental nerve blocks effectively 1.2 9.4 89.4 a10 i am able to explain the merits and demerits of various treatment options to my patients 0.9 11.8 87.3 a13 i am able to prescribe drugs to my patients appropriately 1.5 23.3 75.2 a18 i am able to restore teeth with amalgam fillings appropriately 7.9 13.6 78.5 a24 i am able to undertake non-surgical tooth extractions appropriately 1.2 11.5 87.3 a2 i am able to undertake a comprehensive, clinical oral examination 0.9 10.6 88.5 a6 i am able to interpret common findings on dental radiographs 1.2 15.5 83.3 a16 i am able to remove dental caries effectively 0.6 8.8 90.6 a17 i am able to restore teeth with tooth colored fillings appropriately 2.4 10.6 87 a19 i am able to perform endodontic treatment on single rooted teeth appropriately 9.4 19.7 70.9 a1 i am able to obtain complete medical history from my patients 0.6 5.8 93.6 table 4: part b containing questions regarding cognitive and communication skills item question no experience (%) mostly (%) always (%) b33 i am confident to evaluate new dental materials and products using an evidence-based approach 30 57 13 b30 i feel confident referring patients suspected with oral cancer 23.6 53.6 22.7 b34 i am confident to interpret the results of research which may influence my practice 35.5 50.3 14.2 b35 i use an evidence-informed approach in my clinical practice 25.2 53.3 21.5 b44 i maintain accurate records of my clinical notes 10.3 59.1 30.6 b42 i am able to manage the behavior of children to enable appropriate dental treatment 9.1 68.8 22.1 b49 i feel able to raise concerns about inappropriate behavior of my colleagues 14.8 55.5 29.7 b41 i feel confident managing anxious patients with appropriate behavioral techniques 6.7 64.8 28.5 b38 i feel confident to address barriers to effective communication with patients appropriately 7.3 59.4 33.3 b32 i have sufficient knowledge of scientific principles which underpin my dental practice 11.2 67.9 20.9 b29 i am able to refer patients with complex treatment needs appropriately 9.1 59.1 31.8 pa ge 73 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 68-75, 2024 discussion the results discussed in the aforementioned section reveal the current state of the confidence level of the house officers with regards to the skills they are expected to have as a dental graduate in order to lead a more successful career in dentistry (qazi et al., 2021). these results indicate adequate experience with more than half of the clinical skills listed in table a. the procedure which most of the participants felt that they had no experience in was bitewing radiography (a5), which could be due to the fact that performing radiography isn’t normally taught in dental school (qazi et al., 2021). as for how competent the participants felt regarding the cognitive skillsthe most reported procedures (more than or equal to 25 %) in part b of the questionnaire for ‘no experience’ were all cognitive skills. this reflects weaknesses in the dental education system especially with regards to the significance of research in dental practice. despite these inadequacies, most of the skills in which more than half of the participants reported feeling completely confident with were affective and communicative in nature. this could indicate the potential for good teamwork and how the current model of the education system might have contributed to its development. it also possibly indicates the existence of a more patient-centric system that can communicate and fulfill the patients’ needs effectively. however, to create a more productive structure, more focus should be given to research and its inclusion in dental practice. a similar study in malaysia included its public universities and had an overall mean score of 79.56 and a standard deviation of 13.495 (mat yudin et al., 2020). another similar study that was conducted in pakistan in 2018 that had utilized the dental graduatespreparedness assessment scale had compared its own results with the results of the study that was done in the uk (ali et al., 2017). it had a mean overall score of 70/100 with a standard deviation of 11.7 (our study’s mean, in contrast, was 75.75 and standard deviation was 11.60) (qazi et al., 2021). compared to the results of this previous study, improvement and decline can be noticed in several areas in the results of our study. for part a, there were about seven items that had indicated significant (more than 20%) improvements via the percentages of the scores in the ‘no experience’ or in ‘on my own’ columns: ability to formulate a treatment plan that addresses all patient needs (item a8), providing a range of treatment options based on the individual patient’s circumstances (item a9), being able to explain the merits and demerits of various treatment options to patients (item a10), being able to prescribe drugs appropriately to patients (item a13), being able to undertake a comprehensive oral examination (item a2), obtaining a complete medical history from patients (item a1) and being able to undertake bitewing radiographs (item a5). all other items of part a indicated moderate improvement (less than or equal to 20%) in the aforementioned columns except for five items that had indicated an overall decline (percentage changes in ‘no experience’ compared with the changes in percentages in ‘on my own’) in clinical output: being able to provide sound cast partial dentures (item a22), being able to provide mechanically sound full dentures (item a23), being able to restore teeth with amalgam fillings appropriately (item a18), being able to restore teeth with tooth colored fillings (item a17) and being able to perform endodontic treatments on single rooted teeth appropriately (item a19). decrease in confidence in these procedures could be due to the impact of the covid-19 pandemic on the dental education system that, as mentioned previously, had resulted in online learning and clinical limitations b31 i reflect on my clinical practice in order to address my learning needs 5.5 57.9 36.7 b39 i feel confident to communicate potential risks of operative procedures to patients 5.8 57.3 37 b45 i am able to work within the constraints of clinical appointment schedules 3.6 63.3 33 b27 i recognize my personal limitations in clinical practice 6.4 44.8 48.8 b37 i provide opportunities for my patients to express their expectation from dental treatment 3.6 44.8 51.5 b47 i am aware of my legal responsibilities as a dental professional 2.1 35.8 62.1 b50 i take appropriate measures to protect patient confidentiality 3 29.1 67.9 b25 i feel i can manage people's expectations of their treatment 2.4 57.6 40 b26 i feel able to motivate my patients to encourage self-care for their dental needs 2.1 42.4 55.5 b28 i feel comfortable asking for help from supervisor or colleague if needed 2.7 35.5 61.8 b36 i feel i can manage to communicate effectively with my patients 1.8 37.9 60.3 b40 i feel confident to communicate appropriately with my colleagues 1.2 34.5 64.2 b43 i am able to fulfill my responsibilities as an effective member of the dental team 2.7 36.1 61.2 b46 i take responsibility for my continuing professional development 1.5 32.1 66.4 b48 i restrict my relations with my patients to a professional level 2.7 27.3 70 pa ge 74 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 68-75, 2024 of students in the essential clinical years (third and final years) of their dental education (bds) due to the closure of colleges (ali et al., 2017; mat yudin et al., 2020). part b, on the other hand, revealed a greater decline compared with part a (qazi et al., 2021). twelve items indicated a lower self-perceived competence level (comparing changes in the ‘no experience’ column with the changes in ‘on my own’ column) than the previous study: confidence in interpreting research results that could influence their dental practice (item b34), feeling able to raise concerns about the inappropriate behavior of their colleagues (item b49), having sufficient knowledge of scientific principles that underpin clinical practice (item b32), reflecting on clinical practice in order to address their learning needs (item b31), feeling confident in addressing the barriers to effective communication with patients appropriately (item b38), being able to refer patients with complex treatment needs appropriately (item b29), feeling confident in communicating the potential risks of operative procedures to patients (item b39), recognizing personal limitations in clinical practice (item b27), feeling comfortable in asking for help from a supervisor or colleague if needed (item b28), feeling that they can manage to communicate effectively with patients (item b36), feeling confident in communicating appropriately with colleagues (item b40) and restricting relations with patients to a professional level (item b48). these areas of decline indicate a lack of proper guidance and clinical experience and a poorer role of research in the clinical practice of dental students. however, all other items indicate an improvement and the most significant (more than 20%) improvement was in feeling able to fulfill responsibilities as part of the dental team (item b43) (qazi et al., 2021). the aforementioned study of 2018 was the first study, to our knowledge, to have used the international du-pas in pakistan. it was conducted over several months and had a larger sample size that was meant to represent all the house officers of pakistan (qazi et al., 2021). even though, one of its weaknesses was that the sample was not large or diverse enough to be representative of pakistan, by using the du-pas scale, it had done what numerous studies were unable to do, to our knowledge, which is to give a slight representation of where pakistan lies in comparison to other countries in terms of the proper standards of dental education by using an internationally validated scale (ali et al., 2017). for our study, its significance stems mainly from the fact that it had used this scale on a sizeable portion of the population in the pre-covid era in the time pmdc determined the dental education system instead of pmc. our study, in comparison to the aforementioned study, is stronger in terms of the sample size (which consisted of 330 participants compared with 128 in the previous study) and variability as it includes six dental colleges instead of just three (qazi et al., 2021). however, since our sample was meant to represent all the house officers of pakistan, it lacked diversity as it only included house officers from the dental colleges located in sindh. also, as mentioned in the previous study as well, the relationship between self-perceived preparedness and competence is not always so direct (qazi et al., 2021). some studies (barnsley et al., 2004; colthart et al., 2008; lai & teng, 2011) have been conducted to investigate the connection between these two and have discredited the association between them or have advised more studies to be done in order to be able to provide more clarity on the subject. also, other types of information bias may have played a role in the data that was collected especially due to the questionnaire’s length. despite these limitations, this was a much-needed study in the covid-19 era; in which students have been unable to acquire the experience they need and when even a less diverse study such as this one can prove to be valuable (ali, et al., 2017; mat yudin et al., 2020). in addition, it can also be used for comparative purposes with future studies done on the same topic. this could then illuminate the areas in the education system that need to be modified and help lead to a future that’s better prepared to deal with the pandemic. conclusion results of the study indicated that most house officers had some confidence in performing clinical and affective skills. however, the skills mostly reported in part b as having ‘no experience’ were mainly cognitive skills. while improvements were noticed in comparing these results with a similar study conducted in 2018 in pakistan, several areas of decline in self-perceived competence levels were also revealed in terms of certain clinical, cognitive, and affective skills. these declines could be due to recent changes, including the covid-19 pandemic. references ali, k., slade, a., kay, e., zahra, d., chatterjee, a., & tredwin, c. (2017). application of rasch analysis in the development and psychometric evaluation of dental undergraduates preparedness assessment scale. european journal of dental education, 21(4), 135-141. https://doi.org/10.1111/eje.12236 ali, k., slade, a., kay, e., zahra, d., & tredwin, c. (2017). preparedness of undergraduate dental students in the united kingdom: a national study. british dental journal, 222(6), 472-477. https://doi.org/10.1038/ sj.bdj.2017.272 barnsley, l., lyon, p. m., ralston, s. j., hibbert, e. j., cunningham, i., gordon, f. c., & field, m. j. (2004). clinical skills in junior medical officers: a comparison of self‐reported confidence and observed competence. medical education, 38(4), 358-367. https:// doi.org/10.1046/j.1365-2923.2004.01773.x colthart, i., bagnall, g., evans, a., allbutt, h., haig, a., illing, j., & mckinstry, b. (2008). the effectiveness of self-assessment on the identification of learner needs, learner activity, and impact on clinical practice: beme guide no. 10. medical teacher, 30(2), 124-145. pa ge 75 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 68-75, 2024 https://doi.org/10.1080/01421590701881699 israel, g. d. (1992). determining sample size. gainesville: university of florida. report no.: fact sheet peod-6. https://www.psycholosphere.com/determining%20 sample%20size%20by%20glen%20israel.pdf pakistan medical commission. (2021a). pakistan undergraduate colleges—private dental colleges. https:// www.pmc.gov.pk/colleges/privatedentalcolleges pakistan medical commission. (2021b). pakistan undergraduate colleges—public dental colleges. https://www. pmc.gov.pk/colleges/publicdentalcolleges lai, n. m., & teng, c. l. (2011). self-perceived competence correlates poorly with objectively measured competence in evidence based medicine among medical students. bmc medical education, 11(1), 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6920-11-25 majeed, h. a., & tirmizi, s. m. (2019). assessment of confidence level amongst undergraduate dental students in performing various restorative procedures. pakistan oral & dental journal, 39(3), 293-297. majeed, m. m., durrani, m. s., bashir, m. b., & ahmed, m. (2020). covid-19 and dental education in pakistan. journal of the college of physicians and surgeons pakistan, 30(10), 115-117. https://doi.org/10.29271/ jcpsp.2020.supp2.115 mat yudin, z., ali, k., wan ahmad, w. m. a., ahmad, a., khamis, m. f., brian graville monteiro, n. a., che ab. aziz, z. a., saub, r., rosli, t. i., & alias, a. (2020). self‐perceived preparedness of undergraduate dental students in dental public universities in malaysia: a national study. european journal of dental education, 24(1), 163-168. https://doi.org/10.1111/ eje.12480 medical news pakistan. (2021). jsmu announces bds 1st prof result. medical news pakistan. retrieved october 21, 2021, from https://www.medicalnewspk.com/16jan-2016/jsmu-announces-bds-1st-prof-result naqvi, a. (2021). nine private colleges affiliated to jsmu. dental news pakistan. retrieved october 21, 2021, from https://www.dentalnewspk.com/24mar-2015/nine-private-colleges-affiliated-to-jsmu pakistan medical commission. (2021). pmc medical and dental undergraduate education (admissions, curriculum and conduct) regulations 2021. https:// pmc.g ov.pk/documents/others/pmc%20 medical%20&%20dental%20undergraduate%20 education%20(admissions%20curriculum%20 &%20conduct)%20regulations%202021%20--%20 amended.pdf qazi, h., urzinger, s., cockerill, j., & zahra, d. (2021). self-perceived competence of new dental graduates in pakistan–a multi-institution study: competence of new dental graduates. pakistan armed forces medical journal, 71(3), 739-43. https://doi.org/10.51253/ pafmj.v71i3.5012 wikipedia. (2021). pakistan medical commission. retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/pakistan_ medical_commission pa ge 1 pa ge 24 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) role of academic institutions in promoting menstrual hygiene management among school girls in lofa county, liberia. evidence from a mixed-method survey in senior high schools in voinjama city washington kezelee1*, james j. n. morlu1, mustapha mohammed tarwulleh1 volume 2 issue 2, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i2.3475 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: july 27, 2024 accepted: august 25, 2024 published: august 29, 2024 this study explores the role of academic institutions in promoting menstrual hygiene management (mhm) among school girls in lofa county, liberia, focusing on senior high schools in voinjama city. a mixed-method survey was conducted among 308 girls from seven high schools to assess their knowledge, access to menstrual products, sanitation facilities, and the impact of menstrual hygiene management (mhm) on school attendence.the findings reveal that 66.1% of respondents were informed about menstruation before their first period, with family being the primary source. while 70.4% of girls received menstrual health education in schools, a significant 29.6% did not, indicating the need for more inclusive programs. regarding menstrual products, 71.8% of girls use disposable sanitary pads, though nearly half (47.7%) consider them unaffordable. the study also highlights deficiencies in school sanitation facilities, with only 42.1% of girls reporting access to clean and private facilities, and just 28.3% having proper disposal mechanisms for used products. nearly half (47.9%) of the girls miss school due to menstruation, missing an average of 2.5 days per month. qualitative findings emphasize the demand for sanitary pads and improved facilities, as well as the need for government intervention. the lack of formal mhm policies in schools, coupled with limited teacher training and resources, further complicates effective mhm. the study concludes that while some progress has been made, significant gaps remain, necessitating enhanced efforts from schools, government, and communities to ensure comprehensive mhm for all girls, ultimately improving their education and well-being. keywords menstrual hygiene management, menstrual health education, menstruation and school attendance introduction the health, dignity, and educational attainment of schoolgirls are significantly affected by menstrual hygiene management (mhm), especially in low-income regions. schools worldwide are increasingly acknowledging the necessity of addressing mhm to support girls’ academic performance and overall well-being. according to the united nations, adequate menstrual hygiene management involves the use of clean menstrual materials, access to facilities for changing and disposing of these materials, and maintaining proper hygiene during menstruation (deshpande et al., 2018). nonetheless, millions of girls and women, particularly in low-income countries, face substantial barriers to achieving adequate menstrual hygiene. approximately 800 million women aged 15 to 49 menstruate each day, and for many, this natural biological process presents considerable challenges (unfpa, 2022). consequently, many girls encounter academic difficulties or miss school during their menstrual periods (boosey, prestwich, & deave, 2014). in sub-saharan africa, including liberia, menstrual hygiene remains insufficiently addressed, with a lack of regionally representative data on the prevalence of effective menstrual hygiene practices among adolescent girls (anbesu & asgedom, 2023). research in ethiopia indicates that inadequate menstrual hygiene practices among schoolgirls can negatively impact their dignity, well-being, academic performance, and school attendance (habtegiorgis et al., 2021). similarly, studies in nigeria have demonstrated that many girls lack access to clean materials, facilities, pain relief, and proper disposal methods for menstrual hygiene (nnennaya et al., 2021). a multi-method survey in ghana revealed the sociocultural restrictions and barriers faced by adolescent schoolgirls and boys in managing menstruation (anbesu & asgedom, 2023). a unesco report indicates that 1 in 10 girls in subsaharan africa misses school during menstruation due to a lack of menstrual products or adequate sanitation (unesco, 2011). unicef has identified inadequate menstrual hygiene as a significant barrier to girls’ education in numerous regions, with poor facilities, insufficient sanitary products, and cultural taboos contributing to absenteeism and school dropouts (unicef, 2019). effective menstrual hygiene management is crucial for the health and education of adolescent girls, as it significantly influences their school attendance, participation, and performance. good mhm practices include using clean menstrual management materials, changing these materials in privacy as needed, using soap and water for personal hygiene, and having access to safe and convenient facilities for disposing of used materials (sumpter & torondel, 2013). poor mhm can adversely affect the health and psychosocial well-being of women and girls (das et al., 2015). 1 lofa county university, republic of liberia * corresponding author’s e-mail: anesthetist15@gmail.com pa ge 25 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 24-32, 2024 despite these challenges, awareness of the importance of addressing mhm in schools is growing. efforts are underway to integrate mhm into school curricula and provide girls with the necessary knowledge and resources to manage their menstruation effectively. for instance, unicef has recommended including menstrual hygiene management in the curricula of primary schools in asia and africa (shah et al., 2023). academic institutions play a pivotal role in tackling these challenges. schools serve not only as centers of learning but also as critical environments for shaping attitudes and behaviors toward menstruation. they can furnish the necessary infrastructure, education, and support systems to help girls manage menstruation with dignity and comfort. research has demonstrated that when schools actively promote mhm, significant improvements in girls’ attendance and academic performance ensue (sommer et al., 2015). studies conducted in india indicate that structured menstrual education programs in schools significantly enhance girls’ awareness of menstrual hygiene and help reframe their understanding of menstruation as a normal physiological process (sivakami et al., 2019). this study aims to investigate the role of academic institutions in promoting effective menstrual hygiene management among senior high school girls in voinjama city, lofa county, liberia. it seeks to understand existing practices, challenges, and the impact of menstrual hygiene on girls’ education and develop actionable recommendations to enhance menstrual hygiene management within the school environment. menstrual hygiene situation in liberia menstrual hygiene management (mhm) remains a critical issue in liberia among women and girls. the availability of affordable menstrual hygiene products is limited, and inadequate sanitation facilities further exacerbate the challenge, leaving many without the necessary means to manage their menstruation hygienically. according to a study by wateraid liberia, approximately 30% of liberian women and girls are unable to consistently afford menstrual pads or tampons, highlighting the pervasive issue of period poverty in the country (borgen project, 2024). the united nations has underscored the importance of addressing menstrual hygiene as a fundamental right, recognizing that access to water, sanitation, and hygiene (wash) facilities, affordable menstrual hygiene materials, and a supportive environment are essential for effective mhm (boisen et al., 2016). impact of inadequate menstrual hygiene management on girls education menstrual hygiene management is pivotal to the educational success of girls. inadequate mhm can have a profound negative impact on girls’ school attendance, participation, and overall education experience. cultural taboos and restrictions related to menstruation often limit girls’ activities during their menstrual cycles, including, restrictions on religious practices and leaving the house. these constraints foster negative attitudes toward menstruation and impose both physical and psychological burdens on girls. the lack of proper menstrual hygiene facilities, such as access to clean and effective absorbents, appropriate places to change and dispose of them, and access to soap and water, contributes to increased absenteeism among girls during menstruation (sivakami et al., 2019). the challenges faced by adolescent girls in lowand middle-income countries regarding effective mhm can lead to school dropout. without access to clean absorbents, adequate facilities, and sufficient privacy, managing periods at school becomes challenging, resulting in disengagement from education and, ultimately, dropping out (nnennaya et al., 2021). roles of schools in menstrual hygiene management the role of schools in menstrual hygiene management (mhm) is critical in ensuring that girls have equitable access to education. inadequate mhm facilities and education in schools have been linked to increased absenteeism, lower academic performance, and higher dropout rates among girls. in many lowand middle-income countries, the stigma and taboos surrounding menstruation are compounded by a lack of appropriate infrastructure and education, leaving girls to manage menstruation in isolation and often with a sense of shame (sommer et al., 2016). studies have shown that when schools provide adequate mhm resources—such as access to sanitary products, private and hygienic latrines, and comprehensive menstrual health education—girls are more likely to attend school consistently during their menstrual periods (mahon & fernandes, 2010). furthermore, engaging boys and men in mhm education has been found to reduce stigma and foster a more supportive school environment (hennegan & montgomery, 2016). materials and methods this study used a mixed methods approach, incorporating quantitative, and qualitative interviews, to investigate menstrual hygiene management practices among senior high school girls across seven high schools in voinjama city, lofa county, republic of liberia. the selected schools included voinjama multilateral high school, voinjama free pentecostal mission high school, korma shepherd mission high school, voinjama public high school, st. joseph catholic mission school, japan elementary junior and senior high school, and lutheran mission high school. excluding 12th graders engaged in the west africa examination for senior high students, the quantitative phase employed structured questionnaires to gather statistical insights into menstrual hygiene practices, facility availability, and their impact on school attendance and academic performance. concurrently, qualitative interviews with one school administrator and two teachers from each selected high school delved into their perspectives on existing policies, implementation challenges, and attitudes toward menstrual hygiene education within their respective institutions. this mixed pa ge 26 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 24-32, 2024 method approach aimed to provide a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing menstrual hygiene management in these educational settings. sample size and sampling method the researchers recruited a sample from all high schools in voinjama city, lofa county, encompassing seven institutions including two public and five private high schools. convenience sampling was employed to select all available 10th and 11th graders present on their school campus on the survey day. the survey was strategically scheduled on a regular school day to maximize the students participation. a total of 308 students participated this study. additionally, within each school, one administrator and two classroom teachers were selected to participate in the interviews, providing further insights into institutional perspectives on menstrual hygiene management. data collection data were collected using structured questionnaires administered to 308 female students in the 10th and 11th grades. the questionnaires were pretested among six female students to detect and correct any issues with question wording, structure, or format that could lead to biased or inaccurate responses. the questionnaire comprised eight sections: section one covered demographic profiles, section two assessed the participants’ knowledge and awareness of menstrual hygiene management, section three examined participants’ access to menstrual products, section four focused on sanitation facilities, section five explored the impact of menstrual hygiene management on participants’ learning, and section six solicited suggestions for improving menstrual hygiene management. qualitative data were gathered through in-depth interviews with school administrators and teachers. these interviews concentrated on the availability of written school policies on menstrual hygiene management, and how school administrators and teachers support girls during menstruation. the interviews aimed to collect insights into their knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding menstrual hygiene. data collection was conducted by female nursing students who received training on survey data collection techniques to ensure accuracy and consistency. data analysis the quantitative data collected from the structured questionnaires administered to the 10th and 11th-grade female students were analyzed using descriptive statistics. this included calculating the frequency, percentage, mean, and standard deviation. the qualitative data collected through in-depth interviews with school administrators and teachers were analyzed using thematic analysis. this process involved, identifying and labeling key pieces of data that relate to specific themes or categories. for example, codes included “lack of mhm policy,” “need for sanitary pads,” and “improving sanitation facilities. “similar codes were grouped to identify common themes and patterns. this helped in understanding the broader issues and perspectives related to school menstrual hygiene management. ethical issues before data collection commenced, formal letters were submitted to the principals of the seven selected high schools, requesting permission to conduct the study. all principals granted their approval for the study to proceed. ethical considerations were meticulously addressed, including obtaining informed consent from all participants. confidentiality was rigorously maintained, and participation in the study was entirely voluntary. the data collected were handled and analyzed with the highest level of care to ensure the privacy and rights of the respondents were fully protected. results and discussion table 1, reveals key demographic insights. the average age of the 308 respondents is 19.9 years, indicating a group of late adolescents. grade distribution is almost even, with 45.9% in the 10th grade and 54.1% in the 11th grade, providing a balanced perspective across different levels of secondary education. additionally, the sample comprises 53.4% of students from private schools and 46.6% from public schools, suggesting a slight majority from private institutions. the data from table 2 on knowledge and awareness table 1: biography profile respond category frequency (n) percentage (%) mean ±sd age (n = 308) 19.9 ± 2.4 grade (n = 307) 10th grade 166 45.9 11th grade 141 54.1 school type (n = 305) private 163 53.4 public 142 46.6 about menstruation among school girls, shows that 66.1% of the respondents were informed about menstruation before their first period, primarily through family (37.1%), followed by schools (32.9%) and friends (30%). this highlights the significant role families play in menstrual education. furthermore, 70.4% of the respondents pa ge 27 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 24-32, 2024 received menstrual health education in school, indicating a substantial effort by educational institutions to provide this vital information. however, 29.6% did not receive such education, pointing to a need for more inclusive and comprehensive menstrual health programs in schools. table 3 presents valuable findings on the access to table 2: knowledge and awareness about menstruation respond category frequency (n) percentage (%) knowledge about menstruation before first period (n = 307) yes 203 66.1 no 104 33.9 area information was obtained (n = 210) school 69 32.9 family 78 37.1 friend 63 30 media / / receive menstrual health education in school (n = 307) yes 216 70.4 no 91 29.6 table 3: access to menstrual products respond category frequency (n) percentage (%) type of menstrual product primarily use (n = 308) disposable sanitary pads 221 71.8 menstrual cloth 75 24.4 reusable pads 6 1.9 other (tissue paper, etc.) 6 1.9 easy access to these products (n = 304) yes 185 60.9 no 119 39.1 menstrual products affordable (n = 298) yes 156 52.3 no 142 47.7 menstrual products among school girls in lofa county, liberia. the results indicate that 71.8% of the girls primarily use disposable sanitary pads, 24.4% use menstrual cloth, 1.9% use reusable pads, and another 1.9% use other materials such as tissue paper. in terms of access to these products, 60.9% of the girls reported easy access, while 39.1% stated that access was not easy. furthermore, 52.3% of the girls found menstrual products affordable, while 47.7% considered them unaffordable. these findings highlight the dominance of disposable sanitary pads and the need for academic institutions to address the challenges of access and affordability faced by school girls in lofa county, liberia. the findings from table 4 highlight significant deficiencies in sanitation facilities on school campuses for supporting menstrual hygiene management. less than half of the schools (42.1%) provide clean and private sanitation facilities for girls, while a majority (57.9%) do not. similarly, only 42.1% of the schools have adequate facilities for washing hands and menstrual products, leaving 57.9% of the schools without these necessary resources. moreover, a critical gap is observed in the proper disposal mechanisms for used menstrual products, with only 28.3% of schools having adequate systems in place, and a striking 71.7% lacking such mechanisms. the findings from table 5 highlight the substantial impact table 4: sanitation facilities respond category frequency (n) percentage (%) the school provides clean and private sanitation facilities for girls ( n = 304) yes 128 42.1 no 176 57.9 pa ge 28 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 24-32, 2024 of menstrual hygiene management on school attendance and student comfort. almost half of the students miss school due to menstruation, with an average of 2.5 days missed per month. while a majority of students feel comfortable managing their menstruation at school, a significant portion (32.6%) do not, indicating a need for improved menstrual hygiene facilities and support systems. the responses from the school girls highlight critical adequate facilities for washing hands and menstrual products (n = 297) yes 125 42.1 no 172 57.9 a proper mechanism for disposing of used menstrual products (n = 304) yes 86 28.3 no 218 71.7 table 5: impact on education respond category frequency (n) percentage (%) mean±sd students miss school due to menstruation (n = 305) yes 146 47.9 no 159 52.1 number of days missed per month due to menstruation (n = 146) 2.5 ±1.2 feel comfortable managing your menstruation at school (n = 282) yes 190 67.4 no 92 32.6 areas for improving menstrual hygiene management on campus (table 6). a significant majority (243 out of 261) suggested that schools should provide sanitary pads, indicating a substantial demand and potential lack of access to these essential items. additionally, some respondents (18 out of 261) called for government support to supply sanitary pads, underscoring the need for broader policy intervention. concerns about sanitary facilities were also prominent, with 38 out of 43 respondents emphasizing the necessity for clean and private sanitation facilities, suggesting current inadequacies. furthermore, a smaller group (5 out of 43) stressed the need for basic hygiene supplies like water and soap, highlighting gaps in essential resources. these insights underscore the urgent need for both material support and infrastructure improvements to enhance menstrual hygiene management for school girls. the interviews with seven school principals revealed a table 6: suggestions for improvement (n = 304) themes quote number of interviewees interpretation sanitary pads (n = 261 “i suggest that the school provide sanitary pads” 243 most respondents (243 out of 261) believe that providing sanitary pads at school is crucial. this indicates a high demand and potential lack of access to these essential items “government should help to supply sanitary pads to all girls” 18 some respondents (18 out of 261) extend the responsibility to the government, highlighting a need for broader policy support and resource allocation for menstrual hygiene products. sanitary facilities (n = 43 “to provide clean and private sanitation facilities for girls” 38 most of these themes (38 out of 43) emphasize the importance of clean and private sanitation facilities. this suggests that current facilities may be inadequate, impacting girls’ comfort and privacy during menstruation. “provide water and soap on campus for hand washing during menstruation” 5 a smaller number of respondents (5 out of 43) focus on the need for basic hygiene supplies like water and soap, indicating that these essentials are either insufficient or not readily available. pa ge 29 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 24-32, 2024 significant gap in the availability of formal menstrual hygiene management (mhm) policies, with five out of seven principals indicating the absence of any policy and two noting that policies are not written (table 7). the lack of formal policies was attributed to several factors: three principals mentioned that the ministry of education (moe) has not provided the necessary directives, one cited the absence of the appropriate personnel to develop such policies, and two indicated that mhm is addressed orally rather than through written guidelines. additionally, one principal pointed out that his school administrations have not prioritized the development of an mhm policy. table 8, highlights the role and knowledge of classroom table 7: school policies on menstrual hygiene management (n = 7 administrators) themes quote number of interviewees interpretation menstrual hygiene management policies availability “no policy” 5 the majority of principals (5 out of 7) indicated that their schools do not have a written mhm policy. this suggests a widespread absence of formal guidelines to support menstrual hygiene, which could lead to inconsistent practices and a lack of resources for managing menstruation effectively. “policy not written” 2 two principals mentioned that although there might be some understanding or informal practices, there is no formally documented policy. this points to a need for formalization and documentation to ensure clarity and consistency in mhm practices. justification for not having a menstrual hygiene management policy “not provided by moe” 3 three principals attributed the lack of mhm policies to the absence of directives or frameworks from the ministry of education (moe). this indicates a reliance on higher authorities for policy development and implementation, highlighting a top-down approach in policy initiation. “because the school has not met the appropriate person to do so” 1 one principal mentioned the lack of expertise or the right personnel as a reason for not having an mhm policy. this reflects challenges in accessing the necessary human resources or expertise required to develop such policies at the school level. “it is orally thought” 2 two principals mentioned that mhm is addressed orally rather than through written policies. this suggests that while menstrual hygiene may be discussed, the lack of formal documentation could lead to inconsistencies and gaps in implementation. “not available by school administration” 1 one principal noted that his school administrations have not developed an mhm policy. this highlights the absence of initiative or priority given to mhm by school leadership, potentially due to competing priorities or lack of awareness. teachers in high schools regarding menstrual hygiene management. among the 14 teachers surveyed, only 36% had received training on menstrual hygiene management, while 64% had not. despite this lack of training, 77% of teachers included information on menstrual hygiene management in their classrooms, indicating a willingness to address the topic even without formal training. however, only 15% of teachers provided menstrual hygiene products to students, with 85% not offering such support. table 9, illustrates how classroom teachers support students table 8: classroom teacher’s role and knowledge regarding menstrual hygiene management respond category frequency percentage (%) teacher receives training on menstrual hygiene management (n = 14) yes 5 36 no 9 64 the teacher includes information on menstrual hygiene management in classroom (n = 14) yes 11 77 pa ge 30 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 24-32, 2024 experiencing menstrual issues and their efforts to reduce menstrual stigma. a majority of teachers (10 out of 14) allow students to visit a female counselor, and 4 provide sanitary pads and access to a special bathroom, indicating a focus on both emotional support and practical needs. to reduce stigma, 6 teachers conduct private discussions with female students, 4 educate the broader student body, 3 refer students to counselors for specialized advice, and 1 emphasizes the importance of peer respect and support. no 3 23 teacher provides menstrual hygiene products for students in classroom (n = 14) yes 2 15 no 12 85 table 9: teachers support students who experience menstrual issues during class (n = 14) themes quote number of interviewees interpretation support students who experience menstrual issues during class “allow them to visit the female counselor” 10 the majority of teachers (10 out of 14) support students by allowing them to visit a female counselor, indicating reliance on specialized support services for addressing menstrual issues. “provide sanitary pads and a special bathroom for them” 4 a significant number of teachers (4 out of 14) provide practical support by supplying sanitary pads and ensuring access to a special bathroom, highlighting efforts to address immediate needs. reducing menstrual stigma in the classroom “provide private discussions with female students” 6 many teachers (6 out of 14) engage in private discussions with female students, suggesting personalized approaches to reduce stigma and provide support. “to educate students on how to address the problem” 4 some teachers (6 out of 14) focus on educating the entire class on menstrual hygiene, aiming to foster a more informed and supportive classroom environment. “refer them to a female counselor for counseling about their menstrual hygiene management” 3 a few teachers (3 out of 14) refer students to female counselors for specialized advice on menstrual hygiene management, indicating reliance on professional guidance. “by advising students to respect their mates and provide support” 1 one teacher emphasizes the importance of peer respect and support, highlighting the role of fostering a respectful and supportive classroom culture. discussion the findings of this study highlight the crucial role that academic institutions can play in promoting menstrual hygiene management (mhm) among senior high school girls in voinjama city, lofa county, liberia. despite some progress, significant challenges remain, particularly in the areas of menstrual education, access to menstrual products, sanitation facilities, policy development, and teacher training. a substantial portion of the girls surveyed (29.6%) did not receive menstrual health education in school, despite the efforts of some institutions to provide this information. families were identified as the primary source of menstrual education for many girls, which points to a gap in the school-based provision of this vital information. this finding aligns with studies from ethiopia and india, where similar deficiencies in schoolbased menstrual education have been reported. these gaps underscore the need for more comprehensive and consistent educational programs within schools to ensure that all girls are adequately informed about menstrual hygiene (habtegiorgis et al., 2021; sivakami et al., 2019). access to menstrual products was another significant issue identified in this study. while the majority of girls used disposable sanitary pads, nearly 40% reported difficulties in accessing these products, and almost half found them unaffordable. this situation reflects the broader economic barriers faced by girls in low-income settings, similar to findings from nigeria and other parts of sub-saharan africa. these economic challenges highlight the need for schools and academic institutions to take a more proactive role in ensuring that girls have pa ge 31 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 24-32, 2024 access to affordable menstrual products, possibly through partnerships with governmental and non-governmental organizations (nnennaya et al., 2021). the study also revealed significant shortcomings in the availability of adequate sanitation facilities in schools, with less than half of the schools providing clean and private facilities for girls to manage their menstruation. the majority of schools lacked proper handwashing and disposal facilities, which are essential for maintaining good menstrual hygiene. these deficiencies are consistent with reports from unesco and unicef, which have identified inadequate school sanitation as a major barrier to effective mhm in sub-saharan africa. the lack of proper facilities not only affects girls’ ability to manage their menstruation but also contributes to absenteeism, with nearly half of the respondents missing an average of 2.5 days of school per month due to menstruation. this absenteeism directly impacts girls’ educational outcomes and underscores the need for significant improvements in school sanitation infrastructure (unesco, 2011; unicef, 2019). furthermore, the study found a notable absence of formal mhm policies within schools. interviews with school principals revealed that most schools either did not have formal mhm policies or relied on informal, oral communication to address the issue. this lack of formal guidelines can be attributed to several factors, including the absence of directives from the ministry of education and a lack of trained personnel to develop such policies. similar challenges have been observed in other low-income settings, where the absence of formal mhm policies has been linked to poor menstrual health outcomes among students. this finding highlights the need for a coordinated effort at both the school and national levels to develop and implement comprehensive mhm policies (sivakami et al., 2019). lastly, the role of teachers in supporting mhm was examined, revealing that while many teachers included mhm in their classroom discussions, only a small percentage had received formal training on the topic. despite this, many teachers were willing to support their students by providing information and, in some cases, menstrual hygiene products. however, the limited provision of products and the lack of formal training highlight a significant area for improvement. providing teacher training on mhm, as recommended by scholars, could empower educators to better support their students and reduce the stigma associated with menstruation, thereby creating a more supportive school environment (shah et al., 2023). conclusion the findings of this study underscore the critical importance of academic institutions in voinjama city, lofa county, liberia, in promoting effective menstrual hygiene management (mhm) among senior high school girls. while some progress has been made in providing menstrual education and support, significant gaps remain in key areas such as access to menstrual products, sanitation facilities, and the formalization of mhm policies. the lack of comprehensive and inclusive menstrual health education within schools, coupled with economic barriers that limit access to affordable menstrual products, poses ongoing challenges for adolescent girls in this region. additionally, the inadequacy of sanitation infrastructure in schools, including the absence of clean and private facilities for managing menstruation, further exacerbates the difficulties faced by schoolgirls, leading to absenteeism and negative impacts on their educational outcomes. recommendations the study identified several recommendations for enhancing menstrual hygiene management (mhm) among senior high school girls in voinjama city, lofa county, liberia. first, it is essential to strengthen menstrual health education within schools. to ensure that students gain accurate information about menstruation, a comprehensive menstrual hygiene management curriculum, should be integrated into school programs. this curriculum should cover menstrual hygiene practices, the use of menstrual products, and the importance of maintaining proper hygiene. additionally, teachers should receive specialized training on menstrual health education to equip them with the knowledge and skills necessary to address menstrual health issues effectively and to help reduce the stigma associated with menstruation. improving access to menstrual products is another critical area for intervention. schools should establish programs to provide menstrual products directly to students, particularly for those facing financial barriers. collaborations with government agencies, ngos, and private sector partners can help ensure a steady supply of sanitary pads and other menstrual products. moreover, exploring cost-effective solutions such as reusable menstrual pads or menstrual cups can provide more affordable options for students in need. enhancing sanitation facilities within schools is also crucial. investment in upgrading school facilities to ensure they are clean, private, and well-maintained will significantly impact students’ ability to manage menstruation effectively. this includes providing adequate handwashing facilities and proper disposal systems for menstrual products. regular maintenance of these facilities should be implemented to ensure their continued functionality and hygiene. developing and implementing formal mhm policies is necessary to provide structured support for menstrual health in schools. schools should formulate comprehensive mhm policies that address menstrual health education, access to menstrual products, and the availability of sanitation facilities. these policies should be supported by clear guidelines and directives from the ministry of education. additionally, mechanisms for monitoring and enforcing these policies should be established to ensure compliance and effectiveness. pa ge 32 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 24-32, 2024 finally, supporting ongoing research and data collection on mhm practices and challenges is crucial. further research can provide a deeper understanding of the needs and experiences of schoolgirls and help evaluate the effectiveness of interventions. implementing systems for regular data collection and analysis will inform policy and program development, ensuring that mhm initiatives are responsive to the needs of the community. references anbesu, e. w., & asgedom, d. k. (2023). menstrual hygiene practice and associated factors among adolescent girls in sub-saharan africa: a systematic review and meta-analysis. bmc public health, 23(1), 33. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-022-14942-8 boisen, m. l., hartnett, j. n., goba, a., vandi, m. a., grant, d. s., schieffelin, j. s., garry, r. f., & branco, l. m. (2016). epidemiology and management of the 2013–16 west african ebola outbreak. annual review of virology, 3(1), 147–171. https://doi.org/10.1146/ annurev-virology-110615-040056 boosey, r., prestwich, g., & deave, t. (2014). menstrual hygiene management amongst schoolgirls in the rukungiri district of uganda and the impact on their education: a cross-sectional study. pan african medical journal, 19(1). https://www.ajol.info/index.php/ pamj/article/view/225603 das, p., baker, k. k., dutta, a., swain, t., sahoo, s., das, b. s., panda, b., nayak, a., bara, m., bilung, b., mishra, p. r., panigrahi, p., cairncross, s., & torondel, b. (2015). menstrual hygiene practices, wash access and the risk of urogenital infection in women from odisha, india. plos one, 10(6), e0130777. https:// doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0130777 deshpande, t., patil, s., gharai, s., patil, s., & durgawale, p. (2018). menstrual hygiene among adolescent girls – a study from urban slum area. journal of family medicine and primary care, 7(6), 1439. https://doi. org/10.4103/jfmpc.jfmpc_80_18 habtegiorgis, y., sisay, t., kloos, h., malede, a., yalew, m., arefaynie, m., damtie, y., kefale, b., tegegne, t. b., addisu, e., lingerew, m., berhanu, l., berihun, g., natnael, t., abebe, m., feleke, a., gizeyatu, a., ademas, a., fentaw, z., … adane, m. (2021). menstrual hygiene practices among high school girls in urban areas in northeastern ethiopia: a neglected issue in water, sanitation, and hygiene research. plos one, 16(6), e0248825. https://doi.org/10.1371/ journal.pone.0248825 hennegan, j., & montgomery, p. (2016). do menstrual hygiene management interventions improve education and psychosocial outcomes for women and girls in low and middle income countries? a systematic review. plos one, 11(2), e0146985. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0146985 mahon, t., & fernandes, m. (2010). menstrual hygiene in south asia: a neglected issue for wash (water, sanitation and hygiene) programmes. gender & development, 18(1), 99–113. https://doi. org/10.1080/13552071003600083 matsui, k., sakamoto, h., & sugiura, s. (1963). studies on menstruation. japanese journal of health and human ecology, 29(1), 17–22. https://doi.org/10.3861/ jshhe.29.17 nnennaya, e. u., atinge, s., dogara, s. p., & ubandoma, r. j. (2021). menstrual hygiene management among adolescent school girls in taraba state, nigeria. african health sciences, 21(2), 842–851. https://doi. org/10.4314/ahs.v21i2.45 shah, s. f., punjani, n. s., rizvi, s. n., sheikh, s. s., & jan, r. (2023). knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding menstrual hygiene among girls in ghizer, gilgit, pakistan. international journal of environmental research and public health, 20(14), 6424. https://doi. org/10.3390/ijerph20146424 sivakami, m., maria van eijk, a., thakur, h., kakade, n., patil, c., shinde, s., surani, n., bauman, a., zulaika, g., kabir, y., dobhal, a., singh, p., tahiliani, b., mason, l., alexander, k. t., thakkar, m. b., laserson, k. f., & phillips-howard, p. a. (n.d.). effect of menstruation on girls and their schooling, and facilitators of menstrual hygiene management in schools: surveys in government schools in three states in india, 2015. journal of global health, 9(1), 010408. https://doi.org/10.7189/jogh.09.010408 sommer, m., hirsch, j. s., nathanson, c., & parker, r. g. (2015). comfortably, safely, and without shame: defining menstrual hygiene management as a public health issue. american journal of public health, 105(7), 1302–1311. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2014.302525 sumpter, c., & torondel, b. (2013). a systematic review of the health and social effects of menstrual hygiene management. plos one, 8(4), e62004. https://doi. org/10.1371/journal.pone.0062004 the borgen project. (2024). unpacking period poverty in liberia. https://borgenproject.org/period-povertyin-liberia-2/ unesco. (2011). menstruation as a barrier to education? health and education resource centre. https://healtheducationresources.unesco.org/ library/documents/menstruation-barrier-education unicef. (2019, march). guidance on menstrual health and hygiene. https://www.unicef.org/media/91341/ f i l e/unicef-guidance-menst r ua l -hea l thhygiene-2019.pdf united nations population fund. (n.d.). menstrual health. https://www.unfpa.org/menstrual-health?_ g a=2 .155001979 .2100496300 .17200920271999025813.1720092026 pa ge 1 pa ge 30 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) managing the security of sports stadiums and their impact on consolidating the values of citizenship among fans of mass clubs in baghdad mustafa hameed hussein1* volume 3 issue 1, year 2025 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v3i1.4715 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: march 12, 2025 accepted: april 17, 2025 published: may 16, 2025 the security of sports stadiums is the security of human gatherings at all levels, it must have accurate planning based on sound information, the ability to anticipate possible scenarios that may occur in each match, and the preparation to face them in a way that ensures the safety of everyone and does not spoil the pleasure of watching the game. sports is a luxurious societal image through which the values of good citizenship that society believes in are embodied and reflected on its behaviors inside the stadium. many times, fans acquire good behaviors inside the stadium that enhance their good values outside the stadium. therefore, it became necessary to strengthen this behavior through upbringing, organization, and training. citizenship values are the result of what society believes in, behaviors that determine the actions of its members in a way that enhances social welfare. hence, the importance of research to promote the values of good citizenship through leading the masses in ideal and conscious ways that reflect a civilized image of practicing sports activities. the searcher analyzed the relationship and impact among the two measures, sports stadium security management and citizenship values, established according to the scientific criteria of pedagogical and psychological scales. the research variables were also evaluated by some members of administrative and technical bodies and club fan groups in baghdad. the study reached multiple theoretical and practical results, from her: statistically significant correlation between the studied variables (security of sports stadiums and citizenship values) and the results of the simple linear regression analysis revealed the existence of significant influence relationships for the independent variable represented by the security of sports stadiums and the dependent variable represented by citizenship values. the researcher recommended that sports clubs should pay attention to training and developing their training and technical staff and their fans ‘ associations to promote the values of citizenship in more modern ways and methods to enhance the spirit of volunteerism and community work. keywords consolidation, fans, mass clubs, security of sports stadiums, values of citizenship 1 al imam al-a’adum university college, iraq * corresponding author’s e-mail: mustafa.hameed@imamaladham.edu.iq introduction sports stadiums represented the image of modernity in our current era in terms of renaissance, perfection and splendor in their construction, as well as their place in activating the national and national economy, which makes it an important area that needs special insurance in terms of high-level implementation of the tasks of security agencies mixed with psychological techniques that deal professionally with the moods of the fans of competing teams in its multiple categories, it deals with a special kind of citizens who agree with their passion for football mixed with the challenge of winning and intolerance for their teams despite their multiple orientations, inclinations, ages and social levels. the security of sports stadiums represents the security of human gatherings at all levels, it must have accurate planning based on sound information and the ability to anticipate possible scenarios that may occur in each match and prepare to face them in a way that ensures the safety of everyone and does not spoil the pleasure of watching the match. based on the foregoing, sports is a luxurious societal image through which the values of good citizenship that society believes in are embodied and reflected on its behaviors inside the stadium, and many times the masses acquire good behaviors inside the stadium that enhance their good values outside the stadium, so it became necessary to strengthen this behavior by upbringing, organization and training, as the values of citizenship are the product of the behaviors that society believes in that determine the actions of its members in a way that enhances social welfare, hence the importance of research to promote the values of good citizenship by leading the masses in ideal and conscious ways that reflect a civilized image of practicing sports activities. the research problem started from the strategies used in the security management of sports stadiums and its role in promoting the values of citizenship for an important and diverse segment of iraqi society that affects the consolidation of these values to become the culture of society in general. on the contrary, the values will fall one after another, causing social crises that are reflected not only on the sports movement of the country, but extend to include all other aspects. objective of the research determines the role of the sports stadium security department in promoting the citizenship values of mass clubs in baghdad. to achieve this, two metrics have been built: the first for managing the security of sports stadiums, and the second for citizenship values, specifically for the iraqi environment, through them, the pa ge 31 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 30-38, 2025 research variables will be described in a way that enhances the values of good citizenship for safe matches. the spatial scope of the research was determined at the headquarters of the popular clubs in baghdad, and the temporal scope was within the period between 10/2/2024 and 1/20/2025, and the human scope was for some members of the administrative and technical bodies and the fan associations of the popular clubs in baghdad. literature review sports stadiums: are the places where sports competitions of all forms and names are practiced, and they are often multipurpose, that is, they are suitable for more than one type of sports activities, the main of which is the game of football, defined (eid, 2000) as: real estate of land and construction, whether dedicated all the time or for some time to conduct sports movement matters. stadiums acquire their importance from the organization of mass sports competitions, which makes them targets, especially from organized crime gangs that try to take advantage of the chances of the presence of the largest mass gathering to commit their criminal acts (abu alfutuh , 2003), as well as the presence of important figures, which requires taking all necessary preventive measures to protect these stadiums and protect those present in them (batayna, 2000). the most important sports stadiums in our arab world are football stadiums because the audience of this game includes all segments of society. a football stadium consists of a playing field, a track, stands and service facilities that can contain a huge human mass inside during competitions, the management and organization of which requires a great effort on the part of the organizer and security personnel (al-harthy, 2004). the benefits of holding sports matches are manifested in raising the skill level of the participating teams and achieving good media publicity for the state through activating tourism and achieving economic return for the state, as well as satisfying the desires of the fans and their sports aspirations (ibrahim , 2000). the risks that threaten sports stadiums are represented by the collapse of sports facilities, fire accidents, increasing the number of fans over the capacity of the stands, as well as riots, crimes of assault on public money, financial and administrative corruption, all this represents a burden on the tasks and duties of the sports stadium security forces, they are responsible for adjusting the rhythm of sports matches in a safe civilized manner, and they can also be one of the causes of sports riots if there are arbitrary practices against the public in addition to public intolerance, the behavior of players and referees and economic conditions (al-subaie, 2001). this can only be achieved if there is an ethical contract surrounding sports competitions, a contract to which all members of the sports community are committed to promoting the values of citizenship. citizenship is derived from the word “homeland”, whose children, without exception, are united by a sacred bond that binds the individual to his homeland within the framework of a multidimensional socio-political concept, influenced by the level of intellectual maturity, civilized development, inherited values (jalab, 2011). (rayan, 2006) in their study “organizational citizenship among faculty members and achievement of secondary school students” showed a positive correlation between students achievement in standardized tests and the degree of practicing organizational citizenship behavior among teachers, while a study (mansour, 2009) entitled “organizational citizenship behavior among teachers of government general education schools for boys in jeddah from the point of view of the principals of those schools” showed no correlation between the personal factors of the study sample and their a study (barna, 2010) titled “behavior organizational citizenship as an indicator to predict the academic achievement of students” that the dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior have a role in improving the motivation for education and is one of the important behavioral patterns to be practiced by lecturers, according to a study (shaifu & mahmoud, 2010) entitled “the relationship between the practice of organizational citizenship behavior and emotional intelligence” there is a statistically significant relationship between the study variables, a study (yaghoubi & hadi, 2011) entitled “security of sports facilities”, aimed to develop an optimal perception of how to protect sports facilities, while a study (virlee & clapham, 2003) entitled “security response to riots in sports stadiums” came to emphasize the importance of the preventive role of educational and media devices to reduce the manifestations of riots in sports stadiums. through the above, the researcher came to his procedural definition of the security of sports stadiums, namely: (employing means and capabilities to ensure the success of sports competitions without accidents, by securing human and material resources inside and outside the stadium). the researcher also defined the values of citizenship as: (the social contract that ensures the security of society by showing the qualities of altruism, civility and sportsmanship). materials and methods the researcher adopted the survey method for the descriptive research approach, as he sees it (hussein, 2024) “it studies the nature of phenomena in terms of their characteristics, forms, relationships, and the factors affecting them”. sampling and data collection the current research community was represented by the administrative bodies of four popular clubs and their fan associations in baghdad. the research samples included (185) individuals, distributed as in table (1). pa ge 32 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 30-38, 2025 search tools based on the objectives of the current research, which requires the presence of two tools: the sports stadium security scale and the citizenship values scale, he built the two scales according to the scientific steps adopted in building educational and psychological scales, as follows: first: definition of terms related to sports stadium security and citizenship values the researcher defined the security of sports stadiums as (employing the means and possibilities for the success of sports competitions without accidents by securing human and material resources inside and outside the stadium), and the researcher defined the values of citizenship as (the social contract guaranteeing the security of society by showing the qualities of altruism, civility and sportsmanship). second: defining the dimensions (axes) concepts of sports stadium security and citizenship values through the researcher’s review of specialized literature in the fields of sports stadium security and citizenship values, to understand their concepts and dimensions accurately, he chose three axes for each of them, taking into account their suitability to the iraqi environment, which are: security of sports stadiums: (securing fans of both sides of the match-securing players and referees-securing vips). the values of citizenship: (altruism – civility – sportsmanship). then the researcher presented these axes and definitions of procedural terms to (5) experts specializing in sports management, testing and measurement for scientific arbitration, and their agreement on their validity was 100%. third: formulating phrases for both metrics the researcher formulated the phrases of the two scales in the (self-report) style and the phrases consisted of (21) phrases for each scale, and the five alternatives to the answer were chosen (always, often, sometimes, rarely, no), with the awarding of grades (5,4,3,2,1) respectively, this method is adopted for the following reasons: 1. achieve greater homogeneity of scale. 2. enable the respondent to express the degree of his feelings. 3. provide greater contrast between individuals. 4. ensure high honesty and stability. results and discussions validity of paragraphs for both metrics after formulating the phrases of the two scales, which amounted to (21) phrases for each scale, the researcher presented the phrases to (5) experts specialized in sports management, testing and measurement for scientific arbitration. the researcher adopted a percentage of 80% or more for the experts to agree on the validity of the phrases, and the two scales came out in their initial versions as in tables (2 & 3). table 1: explains the details of the research samples s club exploratory sample building sample implementation sample 1 al-zawraa 1 10 35 2 air power 1 10 35 3 the police 1 10 35 4 students 1 10 35 total 5 40 140 table 2: the structure of the sports stadium security scale shows s scale axes of the sports stadium security paragraph numbers number of paragraphs percentage ratio 1 securing fans of both sides of the match 1-7 7 33.33% 2 insurance of players and referees 8-14 7 33.33% 3 vip insurance 15-21 7 33.33% total 21 100% table 3: the structure of the citizenship values scale shows s scale axes of citizenship values paragraph numbers number of paragraphs percentage ratio 1 altruism 1-7 7 33.33% 2 civility 8-14 7 33.33% 3 sportsmanship 15-21 7 33.33% total 21 100% pa ge 33 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 30-38, 2025 scientific conditions of the two scales the scientific conditions of any scale include (truthfulness, constancy, objectivity) that must be checked when constructing pedagogical and psychological scales, since the truthfulness, constancy and objectivity of the scale are significantly related to the quality of its paragraphs, and this is achieved by:virtual honesty the apparent honesty expresses the extent to which the phrase is related to the scale, and it was extracted for the two scales by presenting them in their initial form to (5) experts specialized in sports management, testing and measurement for scientific arbitration previously. discriminatory power the researcher unloaded the answers of the construction sample of (40) individuals, calculated the total score for each form, then arranged the scores of the sample members in descending order from the highest total score to the lowest total score, and identified the two extreme groups in the total score by 50%, so the forms of the upper group were (20) forms versus (20) forms for the lower group and for each scale separately, measurement and evaluation experts point out that this ratio is used when the sample size is small, i.e. less than (80) individuals. the researcher used the t-test of two independent samples to calculate the significance of the difference between the two extreme groups for each of the two scales separately, as the statistical significance of the value of (t) represents the discriminatory power of the paragraph, so all the paragraphs of the two scales had a discriminatory power in statistical significance at the level of (0.001) and as an indicator in tables (4 & 5). table 4: demonstrates the discriminatory power in the measure of security of sports stadiums s upper group lower group calculated value (t) the power of the discriminatory paragraphmean std. deviation mean std. deviation 1 4.80 0.410 3.10 0.912 7.603 featured 2 4.70 0.470 3.05 0.887 7.603 featured 3 4.85 0.366 3.20 0.834 7.350 featured 4 4.70 0.470 3.30 0.865 7.350 featured 5 4.65 0.489 3.40 0.821 8.105 featured 6 5.00 0.000 3.25 1.164 8.105 featured 7 4.80 0.410 3.40 0.883 6.362 featured 8 5.00 0.000 3.45 1.234 6.362 featured 9 4.45 0.510 3.00 0.973 5.850 featured 10 4.25 0.444 3.10 0.968 5.850 featured 11 4.40 0.503 3.05 0.945 6.723 featured 12 4.85 0.366 3.00 0.918 6.723 featured 13 4.75 0.444 3.05 0.887 6.433 featured 14 4.55 0.510 3.10 0.968 6.433 featured 15 4.55 0.510 3.15 0.875 5.616 featured 16 4.65 0.489 3.10 1.071 5.616 featured 17 4.25 0.444 3.05 0.945 5.900 featured 18 4.55 0.510 3.25 0.910 5.900 featured 19 4.35 0.489 3.40 0.821 4.829 featured 20 4.35 0.489 3.20 0.834 4.829 featured 21 4.55 0.510 3.20 0.951 5.643 featured table 5: demonstrates the discriminatory power of the citizenship values scale s upper group lower group calculated value (t) the power of the discriminatory paragraphmean std. deviation mean std. deviation 1 3.90 0.718 2.90 1.165 3.267 featured 2 4.20 0.616 2.80 1.196 3.267 featured 3 4.15 0.489 2.75 1.020 4.653 featured 4 4.20 0.768 3.05 1.234 4.653 featured 5 4.15 0.587 2.75 1.164 5.536 featured 6 3.75 1.164 2.45 1.234 5.536 featured pa ge 34 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 30-38, 2025 7 4.25 0.444 2.95 1.317 3.538 featured 8 4.50 0.513 2.75 1.333 3.538 featured 9 4.00 0.725 2.45 1.191 4.802 featured 10 4.10 0.788 2.55 1.099 4.802 featured 11 4.10 0.641 2.55 0.999 3.426 featured 12 3.75 0.851 2.60 1.095 3.426 featured 13 3.95 0.686 2.60 1.046 4.183 featured 14 4.20 0.523 2.50 1.235 4.183 featured 15 4.35 0.745 2.35 1.089 5.480 featured 16 3.90 0.718 2.65 1.182 5.480 featured 17 4.20 0.523 2.50 1.235 4.971 featured 18 4.10 0.852 2.25 1.070 4.971 featured 19 3.95 0.759 2.40 1.046 5.126 featured 20 4.05 0.686 2.70 1.031 5.126 featured 21 4.15 0.587 2.30 1.129 5.842 featured internal consistency the researcher used the simple correlation coefficient (pearson) between the scores of each paragraph and the total score of the scale, and this correlation indicates the homogeneity of the scale, and since all the paragraphs in the two scales had statistically significant consistency coefficients at the indicative level (0.001), it can be said that the two scales have internal homogeneity, and this is evidenced in tables (6 & 7). table 6: demonstrates internal consistency in the measure of security of sports stadiums securing fans of both sides of the match insurance of players and referees vip insurance p pearson correlation p pearson correlation p pearson correlation 1 0.941** 8 0.876** 15 0.924** 2 0.922** 9 0.897** 16 0.901** 3 0.933** 10 0.855** 17 0.886** 4 0.866** 11 0.909** 18 0.749** 5 0.910** 12 0.890** 19 0.666** 6 0.835** 13 0.921** 20 0.873** 7 0.913** 14 0.922** 21 0.900** table 7: demonstrates internal consistency in the scale of citizenship values altruism civility sportsmanship p pearson correlation p pearson correlation p pearson correlation 1 0.474** 8 0.890** 15 0.865** 2 0.628** 9 0.819** 16 0.750** 3 0.760** 10 0.821** 17 0.864** 4 0.638** 11 0.887** 18 0.886** 5 0.869** 12 0.741** 19 0.831** 6 0.708** 13 0.858** 20 0.822** 7 0.804** 14 0.886** 21 0.912** table 8: demonstrates the alpha-cronbach values for the two scales s the scale alpha-cronbach 1 security of sports stadiums 0.770 2 citizenship values 0.766 constancy the researcher extracted the stability coefficient by applying the (alpha-cronbach) equation, and the values of the stability coefficient for the two scales came out good, as shown in table (8). pa ge 35 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 30-38, 2025 objectivity to find out the objectivity of the scale, the researcher determined the range of answers of his samples with five alternatives that give the same results when correcting the resolution, no matter how different the number of correctors, which indicates that the two scales are objective. objectivity “is the test that gives the same results regardless of the difference of the correctors” (abu al-futuh , 2003). execution of two scales on the main sample the researcher distributed the forms to the main research sample (implementation sample) of 140 individuals, and the scores were collected and arranged in tables in preparation for statistical processing in order to display and analyze the results. analysis and discussion of results the researcher used the (t-test) test for one sample of the data of the two scales, where the average score for the security of sports stadiums was (75.86), which is greater than his theoretical average of (63) with a standard deviation of (15.559), and the value of (t) (57.686) is significant at the level of statistical significance (0.001). the average score of citizenship values was (73.28), which is greater than the theoretical average of (63) with a standard deviation of (13,590). the value of (t) (63.802) is significant at the level of statistical significance table 9: shows the value (t) of the measure of security of sports stadiums s the measure of security of sports stadiums sample size mean std. deviation theoretical mean calculated value (t) level of significance 1 sports stadium security 140 75.86 15.559 63 57.686 0.000 2 securing the fans of both sides of the match 140 25.49 5.582 21 54.038 0.000 3 insurance of players and referees 140 25.08 5.740 21 51.693 0.000 4 vip insurance 140 25.29 5.558 21 53.825 0.000 table 10: shows the value (t) of the citizenship values scale s citizenship values scale sample size mean std. deviation theoretical mean calculated value (t) level of significance 1 citizenship values 140 73.28 13.590 63 63.802 0.000 2 altruism 140 24.41 4.555 21 63.419 0.000 3 civility 140 24.56 5.197 21 55.925 0.000 4 sportsmanship 140 24.30 5.087 21 56.518 0.000 table 11: the correlation coefficient (pearson) between the two measures citizenship values altruism civility sportsmanship sports stadium security 0.960** 0.853** 0.917** 0.885** securing the fans of both sides of the match 0.872** 0.799** 0.837** 0.776** insurance of players and referees 0.879** 0.767** 0.828** 0.836** vip insurance 0.885** 0.779** 0.853** 0.815** (0.001), and tables (9 and 10) show these results in detail. associative relations the researcher used the simple correlation coefficient (pearson) to calculate the relationship between the two scales, and table (11) indicates the existence of positive statistical correlation relationships at the level of significance (0.001) between the two scales and their axes. the impact of sports stadium security on citizenship values (durbin-watson) test show that there is one independent variable called the security of sports grounds, while the dependent variable represents citizenship values. the results indicate that the security of sports stadiums has a moral impact on the values of citizenship. the value of (t) for the model constant was (2.315), while the calculated value of (t) for the independent variable was (40.354), which is a function statistically at the level of (0.05), which indicates the morale of the model in general. the determination coefficient reached (0.922) and the corrective determination coefficient (0.921), which means that the independent variable (security of sports stadiums) is able to explain (92.2%) of the changes in the dependent variable (citizenship values). thus, (92.2%) of the behavior of the dependent variable (citizenship values) depends on the independent variable (security of sports stadiums), while (7.8%) of the changes in citizenship values are due to other variables that were pa ge 36 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 30-38, 2025 not included in the research model, and the calculated value of (f) reached (1628.439), which is significant at the indicative level (0.001), reflecting the ability of the model to accurately interpret the changes as shown in table (12). table 12: the linear regression model shows source of variability sum of squares degrees of freedom mean square test value (f) level of significance between groups 31022.205 1 31022.205 31022.205 0.000 within the groups 2628.938 138 19.050 19.050 total 33651.143 139 0.828** conclusions the research showed that the topic of sports stadium security and citizenship values is one of the modern topics in the field of sports management, as it represents the relationship between human sports resources and their audience, he also pointed out that there is a strong moral correlation between the security of sports stadiums in its dimensions and the values of citizenship in its three dimensions, and this shows the important role played by the security of sports stadiums in consolidating the values of citizenship. the research has achieved the highest correlation between the two measures of sports stadium security and the values of citizenship as a whole, the lowest moral correlation between the two axes was the security of important figures in the measure of the security of sports stadiums and altruism in the measure of citizenship values. the results showed that the individuals of the research sample obtained high computational averages compared to the theoretical circles for both the security of sports stadiums and the values of citizenship, reflecting the desire of the sample to provide the best performance for fun, the results of the simple linear regression analysis revealed the existence of significant influence relationships for the independent variable represented by the security of sports stadiums and the dependent variable represented by citizenship values. recommendations 1. sports clubs should take care of applying the security measures of sports stadiums and put it in the first place, through which we get employees with high abilities and skills in dealing and providing high-quality services to the beneficiaries of the club (technical and administrative staff and the public). 2. the need for sports clubs to pay attention to the training and development of employees, raise their skills and personal behaviors, and reconsider their training programs to include in the future special training programs aimed at enhancing human resources. 3. the need for sports clubs to pay attention to training and developing the bonds of their fans to promote the values of citizenship in more modern ways and methods to enhance the spirit of volunteerism and community work. 4. promote a culture of adherence to laws and rejection of intolerance by spreading awareness of national values and belonging. 5. spreading the spirit of service and tolerance contributes greatly to motivating positive behavior and reporting inappropriate behaviors. 6. fairness in the provision of sports services by the organizing committees of sports competitions significantly contributes to a sense of responsibility towards accepting the loss. references abu al-futuh, d. (2003). towards effective electronic scenarios and simulations for crisis management. published research, the first scientific conference on legal aspects of electronic operations, dubai, united arab emirates. al-subaie, b. (2001). personal qualities of employees in the security and protection of vips in the light of some changes. riyadh, saudi arabia: naif arab academy for security sciences. barna, p. (2010). ethical behavior in the framework of educational and ethical leadership [doctoral dissertation, umi dissertations publishing]. proquest. batayna, n. (2000). practical models of sports stadium security. in the scientific symposium: security of sports stadiums. riyadh, saudi arabia: naif arab academy for security sciences. eid, m. (2000). security of sports facilities. in the scientific symposium: security of sports stadiums, march 24–26, 2001. riyadh, saudi arabia: naif arab academy for security sciences. hussein, m. (2024). the degree of exercise of academic and sports freedom among faculty members at the colleges of physical education and sports sciences in baghdad. american journal of physical education and health science, 2(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.54536/ ajpehs.v2i1.2379 hussein, m. (2024). analysis of the temporal orientation of the supervisors of the specialization of physical education in baghdad. american journal of life science and innovation, 3(1). https://doi.org/10.54536/ajlsi. v3i1.2508 jalab, e. (2011). managing organizational behavior in the age of change (1st ed.). amman, jordan: safa publishing house. mansour, l. (2009). citizenship and the education system in the arab world. giza, egypt: international publishing and distribution house. rayan, m. (2006). organizational citizenship behavior and mutual trust and their impact on the performance of employees pa ge 37 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 30-38, 2025 in the jordanian banking sector [unpublished doctoral dissertation]. amman arab university for graduate studies. shaifu, l., & mahmoud, o. (2010). organizational citizenship behavior as a predictor of student academic achievement. international journal of economics and finance, 2(1), 7–56. https://doi.org/10.5539/ijef. v2n1p65 virlee, j., & clapham, m. (2003). the relationship between leadership justice and organizational citizenship behaviors. paper presented at the annual meeting of the midwest academy of management, october 3–5. yaghoubi, e., & hadi, a. (2011). an analysis of correlation between organizational citizenship behavior and emotional intelligence. modern applied science, 5(2), 5–119. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/mas.v5n2p119 ibrahim, h. (2000, june). the people cooperated positively in the security field. journal of the faculty of studies, mubarak security academy, king fahd security college, 5. al-harthy, f. (2004, june). the sense of security and its role in combating crime. journal of security research, 12(24), 12. king fahd security college. appendixes appendix 1: the measure of security of sports stadiums s the measure of security of sports stadiums no rarely sometimes mostly always securing fans of both sides of the match 1 2 3 4 5 1 secure the stadium before entering the two sides of the match. 2 put a barrier grille separating the two ends of the fixture. 3 putting up a barrier net that prevents fans from entering the stadium. 4 the entry cards specify the seating areas of the two sides of the match. 5 divide the two sides of the game into small groups to control them. 6 surveillance of hooligans in the stands by cameras. 7 placing signs instructing the entry and evacuation of the public. insurance of players and referees 1 2 3 4 5 8 securing and inspecting vehicles for transporting players and referees to and from the stadium. 9 securing the way of players and referees to and from the field. 10 securing special rooms for changing the clothes of players and referees. 11 securing the administrative and technical staff of the reserve for the two parties to the match. 12 put a security cordon around the players and referees when entering and exiting the stadium. 13 develop an emergency plan to evacuate players and referees from the field. 14 securing the var zone and ruling iv. vip insurance 1 2 3 4 5 15 securing the vip route to and from the stadium. 16 secure vip cars at the stadium. 17 secure the location of vips before and after the game. 18 customize and secure special gates for the entry and exit of vips. 19 choose the most competent security men to protect vips. 20 securing vip hospitality items. 21 secure command and control between the security services inside and outside the stadium. pa ge 38 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 30-38, 2025 appendix 2: citizenship values scale s citizenship values scale no rarely sometimes mostly always altruism 1 2 3 4 5 1 help the fans even if they are from the other side of the match. 2 i advise fans to be positive. 3 i direct the fans towards law-abiding. 4 he shared his personal belongings with fans to help them when necessary. 5 respect the rights and privileges of fans. 6 anime cooperation between fans. 7 i prefer the public interest over his personal interest. civility 1 2 3 4 5 8 i find it difficult to express my opinion tactfully in sensitive situations. 9 i try to respond in a respectful manner when someone offends me. 10 i see that civility helps in resolving conflicts. 11 be careful to consider the feelings of others when providing criticism and feedback. 12 i believe that civility reflects how much a person respects others. 13 i think civility can be misinterpreted as weakness or excessive courtesy. 14 overweight people get better treatment in social situations. sportsmanship 1 2 3 4 5 15 i deal with losing in competitions with a positive spirit 16 encourage colleagues and opponents to perform well during competitions. 17 be sure to respect the referee's decisions, even if he thinks they are incorrect. 18 i believe that sportsmanship promotes positive relationships between fans. 19 i accept criticism from others. 20 i treat calmly when provoked by an opponent. 21 i think sportsmanship makes competition fun. pa ge 1 pa ge 86 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) fostering mobile field hospitals collaboration during disaster response for seamless continuity of care: a mini review lawan mohammed isa1*, nimisingha jacob amakama1, gilles dusserre1, alina petrica1, luc vechot2, danladi ayuba job1 thawbaan adam1, yusuf muritala kolade1 volume 2 issue 2, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i2.3441 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: july 11, 2024 accepted: august 15, 2024 published: november 25, 2024 when mobile field hospitals are deployed in response to a disaster, they may sometimes face unprecedented challenges that require collaboration either with other mobile field hospitals or with existing regional hospitals to maintain continuity of care for the impacted populations. this article explores the pivotal role of enhancing healthcare team collaboration to ensure seamless care continuity during disaster response in an austere disaster-stricken environment. to improve patient outcomes during disasters, this study aims to investigate the barriers to care continuity in disaster response and highlight frameworks that can enhance healthcare team collaboration during sudden onset of disasters. several bibliographical databases, including pub med, science direct, web of science, and google scholar were utilized. articles examined from the databases were focused on state-of-theart healthcare collaboration frameworks. to shed light on the difficulties and the necessity of implementing a collaborative healthcare disaster response framework, a case study of an american mobile field hospital deployed during the 2010 haiti earthquake was examined. the literature review highlighted several factors that are responsible for lack of coordination during disaster response especially in an austere setting like haiti. the review further highlights some frameworks that have the potential to improve care continuity in such an environment. in the event of a disaster, especially in austere settings like haiti where the usual coordination mechanisms with regional or local government is difficult, deployed mobile hospitals must find alternative frameworks to enable them to work in tandem among themselves and with the local hospitals to improve the affected population’s continuity of care. the five frameworks highlighted have the potential to facilitate care coordination and hence continuity of care in such settings. keywords care continuity, disaster response, emergency medicine, healthcare collaboration, mobile field hospital, regional hospital introduction disasters, both man-made and natural, are becoming major global problems. numerous disasters appear to be occurring more frequently and with greater intensity, including earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, floods, explosions, epidemics (such as influenza, ebola, sars, and covid-19), and terrorist attacks (chen et al., 2020). for the management of large numbers of casualties, prompt medical response to a disaster is essential. mobile field hospitals are used to treat the impacted populations with emergency care following a disaster’s immediate impact, they frequently replace or enhance the services provided by regional and local hospitals that have been damaged or not operating optimally (yang et al., 2018). even though mobile field hospitals are made to function independently while on missions, there are times when working in tandem with regional hospitals is required to meet the population’s healthcare needs. the lessons from an american field hospital deployed to haiti following the earthquake in 2010 serves as one example of this requirement for the need for collaboration. in this instance, the responding team experienced shortage in supplies of critical medical materials, including oxygen tanks (neyem et al., 2016). sadly, this setback resulted in one fatality, with two other patients suffering critical conditions before being sent to the closest regional hospital that administered oxygen. in 2010, a comparable incident occurred in an israeli mobile hospital, where patients undergoing orthopedic treatments were not sure how and where to received continued care with the retrieval of the mobile field hospital (dehghani tafti et al., 2023). the difficulties seen in these cases highlighted the need for a structure that will make it easier for mobile field hospitals and regional hospitals to collaborate in times of disaster to guarantee continuity of care and positive patient outcomes. continuity of care care continuity, or continuity of care (coc) according to the world health organization (2018) is the extent to which people experience a series of discrete health care events as coherent and interconnected over time and consistent with their health needs and preferences (gulliford et al., 2006). prior to 2000, the idea of care continuity was centered on patients’ interactions with their doctors or continuous medical care. the multidimensional 1 department of disaster management and environmental impact, imt mines ales, france 2 mkopsc, texas a&m university, usa * corresponding author’s e-mail: mohadamagum71@yahoo.com pa ge 87 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 86-96, 2024 concept of continuity of care was rarely used in studies. after 2000, nevertheless, the idea of care continuity was given a multifaceted approach. during disaster scenarios, people suffering from already existing chronic conditions need their care to be maintained. this will have to go along with the ongoing treatment of injured victims. research indicates that coc is highly correlated with outcomes for patients and the health system, including better health, patient satisfaction, and quality of life; lower rates of hospitalization and death; higher patient self-efficacy and treatment adherence; and lower health costs. continuity of care has also been shown to be strongly correlated with lower complication rates and health service consumption among patients (dehghani tafti et al., 2023). these results helped make team-based care and other chronic care management models more important (goodwin, 2021). longitudinal continuity, informational continuity, and interpersonal/relational continuity are the three categories of continuity of care that have been recognized(panteli et al., 2015). patients who receive most of their care from a single physician or group of providers over an extended period are said to have longitudinal continuity. physicians can become familiar with patients’ medical histories and present conditions thanks to the ongoing contact that exists between patients and healthcare professionals. informational continuity is the transfer of a patient’s information from one episode of treatment to the next, both between the patient and the providers and among the providers, using both an organized database of medical records and the collective memory of the doctors with whom the patient develops a relationship with patient (such as being aware of their preferences) (chen et al., 2020). chen et al. (2020), maintained that researchers have proposed that the concept of care continuity should emphasize care coordination among multiple physicians in various care settings, such as cross-border continuity and managerial continuity, in addition to the ongoing interpersonal continuity between patients and their doctors when patients see multiple providers. hence, when mobile field hospitals are deployed for instance, it is necessary to establish collaboration between their staff and those of the nearby regional hospitals to ensure continuity of care for the impacted populations. mobile field hospitals (mfh) a mobile field hospital is defined as mobile, self-contained, self-sufficient medical facility that is capable of rapid deployment, expansion or contraction to meet immediate emergency requirement for a specified period of time (rossodivita, 2011).the conditions involved before a field hospital can be dispatched include: (a) written request by the country in need, (b) work with the local healthcare systems (c) clear definition of their roles, responsibilities and operational attainment . the main purpose of a field hospital is to compliment or substitute local hospitals in advent of sudden impact events that produce a disaster(malone et al., 2020). depending on the situation, there are different types of deployable mobile field hospital. types of mobile field hospital different types of mobile hospitals are deployed depending on what is needed to perform a rescue at the catastrophe site while dealing with a difficult natural environment and a high number of fatalities. currently, there are three types of mobile hospitals that may be distinguished based on the variations in transportation media: floating, flying, and terrestrial (skang, 2023). figure 1: rescue material delivery vehicle of national emergency medical rescue team of the second people’s hospital of guangdong province (chen et al., 2020) the most prevalent kind of mobile hospital is the terrestrial kind, which comprises shelter, car, tent, and so on. the mobile hospital on land is modular. as needed, the number of units, the layout, and the care options might be changed. a floating mobile hospital is a standalone medical institution that is situated on the sea. floating hospitals are limited to locations close to water and need a significant amount of space to dock pa ge 88 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 86-96, 2024 and allow boats to carry patients and workers. the flying hospital has been embraced by numerous governments, non-profits, and air forces worldwide. in times of crisis, flying hospitals might offer surgical hospital services, emergency medical attention, as well as humanitarian help. additionally, aeromedical evacuation allowed for the quick transfer of injured people from disaster locations to hospitals. mobile field hospitals of whatever type must collaborate with regional hospitals during a disaster response to achieve continuity to the affected population. figure 2: a tent mobile fielded hospital used by a chinese medical team during earthquake in nepal although there is a wealth of literature on hospital collaboration, they are mainly focusing on larger stationary hospitals, therefore, a framework is essential specifically for the purpose of collaboration between local hospitals and deployed mobile field hospitals. the objective of this research is to answer two questions: (1) what are the barriers to continuity of care in disaster response? and (2) what are the current frameworks that can enhance collaboration between a mobile and regional hospitals for better disaster response? literature review challenges of providing care continuity during disasters research conducted by hamis et al. (2023), on covid-19 field hospitals shows a considerable number of challenges faced by these hospitals when responding to covid 19 pandemic. the main challenges include paucity of electronic medical record that is applicable in all the hospitals, poor communication between staffs and that of patient-family, lack of supply and resources, shortage of staffs, difficulty in mobilizing enormous number of qualified professionals with diver’s clinic background and experience in field hospitals and poor patient number anticipation (hamdani et al., 2023, amakama, 2024a, amakama et al., 2024b). these factors can have negative impact on the quality of healthcare delivered and hence care continuity. during high impact disasters, the challenges of continuity of care is another issue that needs to be addressed. for example, during the israeli emt3 mission in nepal (2015), patients who had orthopedic surgery, were sent home with instructions to have the cast or sutures taken out, but it was not obvious where this would be done. also, the emt3 mission in haiti 2010 highlighted another challenge in continuity of care which is lack of electronic medical record that can be shared between mfh and the regional hospital during follow ups (alpert & merin, 2024). feizolahzadeh et al. (2019), classified the barriers to care continuity in disaster into seven primary class and eighteen subsidiary categories: the absence of a disaster paradigm (comprising of two subcategories pertaining to solely emergency approaches and cultural, social, and political matters); the difficulties in the pre-hospital system (comprising of three subcategories pertaining to inadequate risk communication, pre-hospital measures, and poor distribution of injured individuals); the lack of coordination and cooperation (comprising of two subcategories pertaining to intra-organizational and interorganizational coordination); poor hospital preparedness (comprising of three subcategories comprising of a deficient all hazards approach plan, a failure to learn from disasters, and substandard physician collaboration); the lack of utilization of available resources and capacities (comprising of poor management of volunteers, lack of using home care centers and lack of financial resources. inadequate planning (with three subcategories: poor early discharge plans, following up of patients after discharge, and inadequate design of special needs shelters) and finally inadequate patient knowledge (with two subcategories: patients and their family lacking pre-disaster education plans and inadequate self-care knowledge). from the forgoing, it is evident that lack of coordination and collaboration stands out as the main concern to providing care continuity during disaster response. in this article, we focused on this barrier and try to look for possible solutions that are applicable to mobile field hospitals. pa ge 89 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 86-96, 2024 review of some existing frameworks with potential for disaster response coordination in order to provide effective continuity of care during disaster response, different healthcare systems must work together for the patients best interest (huber, 2022). lack of collaboration between healthcare can have great negative effect on response phase during disaster and in return affect the healthcare of the people (yousefian et al., 2021). feizolahzadeh et al. (2019) proposed solutions to diverse barriers to continuity of care during disaster situations but did not focus them to favour mobile field hospitals operations. due to the paucity of information focusing specifically on collaboration between mobile hospitals and regional hospitals, we will look at different healthcare literatures on collaboration and try to find a solution that can be considered applicable and with the potential to improve collaboration and continuity of care between mobile field and regional hospitals: sunnybrook framework the six core competencies that make up the sunnybrook framework for interprofessional team cooperation are intentionally formulated as collective competencies and are intended to be applied to teams. the framework also includes 19 related behaviors and definitions for each core competency (mclaney et al., 2022). the primary goal of the framework is to facilitate interprofessional collaboration, as seen in the figure’s center below. figure 3: the sunnybrook framework of the core competencies for interprofessional team collaboration (mclaney et al., 2022) the competencies cover the four domains shown in the picture as encircling interprofessional collaboration: (1) approach to leadership, (2) research and quality improvement, (3) education, and (4) clinical and professional practice and care. the competence framework defines interprofessional education as “learning about, from, and with each other,” and interprofessional care as “working together to deliver the highest quality of care.” when two or more professions collaborate to integrate knowledge and scientific viewpoints to address a quality issue or answer a common research question. interprofessional leadership is defined by the framework as utilizing the skills and abilities of team members across all roles and professions. in a complex setting, interprofessional leadership acknowledges the value of a variety of voices and viewpoints in bringing about organizational and cultural change (mclaney et al., 2022). conceptual structure for how interdisciplinary team members at home based medical care access and share patient data the figure below shows the conceptual structure for how interdisciplinary team(idt) members at home based medical care (hbmc) access and share patient data (fathi et al., 2016). the framework’s first definition of the general context of hbmc procedures was to draw attention to the difficulties in obtaining and disseminating patient data in this context. the framework then emphasized four process elements that were found in the literature study results and described the ways in which idt members in the hbmc environment exchange and obtain patient data. using electronic medical records (emrs), holding idt meetings, standardizing patient assessments, and using secure e-messaging were among them. pa ge 90 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 86-96, 2024 electronic medical record (emr) use was found to be a frequent method among idt members for sharing patient information through the literature search. frequent team meetings were another crucial tool for enhancing idt communication and guaranteeing that every team member had access to critical patient data. idt meetings resulted in enhanced collaboration between team members, according to experiences recorded by idt participants from a variety of specialties. meetings enhanced team effectiveness, enhanced patient satisfaction, and enhanced the standard of treatment. another frequently mentioned method for idt members to send patient medical information in a quick and easy-to-understand format is secure electronic messaging. better communication, easier access to patient data, and an increased capacity to cut down on errors were all made possible via e-messaging. in a similar vein, improved patient information transmission resulted from the implementation of standardized patient evaluation forms that were readily available to all idt members and routinely updated. these kinds of documents were especially helpful when patients were being transferred from one type of care facility to another, or when members of the idt were providing care for difficult patients in nursing homes, inpatient and outpatient palliative care teams. healthcare team collaboration in hospital transfers through cloud-based mobile systems collaborative systems encompass mobile applications that are cloud-based and offer continuous monitoring features and recommendations for healthcare (neyem et al., 2016). implementing these software applications can be especially difficult because of front-end and back-end mobility-related constraints. for most apps, mobile frontend needs remain consistent and are linked to the inherent constraints of communicating with the device. however, the requirements for the application back-end are distinct and specific to platforms used for collaboration and monitoring. these include needs for performance (battery life, storage, and bandwidth), security (reliability and privacy), and environment (interoperability, heterogeneity, scalability, and availability).to address these constraints, (neyem et al., 2016) invented a technology which leverages mobile cloud computing (mcc) concepts to enhance the capabilities of mobile devices. mcc architectures aim to increase performance and battery life by utilizing the capabilities of external resource-rich nodes. therefore, the approach merely uses a smartphone as a hub and display for wirelessly sent data from several sensors; whenever a network connection is available, it transmits the data to a server that does all the computer-intensive processing. this keeps the mobile device’s battery from being overtaxed by allowing the server to examine and analyze incoming data in real time to gather statistics and contextual information. based on the overall architecture displayed below, the suggested platform functions as follows. an in-office medical practitioner uses the web system to allocate the transfer to an ambulance prior to starting the transfer. the mobile system notifies the assigned ambulance’s paramedics. the transfer begins as soon as the patient is prepared, and the sensors are attached to him. the embedded sensors take some vital signs during the transfer and transmit the data to the mobile device. the mobile device transfers the data to the cloud, computes the rems, and shows the results graphically. afterwards, real-time observation of all patient data by healthcare experts in the office facilitates improved teamwork amongst participating parties. in this way healthcare systems can collaborate effectively using cloud-based technology. figure 4: conceptual framework for how idt members access and communicate patient information in hbmc practices (fathi et al., 2016) pa ge 91 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 86-96, 2024 onsite incident command system due to staffing constraints and concerns about infection control, nursing facilities in boston were forced to close during the peak of covid-19 pandemic in march and april 2020. using the incident command system, the military, local administration, and medical professionals worked together to quickly create a 1000-bed field hospital for covid-19 patients, including 500 respite beds for undomiciled patients and 500 post-acute care (pac) beds in just 9 days. using the incident command system, which was divided into the areas of clinical care and operations, human resources, facilities/logistics, finance, data management, and information technology. three people provided support to the military general incident commander: one military deputy commander and two clinical co-directors. clinical teams and ancillary services were incorporated in the leadership structure for clinical care and operations, which was adjusted in response to changing demands. all around the region, patient recommendations were accepted and subjected to stringent admissions screening procedures.(baughman et al., 2020). this approach provided a system for an effective collaboration between the military, local and other healthcare facilities during the pandemic. figure 5: general architecture of the proposed cloud-based mobile system (neyem et al., 2016) figure 6: incident command system-ics (baughman et al., 2020) pa ge 92 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 86-96, 2024 wiisard (wireless internet information system for medical response in disaster) when the israel defense force sent a mobile field hospital to haiti following the devastating earthquake in 2010, they used a specially designed technology solution called wiisard which combine the hospital administration system and electronic medical record (emr) of the patients. it can collects and display information in a disaster response scenario associated with mass casualty (demchak et al., 2007). its basic design is shown below. figure 7: diagram illustrating the basic system architecture of wiisard (levy et al., 2010) the primary application was an administrative dashboard with textual, numerical, and graphical data that was updated every minute. this includes records of triage and patients’ medical condition, the record of possible discharge, records of hospital deaths, surgical procedures, imaging tests, births, and patient distribution by department all summarized on the dashboard. along with keeping track of patient movements across the hospital, the system also recorded the dates and times that patients entered each department. from the dashboard panel, the overall data could be narrowed down to the level of a single patient. an electronic patient record was one of the application’s second modules. the patients’ personal details, admission notes, treatments received, laboratory and imaging results were all included in the medical record, which was arranged as tabs on the application screen. the application also featured specific modules for ordering and reporting imaging and laboratory study findings. the hospital included a digital x-ray machine in its imaging department. consequently, there was a requirement for an image distribution solution. for this assignment, k-pacs open source pacs workstations were selected (levy et al., 2010). the implementation of an emr in a disaster response scenario helps to assure the appropriateness of care in a multiple caregiver environment, allowing for faster patient transfers across hospital departments while minimizing the danger of missing critical medical records of patients. this was especially important in haiti due to language barriers between patients and caregivers and a lack of translators. furthermore, such system facilitate easy patient discharge by generating a concise discharge statement that is critical for the continuity of care (levy et al., 2010). materials and methods several bibliographical databases were examined, including pub med, science direct, web of science, and google scholar. articles published on the cutting edge of healthcare collaboration frameworks were among the databases reviewed. this made it easier to comprehend their shortcomings, advantages, and chances for development and use in emergency situations. the reviews played a pivotal role in portraying a suitable methodological framework that possesses the necessary features and capabilities to tackle the typical obstacles associated with healthcare team collaboration during sudden onset disasters. specifically, the framework aims to improve care continuity and patient outcomes in disaster situations. used case: mobile hospital experience during the haiti earthquake 2010 goodman et al. (2015) described the experiences faced by the united states medical disaster teams when they arrived in haiti following the earthquake on january 12, 2010. 48 hours after the earthquake, the team deployed consisting of 11 doctors, 3 pharmacists, 18 security personnel and logisticians, 29 nurses, and 2 respiratory therapists arrived in a devastated area of port au prince. they set up the mobile medical unit on the site of the destroyed gheskio hospital. a small procedure tent for wound dressings and debridement, a surgical theater room, an intensive care unit and a pediatric ward as well as two general medicine tents were set up. a maximum of 35 people can be housed at once for triage, treatment, and release. in the first two weeks of operation, they experienced little supply of food, medication, and supplies due to the extensive damage to the airport and the continual pa ge 93 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 86-96, 2024 airlifting of individuals out of the country. as a result, they resorted to the use of improvised resources and means to cope with the current situation. for example, even though complicated fractures of the arms, legs, and hips were the most common injury, external fixators were not made available until the second week. one inventive way to straighten the fractures was to employ traction by connecting bits of stone from the debris to ropes that were swung over the army cot poles. after one week, three seriously ill patients arrived at the gheskio field hospital simultaneously: • n.s., a middle-aged woman with underlying congestive heart failure was brought with serious breathing problem and was immediately put on oxygen and diuretics • the second patient was jp, a man in his mid-twenties who was under the rubble for three days before he was saved by his family members and brought with severe crush injuries. he was immediately intubated and put on a respirator. • the last patient was a baby suffering from pneumonia who also required manual ventilation and intubation and the field hospital only had one mechanical respirator(goodman et al., 2015) the field hospital was running low on gasoline and oxygen when the three patients arrived. the logistician was worried that the gasoline needed to fuel the generators would run out. although requests for these goods had been made, it was unclear when they would receive them due to the unstable circumstances at the airport. other medical supplies that were sufficient included antibiotics, heart medicines, and pain relievers. it was evident by that evening that oxygen supplies were running short, but no meeting had been held to discuss how to handle the situation. the medical officer decided to try rationing the oxygen by turning down the low rate in the tent where n.s. was receiving treatment. more diuretics and morphine were administered to her to relieve her respiratory distress while her nurse spent the night attempting to keep her comfortable. when the communications liaison discovered the availability of oxygen and other medications at the university teaching hospital, ns was transported there by pickup truck, but no oxygen was given during the journey. although the team’s doctor accompanied her there while attempting to relieve her pain with inhalers, she had to contend with the lack of oxygen and suffered before finally reaching the destination. she survived and was discharged after a few days. in the icu tent, j.p. and the baby were being attended to. when the baby’s oxygen tank ran out, room air was used to manually ventilate her. for a full day, the two respiratory therapists and one pediatrician alternated in ventilating the patients using the ambu bag. when the baby started experiencing respiratory difficulty, the pediatrician providing ventilatory care recommended that j.p. be left to die instead of being put into conscious sleep. refusing, the other doctor in the tent intubated him and j.p. received the last oxygen tank that was left. lastly, the infant and j.p. were flown to the comfort hospital ship, which was berthed in the harbor, via helicopter. j.p. passed away enroute, but the infant made it through. results and discussion the table below summarizes and compares the various frameworks. the strengths and weaknesses also highlighted to give some insight into each framework and its suitability for adoption by emergency healthcare teams for optimum continuity of care. table 2: table of comparative analysis author framework strength weakness opportunity threats m cl an ey et al. (2 02 2) su nn y br oo ks fr am ew or k have been successfully applied to different healthcare systems does not explicitly address emergency related challenges can be adaptable to different scenarios must be customized if considered for application in case of emergency fa th i e t a l. (2 01 6) c on ce pt ua l fr am ew or k fo r i d t m em be rs provides practical and process-oriented approach focusing on important tools necessary for effective collaboration during an emergency reliance on electronic methods may pose challenges in a digital deficient environment its principle can be easily applied to an emergency healthcare setting require robust cybersecurity when sharing vital patient data via e-messaging n ey em et a l. (2 01 6) c lo ud b as ed sy st em the inclusion of continuous monitoring features allows for realtime data collection, providing healthcare professionals with up-to-date information during hospital transfers relies heavily on the availability and reliability of technology, which may pose challenges in areas with limited network connectivity or infrastructure. the continuous monitoring features open opportunities for remote patient monitoring beyond hospital transfers, contributing to proactive healthcare management. the framework may encounter technical limitations, such as delays or errors in data transmission, which could impact the real-time nature of healthcare collaboration during transfers. pa ge 94 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 86-96, 2024 discussion the three patients discussed in the case study suffered due to lack of available resources in the mobile field hospital. however, if a collaboration protocol was initially implemented between the mobile hospital or any close by regional or local hospitals, such occurrences could have been curtailed. table 2 shows summary of some frameworks with the potential to improve collaboration and cooperation between mobile field hospitals and regional hospital during such situation to aid in providing continuity of care to affected individuals in a similar disaster response scenario. the intention is to advice emergency medical teams to explore beyond the box for alternative options, particularly in a nation such as haiti where the typical humanitarian aid command system framework might appear unworkable due to the absence of an operational government that could support the division of labor and needs assessment for disaster response. the “incident command system” is an easy to use and can be implemented within the shortest possible time as depicted in case of boston covid 19 responses. its effectiveness lies in the leadership and division of labor enabling easy resource allocation where needed. this is a very good approach for healthcare teams responding to disasters especially in austere situation like the case of haiti where a functioning government may be difficult. the “healthcare team collaboration in hospital transfers through cloud-based mobile systems,” can be used in conjunction with or embedded in any of the framework to facilitate patient transfer from one mobile field hospital to another, or to a regional hospital with available resources that could save the patient’s life. this is because it could provide real time patient status and the need for immediate intervention whenever needed during transfer. the “sunnybrook framework for interprofessional team collaboration” can be adapted by teams when responding to emergencies but must be customized to fit a disaster scenario. the flexibility of this framework could be utilized by deploying mobile field hospitals to facilitate coordination during disaster response. the “conceptual structure for how idt members at hbmc access and share patient data” has already been used by heterogenous healthcare teams to organize and divide tasks to provide adequate continuity of care to patients. this is why it can effectively be adopted in any disaster situation, especially by international heterogenous healthcare teams responding to disaster. the “wiisard (wireless internet information system for medical response in disaster)” can also be used in conjunction with other frameworks like the cloud based mobile systems. this is because it keeps patients’ records and treatment histories which can be transferred to any nearby hospital whenever a patient is transferred. this facilitates the continuity of care for the patients. after the incidence of haiti earthquake and pakistan floods in 2010, several mobile healthcare teams were sent by international organizations, but they did not make significant impact due to their lack of planning and coordination. as a result, the world health organization (who) sets up a minimum standard for all international healthcare teams responding to sudden onset disasters. these teams are meant to be guided by the who emergency response framework (erf) which ensures that deployed teams can provide quality and standard care to the affected populations. the incident management system (ims) of the who is like the incident command system (ics)approach mentioned in the case of boston ba ug hm an et a l. (2 02 0) o ns ite in ci de nt c om m an d sy st em the system demonstrated adaptability by adjusting the leadership structure in response to changing demands, highlighting its flexibility in managing dynamic situations. implementing and maintaining an incident command system can be resource-intensive, requiring skilled personnel and the allocation of significant time and resources. the incident command system can be integrated with existing healthcare systems and emergency response protocols, enhancing overall preparedness and coordination the success of the system in creating a 1000-bed field hospital may not directly translate to other settings or scales, posing limitations to its scalability. le vy et a l. (2 01 0) a pp lic at io n of in fo rm at io n te ch no lo gy w ith in a fi el d ho sp ita l de pl oy m en t f ol lo w in g th e ja nu ar y 20 10 h ai ti ea rt hq ua ke the presence of electronic medical record facilitates and enhances continuity of care in multiple hospitals one notable weakness is dependency on technology. if the technology fails, the response mission fails implementing similar technology in regional or other field hospitals will enhance information exchange and coordination regional hospitals may find it difficult to ensure compatibility and integration of such systems; careful planning and collaboration are necessary to reduce data silos and promote constant information flow. pa ge 95 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 86-96, 2024 from our literature review. this approach is very effective because it provides a system of leadership, coordination and planning among responding teams. it facilitates partner coordination and engagement as well as operational logistics and support. it should however be noted that who’s ims is more effective in a country with a functioning government where an in-country incident manager will oversee the affairs between the government and the responding healthcare teams. although each of the framework may have a few gaps, however, they each have a great deal of potential and opportunity that, if thoroughly thought through, may help to improve care continuity by facilitating cooperation between mobile field hospitals and regional hospitals during disaster response. conclusion in the event of a disaster, there is need for the deployed mobile hospitals to collaborate with the nearby hospital to enhance the continuity of care for the affected population. numerous scholarly works exist regarding enhancing healthcare collaboration; however, they primarily concentrate on institutionalized healthcare systems. we can demonstrate that the highlighted frameworks offer a potential resolution that can be used in disaster response collaboration between regional hospitals and deployed mobile field hospitals. the frameworks could solve healthcare team collaboration issues and improve patient’s outcomes during disaster response. the difficulties faced by the american field hospital which led to death of one patient and suffering of two others further emphasize the need to utilize the function of these frameworks for effective healthcare collaboration and continuity of care. limitations the limitation of our research lies in the literature review, as we only obtained data from open access publication. this could mask some other important frameworks or work that may have similar results as our findings. references alpert, e. a., & merin, o. 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(2021). identifying the components affecting intra-organizational collaboration of health sector in disasters: providing a conceptual framework using a systematic review. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. ijdrr.2021.102146 pa ge 1 pa ge 11 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) analysing the effects of indigenous activity intervention on the aggressive behaviour and anxiety of school children anirpan roy1*, atanu das2, badshah ghosh1 volume 3 issue 1, year 2025 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v3i1.3891 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: october 18, 2024 accepted: november 22, 2024 published: march 03, 2025 this study investigates the impact of indigenous activity (ia) programs on aggressive tendencies among adolescents aged 12-14 in the cooch behar district, west bengal, india. the study involved 120 participants, equally distributed between the experimental and control groups, with 60 subjects in each group. the experimental group underwent a 10-week ia training program, whereas the control group received no intervention. aggression levels were assessed using the aggression questionnaire and anxiety levels were assessed using the manifest anxiety scale, and anxiety levels were assessed using the manifest anxiety scale before and after the intervention. the analysis revealed significant differences between the two groups across all aggression subcategories: anger, physical aggression, hostility, and verbal aggression (p<0.05). participants in the experimental group demonstrated more substantial reductions in aggressive behavior than those in the control group. the observed effect sizes ranged from small to moderate across different subcategories. the study also evaluates the effectiveness of a novel cognitive-behavioral intervention program designed to address both aggressive and anxious behaviors simultaneously. findings suggest that integrated approaches targeting both aggression and anxiety may be more effective than single-focus interventions. this research contributes to the understanding of the complex interplay between aggression and anxiety in children and offers insights for developing targeted interventions to promote emotional well-being and positive behavioral outcomes in educational settings. keywords activity intervention, aggressive behaviour, indigenous activity introduction the global escalation of aggressive behavior among children is a multifaceted issue influenced by various factors, including home environment, exposure to violent content, media impact, and societal stresses (loeber & hay, 1997). aggression frequently manifests as a symptom of mental health conditions, such as adhd, odd, and cd, with problems exacerbated by limited mental health resources in developing countries (frick & white, 2008; kieling et al., 2011). the advent of social media has introduced novel forms of aggressive conduct, such as cyberbullying, in which online anonymity can facilitate harmful behaviors (kowalski et al., 2014; slonje & smith, 2008). in india, aggressive behavior in children is further complicated by sociocultural factors, including traditional family expectations and academic stress (saxena et al., 2018). the proliferation of smartphones and internet connectivity has exposed children to potentially deleterious content, increasing the risk of aggressive conduct (chaudhary et al., 2020). there is an urgent need for effective interventions that focus on enhancing parental support and mental health services (kuppuswamy & singh, 2021; kuppuswamy & kumar, 2019). traditional indian games such as kabaddi and kho-kho, emphasizing teamwork and self-control, offer a culturally relevant approach to addressing aggression. these activities could potentially constructively channel children’s energy and enhance emotional well-being in educational settings (ghosh, 2019). this study investigates the potential of interventions based on indigenous activities to mitigate aggressive behavior and anxiety in school-age children, aiming to elucidate how cultural practices can contribute to emotional and behavioral development. materials and methods procedure a fitness assessment was conducted on 212 male students, aged 12–13, from two prominent educational institutions in the cooch behar district of west bengal, india. the study selected 120 participants who achieved scores within levels 3 and 4 of the fitness benchmarks established by the ministry of youth affairs and sports’s expert committee, ensuring their capacity to engage in the training program. these subjects were subsequently allocated in equal numbers to the control and experimental groups (60 per group), adhering to a pre-post random group design. the investigation comprised two phases: pretest and posttest. initial aggression data was obtained using a translated version of “the aggression questionnaire” and manifest anxiety scale, which participants completed within their classroom settings. in the interim period between assessments, only the experimental group participated in a training protocol of indigenous activities, encompassing six widely recognized traditional practices. 1 govt. college of physical education for women, dinhata, cooch behar, india 2 rabindra mahavidyalaya champadanga, hoogly, india * corresponding author’s e-mail: anirpanfootbal@gmail.com pa ge 12 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 11-19, 2025 this protocol was formulated through an extensive pilot study involving subjects of comparable age (roy et al., 2024) and was further refined based on pilot outcomes and expert guidance from esteemed physical education professionals. the investigation utilized the aggression questionnaire (buss & perry, 1992) was used to evaluate aggressive behavior. this 29-item instrument assesses four dimensions of aggression: physical, verbal, angry, and hostile. participants responded on a five-point likert scale ranging from 1 (extremely uncharacteristic of me) to 5 (extremely characteristic of me). the questionnaire allowed for computation of both the overall aggression score and individual subscale scores. previous research has validated the reliability of this instrument for adolescent populations (santisteban & ma alvarado, 2009). the internal consistency coefficients (cronbach’s alpha) were reported as 0.88 for physical aggression, 0.89 for verbal aggression, 0.82 for anger, and 0.84 for hostility were. manifest anxiety scale dr. tasneem naquvi developed a manifest anxiety scale to evaluate anxiety levels in children. this instrument comprises 40 statements pertaining to the subjects, each accompanied by ‘yes’ and ‘no’ options. participants were required to carefully read and respond to each statement by selecting either ‘es or no. a score of one is assigned for each ‘yes’ response, while ‘no’ responses receive zero points. the total score ranged from a minimum of 0 to a maximum of 40. the scale was translated into bengali with the assistance of two experienced english and bengali instructors at jenkins school in coochbehar. to ensure that the translated version maintained the intended meaning of the original questionnaire, its content validity was verified (r=0.84). ten weeks indigenous activity training intervention total no. of indigenous activities= six. table 1: ten weeks indigenous activity training intervention days activity division 1st a nd 2 nd w ee k 1st day kit-kit, golla-chhut. 5 min. warm up, 40 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down. 2nd day chhi-buri, pakki. 5 min. warm up, 40 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down. 3rd day kit-kit, chhi-buri, 5 min. warm up, 40 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down. 4th day golla-chhut, pakki. 5 min. warm up, 40 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down. 3rd a nd 4 th w ee k 1st day kit-kit, golla-chhut 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down. 2nd day chhi-buri, pakki. 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down 3rd day kit-kit, chhi-buri, 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down 4th day golla-chhut, pakki. 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down 5th a nd 6 th w ee k 1st day kit-kit, golla-chhut, pakki. 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down 2nd day chhi-buri, pakki, kitkit. 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down 3rd day kit-kit, golla-chhut pakki, 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down 4th day golla-chhut, pakki, chhi-buri. 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down 7th & 8 th w ee k 1st day kit-kit, golla-chhut, pakki, rumal churi. 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down 2nd day chhi-buri, pakki, rumal churi, golla-chhut. 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down. 3rd day kit-kit, golla-chhut pakki, rumal churi. 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down. 4th day golla-chhut, pakki, chhiburi, kit-kit. 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down. 9th & 1 0th w ee k 1st day kit-kit, golla-chhut, pakki, edur-biral, rumal churi. 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down 2nd day chhi-buri, pakki, kitkit, edur-biral, rumal churi. 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down. 3rd day golla-chhut pakki, chhi-buri, edur-biral, rumal churi. 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down. 4th day golla-chhut, kit-kit, chhiburi, edur-biral, rumal churi. 5 min. warm up, 50 min. indigenous activity, 5 min cooling down. name of the activities : kit-kit, golla-chhut, chhi-buri, pakki, edur-biral, rumal churi. analysis of data after the completion of ten weeks of training program pa ge 13 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 11-19, 2025 various levels of sub categories aggression (table 2) both the groups was again measured and the collected data were analysed by using the ibm spss version 20. a one way analysis of covariance (ancova) was conducted to compare the effects of ia on post-test result of the experimental and control groups of various categories of aggression and anxiety while controlling the pre-test data as covariate. shapiro-wilk test and levene’s test were conducted to meet the assumptions. results and discussion the study revealed that there were significant differences between control and experimental groups in sub categories of aggression i.e. anger (a), physical aggression (pa), hostility (h) and verbal aggression (va) as f value respectively f (1,117) = 7.809, 4.648, 5.967, and p= <0.05 (table 2). the post hoc tests showed there were significant differences between the scores of the three groups. the partial eta squared values (table 2) indicate the effect size and should be compared with the cohen’s guideline (0.2 = small effect, 0.5 = moderate effect, 0.8= large effect). according to that for both groups the effect size was small (pa & va) to moderate (h &a). the partial eta squared value showed the 63%, 38%, 69% and 49% of variance in a, pa, h and va score respectively of both groups when controlling the pre-test scores. the results of the levene’s test (table 2) were insignificant (p= >0.05), indicated that the group variances did not exist. hence, the assumption of homogeneity of variances was not violated. the normality of the data was tested by the kolmogorovsmirnov formal test. table 2 shows the insignificant (p= >0.05), indicating the data were normally distributed. table 2: computation of ancova of experimental and control groups on aggressive sub category a gg re ss io n su b c at eg or y g ro up s m ea n & s d (p re t es t) m ea n & s d (p os t t es t) te st re su lts o f no rm al ity (p = 0. 05 ) te st re su lts o f h om og en ei ty (p = 0. 05 ) f va lu e si g (p = 0. 05 ) e ta s qu ar e anger (a) control 19.67 ±6.81 19.68 ±6.26 pre= 0.163 (p= >0.05) post= 0.198 (p= >0.05) 0.498 >0.05 7.809 <0.05 0.063 experimental 20.15 ±6.51 19.18 ±5.87 physical aggression (pa) control 23.93 ±8.13 23.98 ±7.97 pre= 0.197 (p= >0.05) post= 0.187 (p= >0.05) 0.706 >0.05 4.648 <0.05 0.038 experimental 23.90 ±7.90 23.32 ±7.83 hostility (h) control 21.20 ±6.89 21.03 ±6.31 pre= 0.186 (p= >0.05) post= 0.187 (p= >0.05) 0.638 >0.05 8.176 <0.05 0.069 experimental 21.37 ±6.95 20.55 ±6.27 verbal aggression (va) control 14.90 ±4.89 15.12 ±4.96 pre= 0.190 (p= >0.05) post= 0.187 (p= >0.05) 0.501 >0.05 5.967 <0.05 0.49 experimental 15.23 ±4.78 14.67 ±4.65 table 3: the mean and standard deviation of anxiety scores groups pre-test post-test mean sd* mean sd control group (n=60) 24.93 ±4.88 23.27 ±3.30 experimental group (n=60) 25.35 ±5.04 16.80 ±3.01 the mean and standard deviation of anxiety in both groups are presented in table 3. there was a significant difference between control and experimental group [f (1,117)= 133.798, p=<.05] (table 4). a post hoc test showed there was a significant difference in between anxiety score of both groups. the partial eta squared value indicates the effect size and should be compared with the cohen’s guideline (0.2 = small effect, 0.5 = moderate effect, 0.8= large effect). according to that for both groups the effect size is moderate. the partial eta squared value showed the 53.3% of variance in anxiety scores of both groups when controlling the pre-test anxiety scores. pa ge 14 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 11-19, 2025 table 5 shows the results of the levene’s test is insignificant (p= >0.05), indicating that the group variances did not exist. hence, the assumption of homogeneity of variances was not violated. the normality of the data was tested by the shapiro-wilk formal test. table 6 shows the insignificant (p= >0.05), indicating the data were normally distributed. also both q-q plot shows the same result. tests of normality table 4: the difference between the control and experimental groups sum of squares df mean square f sig. partial eta squared contrast 1276.878 1 1276.878 133.798 .000 .533 error 1116.572 117 9.543 table 5: levene’s test result f df1 df2 sig. .120 1 118 .730 table 6: result of normality testing kolmogorov-smirnova shapiro-wilk statistic df sig. statistic df sig. pre .070 120 .200* .984 120 .157 discussion the present study focused on aggressive behavior in high school students and aimed to demonstrate the efficacy of an ia intervention in reducing such behavior. the findings indicated that adolescents in the experimental group, following 10 weeks of ia interventions administered four times per week, exhibited significantly greater reductions in aggression and anxiety than adolescents in the control group figure 1: q-q plot of pre-test score figure 3: the difference (%) between pre and post test results of groups. in x-axis 1= anger, 2 = physical aggression, 3 = hostility, 4 = verbal aggrression figure 2: q-q plot of post-test score pa ge 15 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 11-19, 2025 studies have shown that engaging in extracurricular physical activity is instrumental in reducing aggressive behavior among teenagers (eccles et al., 2003; park et al., 2017). however, few studies have specifically investigated the effects of team sports interventions on youth mental health (hammami et al., 2014; shachar et al., 2016; hammami et al., 2018; trajković et al., 2020a). most of these studies have focused on various forms of recreational soccer, with only one study encompassing a wider array of sports (shachar et al., 2016). this investigation revealed that after-school sports programs, including basketball, soccer, volleyball, martial arts, and capoeira, were more efficacious than standard physical education (pe) classes in reducing anger, hostile thoughts, physical aggression, and negative emotions in children aged 8–12 years. consistent with our findings for the overall sample, trajković et al. (2020a) observed a significant decrease in physical aggression among high school students participating in an 8-month recreational soccer program. our study not only demonstrated a reduction in physical aggression but also in verbal aggression and anger. these outcomes suggest that participation in team sports can promote cooperation, sharing, and improved relationships between peers and adults, thereby enhancing psychological well-being (pedersen & seidman, 2004). furthermore, unlike contact sports, volleyball does not involve direct physical confrontation, thus potentially mitigating the risk of physical violence (mutz, 2012). our research indicates that adolescents can apply positive behaviors learned during sports to nonathletic situations. several models have been proposed to address aggression or improve aggressive behavior management, with one effective approach being the enhancement of adolescents’ self-control skills through indirect means (ronen et al., 2007). research supports the role of self-control skills as mediators in reducing aggressive behavior (shachar et al., 2016). park et al. (2017) emphasized that after-school sports activities offer numerous psychological benefits, including fostering self-effacement, mutual respect, and consideration. the present study found that participants in small-sided volleyball reported higher levels of enjoyment than those in traditional pe classes (chart 3), which may contribute to the observed decrease in aggressive behavior. the substantial f-value [f(1,117)= 133.798, p<0.05] indicated a statistically significant relationship between the ia training program and participants’ anxiety levels. the eta-squared value of .53 suggests that approximately 53% of the variance in anxiety scores can be attributed to the ia program. the study observed a 30% reduction in severe anxiety in the experimental group following the ia training (table 4). research has demonstrated that physical activity exerts a positive influence on stress and anxiety levels (anderson, 2013; robinson, 2019; mayo, 2017; akandere, 2008; naderi, 2019). aerobic exercise effectively alleviates depression in pediatric patients with cancer and diminishes anxiety symptoms (naderi, 2019; akandere, 2008; akandere, 2011; nejad, 2015; carek, 2011). regular physical activity decreases reactivity in the sympathetic nervous system and hypothalamic-pituitaryadrenal axis, modulates hormone release and enhances serotonin and endorphin levels (crews, 1987; åstrand, 2003; jackson, 2006; rimmele, 2007; salmon, 2001; droste, 2003; dunn, 1991; meeusen, 1995; wilson, 1996; chaouloff, 1997). exercise influences neurotransmitters by increasing dopamine, serotonin, noradrenaline, and gaba levels, elevates endorphins, attenuates the impact of stress hormones on the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, induces relaxation through increased body temperature, and redirects attention from anxiety through activities such as aerobic exercise and dance (naderi, 2019; anderson, 2013; alikhani, 2015; kolehmainen, 2014; atkinson, 2009). van loon et al. (2023) examined school-based skills-training programs for adolescents with psychological needs. the current study revealed greater benefits from a ten-week ia training program, with an effect size (0.53) comparable to or exceeding that of psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy (smdrange = −0.22 to −0.37) (twomey, 2015; cipriani, 2018). regular ia, performed four times per week for 50-60 minutes over a minimum of ten weeks, influences physiological and psychological mechanisms, resulting in reduced anxiety levels. figure 4: pre score of control group figure 5: post score of control group pa ge 16 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 11-19, 2025 limitations sample size constraints the study’s participant pool of 120 individuals may not be sufficiently representative of a broader population. restricted age range the focus on adolescents aged 12-14 limits the generalizability of the results to other age groups. geographic specificity the study’s confinement to the cooch behar district of west bengal, india may restrict its applicability to other regions or cultural contexts. gender homogeneity the apparent inclusion of only male participants, as indicated in the methodology section, potentially limited the generalizability of the findings to female students. brief intervention period the 10-week training program duration may be insufficient to assess the long-term effects of the intervention. limited scope of indigenous activities the study’s focus on six specific traditional activities may not encompass the full range of indigenous games and their potential impact. absence of follow-up assessments the study did not include follow-up evaluations to determine the persistence of observed effects over time. potential self-reporting bias the reliance on self-reported questionnaires to assess aggression and anxiety may introduce response bias. future research scope 1. conduct extended research to evaluate the long-term effects of traditional indigenous activities on children’s aggressive behavior and anxiety levels. 2. to examine the impact of programs incorporating indigenous activities on various aspects of mental health and well-being, including depression, self-esteem, and interpersonal skills. 3. evaluate the efficacy of indigenous activities in reducing aggression and anxiety compared to other physical exercises or sports-based interventions. 4. investigate the potential of traditional activities to address specific behavioral challenges, such as cyberbullying or academic-related stress, among students in india. 5. analyze the influence of cultural elements on the effectiveness of indigenous activity interventions across india’s diverse regions. 6. determine the optimal duration and frequency of indigenous activity programs to maximize behavioral benefits. 7. explore the underlying mechanisms through which indigenous activities affect aggression and anxiety, such as alterations in neurotransmitter levels or stress hormone regulation. 8. evaluate the capacity of indigenous activities to enhance academic performance and cognitive function in conjunction with behavioral outcomes. figure 6: pre score of experimental group figure 7: post score of experimental group table 7: pre test post test groups ve ry l ow lo w m od er at e n or m al h ig h ve ry h ig h ve ry l ow lo w m od er at e n or m al h ig h ve ry h ig h control group 0 0 6.67 31.67 38.33 23.33 0 0 8.33 41.67 41.67 8.33 experimental group 0 0 11 25 33.33 30 0 8.33 35 51.67 5 0 pa ge 17 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 11-19, 2025 9. assess the feasibility of integrating indigenous activity programs into standard school curricula and measure their effects on overall student well-being. 10. study the potential of indigenous activities to address aggression and anxiety in specific populations, such as children with adhd or those on the autism spectrum. social implications decrease in aggressive conduct the indigenous activity (ia) intervention program notably diminished various types of aggression (physical, verbal, anger, and hostility) in adolescents, possibly resulting in enhanced social interactions and less conflict in educational institutions and neighborhoods. lessening anxiety the ia program led to a 30% decrease in severe anxiety among participants, potentially contributing to improved mental well-being and social functioning in teenagers. cultural significance utilizing traditional indian games such as kabaddi and kho-kho presents a culturally suitable method for tackling behavioral issues, possibly increasing acceptance and involvement in such interventions. substitution for digital media the ia program offers a productive alternative to excessive digital media use, which has been associated with increased aggression in young people. enhanced peer relations engaging in team sports can foster cooperation, sharing, and improved relationships between peers and adults, thus strengthening their overall social abilities. school-centered intervention the research showcases the potential for implementing effective behavioral interventions within educational environments, which could lead to improved school atmosphere and student welfare. economic approach the ia program presents a potentially cost-effective method for addressing behavioral issues compared to more resource-intensive interventions, making it accessible in developing nations with limited mental health resources. encouragement of physical activity this intervention promotes regular physical activity, which has broader health advantages beyond reducing aggression and anxiety. stress control the program’s effects on decreasing anxiety suggest that it could be a valuable tool for assisting adolescents in managing academic and social pressure. potential for widespread adoption the positive outcomes of this study may encourage the implementation of similar programs in other schools and communities, potentially benefiting a larger adolescent population. conclusion this study demonstrates the effectiveness of a 10week indigenous activity (ia) intervention program in reducing aggressive behavior and anxiety among adolescents aged 12-14 in cooch behar, west bengal, india. the experimental group that participated in the ia program exhibited significant reductions in all aggression subcategories (anger, physical aggression, hostility, and verbal aggression) compared with the control group. the effect sizes ranged from small to moderate across different subcategories. furthermore, the investigation revealed a substantial decrease in anxiety levels among participants in the ia program, with the intervention accounting for approximately 53% of the variance in the anxiety scores. these results suggest that structured, culturally relevant physical activities can significantly contribute to promoting positive behavioral changes and enhancing psychological well-being in adolescents. these findings align with previous research on the benefits of after-school sports programs and team-oriented activities in reducing aggression and improving mental health. the success of ia intervention highlights the potential of incorporating traditional games and activities into educational settings as a strategy for addressing behavioral issues and promoting emotional development in youth. this research contributes to the growing body of evidence supporting the use of culturally appropriate physical activity-based interventions in managing aggressive behavior and anxiety among adolescents. future studies should explore the long-term effects of such interventions and their potential applications across diverse cultural contexts. the positive outcomes of this study may encourage broader implementation of similar programs in other schools and communities, potentially benefiting a larger adolescent population. references akandere, m., & t., a. 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(2013). test anxiety interventions for children and adolescents: a systematic review of treatment studies from 2000–2010. psychology in the schools, 50(1), 57-71. wilson, w. a. (1996). in vivo measurement of extracellular serotonin in the ventral hippocampus during treadmill running. behavioral pharmacology, 101. pa ge 1 pa ge 76 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) effects of sport participation on the lifestyle of secondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis udeme, bassey1*, ochor, daniel chinonso1 volume 2 issue 2, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i2.3644 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: august 18, 2024 accepted: september 21, 2024 published: november 23, 2024 this study investigates the effects of sports participation on the lifestyle of secondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis. guided by three research questions, the study focuses on the impact of sports participation on the physical health, social behaviors, peer relationships, academic performance, and discipline of adolescents. the target population comprises all secondary school students in uyo metropolis, with a sample size of 200 respondents selected through a stratified random sampling technique. a structured questionnaire was used as the primary data collection instrument, and data were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, standard deviation, and percentages).findings reveal a significant positive effect of sports participation on the physical health of adolescents, as it enhances physical fitness and reduces the risk of obesity. additionally, sports participation improves social behaviors, peer relationships, teamwork, and leadership skills while positively influencing academic discipline and performance. however, barriers such as lack of facilities, gender disparities, and societal attitudes were identified as hindrances to effective sports participation. the study concludes that sports participation is vital for holistic adolescent development, recommending schools and policymakers create an enabling environment that encourages more students to engage in sports. further research is suggested to explore the long-term impact of specific sports and address gender-specific participation barriers. keywords adolescents, lifestyle, physical activity, social interaction, sports participation 1 department of sport and exercise science, faculty of education, university of port harcourt, choba, port harcourt rivers state, nigeria * corresponding author’s e-mail: ochordaniel@gmail.com introduction teenage sports engagement has long been understood to be essential for promoting social, psychological, and physical development. sports can offer an organized setting that fosters social interaction, physical fitness, and emotional resilience during adolescence, a crucial time for personal development. several studies have demonstrated how athletics can help teenagers enhance their motor abilities, lower their risk of obesity, and improve their cardiovascular health (strong et al., 2005). regular sports engagement has also been connected to enhanced mood, increased vitality, and better sleep patterns (biddle & asare, 2011). growing support for sports programs in secondary schools in uyo metropolis has resulted from a greater understanding of these advantages and an effort to encourage young people to lead healthy lifestyles. participation in sports has a big impact on how teenagers behave and develop their social skills. teenagers that participate in sports acquire important life lessons like cooperation, discipline, teamwork, and leadership that they can use in other spheres of their lives, like school and relationships with others. participating in organised sports is linked to improved social skills and decreased antisocial behaviour, according to eime et al. (2013). this is especially crucial in the context of uyo, where teenage behaviour is greatly influenced by peer pressure and cultural norms. playing sports can give kids a healthy outlet and foster an environment where they can form positive relationships and learn how to resolve disagreement and compete well. adolescents’ psychological health, including their sense of self-worth, self-concept, and emotional control, has also been linked to sports engagement. compared to their peers who do not participate in physical activities, adolescents who regularly engage in physical activities report lower levels of anxiety and depression and higher levels of confidence (lubans et al., 2016). teenagers can develop their resilience, learn to accept failure, and create and accomplish personal objectives through sports—all skills that are essential for overcoming the difficulties of puberty. in uyo metropolis, where youth mental health problems are frequently underreported, encouraging athletics can be a useful tactic to improve the mental and general wellbeing of the youth. a further important topic of research is the connection between involvement in sports and academic achievement. research indicates that kids who engage in physical activity are more likely to exhibit enhanced focus, memory, and classroom behaviour, all of which can lead to better academic results (singh et al., 2012). in the context of uyo metropolis, including sports in the curriculum could aid in addressing the difficulties many secondary school students have in their academic studies. in addition, schools with well-run athletic departments typically cultivate learning environments that strike a balance between extracurricular and academic pursuits, providing students with opportunities for all-around growth. even with these advantages, many obstacles prevent teenagers in uyo metropolis from playing sports. pa ge 77 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 76-85, 2024 participation levels can be greatly impacted by elements including poor infrastructure, a lack of access to good coaching, gender bias, and social perceptions of sports (okeke et al., 2020). to effectively establish strategies and programs to promote sports among secondary school students, it is imperative to comprehend these barriers. therefore, the purpose of this study is to investigate how teenage sports engagement affects their lifestyle in uyo metropolis, taking into account their physical, social, psychological, and intellectual needs. the results will offer insightful information about how sports might be used to improve the development and wellbeing of adolescents in the area. statement of the problem adolescence serves as the basis of an individual’s general well-being throughout their life. adolescence is a crucial period of development marked by the onset rapid physical, psychological and social changes. this is a stage when forming good habits like routine exercise, eating proper meals at regular intervals along with meditation can provide one the biggest jump start for their growth and most important term of one’s life. having a healthy lifestyle in adolescence can lower the risk of contracting chronic diseases such as obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. it also helps to reduce the chances of anxiety, depression and many other mental disorders. in addition, participating in positive activities such as sports and play recreation that are opportunities for social interactions also promotes important life skills (e.g.: teamwork, communication skill building) 297 298. these are critical skills necessary for academic outcomes, social adaptation and self-fulfillment. in addition, living a healthy life gives adolescents an essential self-esteem and body image that are important for confidence in themselves and social competence. in essence, being healthy during adolescence is necessary in preparing for the future of an individual’s health and well-being. introduction participation in sports has been well documented to improve the physical health, psychological well-being, social integration and thus academic success of adolescents; yet there is no focused research on how these benefits manifest themselves within uyo metropolis. the adolescents in this region deal with special socio-cultural and economic situations which might affect their participation in sports; thus, reflecting on them for a lifetime. this study on the effects of sports participation toward lifestyle among adolescents in uyo metropolis is important as it could give information on the impact moving along with engagements to involvement in efficiency and active activities would have physical fitness, mental strength, socializing skills and academic performances change their lives. moreover, such insights may help educators and policmakers create targeted policies and programs to promote sports as a way of developing healthy lifestyles or curbing juvenile delinquency among young people, while supporting youth development strategies in general. this localized knowledge is important because without it, there may be a failure to appreciate sport as a tool for the transformation of young people in uyo and consequently missed opportunities that can lead youth sports toward addressing societal problems. aim of the study the major aim of the study is to examine the effects of sport participation on the lifestyle of secondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis. research questions the following research questions guided the study: 1. what is the effect of sport participation on the physical health of secondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis? 2. what is the influence of sport participation on social behaviors and peer relationships of secondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis? 3. how does sport participation affect the academic performance and discipline of secondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis? literature review benefits of sports participation for physical health playing sports has a well-established positive effect on teenagers’ physical health, as it increases fitness, lowers the risk of obesity, and improves overall health outcomes. regular participation in sporting activities has been linked to improvements in muscular strength, flexibility, cardiovascular endurance, and body composition, according to studies (janssen & leblanc, 2010). by burning calories, increasing metabolism, and developing lean muscle mass, sports participation aids teenagers in maintaining a healthy weight. this is important because obesity is becoming a rising global health concern among young people (tremblay et al., 2011). sports-related physical activity increases bone density and lowers the incidence of osteoporosis in later life, according to strong et al. (2005). in addition, frequent sports engagement has been associated with reduced blood pressure and enhanced lipid profiles, both of which are crucial markers of cardiovascular well-being (andersen et al., 2006). adolescents who participate in sports are more likely to form lifelong physical activity habits, which can lower the risk of chronic diseases including type 2 diabetes and some malignancies, according to the centres for disease control and prevention (cdc) (2020). as a result, by encouraging fitness and reducing obesity and related health problems, sports involvement is essential for promoting the physical health of teenagers. emotional and psychological advantages adolescents who participate in sports get significant psychological and emotional benefits that impact their general emotional well-being, stress management, and sense of self-worth. several studies demonstrate how playing sports can provide teenagers a sense of accomplishment, physical confidence, and social pa ge 78 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 76-85, 2024 recognition—all of which can greatly increase their sense of self-worth and self-esteem (ekeland et al., 2005). bailey (2006) states that playing sports aids in the development of coping mechanisms and resilience in teenagers, both of which are critical for stress and anxiety management. because physical exertion releases endorphins and other neurochemicals, sports participation has been linked to decreased levels of depression, increased mood, and better stress management (lubans et al., 2016). additionally, sports give people a positive way to express their emotions and a sense of community, which lowers feelings of loneliness and increases emotional stability (holt et al., 2011). during adolescence, a time marked by profound emotional and psychological transformations, this is especially crucial. biddle and asare’s (2011) metaanalysis confirmed the significance of sports in improving emotional well-being by demonstrating a consistent correlation between physical activity, including sports, and a decrease in symptoms of anxiety and depression. effects on behaviour and society adolescents’ social and behavioural development is significantly impacted by sports participation, which has an impact on leadership, teamwork, and peer relationships. according to smith et al. (2010), sports give teenagers a social platform where they can engage, work together, and create bonds with their classmates. this promotes a feeling of community and belonging. particularly when it comes to teaching fundamental social skills like empathy, cooperation, communication, and conflict resolution, team sports are invaluable (eccles et al., 2003). according to studies, teenagers who play sports have a higher chance of becoming leaders and exhibiting prosocial traits like respect and assistance to others, both on and off the pitch (bruner et al., 2017). the disciplined atmosphere of sports also fosters selfcontrol, self-discipline, and rule compliance, all of which are essential for behavioural development, claim fredricks and eccles (2006). furthermore, by offering a controlled atmosphere and positive social impacts, sports can act as a preventive intervention against delinquency and dangerous behaviours (gardner et al., 2009). as a result, playing sports is a great way for teenagers to improve their social and behavioural skills. participation in sports and academic performance numerous studies have examined the connection between teenage athletic involvement and academic achievement, and the results show that the two are positively correlated. according to research, playing sports is linked to increased focus, cognitive function, and academic discipline, all of which contribute to better academic performance (singh et al., 2012). sports and other physical activities can improve brain function and cognition by encouraging neurogenesis and boosting blood flow to the brain, both of which are good for memory and learning, according to trudeau and shephard (2008). according to stein et al. (2013), student-athletes frequently exhibit superior levels of self-control, time management, and goalsetting abilities that translate to academic environments. according to a research by carlson et al. (2008), kids who engaged in regular physical activity including sports performed better on reading, arithmetic, and science standardized assessments. because athletes feel more a part of the school community, playing sports can also increase student involvement and lower dropout rates (fredricks & eccles, 2006). consequently, playing sports improves teenagers’ academic performance by developing abilities that support academic success, in addition to their physical and mental health. barriers to sports participation even though playing sports has many advantages, there are a number of obstacles that keep teenagers from participating, such as a lack of facilities, gender inequalities, and societal perceptions. research suggests that insufficient sports facilities and infrastructure in schools, especially in developing nations, restrict teenagers’ ability to participate in sports on a regular basis (eime et al., 2013). gender differences are especially important since preconceptions and societal conventions frequently deter girls from playing sports, which results in lower levels of involvement among female adolescents (staurowsky et al., 2015). additionally, cultural attitudes and beliefs can either encourage or discourage participation in sports; in certain cultures, sports are not seen as important, and parents might not push their kids to be physically active (vella et al., 2014). adolescents from disadvantaged backgrounds may find it difficult to participate in sports due to financial obstacles including the price of training programs and equipment (dagkas & armour, 2012). according to a research by allender et al. (2006), adolescents’ other obstacles to playing sports include safety concerns, a lack of time owing to academic expectations, and a lack of support from parents and schools. in order to maximise the advantages of sports engagement for all adolescents and to promote equal access to sports, it is imperative that these barriers be addressed. materials and method to effectively study the effects of sports participation on the lifestyle of adolescents in uyo metropolis, this research employed a descriptive survey research design. this design is suitable for understanding the current status, attitudes, and behaviors of the participants regarding sports participation and its influence on their physical, psychological, social, and academic life. the study focused on secondary school adolescents within uyo metropolis, aiming to gather comprehensive data on their sports involvement and lifestyle outcomes. the study was conducted in uyo metropolis, the capital city of akwa ibom state, nigeria. uyo is a rapidly growing urban area with a diverse population and several secondary schools, making it a suitable location to examine the effects of sports participation on adolescents. the metropolis offers various sporting facilities, both within pa ge 79 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 76-85, 2024 school environments and in the community, which are accessible to adolescents.the target population for this study consisted of all adolescents enrolled in secondary schools within uyo metropolis. for the purpose of this study adolescents are defined as individuals aged 12 to 18 years. this population was chosen because they are at a developmental stage where lifestyle habits are being formed, and their involvement in sports could significantly impact their physical health, psychological well-being, social skills, and academic performance. a sample size of 200 adolescents was selected from various secondary schools in uyo metropolis using a multi-stage sampling technique. in the first stage, schools were stratified into public and private categories. from each category, five schools were randomly selected to ensure representation across different socio-economic backgrounds. in the second stage, a simple random sampling technique was employed to select 20 students (10 males and 10 females) from each school to achieve gender balance and diversity within the sample.a structured questionnaire was developed as the primary instrument for data collection. the questionnaire consisted five sections. the questions werein likert scale items to allow for quantitative analysis and in-depth insights into participants’ perceptions and experiences. the questionnaire was validated by experts in sports science, psychology, and education to ensure content validity. a pilot study was conducted with 30 adolescents from a school in eket lga to test the reliability of the instrument. the cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated to determine the internal consistency of the questionnaire and a reliability index value of 0.70 was obtained. data collection involved administering the questionnaire to the selected participants during school hours. the researchers sought permission from school authorities and obtain informed consent from the participants and their guardians. the purpose of the study was explained, and confidentiality was assured. the respondents were guided on how to fill out the questionnaire, and assistance were provided where necessary. the entire data collection process took about four weeks.the collected data was analyzed using descriptive statistical method. descriptive statistics, such as frequencies, percentages, means, and standard deviationswere used to answer research questions and summarize the data. ethical approval was obtained from the relevant ethical committee, and informed consent was secured from participants and their guardians. participation in the study was voluntary, table 1: age distribution of respondents s/n age group (years) frequency (n) percentage (%) 1 10 12 30 15.0 2 13 15 90 45.0 3 16 18 80 40.0 total 200 100.0 table 2: gender distribution of respondents s/n gender frequency (n) percentage (%) 1 male 110 55.0 2 female 90 45.0 total 200 100.0 and confidentiality was maintained by ensuring that no identifying information was collected. the data were used solely for research purposes, and participants had the right to withdraw from the study at any point without any consequences. results and discussion among secondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis, age distribution of the respondents who participated in the study on sports participation is presented at table 1. the data shows that 45% (n=90) belonging to age group of 13-15 were major among the respondents. we can then see that the major of sample belongs to early adolescence, which shows developmentally important life stage. forty percent (n = 80) of the respondents were aged between 16 and 18 years, which was also remarkable in showing that adolescence — particularly mid to late teens’ sexual development—is suggested to be a crucial life stage for sports-conducive health lifestyles and developmental benefits. this group, 10-12 year-olds makes up 15% (n=30) of total respondents but less than half as many younger to middle adolescents just now starting into more formal sports activities. the distribution is written to maintain an equal representation across adolescent age groups allowing for inclusive perspective of what sport can do or not in the physical, psychological, social and academic development. table 2 indicates that male patients accounted for 55% (n=110) of the study sample, with females accounting for only a portion majority group of them—45%( n=90). this is a distribution we often see in many sports studies across the country from historical and cultural factors that have an impact on general sport participation with men still being slight higher than females. the one place the voices are decently balanced in this survey, however is in terms of gender indicating that there seems to be a fair representation from both genders. the balanced representation of the sample should facilitate a deeper exploration on how sports participation impacts sport behavior in both genders which may help to highlight some gender-specific influences and barriers that hinder involvement in physical activities. significant gender differences have emerged in athletic experiences among adolescents and the results highlight it is essential to account for these when evaluating sports’ influence on developmental trajectories of lifestyle. table 3 shows the number of respondents for all class levels, indicating which academic stage they belong to in the secondary school system. most of the respondents were from junior secondary 2 with a higher percentage (30%, n =60), and followed by junior secondary 1 which pa ge 80 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 76-85, 2024 table 3: class level distribution of respondents s/n class level frequency (n) percentage (%) 1 junior secondary 1 40 20.0 2 junior secondary 2 60 30.0 3 junior secondary 3 50 25.0 4 senior secondary 1 30 15.0 5 senior secondary 2 20 10.0 total 200 100.0 table 5: residential area distribution of respondents s/n residential area frequency (n) percentage (%) 1 urban 120 60.0 2 suburban 50 25.0 3 rural 30 15.0 total 200 100.0 table 4: type of school distribution of respondents s/n type of school frequency (n) percentage (%) 1 public school 140 70.0 2 private school 60 30.0 total 200 100.0 is similar to those at grade level, indicating that they are directly intermediate in their academic performance; however, only one-fifth of the total number for each cohort. it is especially important as those junior secondary years are critical for solid academic and cocurricular grounding. a smaller category of the student body (15% [n=30]) was in senior secondary 1 while an even lower percentage constituted those who were in ss2, only about 10%. this distribution shows a marked focus on early to mid-secondary education, and these levels are important for understanding how sports participation affects students as they progress through their secondary school experience. the breakdown of the home/school correlation by educational stage, while unorthodox and not driven by a specific theoretical rationale itself in our case ensures that any effects will be conditionalized on tightness or looseness at school. table 5 presents the distribution of respondents based on their residential area. the data shows that 60% (n=120) of the respondents live in urban areas, 25% (n=50) reside in suburban areas, and 15% (n=30) come from rural areas. this distribution highlights a predominance of urban respondents, which may reflect greater access to sports facilities, organized sports programs, and extracurricular activities commonly available in urban settings. the suburban and rural respondents represent smaller proportions, suggesting potentially different levels of access to sports opportunities and resources. the urban-rural contrast in residential areas provides valuable context for understanding how the availability and quality of sports infrastructure and programs influence participation among adolescents in different environments. this distribution allows for an examination of how residential area impacts sports involvement and related benefits. table 6: mean and standard deviation rating of sport participation amongsecondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis question response options frequency (n) percentage (%) mean s.d 1. how often do you participate in sports activities? daily 2-3 times a week once a week rarely never 80 70 30 15 5 40.0% 35.0% 15.0% 7.5% 2.5% 1.78 0.87 2. what type of sports do you participate in? football basketball athletics (running, jumping, etc.) volleyball swimming tennis others 130 100 90 50 40 30 20 65.0% 50.0% 45.0% 25.0% 20.0% 15.0% 10.0% 1.72 0.91 table 4: distribution of respondents by type of school data show that 70% (n=140) respondents are from public schools and the rest of them, 30% (n=60), private ones. the distribution implies that most of the students are from public schools, which is a reflection of the per entage and ratio between private institutions and public schools in nigeria. the greater prevalence of public schools may help us understand the patterns and difficulties in sports participation for those student-athletes from a wider socio-economic background. however, the 30% private school component paints a picture of sports participation in an alternative educational setting that could point to disparities between available resources, facilities and extra-curricular opportunities. this type of distribution, aid a comparative analysis between adolescents according to the school variable generates different possibilities for sports participation and all the previously exposed benefits. pa ge 81 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 76-85, 2024 what is the duration of your sports participation each time? less than 30 minutes 30 minutes to 1 hour 1-2 hours more than 2 hours 50 90 50 10 25.0% 45.0% 25.0% 5.0% 1.75 0.85 4. how would you rate the intensity of your sports participation? low (e.g., walking, casual play) moderate (e.g., jogg ing, structured play) high (e.g., compe titive sports, rigorous training) 40 20 40 20.0% 60.0% 20.0% 2.00 0.85 5. what motivates you to participate in sports? fun and enjoyment health and fitness competition socialization with friends parental/teacher encouragement others 130 110 80 100 70 10 65.0% 55.0% 40.0% 50.0% 35.0% 5.0% 1.70 0.88 the responses for sports involvement among adolescents in uyo metropolis are shown in table 6 above. the data reveals that 40% of the respondents engage in sports on a daily basis, while 35% participate in sports 2-3 times a week. this indicates a significant degree of regular physical activity among the majority of students. the average response for frequency of participation is 1.78 with a standard deviation of 0.87, suggesting a general inclination towards regular engagement in sports. football is the most prevalent sport, with a popularity rate of 65.0%, followed by basketball at 50.0% and athletics at 45.0%. this data indicates a clear inclination for team-based and track sports. the average for forms of sports participation is 1.72, with a standard deviation of 0.91. this indicates that there is a wide range of sports choices among the respondents. the duration of involvement indicates that 45% of individuals engage in sports for a period of 30 minutes to 1 hour. the mean duration is 1.75, with a standard deviation of 0.85, suggesting a moderate level of activity duration. the level of engagement is mostly moderate (60.0%), with an average of 2.00 and a standard deviation of 0.80. this indicates that the majority of respondents are engaged in organized sports activities that are not excessively intense. the main reasons for participating in sports are primarily for enjoyment (65.0%) and for health and fitness (55.0%). the average score for these motivations is 1.70, with a standard deviation of 0.88, indicating the significant role of fun and health advantages in driving sports involvement. the data presented here demonstrate the patterns and preferences in sports involvement among adolescents, highlighting the need of consistently and variably engaging in physical activities. table 7: : mean and standard deviation rating of physical health outcomes of sport participation on secondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis question response options frequency (n) percentage (%) mean s.d 1. how would you describe your overall health status? excellent good fair poor 60 100 35 5 30.0% 50.0% 17.5% 2.5% 2.23 0.88 2. have you noticed any changes in your body weight or fitness level since participating in sports? significant improvement slight improvement no change decline 80 90 25 5 40.0% 45.0% 12.5% 2.5% 1.90 0.85 3. how often do you experience fatigue or exhaustion after participating in sports? always often sometimes rarely never 10 50 90 40 10 5.0% 25.0% 45.0% 20.0% 5.0% 2.60 0.72 4. do you have any health problems that prevent you from participating in sports? yes no 20 180 10.0% 90.0% 1.10 0.30 pa ge 82 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 76-85, 2024 table 7 displays the physical health results associated with sports involvement among teenagers. 50.0% of the participants said that their overall health status is good. the average rating for overall health status was 2.23, with a standard deviation of 0.88, suggesting that most participants had positive impressions of their health. regarding changes in body weight or fitness level, 40.0% of participants reported a substantial improvement, while 45.0% noted a minor improvement. the mean value was 1.90, with a standard deviation of 0.85. these findings indicate that participating in sports has a good impact on both fitness and weight. the prevalence of fatigue or exhaustion levels following sports activities is reported as 45.0% occasionally and 25.0% often. the mean fatigue level is 2.60, with a standard deviation of 0.72, indicating a moderate to frequent occurrence of fatigue. ultimately, a staggering 90.0% of participants indicate that they do not experience any health complications that hinder their involvement in sports. the average value is 1.10, with a standard deviation of 0.30, which suggests that health concerns are not a major obstacle for the majority of adolescents. this study emphasizes the positive influence of sports on physical well-being while also showing prevalent issues associated with weariness. table 8: mean and standard deviation rating of psychological and emotional health outcomes of sport participation on secondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis question response options frequency (n) percentage (%) mean standard deviation 1. how does participating in sports make you feel emotionally? very happy happy neutral unhappy very unhappy 80 70 30 15 5 40.0% 35.0% 15.0% 7.5% 2.5% 2.08 0.99 2. to what extent has sports participation helped you manage stress? to a great extent to some extent not sure very little not at all 90 70 25 10 5 45.0% 35.0% 12.5% 5.0% 2.5% 2.05 0.97 3. how has sports participation impacted your self-esteem? greatly improved slightly improved no impact reduced greatly reduced 100 60 30 8 2 50.0% 30.0% 15.0% 4.0% 1.0% 1.83 0.88 4. do you feel more confident interacting with peers due to your participation in sports? strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree 85 70 30 10 5 42.5% 35.0% 15.0% 5.0% 2.5% 2.12 1.05 table 8 presents a comprehensive examination of the psychological and emotional effects linked to the engagement of teenagers in sports. 40.0% of the participants expressed a feeling of “very happy” as a result of their involvement in sports. the average emotional impact was measured at 2.08, with a standard deviation of 0.99, indicating that sports generally have a favorable effect on emotions. the impact of sports on stress management is evident, as indicated by 45.0% of participants reporting significant benefits. this is supported by a mean score of 2.05 and a standard deviation of 0.97. regarding self-esteem, 50.0% of the participants reported a significant improvement in their self-esteem. the average score was 1.83, with a standard deviation of 0.88, indicating that engaging in athletics had a positive impact on boosting self-confidence. furthermore, a significant 42.5% of individuals “strongly agree” that their engagement in sports enhances their confidence when dealing with peers, highlighting the substantial social advantages. this finding is supported by a mean score of 2.12 and a standard deviation of 1.05. in summary, these findings indicate that engaging in sports is linked to improved psychological and emotional wellbeing among teenagers. table 9 presents a comprehensive examination of the effects of sports involvement on the social and intellectual aspects of teenagers. 45.0% of the participants “strongly agree” that sports have enhanced their teamwork abilities, as indicated by a mean of 2.07 and a standard deviation of 1.04. this suggests that sports are very successful in fostering teamwork skills. similarly, 40.0% of participants have expressed a strong agreement on the good influence of sports on their leadership qualities. this is supported by a mean score of 2.15 and a standard deviation of 1.01, showing a significant and positive impact. in terms of academic performance, 40.0% of respondents assessed the influence of sports as “moderately positive,” with an average rating of 2.30 and a standard deviation of pa ge 83 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 76-85, 2024 table 9: mean and standard deviation rating of social and academic impacts of sport participation onsecondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis question response options frequency (n) percentage (%) mean standard deviation 1. do you believe sports participation has improved your ability to work in a team? strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree 90 70 25 10 5 45.0% 35.0% 12.5% 5.0% 2.5% 2.07 1.04 2. has participating in sports helped you develop leadership skills? strongly agree agree neutral disagree strongly disagree 80 60 35 15 10 40.0% 30.0% 17.5% 7.5% 5.0% 2.15 1.01 3. how would you rate the impact of sports participation on your academic performance? highly positive moderately positive neutral moderately negative highly negative 70 80 30 15 5 35.0% 40.0% 15.0% 7.5% 2.5% 2.30 1.14 4. how well do you balance sports activities with your academic responsibilities? very well well average poorly very poorly 65 75 40 15 5 32.5% 37.5% 20.0% 7.5% 2.5% 2.18 1.12 table 10: mean and standard deviation rating of barriers to sport participation among secondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis question response options frequency (n) percentage (%) mean standard deviation what challenges do you face in participating in sports? lack of time lack of facilities/ equipment financial constraints parental disapproval academic workload gender-based restrictions others 100 85 60 40 110 25 15 50.0% 42.5% 30.0% 20.0% 55.0% 12.5% 7.5% 1.14. this indicates that sports are widely seen to have a beneficial effect on academics. regarding the task of juggling sports and academics, 37.5% of the participants indicated that they do it “well,” with an average score of 2.18 and a standard deviation of 1.12. this suggests that the majority of students effectively allocate their time between sports and academic obligations. in summary, these findings indicate that engaging in athletics has a beneficial impact on the social skills and academic achievements of secondary school adolescents. the barriers to adolescents in secondary school participating in sports are shown in table 10. the most commonly mentioned barrier is “academic workload,” as stated by 55.0% of participants, suggesting that academic obligations significantly limit participation in sports. fifty percent of the participants identified “lack of time” as a significant obstacle, indicating that time management is an important concern. the factors “financial constraints” (30.0%) and “lack of facilities/equipment” (42.5%) highlight the need for improved sports infrastructure and support. the sociocultural factors “parental disapproval” (20.0%) and “gender-based restrictions” (12.5%) highlight the potential for participation limitations, particularly for specific groups. only 7.5% of respondents chose “others,” demonstrating a variety of unusual or uncommon problems not addressed by the primary categories. these results point to the necessity of multimodal interventions to encourage adolescent sports pa ge 84 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 76-85, 2024 participation. these interventions should focus on time management, academic support, better facilities, financial aid, and sociocultural attitudes. discussion effect of sports participation on the physical health of adolescents the results suggest that engaging in sports has a notable beneficial impact on the physical well-being of teenagers. most participants said that they engage in sports activities on a daily basis or several times per week. this is consistent with research findings that regular physical activity improves cardiovascular fitness, decreases the likelihood of obesity, and boosts overall health outcomes (biddle et al., 2019). the chi-square analysis and z-test results have substantiated that there exists a statistically significant disparity between adolescents who engage in sports and those who do not, with regards to their physical health outcomes. this finding supports the hypothesis that participation in sports is linked to improved physical health. the results align with the study conducted by janssen and leblanc (2010), which found that physical exercise in young individuals leads to a reduction in body fat percentage and an enhancement in muscle strength. influence of sports participation on social behaviors and peer relationships participation in sports was also discovered to have a good impact on the social behaviors and peer relationships of teenagers. the participants reported enhancements in their capacity to collaborate in groups and cultivate leadership aptitudes through sports, which aligns with the conclusions of smith et al. (2018) that participating in team sports promotes social unity, collaboration, and leadership attributes. the findings are consistent with prior studies indicating that sports provide teenagers with the chance to cultivate friendships, enhance their communication abilities, and acquire conflict resolution mechanisms, all of which are crucial aspects of positive social growth (eime et al., 2013). the study also found that engaging in sports improves emotional well-being, as many adolescents reported experiencing happy and increased self-esteem as a result of their participation in sports. this aligns with the findings of bailey (2006). impact of sports participation on academic performance and discipline the study discovered that, despite worries about time limitations, the majority of participants believe that sports have a positive or neutral effect on their academic discipline and performance. this discovery is consistent with the research conducted by fox et al. (2010), which revealed that teenagers who engage in athletics are more prone to demonstrate elevated levels of focus, selfcontrol, and academic success. the majority of individuals found the balance between sports and academics to be manageable. this indicates that organized sports activities may enhance students’ ability to manage their time and create goals, thereby supporting their academic achievements (darling et al., 2005). barriers to sports participation in addition to its multiple advantages, the study also identified various obstacles to sports involvement among adolescents, including limited availability of time, facilities, and equipment, as well as financial limitations and genderrelated limitations. the issues mentioned align with the findings of van der horst et al. (2007), which indicate that environmental factors such as the availability of sports facilities and socio-economic status have a substantial impact on the rates of youth sports participation. to provide equal access to sports and maximize their advantages for all adolescents, it is crucial to address these obstacles. in summary, this study emphasizes the various advantages of teenagers participating in sports, including improvements in their physical, psychological, and social development. however, it also emphasizes the importance of implementing specific interventions to overcome obstacles that prevent adolescents from engaging in sports. the findings indicate that it is important for schools, policymakers, and communities to work together in order to offer comprehensive and supportive sports programs that promote the overall development of adolescents in uyo metropolis. conclusion the study concludes that sports participation significantly improves the physical health of secondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis, with regular engagement in sports linked to better overall fitness, reduced risk of obesity, and enhanced well-being. in addition to physical benefits, sports participation also positively impacts psychological health, social skills, and academic performance, suggesting a multifaceted value for adolescent development. however, several barriers, such as lack of facilities, time constraints, and genderbased restrictions, hinder full participation. therefore, schools, parents, and policymakers must promote inclusive and supportive sports programs that encourage active lifestyles and address these barriers to maximize the holistic benefits of sports for all adolescents. references babiss, l. a., & gangwisch, j. e. (2009). sports participation as a protective factor against depression and suicidal ideation in adolescents as mediated by self-esteem and social support. journal of developmental & behavioral pediatrics, 30(5), 376-384. bailey, r. (2006). physical education and sport in schools: a review of benefits and outcomes. journal of school health, 76(8), 397-401. bailey, r., armour, k., kirk, d., jess, m., pickup, i., & sandford, r. (2009). the educational benefits claimed for physical education and school sport: an academic review. research papers in education, 24(1), 1-27. https:// doi.org/10.1080/02671520701809817 pa ge 85 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 76-85, 2024 bélanger, m., gray-donald, k., o’loughlin, j., paradis, g., & hanley, j. (2009). when adolescents drop the ball: sustainability of physical activity in youth. american journal of preventive medicine, 37(1), 41-49. biddle, s. j. h., & asare, m. (2011). physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: a review of reviews. british journal of sports medicine, 45(11), 886895. https://doi.org/10.1136/bjsports-2011-090185 biddle, s. j. h., mutrie, n., & gorely, t. (2015). psychology of physical activity: determinants, well-being, and interventions. routledge. biddle, s. j., & asare, m. (2011). physical activity and mental health in children and adolescents: a review of reviews. british journal of sports medicine, 45(11), 886-895. eime, r. m., casey, m. m., harvey, j. t., sawyer, n. a., symons, c. m., & payne, w. r. (2015). the contribution of sport participation to overall health enhancing physical activity levels in australia: a population-based study. bmc public health, 15(1), 806. eime, r. m., young, j. a., harvey, j. t., charity, m. j., & payne, w. r. (2013). a systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for children and adolescents: informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport. international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 10(1), 98. fox, c. k., barr-anderson, d., neumark-sztainer, d., & wall, m. (2010). physical activity and sports team participation: associations with academic outcomes in middle school and high school students. journal of school health, 80(1), 31-37. fredricks, j. a., & eccles, j. s. (2006). is extracurricular participation associated with beneficial outcomes? concurrent and longitudinal relations. developmental psychology, 42(4), 698-713. https://doi. org/10.1037/0012-1649.42.4.698 holt, n. l., & neely, k. c. (2011). positive youth development through sport: a review. revista de iberoamericana de psicología del ejercicio y el deporte, 6(2), 299-316. janssen, i., & leblanc, a. g. 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(2000). a review of correlates of physical activity of children and adolescents. medicine & science in sports & exercise, 32(5), 963-975. seabra, a. f., mendonça, d. m., thomis, m. a., peters, t. j., & maia, j. a. (2008). associations between sports participation, demographic and socioeconomic factors, and lifestyle behaviors with bone mass in portuguese adolescents: the healthy lifestyle in europe by nutrition in adolescence (helena) study. journal of bone and mineral metabolism, 26(1), 5159. singh, a., uijtdewilligen, l., twisk, j. w., van mechelen, w., & chinapaw, m. j. (2012). physical activity and performance at school: a systematic review of the literature including a methodological quality assessment. archives of pediatrics & adolescent medicine, 166(1), 49-55. smith, a. l. (2003). peer relationships in physical activity contexts: a road less traveled in youth sport and exercise psychology research. psychology of sport and exercise, 4(1), 25-39. strong, w. b., malina, r. m., blimkie, c. j., daniels, s. r., dishman, r. k., gutin, b., ... & trudeau, f. (2005). evidence-based physical activity for school-age youth. the journal of pediatrics, 146(6), 732-737. tomporowski, p. d., davis, c. l., miller, p. h., & naglieri, j. a. (2008). exercise and children’s intelligence, cognition, and academic achievement. educational psychology review, 20(2), 111-131. https://doi. org/10.1007/s10648-007-9057-0 trudeau, f., & shephard, r. j. (2008). physical education, school physical activity, school sports, and academic performance. international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 5(1), 10. van der horst, k., paw, m. j. c. a., twisk, j. w. r., & van mechelen, w. (2007). a brief review on correlates of physical activity and sedentariness in youth. medicine & science in sports & exercise, 39(8), 1241-1250. pa ge 1 pa ge 1 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) the influence of sport participation on job performance of university lecturers in rivers state ochor, daniel chinonso1* volume 3 issue 1, year 2025 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v3i1.3538 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: july 24, 2024 accepted: august 28, 2024 published: january 22, 2025 this study examines the influence of sport participation on the job performance of university lecturers in rivers state, focusing on its effects on physical health, mental well-being, cognitive function, and overall job satisfaction. a mixed-method approach was employed, involving 200 lecturers who completed structured questionnaires and interviews. the findings revealed a statistically significant positive correlation between sports participation and physical health, with 67.5% of respondents strongly agreeing that regular sports improved their fitness (χ² = 24.083, df = 199, p < 0.05). additionally, 62% reported experiencing fewer health issues, such as hypertension and diabetes, due to sports participation. the study also demonstrated that sports participation significantly reduces stress levels, with 54% strongly agreeing that it helps in managing stress and anxiety (χ² = 19.635, df = 199, p < 0.05). cognitive function was notably enhanced, with 58.5% of lecturers agreeing that sports participation improved their concentration and mental clarity (χ² = 39.952, df = 199, p < 0.05). these improvements improved teaching effectiveness, increased research productivity, and enhanced administrative efficiency. given these findings, the study rejects the null hypotheses and concludes that regular engagement in sports activities significantly enhances both physical and mental health, thereby improving job performance. the study recommends promoting sports programs, flexible scheduling, better access to facilities, and awareness campaigns to encourage regular participation among lecturers, which is essential for optimizing their professional effectiveness in the academic environment of rivers state. keywords job performance, mental wellbeing and cognitive function, physical health, sport participation 1 department of sport and exercise science, faculty of education, university of port harcourt, choba, port harcourt rivers state, nigeria * corresponding author’s e-mail: ochordaniel@gmail.com introduction stress is an inherent and inescapable aspect of life resulting from the intricacies and competitiveness of living standards (sindhu, 2014). sindhu (2014) argued that in contemporary society, stress, both in general and specifically related to work, has become an integral aspect of existence and has garnered significant attention in recent times. university lecturers have a multifaceted function that goes beyond teaching. they do research, provide mentorship, and handle administrative tasks. all of these activities contribute to the creation of a strong educational environment. nevertheless, the challenging requirements of these positions frequently result in elevated levels of stress and exhaustion, which can have a detrimental effect on job productivity. certain educators have developed stress-induced illnesses due to the immense pressure they experience, while others have tragically passed away prematurely. however, some individuals have documented a decrease in teaching productivity due to the multitude of activities they simultaneously do. the current alarming situation in universities, as identified by stanley (2023), is unlikely to result in increased production. there has been increasing interest in studying the characteristics that can improve job performance among university teachers in recent years, with particular attention being given to sports involvement. research regularly demonstrates that participating in regular physical exercise, such as sports, can result in enhanced physical and mental well-being, which in turn may improve job performance (ari et al., 2022). engaging in sports has been associated with many advantages, such as improved physical health, decreased stress levels, and higher cognitive abilities. engaging in sports can serve as a crucial means of stress relief for university instructors, who frequently confront the combined strains of academic obligations and personal life. anariochi’s research emphasizes that participation in sports cultivates teamwork, discipline, and stress management, all of which are crucial qualities for effective teaching and academic achievement (stanley, 2023). in a similar vein, ogabor et al (2023) discovered that lecturers who engage in sports demonstrate greater physical health and mental well-being, resulting in increased productivity and job satisfaction. in addition, recent studies suggest that engaging in regular physical exercise through sports can improve cognitive functioning, leading to improved teaching approaches and increased student engagement. studies have also shown that engaging in consistent physical exercise can lower the likelihood of developing chronic health issues like hypertension, diabetes, and cardiovascular illnesses. these conditions are commonly found in those who lead sedentary lives (world health organization, 2023). this enhancement in physical wellbeing can lead to decreased absenteeism and heightened energy levels, both of which are vital for sustaining optimal job performance. furthermore, the positive effects on mental well-being pa ge 2 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 1-10, 2025 resulting from engaging in physical activities have been well demonstrated. engaging in physical activity has been scientifically proven to trigger the secretion of endorphins, which are natural substances that elevate mood, while also diminishing the presence of stress hormones like cortisol (biddle & asare, 2023). university lecturers can benefit from engaging in athletics since it can lead to mental renewal, resulting in improved focus, enhanced memory, and increased creativity. these cognitive improvements are crucial for effective teaching and research. in addition, sporting activities frequently foster social contact and collaboration, resulting in enhanced collegial connections and a more supportive work environment. this, in turn, contributes to increased job satisfaction and performance. the correlation between sports involvement and work performance is especially significant in the specific circumstances of rivers state, nigeria, where university instructors encounter distinct obstacles. the educational sector in this region is frequently marked by insufficient infrastructure, demanding workloads, and restricted resources, all of which lead to elevated stress levels among lecturers (ogunyemi & alawode, 2022). given the circumstances, the capacity of sports to alleviate stress and enhance job performance becomes increasingly crucial. nevertheless, despite the acknowledged advantages of engaging in physical activity, there is a scarcity of empirical studies that particularly investigate the correlation between participating in sports and the job performance of university teachers in this particular state. statement of the problem universally, university lecturers frequently encounter substantial stresses, such as extensive teaching commitments, research requirements, and administrative duties. the aforementioned pressures can result in elevated stress levels, burnout, and reduced job performance, ultimately affecting the caliber of education and research productivity. although several techniques have been proposed to address these difficulties, there is a scarcity of research investigating the potential of sports involvement as a solution. although the positive effects of physical activity on mental and physical health are widely acknowledged, there is limited understanding of how regular participation in sports may impact the job performance of university instructors. the absence of research in this area is a significant problem since comprehending the connection between sports involvement and job performance could provide valuable insights for creating successful interventions to improve the well-being and productivity of academic personnel. this study aims to fill the gap in empirical information about the impact of sports activity on the job performance of university professors in rivers state. universities may fail to recognize a potentially effective approach to enhancing professor performance and well-being if they lack this expertise. this study aims to examine this correlation, offering valuable insights that could contribute to the development of more effective support systems for lecturers and, consequently, enhancements in the general standard of higher education in the state. research questions 1. to what extent does sport participation influence the job performance of university lecturers in rivers state? 2. how does regular participation in sport activities impact the physical health and well-being of university lecturers in rivers state? 3. what is the relationship between sport participation and stress management among university lecturers in rivers state? 4. does participation in sport activities contribute to enhanced cognitive function and mental rejuvenation among university lecturers in rivers state? 5. how do social interactions and teamwork foster through sport participation affect the job satisfaction and work environment of university lecturers in rivers state? hypotheses 1. h1: there is a significant positive relationship between sport participation and job performance among university lecturers in rivers state. 2. h2: regular participation in sports activities significantly improves the physical health and overall well-being of university lecturers in rivers state. 3. h3: sport participation significantly reduces stress levels among university lecturers in rivers state. 4. h4: participation in sport activities leads to enhanced cognitive function and mental rejuvenation among university lecturers in rivers state. literature review the advantages of engaging in sports are well acknowledged, since they involve several benefits such as improved physical health, enhanced mental well-being, and increased social engagement. these advantages are especially applicable to university lecturers, who often experience significant levels of stress as a result of the extensive requirements of their positions, which include teaching, research, and administrative duties. participating in sports can be a crucial means of alleviating stress and revitalizing the mind, which are vital for preserving both personal health and professional productivity. physical health benefits engaging in sports regularly has been proven to greatly enhance physical well-being, which is a crucial aspect of total job effectiveness. warburton and bredin (2019) assert that participating in physical activities, such as sports, can result in improved cardiovascular health, heightened muscular strength, and enhanced flexibility. these physical enhancements lessen the probability of illness, hence reducing absenteeism and increasing the energy levels required for the hard responsibilities that university pa ge 3 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 1-10, 2025 instructors encounter on a regular basis. moreover, the world health organization (2023) highlights that engaging in regular physical activity, including sports, can effectively reduce the risk of non-communicable diseases such as hypertension and diabetes, which are commonly found in those leading sedentary lives. mental well-being the mental health advantages of participating in sports are equally substantial. engaging in physical activity has been associated with the secretion of endorphins, which are recognized for their ability to enhance mood and alleviate stress (biddle & asare, 2023). regular engagement in sports can bolster the mental resilience, enhance focus, and promote healthier sleep patterns for university teachers, who frequently face high cognitive demands and stress in their work. a study conducted by lee et al. (2021) suggests that lecturers who participate in consistent physical exercise experience reduced levels of stress and anxiety, leading to enhanced job performance and job satisfaction. social interaction and support in addition to the advantages it offers for physical and mental well-being, participating in sports also promotes social engagement and a feeling of belonging to a community, both of which are essential for emotional welfare and receiving professional assistance. engaging in social interactions within sports settings can improve teamwork and communication abilities, which can be applied to the academic context (putukian, 2016). as per the findings of eime et al. (2013), engaging in sports offers chances for social interaction, fostering closer relationships among colleagues and creating a more supportive work atmosphere. university teachers, who frequently experience isolation as a result of the independent nature of their research, find this particularly significant. engaging in sporting activities and receiving social support can result in increased job satisfaction and a more favorable equilibrium between work and personal life, ultimately improving job performance. stress relief and mental rejuvenation the capacity of sports to function as a stress-alleviating mechanism is of great significance, particularly for persons engaged in high-stress occupations such as academia. stults-kolehmainen and sinha (2014) conducted a study which found that engaging in physical activity is highly helpful in lowering stress and enhancing mental wellbeing. engaging in sports can serve as a valuable respite for university professors, offering a necessary reprieve from the demanding nature of academic life. this enables them to resume their work with revitalized concentration and vigor. ensuring mental refreshment is essential for sustaining optimal levels of productivity and creativity in the fields of education and research. impact on job performance various studies have examined the connection between sports engagement and job performance, consistently finding a positive link. in a study conducted by jung and hwang (2020), it was discovered that employees who participate in consistent physical exercise, such as sports, generally exhibit superior job performance, enhanced time management abilities, and increased job satisfaction. university professors, who frequently handle several tasks, can immediately improve their job performance by engaging in sports, which promote cognitive function and stress management. the existing body of data repeatedly affirms that university instructors derive substantial advantages from participating in sports, encompassing not just physical health but also mental well-being and social support. these characteristics enhance job performance by mitigating stress, enhancing cognitive function, and cultivating a more supportive work atmosphere. considering the challenging nature of academic positions, integrating sports into the daily routines of lecturers could be a smart method for improving their overall job performance and well-being. materials and methods this study adopts a descriptive survey research design, which is appropriate for exploring the relationship between sports participation and job performance among university lecturers. the design allows for the collection of both quantitative and qualitative data to comprehensively understand the impact of sports on various aspects of job performance.the population for this study consists of university lecturers in rivers state, nigeria. the study targets lecturers from three major universities in the state: the university of port harcourt, rivers state university, and ignatius ajuru university of education. these institutions were selected due to their size, diversity of academic disciplines, and representation of the broader academic environment in rivers state. a sample size of 200 lecturers was determined using a stratified random sampling technique to ensure representation across different faculties and departments within the selected universities. the sample was stratified based on factors such as academic rank, gender, and department to capture a diverse range of experiences and perspectives. out of the 200 lecturers, 180 completed the survey, and 20 participated in in-depth interviews. two primary instruments were used for data collection: a structured questionnaire was developed to gather quantitative data on sports participation, job performance, physical health, mental well-being, and job satisfaction. the questionnaire consisted of both closed and openended questions. it was divided into sections that covered demographics, frequency and type of sports participation, self-reported job performance, and perceived benefits of sports participation. an interview guide was designed to pa ge 4 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 1-10, 2025 facilitate in-depth interviews with a subset of 20 lecturers. the interviews aimed to explore lecturers’ personal experiences with sports participation, the challenges they face in maintaining an active lifestyle, and the perceived impact of sports on their job performance and well-being. the validity of the instruments was ensured through expert review. the questionnaire and interview guide were reviewed by experts in sports science, psychology, and educational research to ensure that the questions were clear, relevant, and comprehensive. a pilot study was conducted with 20 lecturers not included in the final sample to test the reliability of the questionnaire. the cronbach’s alpha coefficient was calculated to assess the internal consistency of the items, with a value of 0.82 indicating good reliability. data collection was carried out over a period of six weeks. the questionnaires were distributed to the selected lecturers via email and in person, with follow-ups conducted to ensure a high response rate. the in-depth interviews were conducted face-to-face at a location convenient for the participants. each interview lasted approximately 45 minutes and was recorded with the participants’ consent for subsequent transcription and analysis. quantitative data collected from the questionnaires were analyzed using descriptive statistics (mean, frequency, and percentage) and inferential statistics (chi-square) to examine the relationship between sports participation and job performance. the statistical package for the social sciences (spss) software was used for this analysis while qualitative data from the interviews were analyzed thematically. the transcripts were coded to identify recurring themes related to the benefits of sports participation, challenges faced by lecturers, and the perceived impact on job performance. these themes were then compared with the quantitative findings to provide a comprehensive understanding of the study’s outcomes. table 1: demographic information of respondents s/no variable categories percentage 1 gender male 60% female 40% 2 age 25-34 years 30% 35-44 years 35% 45-54 years 25% 55 years and above 10% 3 academic rank assistant lecturer 20% lecturer ii 25% lecturer i 20% senior lecturer 15% associate professor 10% professor 10% total 100% table 2: extent to which sports participation influence the job performance of university lecturers in rivers state s/no variable categories percentage 1 frequency of participation daily 15% 3-4 times a week 40% 1-2 times a week 35% rarely 10% 2 type of sports activities team sports (e.g., football, basketball) 50% individual sports (e.g., tennis, badminton) 25% aerobic exercises (e.g., running, swimming) 55% others (specify) 10% total 100% results and discussions the demographic information of respondents, as presented in table 1 above, reveals a diverse group of university lecturers in rivers state. the majority of respondents are male (60%), with a smaller percentage being female (40%). age distribution indicates that most lecturers fall within the 35-44 years range (35%), followed by those aged 25-34 years (30%) and 45-54 years (25%), with a smaller representation of those aged 55 years and above (10%). in terms of academic rank, the largest group consists of lecturer ii (25%) and assistant lecturer (20%), while senior lecturers, associate professors, and professors together account for 35% of the respondents. this distribution reflects a broad range of experiences and perspectives within the academic community, which can provide valuable insights into the study on the influence of sports participation on job performance. table 2 provides insights into the extent of sports participation among university lecturers in rivers state and its potential influence on their job performance. the data shows that a significant portion of lecturers engage in sports activities regularly, with 40% participating 3-4 times a week, and 35% engaging 1-2 times a week. only a small percentage (10%) participate rarely, while 15% are active daily. in terms of the types of sports activities, aerobic exercises like running and swimming are the most popular (55%), followed by team sports such as football and basketball (50%). individual sports like tennis and badminton are engaged in by 25% of the respondents, and 10% participate in other forms of physical activity. this regular engagement in various sports suggests that a majority of lecturers incorporate physical activity into their routines, which could positively influence their job performance by enhancing their physical and mental wellbeing. pa ge 5 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 1-10, 2025 table 3: meanrating of the impact of regular participation in sports activities on the physical health and well-being of university lecturers in rivers state s/no statement sa a d sd x 1 regular participation in sports has improved my physical fitness. 135 (67.5%) 58 (27.3%) 3 (1.5%) 4 (1.7%) 3.6 2 i feel more energetic and less fatigued due to my involvement in sports. 83 (41.5%) 112 (56%) 3 (1.5%) 2 (1%) 3.38 3 sports participation has helped me maintain a healthy weight. 120 (60%) 71 (35.5%) 8 (4%) 1 (0.5%) 3.55 4 i experience fewer health issues (e.g., hypertension, diabetes) since i started engaging in sports. 124 (62%) 54 (27%) 16 (8%) 6 (3%) 3.48 grand mean 3.50 table 4: mean rating of the relationship between sports participation and stress management among university lecturers in rivers state s/no statement sa a d sd x 1 sports participation helps me reduce stress and anxiety. 64 (32%) 108 (54%) 21(10.5%) 7 (3.5%) 3.15 2 engaging in sports enhances my mood and overall mental well-being. 88 (44%) 87 (43.5%) 19 (9.5%) 6 (3%) 3.28 3 i find it easier to concentrate on my academic tasks after participating in sports. 6(33.5%) 117 (58.5%) 13 (6.5%) 3 (1.5%) 3.24 4 my sleep quality has improved as a result of regular sports participation. 80 (40%) 82 (41%) 32 (16%) 6 (3%) 3.18 grand mean table 5: meanrating of the contribution of sports participation to enhanced cognitive function and mental rejuvenation among university lecturers in rivers state s/no statement sa a d sd x 1 sports participation has positively impacted my teaching effectiveness. 76 (38%) 97 (48.5%) 21 (10.5%) 6 (3%) 3.23 table 3 illustrates the impact of regular sports participation on the physical health and well-being of university lecturers in rivers state, as measured by their agreement with several key statements. the majority of respondents strongly agree or agree that regular sports participation has significantly improved their physical fitness, with a mean score of 3.6, indicating a strong positive impact. similarly, 97.5% of the lecturers feel more energetic and less fatigued due to their involvement in sports, reflected in a mean score of 3.38. maintaining a healthy weight is another noted benefit, with 95.5% agreeing, yielding a mean score of 3.55. additionally, 89% of the respondents report experiencing fewer health issues, such as hypertension and diabetes, since engaging in sports, with a mean score of 3.48. the grand mean of 3.50 across all statements indicates a generally high perception of the positive effects of sports participation on physical health and well-being among the lecturers. table 4 presents the relationship between sports participation and stress management among university lecturers in rivers state, with percentages providing further clarity on the distribution of responses. a majority of respondents (86%) agree or strongly agree that sports participation helps reduce stress and anxiety, reflected in a mean score of 3.15. additionally, 87.5% of lecturers feel that engaging in sports enhances their mood and overall mental well-being, leading to a mean score of 3.28. the data also shows that 92% of respondents agree or strongly agree that sports participation improves their concentration on academic tasks, yielding a mean score of 3.24. regarding sleep quality, 81% of lecturers report improvements due to regular sports participation, resulting in a mean score of 3.18. the grand mean of 3.21 across these statements suggests that sports play a significant role in managing stress and enhancing mental well-being, contributing positively to the overall job performance of university lecturers. pa ge 6 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 1-10, 2025 2 i am more productive in my research activities due to my involvement in sports. 70 (35%) 97 (48.5%) 19 (9.5%) 9 (4.5%) 3.17 3 my ability to manage administrative responsibilities has improved with regular sports participation. 68 (34%) 117 (58.5%) 25 (12.5%) 8 (4%) 3.14 4 overall, engaging in sports has enhanced my job satisfaction. 63 (31.5%) 82 (41%) 45 (22.5%) 10 (5%) 2.99 grand mean 3.13 table 5 explores the contribution of sports participation to enhanced cognitive function and mental rejuvenation among university lecturers in rivers state. the majority of respondents (86.5%) agree or strongly agree that sports participation positively impacts their teaching effectiveness, with a mean score of 3.23. a similar trend is observed in research productivity, where 86.5% of respondents report increased productivity due to their involvement in sports, resulting in a mean score of 3.17. additionally, 82.5% of lecturers feel that their ability to manage administrative responsibilities has improved with regular sports participation, reflected in a mean score of 3.14. lastly, while a lower percentage (72.5%) agree that sports have enhanced their job satisfaction, this still results in a respectable mean score of 2.99. the grand mean of 3.13 suggests that sports participation is perceived as beneficial for cognitive function, mental rejuvenation, and overall job performance among university lecturers, although the impact on job satisfaction is somewhat less pronounced compared to other areas. the summary of table 7: how do social interactions and teamwork fostered through sports participation affect the job satisfaction and work environment of university lecturers in rivers state? in te rv ie w ee sp or ts p ar tic ip at io n m ot iv at io n b al an ci ng ph ys ic al h ea lth i m pa ct m en ta l w el l-b ei ng i m pa ct sl ee p pa tte rn s te ac hi ng e ffe ct iv en es s r es ea rc h pr od uc tiv ity a dm in is tr at iv e d ut ie s jo b sa tis fa ct io n c ha lle ng es r ec om m en da tio ns 1 jo gg in g, g ym w or ko ut s ( 3 tim es a w ee k) h ea lth be ne fit s, st re ss re lie f e ar ly m or ni ng s, ev en in gs im pr ov ed fi tn es s, m or e en er gy re du ce d st re ss , be tte r m oo d im pr ov ed q ua lit y m or e e ne rg y, be tte r f oc us in cr ea se d co nc en tra tio n, cr ea tiv ity be tte r s tre ss m an ag em en t, ef fic ie nc y in cr ea se d du e to h ea lth im pr ov em en ts ti m e m an ag em en t, fa ci lit y ac ce ss be tte r a cc es s t o sp or ts fa ci lit ie s, fle xi bl e sc he du lin g 2 fo ot ba ll (2 ti m es a w ee k) ph ys ic al fit ne ss , so ci al in te ra ct io n w ee ke nd s, lu nc h br ea ks m ai nt ai ne d w ei gh t, im pr ov ed ca rd io va sc ul ar h ea lth si gn ifi ca nt re du ct io n in st re ss n o sig ni fic an t c ha ng e im pr ov ed e ng ag em en t w ith st ud en ts n o sig ni fic an t i m pa ct sl ig ht im pr ov em en t in m an ag in g ta sk s e nh an ce d du e to s tre ss re lie f an d so ci al in te ra ct io n li m ite d tim e du e to w or kl oa d m or e o rg an iz ed sp or ts ev en ts, be tte r tim e m an ag em en t su pp or t pa ge 7 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 1-10, 2025 3 a er ob ic s c la ss es (1 -2 tim es a w ee k) pe rs on al he al th , re la xa tio n lu nc h br ea ks , af te r w or k im pr ov ed fit ne ss , re du ce d ba ck p ai n im pr ov ed m oo d, re du ce d an xi et y im pr ov ed q ua lit y in cr ea se d pa tie nc e, be tte r i nt er ac tio ns n o sig ni fic an t i m pa ct be tte r fo cu s an d or ga ni za tio n g re at er d ue to h ea lth im pr ov em en ts fi nd in g tim e du rin g bu sy p er io ds u ni ve rs ity -s po ns or ed w el ln es s pr og ra m s, fle xi bl e w or k ho ur s 4 sw im m in g (3 ti m es a w ee k) ph ys ic al r eh ab ili ta tio n, s tre ss re lie f a dj us te d ac ad em ic sc he du le im pr ov ed re ha bi lit at io n, ge ne ra l fi tn es s re du ce d st re ss , im pr ov ed m oo d im pr ov ed q ua lit y e nh an ce d fo cu s a nd e ne rg y in cr ea se d du e to st re ss m an ag em en t im pr ov ed ef fic ie nc y an d de ci sio nm ak in g in cr ea se d du e to ov er al l he al th im pr ov em en ts c os t of fa ci lit ie s, tim e co ns tra in ts su pp or t fo r sw im m in g fa ci lit ie s, su bs id iz ed w el ln es s pr og ra m s table 7 revealed a consistent pattern across interviews, highlighting the positive impacts of sports participation on university lecturers’ physical health, mental well-being, and job performance. regular engagement in various physical activities, such as jogging, football, aerobics, and swimming, significantly improves fitness levels, reduces stress, and enhances mood, leading to better sleep quality. these benefits translate into increased energy and focus, thereby positively influencing teaching effectiveness and administrative efficiency. however, challenges like time management, access to facilities, and workload constraints persist. recommendations include better access to sports facilities, flexible scheduling, and university-sponsored wellness programs, which could address these challenges and further enhance the benefits of sports participation. h1: there is no significant positive relationship between sports participation and job performance among university lecturers in rivers state. table 8: summary of chi-square analysis of mean ratings of relationship between sports participation and job performance among university lecturers in rivers state variable n x s.d df cal. (χ²) value crit. (χ²)value decision sport participation 200 3.16 0.76 199 71.457 12.59 rejected the table presents the results of hypothesis testing to determine the relationship between sports participation and job performance among university lecturers in rivers state. with a sample size of 200 participants, the mean (x̅) score of sports participation is 3.16, and the standard deviation (s.d) is 0.76. the degrees of freedom (df) for the test is 199. the calculated chi-square (χ²) value is 71.457, which is significantly higher than the critical chisquare (χ²) value of 12.59 at a 0.05 significance level. since the calculated value exceeds the critical value, the null hypothesis (h1), which states that there is no significant positive relationship between sports participation and job performance among university lecturers in rivers state, is accepted. this suggests that while sports participation is prevalent, it may not significantly influence job performance to a measurable extent among the lecturers. h2: regular participation in sports activities does not significantly improve the physical health and overall wellbeing of university lecturers in rivers state. table 9: summary of chi-square analysis of mean ratings of relationship betweensports participation and reduce stress levels among university lecturers in rivers state. variable n x s.d df cal. (χ²) value crit. (χ²) value decision regular participation 200 3.21 0.82 199 24.083 12.59 rejected the table shows the results of a hypothesis test examining whether regular participation in sports activities significantly improves the physical health and overall well-being of university lecturers in rivers state. with a sample size of 200, the mean (x̅) score is 3.50, and the standard deviation (s.d) is 0.85. the degrees of freedom (df) for this test are 199. the calculated chi-square (χ²) value is 24.083, which is significantly higher than the critical chi-square (χ²) value of 12.59 at a 0.05 significance level. since the calculated value exceeds the critical value, the null hypothesis is rejected. this suggests that there is a significant positive relationship between regular sports pa ge 8 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 1-10, 2025 table 10: summary of chi-square analysis of mean ratings of relationship betweensports participation and reduce stress levels among university lecturers in rivers state. variable n x s.d df cal. (χ²) value crit. (χ²) value decision regular participation 200 3.21 0.82 199 19.635 12.59 rejected table 11: summary of chi-square analysis of mean ratings of relationship betweensports participation and enhanced cognitive function and mental rejuvenation among university lecturers in rivers state variable n x s.d df cal. (χ²) value crit. (χ²) value decision regular participation 200 3.21 0.79 199 39.952 12.59 rejected the table presents the results of a hypothesis test examining whether sports participation significantly reduces stress levels among university lecturers in rivers state. with a sample size of 200 participants, the mean (x̅) score is 3.21, and the standard deviation (s.d) is 0.82. the degrees of freedom (df) for this test are 199. the calculated chi-square (χ²) value is 19.635, which is higher than the critical chi-square (χ²) value of 12.59 at a 0.05 significance level. since the calculated value exceeds the critical value, the null hypothesis (h3), which posits that sports participation does not significantly reduce stress levels among university lecturers, is rejected. this indicates that sports participation does have a significant positive effect on reducing stress levels among the lecturers, contributing to their overall mental well-being. h4: participation in sports activities does not lead to enhanced cognitive function and mental rejuvenation among university lecturers in rivers state. participation and the improvement of physical health and overall well-being among university lecturers in rivers state. the findings indicate that engaging in regular sports activities plays a crucial role in enhancing the physical and mental health of lecturers, contributing positively to their overall well-being. h3: sports participation does not significantly reduce stress levels among university lecturers in rivers state. the table presents the results of a hypothesis test evaluating whether participation in sports activities leads to enhanced cognitive function and mental rejuvenation among university lecturers in rivers state. with a sample size of 200 participants, the mean (x̅) score for sports participation is 3.28, and the standard deviation (s.d) is 0.79. the degrees of freedom (df) for this test are 199. the calculated chi-square (χ²) value is 39.952, which is significantly higher than the critical chi-square (χ²) value of 12.59 at a 0.05 significance level. since the calculated value exceeds the critical value, the null hypothesis (h4), which asserts that sports participation does not lead to enhanced cognitive function and mental rejuvenation, is rejected. this outcome suggests that engaging in sports activities significantly contributes to improved cognitive function and mental rejuvenation among university lecturers, further enhancing their overall job performance and well-being. discussion this study highlights the substantial influence of sports involvement on multiple dimensions of job performance and well-being among university professors in rivers state. the data indicate that consistent participation in sports activities significantly contributes to improving the physical health, mental well-being, cognitive function, and overall job performance of lecturers, which is consistent with other studies in this field. a noteworthy discovery is the direct relationship between consistent engagement in athletics and enhancements in bodily well-being. the chi-square value of 24.083, which is much greater than the crucial threshold of 12.59, suggests that lecturers who participate in sports experience enhanced physical fitness, heightened energy levels, and improved overall health. this discovery aligns with the current body of research, indicating that engaging in regular physical activity is crucial for preserving and improving physical well-being, especially in demanding occupations such as academics (warburton & bredin, 2017). enhanced physical health not only encompasses physical fitness but also encompasses heightened energy levels, which are vital for effectively managing the various tasks of teaching, research, and administrative chores. the study revealed that engaging in sports not only improves physical health, but also has a substantial impact on reducing stress levels among instructors. the chi-square analysis yielded a result of 19.635, significantly beyond the crucial threshold of 12.59. consequently, the null hypothesis that sports involvement does not decrease stress is rejected. research has demonstrated that physical activity is a highly effective method for alleviating stress. it achieves this by triggering the production of endorphins, enhancing mood, and offering a healthy means of managing stress (stults-kolehmainen & sinha, 2014). engaging in sports can be a vital method for university teachers to preserve their mental health and well-being, considering the significant stress they regularly experience owing to the demands of their career. pa ge 9 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 1-10, 2025 moreover, the study emphasizes the substantial influence of engaging in sports on cognitive performance and mental revitalization. the chi-square value of 39.952, when compared to the crucial value of 12.59, indicates that lecturers who engage in athletic activities have improved cognitive function and mental clarity. this discovery aligns with the wider range of studies that suggest a connection between physical activity and enhanced cognitive functions, such as improved memory, attention, and problem-solving ability (hillman et al., 2008). in the academic setting, where there is a high level of cognitive demands, the significance of sports in preserving and improving mental sharpness cannot be exaggerated. sports activity had a positive impact on the overall job performance of university instructors. lecturers who frequently participate in athletic activities reported enhanced teaching efficacy, increased research output, improved administrative efficiency, and more job contentment. the results are consistent with research indicating that engaging in physical activity improves job performance by boosting concentration, efficiency, and overall job contentment (schultz et al., 2019). the dismissal of the initial hypothesis, which posits that there is no substantial correlation between sports involvement and job performance, underscores the significance of integrating physical activities into the daily schedules of university lecturers. the results of this study offer compelling proof that engaging in sports is an essential aspect of the physical and mental health, as well as the professional productivity, of university teachers in rivers state. the notable enhancements in physical well-being, stress regulation, cognitive abilities, and overall work productivity emphasize the significance of encouraging academic personnel to engage in athletic activities. by incorporating regular physical activities into their daily schedules, lecturers can not only boost their personal health and well-being but also enhance their professional efficacy, thereby leading to a more productive and healthy academic atmosphere. conclusion it is evident that engaging in sports activities has a multitude of positive effects on university lecturers in rivers state. from improved physical health to enhanced cognitive function, participating in sports has been proven to greatly benefit lecturers in all aspects of their lives. not only does it lead to a healthier lifestyle and reduced stress levels, but it also results in better job performance, job satisfaction, and overall effectiveness in their roles as educators, researchers, and administrators. these findings highlight the crucial role of promoting sports among academic staff, as it ultimately leads to a more vibrant and productive academic community recommendations based on the findings of this study, the following recommendations are proposed: 1. universities should establish and promote regular sports and wellness programs specifically tailored for academic staff, encouraging consistent participation to enhance physical health and reduce stress levels. 2. institutions should consider implementing flexible work schedules or designated times for physical activities, allowing lecturers to incorporate sports into their daily routines without conflicting with their professional responsibilities. 3. universities should invest in and provide easy access to well-maintained sports facilities and equipment, ensuring that lecturers have the necessary resources to engage in a variety of physical activities. 4. initiate awareness campaigns that highlight the cognitive and mental health benefits of sports participation, encouraging lecturers to view physical activity as an essential component of their overall wellbeing and job performance. references ari, n., smith, j. p., johnson, r. t., & brown, l. a. (2022). impact of physical activity on academic performance: a review. journal of educational research, 23(2), 143– 158. biddle, s. j. h., & asare, m. (2023). physical activity and mental well-being: a systematic review of reviews. health psychology review, 17(1), 1-17. eime, r. m., young, j. a., harvey, j. t., charity, m. j., & payne, w. r. (2013). a systematic review of the psychological and social benefits of participation in sport for adults: informing development of a conceptual model of health through sport. international journal of behavioral nutrition and physical activity, 10(1), 98. hillman, c. h., erickson, k. i., & kramer, a. f. (2008). be smart, exercise your heart: exercise effects on brain and cognition. nature reviews neuroscience, 9(1), 58-65. jung, j., & hwang, h. (2020). the effects of physical activity on job performance and satisfaction: a review of the evidence. journal of occupational health, 62(2), e12144. lee, i. m., shiroma, e. j., lobelo, f., puska, p., blair, s. n., & katzmarzyk, p. t. (2021). effect of physical inactivity on major non-communicable diseases worldwide: an analysis of burden of disease and life expectancy. the lancet, 380(9838), 219-229. ogunyemi, b., & alawode, k. (2022). challenges and stressors among academic staff in nigerian universities. nigerian journal of educational administration, 15(3), 205-219. putukian, m. (2016). the psychological response to injury in student athletes: a narrative review with a focus on mental health. british journal of sports medicine, 50(3), 145-148. schultz, p. p., ryan, r. m., niemiec, c. p., legate, n., & williams, g. c. (2019). mindful physical activity and its role in physical health and psychological wellpa ge 10 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 1-10, 2025 being. journal of personality and social psychology, 116(6), 975-993. stults-kolehmainen, m. a., & sinha, r. (2014). the effects of stress on physical activity and exercise. sports medicine, 44(1), 81-121. warburton, d. e., & bredin, s. s. (2017). health benefits of physical activity: a systematic review of current systematic reviews. current opinion in cardiology, 32(5), 541-556. world health organization. (2023). global action plan on physical activity 2018-2030: more active people for a healthier world. geneva: world health organization. pa ge 1 pa ge 7 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) dissecting the nexus: the influence of lifestyle determinants on health and academic excellence among college students rowena nery monte1* volume 3 issue 2, year 2025 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v3i2.3995 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: november 05, 2024 accepted: december 09, 2024 published: july 05, 2025 this research initiative is dedicated to developing a comprehensive wellness program for female freshman students. the primary focus is to promote optimal health through education on proper nutrition and the encouragement of regular physical activity, aiming to improve overall well-being and reduce the risk of chronic health conditions. the program underscores the university’s commitment to fostering a vibrant physical fitness and wellness culture among students and staff. it aims to systematically review and assess existing programs and events that enhance engagement in physical activities and promote sportsmanship within the campus community. the research employs rigorous quantitative methodologies to create an effective wellness program, including detailed surveys and statistical analysis techniques. these methods are crucial in gathering reliable data to ensure that the wellness program closely aligns with female freshman students’ unique needs, preferences, and interests at the university of the philippines los baños (uplb). ultimately, the initiative seeks to generate valuable insights into young women’s health and wellness concerns, thereby developing a tailored wellness program that addresses their specific health needs and supports their personal goals and aspirations throughout their college experience. keywords balanced nutrition, chronic condition, physical fitness, wellness program introduction in addition to the information provided, it is vital to underscore the significant impact that adopting a wellbalanced diet and committing to regular physical activity can have on overall well-being. these lifestyle choices do not merely enhance physical health; they also play a crucial role in improving mental health. for example, a nutritious diet rich in essential nutrients can help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression, while exercise has been proven to release endorphins, which are natural mood lifters. together, these habits can help reduce stress levels, improve mood stability, and lead to enhanced sleep quality, which is often a challenge for many individuals. furthermore, actively managing body weight through mindful eating practices and consistent exercise is an effective strategy for preventing the onset of various chronic health issues. maintaining a healthy weight can significantly lower the risk of conditions such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, hypertension, and certain cancers. this proactive approach to health can lead to longer, healthier lives with a reduced incidence of disease. to achieve optimal health, it is essential to incorporate a diverse range of physical activities into one’s daily routine. engaging in various forms of exercise keeps the regimen enjoyable and allows for comprehensive fitness development. aerobic workouts, such as running, cycling, or swimming, can improve cardiovascular endurance and promote efficient heart function. meanwhile, resistance training exercises, such as weightlifting or bodyweight workouts, help build and maintain muscle strength, which is crucial for physical performance and metabolism. activities focused on flexibility, like yoga or stretching routines, enhance agility and mobility, which are particularly important as we age or recover from injuries. on the nutrition front, crafting a well-balanced and varied diet is paramount to sustaining energy levels and promoting overall health. this diet should include an array of colorful fruits packed with vitamins and antioxidants, a multitude of nutrient-dense vegetables, lean proteins from sources like poultry, fish, and legumes to support muscle recovery after exercise, whole grains like quinoa or brown rice for long-lasting energy, and healthy fats derived from avocados, nuts, and olive oil. this combination fuels the body and provides essential nutrients that contribute to a vibrant and energetic lifestyle. to foster a long-term commitment to physical activity, it is crucial to identify forms of exercise that resonate personally and are enjoyable. this intrinsic motivation can lead to a sustainable fitness routine. additionally, consulting a healthcare professional or a registered dietitian can offer tailored advice that aligns with individual health goals, dietary needs, and exercise preferences, ensuring a holistic approach to personal health and well-being. individuals can effectively embark on a healthier, more fulfilling life by taking these steps. according to the world health organization (who), inadequate dietary patterns, paired with a sedentary lifestyle, are significant contributors to the deterioration of individual health, particularly among women. various chronic diseases, including cancer, diabetes, osteoporosis, and cardiovascular conditions, disproportionately impact this demographic. alarmingly, cardiovascular disease is responsible for approximately one-third of all female deaths worldwide, highlighting the urgent need for 1 department of human kinetics, college of arts and sciences, university of the philippines los baños, college 4031, laguna, philippines * corresponding author’s e-mail: rnmonte@up.edu.ph pa ge 8 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 7-15, 2025 preventive measures. currently, over 70 million women live with diabetes—a number that is projected to double by 2025 if current trends continue. additionally, breast cancer remains the most diagnosed cancer among women, raising concerns about early detection and treatment strategies. postmenopausal and adult women are also at heightened risk for developing osteoporosis, a severe condition that leads to weakened bones and a greater likelihood of fractures. therefore, women must prioritize healthy eating habits and incorporate regular physical activity into their daily routines to mitigate the risk of these pervasive health issues. understanding nutrition is vital for college students’ overall health and well-being, impacting their academic performance and quality of life. recent research indicates that many undergraduate students frequently depend on on-campus dining facilities, which often provide a limited selection of healthy food options. even when students acknowledge the potential health risks associated with fast food consumption, their dietary choices often remain unchanged. this pattern is particularly pronounced among female students, who frequently balance demanding academic schedules and personal responsibilities. this overwhelming combination often leads them to opt for convenient yet nutritionally poor, high-fat, and high-calorie fast food options. consequently, the high consumption of processed foods poses a significant health threat for college students, potentially leading to long-term health complications that could affect their futures. in this context, the university of the philippines los baños (uplb) stands out for its commitment to fostering physical fitness and holistic well-being among its students and staff. the university actively organizes various programs and activities to promote health and wellness. one of the pinnacle events in its annual calendar is “palarong uplb,” a comprehensive sports festival that engages participants from various colleges, administrative offices, and executive sectors within the university. this event not only serves to promote physical fitness but also fosters a strong sense of community and teamwork among participants. palarong uplb exemplifies the university’s steadfast commitment to cultivating a vigorous culture of physical activity, encouraging students to embrace sportsmanship and the importance of a proactive approach to health and wellness throughout their university experience. the department of human kinetics, nestled within the college of arts and sciences, is pivotal in promoting health and wellness among the university community through its dynamic move it or lose it program. this multifaceted initiative encompasses activities that stimulate physical engagement and foster healthier lifestyles. among its offerings are competitive tournaments in badminton and lawn tennis, which encourage friendly competition and enhance skill development and physical fitness. the program also features community aerobics classes that bring together participants of varying fitness levels, cardio fitness sessions aimed at improving cardiovascular health, and comprehensive flexibility assessments to help individuals understand their physical capabilities and areas for improvement. additionally, the move it or lose it program organizes sports clinics led by experienced coaches to teach specific sports skills, invigorating fun runs that promote cardiovascular health, and body mass index (bmi) measurements to provide participants with insights into their overall health status. dance workshops are included to merge fitness with creativity, and summer fitness programs aim to maintain an active lifestyle during the break. through these extensive and proactive initiatives, the department of human kinetics encourages the entire university community to embrace a healthier, more physically active lifestyle, fostering a wellness culture that enriches individual and collective health. in a significant move to enhance nutritional standards, uplb’s former chancellor, fernando sanchez, issued a vital memo in january 2016, advocating for incorporating a quality protein maize (qpm) blend in the various culinary offerings provided by the university’s caterers and concessionaires. this initiative is noteworthy given uplb’s esteemed status as a leader in agricultural innovation and scientific research. the qpm blend, developed by the institute of plant breeding at uplb, represents a substantial advancement in food quality, offering a healthier alternative to conventional rice. this nutrient-rich maize is abundant in essential proteins and plays a critical role in reducing the risk of diabetes and other metabolic disorders. to foster the success of this transformative culinary initiative, uplb could explore further research endeavors aimed at uncovering additional health benefits associated with qpm. this could involve studies on its impact on dietary health and its potential role in supporting sustainable agricultural practices. moreover, educational programs could be developed and implemented to increase awareness about the nutritional advantages of incorporating qpm into daily diets and promoting healthier dietary habits. by engaging with the vibrant university community on these fronts, uplb can effectively disseminate knowledge and cultivate a greater appreciation for the benefits of qpm consumption, ultimately leading to improved health outcomes and a healthier lifestyle among its members. purpose of the study the primary objective of the wellness program is to foster healthy eating habits and encourage regular physical activity among female freshmen students at the university of the philippines los baños. this initiative aimed to address several key areas: 1. determine the demographic profile of the respondents 2. assess the nutritional status and physical condition of the students 3. identify the factors affecting the students’ current health condition pa ge 9 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 7-15, 2025 4. design a wellness program based on the gathered data overall, the wellness program is a comprehensive approach aimed at improving the health and well-being of female freshmen, creating a supportive environment that encourages them to thrive academically and personally. materials and methods research design the research study will employ a quantitative research design characterized by systematically collecting, analyzing, and interpreting numerical data to uncover patterns and relationships pertinent to the subject matter. this methodology quantifies variables to draw objective conclusions about specific phenomena within the study. various tools and techniques will be utilized to gather numerical data, emphasizing surveys and questionnaires, which are widely recognized for their effectiveness in capturing the quantitative aspects of research questions. in this study, a well-structured survey questionnaire has been selected as the primary instrument for collecting data. this questionnaire will be designed carefully considering the research objectives, ensuring that it encompasses a variety of targeted questions that facilitate comprehensive data collection. participants will be asked to respond to a series of closedended questions, allowing for more accessible numerical analysis and enabling the researcher to evaluate the results statistically. the data gathered through the survey will be crucial for testing hypotheses and drawing evidencebased conclusions about the trends and behaviors being investigated in the research. through this rigorous approach, the study aims to provide reliable and valid insights into the phenomena under exploration. locale and population the study will be conducted with a focus on female freshmen who are enrolled at the university of the philippines los baños (uplb). the researcher will implement a stratified random sampling method to ensure diverse representation across the university’s academic disciplines. this approach is designed to capture the unique characteristics and perspectives of students from each college within uplb. the uplb campus is home to eight distinct college departments that host freshmen students: the college of agriculture and food science (cafs), which focuses on agricultural practices and food systems; the college of arts and sciences (cas), offering a broad range of courses in humanities and sciences; the college of development communication (cdc), which specializes in communication strategies for development; the college of economics and management (cem), emphasizing business and economic principles; the college of engineering and agro-industrial technology (ceat), dedicated to engineering disciplines and technology; the college of forestry and natural resources (cfnr), concentrating on forest management and environmental science; the college of human ecology (che), exploring the interactions between humans and their environments; and lastly, the college of veterinary medicine (cvm), training students in veterinary science and animal care. using stratified random sampling, the researcher aims to select ten female freshmen from these eight departments. this careful selection method will yield a total sample size of 80 respondents. this structured approach ensures an equitable distribution of participants. it enhances the validity of the findings by capturing a comprehensive range of experiences and viewpoints from the freshman female student body across the university. the research will be carried out on the uplb campus, facilitating direct engagement with the participants and fostering an environment conducive to gathering valuable data. research procedure the research will begin with the implementation of an extensive survey designed to collect in-depth insights from individual participants. this process will involve carefully designing and distributing thoughtfully constructed questionnaires, focusing on eliciting rich, qualitative, and quantitative data that captures the diverse perspectives of respondents. the survey will cover various topics relevant to the research objectives, ensuring that participants can provide comprehensive feedback on their experiences and viewpoints. after collecting the responses, the researcher will analyze the data systematically using various statistical and thematic analysis techniques. this will help uncover significant patterns, trends, and correlations within the data set, allowing for a nuanced understanding of the issues. once this analysis is complete, the resulting findings will serve as a foundation for developing a specialized program. this program will be specifically tailored to address the unique concerns and challenges identified through the survey, aiming to provide practical solutions and support that resonate with the participants’ needs and expectations. by taking this structured approach, the research seeks to create a meaningful impact and foster positive change in the targeted area. statistical treatment the data collected from the survey participants will be meticulously analyzed and presented in graphical format to provide a clear and comprehensive understanding of their lifestyle preferences, nutritional status, factors influencing their living environment, and medical background. each graphic will illustrate the frequency of specific responses and the percentage distribution of those responses within the participant groups. this approach will enable us to visualize trends and patterns, highlighting the commonalities and variations among the participants. by showcasing these insights graphically, it aims to offer a thorough overview of the participants’ profiles, facilitating a deeper understanding of how various elements of their lives intersect and impact their overall well-being. (%) = _______________________ * 100 pa ge 10 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 7-15, 2025 the formula outlined earlier is a crucial tool for analyzing survey data, specifically designed to calculate the percentage of respondents who select each available option. this analytical process begins with gathering data on the number of participants who chose each specific answer. once this initial tally is complete, the next step involves dividing the number of responses for each option by the total number of respondents who participated in the survey. this division provides a proportion that reflects how frequently each option was selected relative to the entire respondent pool. to express this proportion as a percentage, the result is then multiplied by 100. this final calculation allows the researcher to easily interpret the data and visualize the preferences or opinions of the respondents. by employing this systematic approach, the researcher gains insights into the data and enhances their ability to summarize and present their findings clearly and effectively. this method efficiently condenses potentially complex survey responses into straightforward percentages, making communicating results to various stakeholders easier. results and discussion table 1. lifestyle of the respondents in addition to the data presented in table 1, it is essential to expand our analysis by including detailed information regarding the stress levels experienced by the respondents. this should encompass the intensity and frequency of their stress and the specific circumstances or events that contribute to their feelings of anxiety. moreover, understanding these students’ coping mechanisms— whether they involve social support, physical activity, mindfulness practices, or other strategies—will provide insight into how they manage their stressors effectively. it is also crucial to identify any pre-existing health conditions among the respondents, including but not limited to allergies, chronic illnesses, or mental health concerns such as anxiety or depression. these factors can significantly influence their day-to-day functioning and overall wellness, providing context to their responses and behaviors. a comprehensive examination of the student’s access to healthcare services is necessary to enhance our understanding further. this includes evaluating their knowledge of available healthcare resources, the quality of these services, and how easily they can navigate the healthcare system. additionally, assessing their understanding of healthy lifestyle options—such as nutritional choices, exercise habits, and mental wellness practices—will be instrumental in developing a wellness program that genuinely responds to their needs. furthermore, it is essential to consider the students’ willingness to seek medical support when needed. this entails exploring the barriers they may face in accessing care, including stigma, financial constraints, or a lack of information about resources. finally, a thorough investigation into how social pressures, such as societal expectations, peer dynamics, and familial influences, intersect with academic stressors—such as workload, performance expectations, and competition— will provide invaluable insights. understanding these complex relationships can illuminate the unique stressors faced by the respondents, thus allowing for the development of targeted strategies aimed at alleviating such challenges and promoting a healthier, more balanced lifestyle for female first-year students at uplb. table 1: lifestyle data percentage regular exercise 75% balanced diet 80% sufficient sleep 60% stress management 45% regular check-ups 55% social support 70% table 2: lifestyle of the respondents number of meals eaten per day frequency percentage 1 3 3.75 2 39 48.75 3 36 45 four or more 2 2.5 total 80 100 table 2 the survey conducted among 80 female firstyear students revealed insightful data regarding their dietary habits. out of the respondents, approximately 48.75%, which translates to 39 students, reported that they consistently have two nutritious meals each day. this suggests a relatively good level of meal planning among a significant portion of the participants. additionally, 45% of the students, amounting to 36 individuals, indicated that they consume three meals daily. this finding highlights a noteworthy commitment to maintaining a regular eating schedule among nearly half of the students surveyed, reflecting their awareness of nutritional needs during their first year of college. table 3: eating breakfast frequency percentage yes 41 51.25 no 39 48.75 total 80 100 according to the data presented in table 3, a significant finding emerges regarding the breakfast habits of the surveyed individuals. nearly half, precisely 48.75%, indicated that they either do not have breakfast regularly or often skip this crucial meal altogether. this statistic underscores a notable trend among the respondents, pa ge 11 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 7-15, 2025 suggesting that a large segment of the population is not adhering to a consistent breakfast routine. the implications of this trend are essential, as maintaining a regular breakfast is often linked to various health benefits, including improved concentration and energy levels throughout the day. this data point invites further exploration into the reasons behind these breakfast patterns and their potential impact on overall well-being. the participants, corresponding to 16 female students, reported meeting the generally recommended guideline of eight glasses of water per day — a standard often cited for maintaining adequate hydration. in addition to examining water consumption, the data analysis revealed intriguing patterns in beverage choices among students. a notable 33.75% of the respondents, equating to 27 students, indicated that they regularly consume coffee or tea, which suggests a reliance on caffeinated beverages for hydration or energy. conversely, a more substantial portion, 37.5%, said they rarely indulge in soft drinks, indicating a potential preference for healthier alternatives. furthermore, the analysis highlighted that 41.25% of female freshmen reported infrequent milk consumption, raising concerns about their intake of important nutrients commonly found in dairy products. these findings resonate with the conclusions of a study conducted by vartanian, schwartz, and brownell in 2007, which identified a potential correlation between insufficient intake of milk, fruits, and dietary fiber and an increased tendency to consume soft drinks. this connection raises important questions about the dietary choices of students and the implications these choices may have on their overall health and well-being. table 4: glasses of water drank per day frequency percentage 1 2 2 2.5 3 4 23 28.75 5 6 28 35 7 8 16 20 nine or more 11 13.75 total 80 100 table 5: soft drinks consumption frequency percentage always 2 2.5 often 19 23.75 sometimes 16 20 rarely 30 37.50 never 13 16.25 total 80 100 table 8: normal meal contains meat frequency percentage always 35 43.75 often 28 35 sometimes 14 17.5 rarely 3 3.75 never 0 0 total 80 100 table 9: normal meal contains fish frequency percentage always 1 1.25 often 15 18.75 sometimes 32 40 rarely 29 36.25 never 3 3.75 total 80 100 table 10: average meal contains fruits/vegetables frequency percentage always 6 7.5 often 21 26.25 sometimes 35 43.75 rarely 16 20 never 2 2.5 total 80 100 table 6: drinking coffee or tea frequency percentage always 10 12.5 often 27 33.75 sometimes 19 23.75 rarely 21 26.25 never 3 3.75 total 80 100 table 7: drinking milk frequency percentage always 5 6.25 often 15 18.75 sometimes 15 18.75 rarely 33 41.25 never 12 15 total 80 100 the comprehensive analysis of the data presented in tables 4 to 7 has provided us with critical insights into students’ daily water consumption patterns. according to the findings, 35% of respondents indicated that they typically consume between 5 to 6 glasses of water daily. in contrast, 28.75% reported a somewhat lower daily intake, averaging 3 to 4 glasses. notably, only 20% of pa ge 12 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 7-15, 2025 the data presented in tables 8 to 12 from the conducted survey provides a comprehensive overview of the participants’ dietary habits. a significant finding from this data is that a notable percentage of respondents tallied at 43.75%, consistently incorporate meat into their meals. this high level of meat consumption suggests a robust preference among the participants for meat as a staple component of their diets. in contrast, the survey indicates that fewer participants report regularly including fish, fruits, and vegetables in their dietary choices. among these groups, the category “sometimes” emerged as the most common response, with 40% of individuals indicating that they occasionally consume fish. in comparison, 43.75% noted that they sometimes integrate fruits and vegetables into their meals. this disparity in dietary preferences points to a significant opportunity to promote a more diverse and balanced nutritional intake among the participants, potentially emphasizing the health benefits of including various food groups in their diets. moreover, it is essential to contextualize these findings with existing research highlighting the nutritional advantages of incorporating fish into one’s diet, particularly in comparison to certain types of red meat (leech, 2015). fish is often associated with higher omega-3 fatty acids and other beneficial nutrients. similarly, the positive relationship between consuming fruits and vegetables and reducing mortality rates has been well-documented in the literature (aune et al., 2017). these insights underscore the need to consider how dietary preferences influence long-term health outcomes. in addition to the aforementioned dietary components, the survey results reveal that out of the total 80 students surveyed, 29 participants—amounting to 36.25%— report that they frequently choose to dine at fast-food restaurants. this statistic raises important questions about the overall health implications of frequent fast-food consumption. furthermore, 31 students, representing 38.75% of the total respondents, indicated consuming snacks between meals. notably, another group of 31 students disclosed their snacking habits, though their frequency was not specified. these findings collectively offer valuable insights into the respondents’ eating patterns and dietary decisions, highlighting their preferences and potential areas for educational interventions to promote healthier eating practices. addressing these habits could improve overall nutritional health among the surveyed population. table 11: eating on fast food restaurants frequency percentage always 3 3.75 often 29 36.25 sometimes 27 33.75 rarely 21 26.25 never 0 0 total 80 100 table 13: frequency of exercise per week frequency percentage 1 2 34 42.5 3 4 10 12.5 5 6 1 1.25 everyday 10 12.5 never 25 31.25 total 80 100 table 15: participation in sport activities frequency percentage always 3 3.75 often 11 13.75 sometimes 17 21.25 rarely 18 22.5 never 31 38.75 total 80 100 table 12: eating snacks/junk foods between meals frequency percentage always 9 11.25 often 31 38.75 sometimes 31 38.75 rarely 9 11.25 never 0 0 total 80 100 table 14: duration of exercise frequency percentage 5 – 10 minutes 27 33.75 15 -30 minutes 16 20 1 hour 14 17.5 more than 1 hour 2 2.5 no exercise 21 26.25 total 80 100 table 16: duration of sleep frequency percentage 1 – 2 hours 1 1.25 3 – 4 hours 27 33.75 5 – 6 hours 45 56.25 7 – 8 hours 7 8.75 more than 8 hours 0 0 total 80 100 pa ge 13 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 7-15, 2025 in the following section, we will thoroughly examine participants’ various strategies to sustain their physical well-being. among the 80 students surveyed, a significant number of 34 individuals—reported engaging in physical exercise 1 to 2 times per week. however, an additional 25 students indicated they face challenges finding sufficient time to incorporate exercise into their regular schedules. this presents a fascinating contradiction; despite numerous students recognizing the importance of physical fitness, many admitted to prioritizing other commitments over exercise, which likely contributes to lower overall energy levels. this may help explain why a notable portion of the respondents, approximately 38.75%, choose not to participate in sports activities, further highlighting the need for effective time management strategies that could facilitate increased participation in physical activities. in addition to exercise, sleep is another critical component that significantly impacts our physical health. to our surprise, more than half of the respondents—56.25%— reported sleeping only 5 to 6 hours per night on average. this revelation suggests a potential issue regarding inadequate sleep duration, which may adversely affect their overall well-being. furthermore, 37.5% of the students indicated they occasionally take naps at bedtime, prompting a need for a deeper investigation into their sleep habits and patterns, as this could offer valuable insights into the factors influencing their health. another area of interest in our survey was the influence of certain vices on the physical well-being of the female respondents. on a positive note, an overwhelming majority of students—91.25%—reported never smoking, reflecting a commendable trend toward non-smoking behavior among young adults. additionally, 38.75% of the respondents acknowledged that they rarely consume alcoholic beverages, suggesting a relatively low prevalence of alcohol consumption within the surveyed group. this encouraging trend indicates a broader awareness of health-related issues among the students, further underscoring the importance of promoting healthy lifestyle choices. table 17: taking a nap during the daytime frequency percentage always 12 15 often 17 21.25 sometimes 30 37.5 rarely 15 18.75 never 6 7.5 total 80 100 table 18: smoking cigarette frequency percentage always 0 0 often 0 0 sometimes 2 2.5 rarely 5 6.25 never 73 91.25 total 80 100 table 19: drinking alcohol frequency percentage always 0 0 often 2 2.5 sometimes 17 21.25 rarely 31 38.75 never 30 37.5 total 80 100 table 20: factors that negatively affect the lifestyle and physical health of respondents factors frequency percentage rank excessive academic load 64 80 2 insufficient sleep 70 87.5 1 lack of exercise 57 71.25 3 absence of a balanced diet 50 62.5 4 smoking 1 1.25 6 drinking alcohol 12 15 5 the data provided in the table above comprehensively outlines a range of factors that significantly influence the overall health of the individuals surveyed. among these factors, excessive academic workload, inadequate sleep, insufficient physical activity, and an unbalanced diet have emerged as substantial contributors to the various health issues reported by the respondents. a striking finding from the data is that inadequate sleep was identified as the most common issue, with 87.5% of the 80 respondents indicating that they do not receive enough restful sleep. this statistic highlights a critical area of concern, as insufficient sleep can lead to a myriad of health problems, including decreased cognitive function, increased stress levels, and compromised immune health. adolescents often experience notable changes in their sleeping and waking patterns, which can be attributed to many influences. factors such as rising academic pressures, expanding social engagements, evolving relationships with parents, part-time jobs, and increased exposure to substances like drugs and alcohol have a considerable impact on these changes (carskadon, 1990). additionally, the data reveals that excessive academic workload ranks as the second most influential factor affecting the health of the surveyed students, with 64 out of 80 respondents citing it as a concern. this finding underscores the potential relationship between increased academic demands and adolescent sleep pattern alterations. the correlation suggests that the pressures associated with academic performance may disrupt sleep and contribute significantly to the overarching problem pa ge 14 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 7-15, 2025 of insufficient sleep experienced by many students. understanding these interconnections is essential for addressing the health and well-being of adolescents, as it can guide interventions aimed at promoting healthier lifestyle choices and academic practices within this age group. alarmingly, asthma does not merely confine itself to developed nations—over 80% of asthma-related fatalities occur in lowand lower-middle-income countries. the condition is frequently underdiagnosed and inadequately treated, leading to significant ramifications for affected individuals and their families, both emotionally and economically. in terms of headache disorders, migraines are a widespread concern among adults globally. research suggests that between 50% and 75% of adults aged 18 to 65 have experienced headaches during their lives, with migraines being prevalent. migration disorders show a notable bias toward individuals aged 35 to 45, affecting women at a higher rate due to hormonal factors that can precipitate these severe headaches. given these prevalent health concerns, it becomes imperative for the uplb wellness program to prioritize implementing targeted strategies that focus on the prevention and management of these specific health issues. extensive research has consistently demonstrated the benefits of integrating regular aerobic exercise into daily routines, particularly in preventing and managing chronic conditions like asthma and migraines. leading health and medical organizations strongly advocate adopting regular aerobic exercise as an effective therapeutic intervention that can significantly mitigate the debilitating effects of these illnesses. to enhance the efficacy of the wellness program, it is crucial to customize exercise regimens designed explicitly for managing asthma and preventing migraines. this may include activities tailored to improve respiratory function and reduce migraine triggers, such as stress reduction techniques and lifestyle modifications. additionally, incorporating a wide range of activities that bolster overall physical and mental well-being would strengthen the program’s impact further. by aligning the wellness program with established medical recommendations and research-backed practices, uplb can ensure a meaningful improvement in the health and wellness of its student body, fostering a healthier academic environment. conclusion recent research has shown that quality sleep is essential for memory formation and cognitive function, highlighting its importance in academic and professional environments. adequate sleep is crucial for effectively absorbing new information. additionally, lifestyle factors like alcohol consumption and smoking significantly impact health outcomes. while many respondents reported minimal engagement in these behaviors, ongoing education and regulation are necessary to promote healthier habits. data from table one is supported by findings in table two, revealing that 70 out of 80 participants identified insufficient sleep as a significant issue affecting their lives. furthermore, 80% of respondents noted “excessive academic load” as a stressor, followed by 71.25% citing “lack of exercise” and 62.5% pointing to “absence of table 21: medical history of the respondents medical history frequency percentage anemia 12 15 anxiety disorder 9 11.25 asthma 21 26.25 bladder problems 3 3.75 blood transfusion(s) 2 2.5 bowel disease 5 6.25 cancer 2 2.5 depression 12 15 diabetes 6 7.5 hearing impairment 2 2.5 heart disease 5 6.25 hepatitis 2 2.5 high blood pressure 8 10 high cholesterol 2 2.5 lung/respiratory disease 8 10 migraines 19 23.75 osteoporosis 3 3.75 seizure/ convulsions 2 2.5 severe allergy 11 13.75 ulcer 13 16.25 visual impairment 13 16.25 gerd and gastritis 1 1.25 dyslexia 1 1.25 dengue 1 1.25 uti 1 1.25 the wellness program at uplb should be meticulously designed to address the unique medical needs of students, particularly focusing on the specific health concerns prevalent among female freshmen. an in-depth analysis of the data reveals that the primary health issues affecting this demographic include asthma, migraines, ulcers, and visual impairments. asthma affects approximately 26.25% of these students, making it a significant concern, followed closely by migraines at 23.75%. both ulcers and visual impairments are also prevalent, with a recorded incidence of 16.25% each. asthma, characterized by chronic respiratory difficulties, manifests through recurring episodes of breathlessness and wheezing, varying in severity and frequency. its global impact is substantial; it is estimated that around 235 million individuals worldwide suffer from asthma, with a strikingly higher prevalence in women compared to men. pa ge 15 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 7-15, 2025 a proper and balanced diet.” these trends align with the initial table, but the excessive academic load is a distinct concern. research shows a direct link between unhealthy lifestyle choices and poor academic performance, as noted by the university health services at the university of texas, which encourages healthier practices for improved well-being and academic success. references abraham, s., noriega, b. r., & shin, j. y. (n.d.). college students’ eating habits and knowledge of nutritional requirements. allied academies. retrieved from http://www.alliedacademies.org/articles/collegestudents-eating-habits-and-knowledge-of-nutritionalrequirements-9188.html aune, d., giovannucci, e., paolo, t. l., & serena. (2017). fruit and vegetable intake and the risk of cardiovascular disease, total cancer and all-cause mortality—a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective studies. international journal of epidemiology, 46(3), 1029–1046. retrieved from https://academic. oup.com/ije/article46/3/1029/3039477 brown, o. n., o’connor, l. e., & savaiano, d. (n.d.). mobile myplate: a pilot study using text messaging to provide nutrition education and promote better dietary choices in college students. pubmed. retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24654921 crichton-stuart, c. (n.d.). the top 10 benefits of eating healthy. medical news today. retrieved from https:// www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/322268.php donvitojul, t. (n.d.). skipping breakfast: how it affects your body. reader’s digest. retrieved from https:// www.rd.com/health/wellness/skipping-breakfast/ evidenced-based health benefits of eating fish. (n.d.). healthline. retrieved from https://www.healthline. com/nutrition/11-health-benefits-of-fish exercises for asthma. (n.d.). health.com. retrieved from https://www.health.com/asthma/14-best-andworst-exercise-for-asthma headache disorders. (n.d.). world health organization. retrieved from http://www.who.int/news-room/ factsheets/detail/headache-disorders health and academic performance. (n.d.). healthy horns. retrieved from https://www.healthyhorns.utexas. edu/ht/ht_prformance.html health and wellness guide for busy college students. (n.d.). purdue global blog. retrieved from https:// www.purdueglobal.edu/blog/student-life/healthand-wellness-guide-for-college-students/ hussein, m. h. (2024). the degree of exercise of academic and sports freedom among faculty members at the colleges of physical education and sports sciences in baghdad. international journal of physical education and sports sciences, 2(1), 1–10. nutrition. (n.d.). healthywomen.org. retrieved from https://www.healthywomen.org/condition/nutrition nutrition. (2017, october 5). world health organization. retrieved from http://www.who.int/topics/ nutrition/en/ physical activity. (2017, may 23). world health organization. retrieved from https://www.who.int/ dietphysicalactivity/pa/en/ physical activity and women. (2009, february 19). world health organization. retrieved from http://www.who. int/dietphysicalactivity/factsheet_women/en/ qualitative versus quantitative research – understanding methodology. (2017, november 2). munich business school insights. retrieved from https://www.munichbusiness-school.de/insights/en/2017/qualitative-vsquantitative-research/ sleep relaxation techniques you should have heard of. (2017). dreams.co.uk. retrieved from https://www. dreams.co.uk/sleep-matters-club/sleep-relaxationtechniques/ sleep, learning, and memory. (n.d.). harvard medical school. retrieved from http://www.healthysleep.med. harvard.edu/healthy/matters/benefits-of-sleep/ learning-memory study: the philippines is among the countries with the most underweight people. (n.d.). the philippine star. retrieved from https://www.philstar.com/lifestyle/ health-and-family/2016/04/04/1569657/studyphilippines-among-countries-most-underweightpeople?fbclid=iwar2dflerdrvfe-h4ijmuxqq609 x0ayzduml9ailxneltfl8id68ezhfpcc udeme, b., & ochor, d. c. (2024). effects of sports participation on the lifestyle of secondary school adolescents in uyo metropolis. american journal of physical education and health science, 2(2), 76–85. pa ge 1 pa ge 1 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) the effects of the plyometric exercise training program on explosive movement (agility) on the performance of futsal athletes aljamin j. pangilayan1*, susan p. losañes2 volume 3 issue 2, year 2025 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v3i2.5049 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: april 10, 2025 accepted: may 14, 2025 published: july 05, 2025 this study employed quantitative research design specifically the quasi-experimental research design to compare the explosive movements of the control and experimental groups before and after intervention wherein the primary instrument was the plyometric exercise training program adopted from jsport sci med. 2006. the survey questionnaire was used that consisted of items that measure the acceptability and relevance of the training program and was rated by the athletes themselves. in data analysis, the researcher utilized the mean and standard deviation to determine the level of athletes’ agility performance before and after the training program. additionally, analysis of covariance (ancova) was used to examine the mean difference in participants’ post-performance as controlling for pre-performance agility. the study results showed a significant difference in agility’s post-performance between the two groups as controlled by the pre-performance. it is recommended that the coaches, trainers, and athletes may integrate the plyometric exercise training program during their training further to enhance athletes’ agility skill. it could serve as a guide for them to monitor the progress. keywords agility, futsal athletes, plyometric program 1 college of education, mindanao state university-maguindanao, philippines 2 graduate school, sultan kudarat state university, philippines * corresponding author’s e-mail: ajpangilayan@msumaguindanao.edu.ph introduction to improve their effectiveness, efficiency, and competency in fulfilling the demands of play, athletes must first complete specific training for their chosen sport before competing in tournaments or contests. accordingly, a number of training regimens and initiatives, such as the plyometric exercise training program, have been created to meet the needs of athletes and enhance performance. coaches and trainers are crucial in helping athletes in professional sports get ready for the demanding demands of contemporary competitive situations. plyometric training is well known for its ability to enhance fundamental aspects of physical performance, including lower-body strength, sprint speed, and vertical leap height. exercises that improve leaping ability, especially in female athletes, include jump squats and box jumps (stojanović et al., 2017; oxfeldt et al., 2019). plyometric training has benefits for injury prevention in addition to performance enhancement. for example, stojanović et al. (2017) found that athletes who play sports requiring a lot of jumping and quick direction changes had a lower incidence of knee injury. however, plyometric training is risky if done incorrectly because of its high-impact and explosive nature (watkins et al., 2021). in addition, oxfeldt et al. (2019) emphasized that individual responses to plyometric training vary based on factors such as age, gender, and training background which highlight the need for individualized programs contextualized to these characteristics. espinosa and sampaga (2020) discovered that following a plyometric training regimen, the majority of filipino athletes had a notable increase in agility. through a variety of exercises and physical activities, this training improves the strength of the lower extremities. this assertion was backed up by diosalan (2024), who pointed out that plyometric training efficiently builds leg strength, which is essential for performing agility-based activities. the impact of plyometric activities to the development of leg strength and agility was also confirmed by rimando et al. (2015). plyometric training dramatically enhances key physical fitness characteristics as speed and agility, according to longakit et al. (2025). similarly, potenciando (2024) discovered a substantial link between sports motivation and engagement, indicating that plyometric exercises and other structured training regimens can improve player participation and performance. female athletes are actively participating in futsal in the local philippine environment. gallardo (2025) emphasized the necessity of inclusive training programs created especially to enable female athletes to realize their full potential while highlighting the ongoing gender hurdles in sports. even with futsal’s growing appeal and the proven value of agility and plyometric training in team sports, there is still a dearth of study on these subjects in the barmm region. the majority of previous research has been carried out in southeast asia or other regions of the philippines. this demonstrates the pressing need for regional studies that take into account the particular requirements, reactions, and agility-enhancing benefits of plyometric therapies among athletes in the barmm region. in order to help athletes become more proficient and successful in their sport, this study tries to ascertain the extent to which plyometric training affects agility and general performance, especially in novices. the study assessed how well a plyometric exercise training regimen improved futsal players’ explosive movement, particularly their agility. the main objective pa ge 2 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 1-6, 2025 is to compare the performance outcomes of two groups: the experimental group, which consists of fifteen (15) athletes from datu paglas national high school, and the control group, which consists of fifteen (15) athletes from tulunan national high school. theoretical framework this study is anchored in three theoretical models: verkhoshanski’s shock method (1968) for developing explosive strength and reactive ability, komi’s stretchshortening cycle (ssc) theory (1979), and the specificity principle of training introduced by dr. thomas k. cureton in the 1940s. verkhoshanski’s shock method is regarded as one of the most effective techniques for developing explosive power. this method involves overcoming external resistance after an initial preparatory force. as explained by thibaudeau (2022), depth jumps from a height slightly above the athlete’s maximum vertical jump facilitate force absorption and redirection, targeting the athlete’s reactive neuromuscular capacity. these jumps can be tailored to prioritize either power or speed by varying the intensity and timing of the rebound. however, zatsiorsky cautioned that the method may also produce negative transfer effects if misapplied. the approach emphasizes brief ground contact to maximize the use of elastic energy in explosive actions. komi’s (1979) ssc theory explains that a muscle undergoes a rapid eccentric contraction followed immediately by a concentric contraction. this sequence stores and releases elastic energy, thereby increasing movement efficiency and force output (sáez et al., 2015). ramirez-campillo et al. (2018) demonstrated that plyometric training programs based on ssc principles significantly improve explosive movements, sprint speed, and directional agility. dr. thomas k. cureton’s specificity principle posits that training adaptations are directly related to the nature of the training performed. according to suchomel et al. (2016), the most effective performance gains occur when training mirrors the biomechanical and physiological demands of the target activity. slimani (2016) supported this claim by noting that sport-specific plyometric routines result in greater functional improvements in agility and speed than general strength training. chaabene et al. (2018) further emphasized that specificity in energy systems and movement patterns enhances performance transfer from training to competition. these theories collectively provide a solid foundation for this study. they clarify the mechanisms through which plyometric training enhances agility and justify the use of structured, sport-specific training to improve neuromuscular coordination and athletic performance. materials and methods research design this study adopted a quantitative research design, namely a quasi-experimental approach, to investigate the influence of plyometric training on the agility of studentathletes. quantitative research, which is based on the positivist paradigm, makes the assumption that reality is quantifiable, objective, and best studied via statistical analysis and numerical data (creswell & creswell, 2018). the measurement of variable relationships, hypothesis testing, and evidence-based conclusions are made possible by this method. according to gay et al. (2016), these designs are especially well-suited for objectively and reproducibly assessing the effects of treatments. according to belli (2018), quantitative approaches are useful for turning complicated phenomena into quantifiable indicators, which makes them ideal for research pertaining to education and sports. the practical limitations of random assignment led to the use of a quasi-experimental design. according to campbell and stanley (2015), this kind of design permits comparisons between experimental conditions while allowing the utilization of intact or pre-existing groups. when complete randomization is restricted due to logistical or ethical constraints, quasi-experimental methods are particularly pertinent in practical research (bärnighausen et al., 2017; bryman, 2016). locale of the study the study was carried out in two public secondary schools in the maguindanao del sur and cotabato provinces. from datu paglas national high school in datu paglas, maguindanao del sur, the experimental group was selected. tulunan national high school athletes from tulunan, cotabato, made up the control group. using the datu paglas–tulunan national road, it takes 30 to 40 minutes to travel between these schools, which are around 18 kilometers apart. tulunan national high school was chosen as the control group because of its well-established futsal program and ease of access. it had the only active futsal squad among the surrounding schools that regularly competed in interschool tournaments. additionally, its close proximity to the researcher’s home made routine monitoring and seamless data collecting possible. the experimental group was chosen from datu paglas national high school since the researcher has experience there as a futsal coach. this familiarity made it easier to communicate with athletes and school staff and to execute the training regimen. the choice of these two schools was based on both logistical feasibility and existing institutional ties, which helped ensure a reliable and well-managed experimental setting. respondents of the study the study involved thirty (30) female futsal athletes enrolled for the school year 2024–2025. fifteen (15) athletes from tulunan national high school served as the control group, while another fifteen (15) from datu paglas national high school formed the experimental group. according to deped memorandum no. 35, s. pa ge 3 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 1-6, 2025 2023, futsal teams must include a maximum of twelve (12) official players. three (3) additional athletes were trained as alternates in case of injury among the main players. eligible respondents were between the ages of 13 and 18, as mandated by deped memorandum no. 005, s. 2023, which states that secondary student-athletes must be born on or after january 1, 2006. appropriate participant selection is crucial to ensure the validity and reliability of research findings. as subedi (2021) noted, factors such as research purpose, methodology, theoretical grounding, and data saturation must be considered when determining sample size. sampling technique the study adopted a total population sampling technique. this method is ideal when the entire population is small and possesses unique characteristics not commonly found in the general population (makwana, 2023). all qualified futsal athletes from the two identified schools were included in the study to ensure comprehensive and representative data. data gathering instruments the primary instrument used was a plyometric exercise training program, adapted from j sport sci med (2006). to measure agility, the illinois agility test and 30-meter sprint test were employed. a survey questionnaire was also given out to evaluate the plyometric program’s acceptance and relevance. a fivepoint likert scale was employed in this survey, which was modified from rubrico (2022): table 1: likert scale on the survey data mean score description interpretation 1.00–1.79 strongly disagree very uninfluential 1.80–2.59 disagree uninfluential 2.60–3.39 neutral neutral or uncertain 3.40–4.19 agree influential 4.20–5.00 strongly agree very influential table 2: illinois agility test time (seconds) agility level <17.0 excellent 17.0–17.9 good 18.0–21.7 average 21.8–23.0 fair >23.0 poor illinois agility test this test measures agility using a course with multiple direction changes and sprints. each participant completed the test twice, with a five-minute rest in between. the faster of the two times was recorded. the plyometric training program included three sessions per week on alternate days, with 48 hours of rest between sessions. the program followed a progressive overload design to allow for safe and effective adaptation. statistical treatment the perceived acceptability and usefulness of the training program were assessed using descriptive statistics, more especially the mean. the mean is a useful summary metric for assessing structured feedback, according to salkind (2017). triola (2018) and gravetter and wallnau (2017) highlighted the value of the mean in response analysis and group performance comparison in pretest-posttest designs. after adjusting for agility pretest scores, the analysis of covariance (ancova) was used to look at posttest differences between the experimental and control groups. a more accurate evaluation of the intervention’s efficacy is provided by ancova, which accounts for initial group differences. ethical considerations prior to data collection, participants were briefed on the objectives, procedures, and confidentiality of the study. informed consent was secured from all respondents. all data were treated with strict confidentiality, and the identities of participants were not disclosed to ensure privacy and avoid harm. results and discussion the study’s results are presented, examined, and interpreted in this part. it addresses the following topics: (1) the athletes’ assessment of the plyometric training program’s relevance and acceptability; (2) the experimental and control groups’ preand post-training performance levels; and (3) the statistical significance of the agility performance differences between the two groups. quality of the plyometric training program as evaluated by the athletes relevance table 3 presents the athletes’ evaluation of the relevance of the plyometric training program. the overall mean score was 4.83 (sd = 0.22), interpreted as “very influential”. all ten indicators received mean scores interpreted as “strongly agree”, indicating that participants viewed the program as highly relevant in enhancing agility. the slightly lower score for item 7 (“aligned with current trends”) suggests a need to further align training content with the evolving interests of young athletes. nonetheless, the consistently high scores reinforce the program’s perceived value and relevance. the study by mahmoud et al. (2025) demonstrated a significant improvement in agility, suggesting that plyometric training is effective in enhancing this skill in athletes. these findings are consistent with those of pa ge 4 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 1-6, 2025 table 3: relevance of the plyometric training program statement mean sd description exercises are appropriate to athletes' needs 5.00 0.00 strongly agree effectiveness shown through preand post-tests 5.00 0.00 strongly agree encourages further research 4.53 0.52 strongly agree aligns with expected skills and content 5.00 0.00 strongly agree meets minimum skill requirements 4.73 0.46 strongly agree suitable for athletes' capabilities 5.00 0.00 strongly agree aligned with current trends and interests 4.33 0.72 strongly agree promotes explosive performance 5.00 0.00 strongly agree helps develop targeted skills 5.00 0.00 strongly agree appropriate for local and regional competition 4.73 0.46 strongly agree table 4: acceptability of the plyometric training program indicator mean sd description builds lower-body strength 4.60 0.51 strongly agree matches athlete needs 4.73 0.46 strongly agree exercises are systematic 4.73 0.46 strongly agree promotes explosive movement 4.73 0.46 strongly agree easy to perform 5.00 0.00 strongly agree matches target participants 5.00 0.00 strongly agree follows skill development principles 4.20 0.68 agree responds to developmental needs 4.67 0.49 strongly agree meets minimum training standards 5.00 0.00 strongly agree engaging and motivating 5.00 0.00 strongly agree requires appropriate attire 5.00 0.00 strongly agree considers hydration and safety 5.00 0.00 strongly agree minimizes injury risk 5.00 0.00 strongly agree promotes sportsmanship and growth 5.00 0.00 strongly agree valuable and transferable 4.53 0.52 strongly agree table 5: agility performance before and after the training group pre-test (mean) post-test (mean) sd (post-test) interpretation experimental 22.64 19.89 0.87 improved control 22.00 21.42 1.05 slightly improved ramirez-campillo et al. (2020) and ache-dias et al. (2016), who also reported that plyometric training substantially improves agility and neuromuscular performance, especially in sports that demand explosive movements and quick changes in direction. acceptability table 4 shows that the overall mean score for acceptability was 4.81 (sd = 0.24), also interpreted as “very influential”. most items received perfect scores (5.00), reflecting high satisfaction among athletes with the content, structure, and execution of the training program. the slightly lower score for item 7 suggests that some respondents felt the training could be better aligned with skill development theories such as overload and adaptation. despite this, the overall ratings confirm that the program was highly acceptable to participants and well-structured. performance levels before and after the training agility performance table 5 summarizes the preand post-test agility results. before training, both groups performed at a “fair” level. after the intervention, the experimental group improved to an “average” rating, while the control group also improved slightly but remained at the same level. the experimental group showed a marked improvement in agility following six weeks of plyometric training. this supports findings by turkarsalan and deliceoglu (2024), who reported similar outcomes among athletes who underwent structured plyometric programs. pa ge 5 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 1-6, 2025 table 6 difference in agility post-test scores (ancova) group mean sd mean diff f (ancova) p-value experimental 19.89 0.87 1.53 56.38 <0.0001 control 21.42 1.05 — — — ancova results there was a statistically significant difference in agility performance in favor of the experimental group. this supports prior research chandra et al., 2023); pooja, (2019) which found that six weeks of plyometric training significantly improves agility. conclusions based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn the extent of the quality of the plyometric exercise training program in terms of acceptability and relevance was very influential. the acceptability score was 4.81, and the relevance score was 4.83. the plyometric exercise training program was very acceptable and relevant in improving agility skill. based on the study’s results, the control group performed better compared to experimental group before the implementation of plyometric exercise training program in terms of agility and speed. meanwhile, the experimental group exhibited a significant improvement, with mean scores increasing after using a plyometric exercise program, which indicates a positive impact on enhancing agility skill. recommendations in light of the study’s findings and conclusions, the following recommendations are proposed: 1. coaches and trainers should integrate current training trends and athlete-centered strategies when designing training programs. tailoring sessions to the athletes’ interests and needs can increase motivation, participation, and performance outcomes. 2. training programs should apply the fitt principle—frequency, intensity, time, and type—to ensure proper periodization, workload progression, and injury prevention. this structured approach supports sustainable skill development and physical conditioning. 3. plyometric exercise training is highly recommended for athletes in sports that demand agility or quick directional changes, such as futsal. it should be incorporated as a regular component of team conditioning programs. 4. future researchers may conduct longitudinal studies with larger sample sizes or explore the effects of combining plyometric training with other modalities (e.g., resistance training or agility ladders) to enhance both agility and speed performance. references bärnighausen, t., tugwell, p., røttingen, j. a., shemilt, i., rockers, p., geldsetzer, p., ... & vollmer, s. 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(1947). physical fitness appraisal and guidance. c. v. mosby company. diosalan, m. j. (2024). the effects of plyometric training on leg strength among collegiate athletes. philippine journal of physical education and human kinetics, 9(2), 45–52. espinosa, r., & sampaga, r. a. (2020). plyometric training and agility performance among studentathletes. asian journal of kinesiology, 22(3), 41–47. gallardo, a. (2025). gender-specific training: a study on gender barriers in sports participation. journal of sports and gender studies, 12(1), 45–60. gay, l. r., mills, g. e., & airasian, p. w. (2016). educational research: competencies for analysis and applications (11th ed.). pearson education. gravetter, f. j., & wallnau, l. b. (2017). statistics for the behavioral sciences (10th ed.). cengage learning. komi, p. v. (1979). stretch-shortening cycle: a powerful model to study normal and fatigued muscle. journal of biomechanics, 33, 1197–1206. longakit, j., manlunas, r., & tawantawan, a. 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(2015). leg strength and agility performance through plyometric drills among youth athletes. philippine journal of sports and exercise science, 7(1), 18–24. rubrico, r. (2022). validating the acceptability and relevance of training programs for school athletes. journal of coaching and development, 10(2), 55–63. salkind, n. j. (2017). statistics for people who (think they) hate statistics (6th ed.). sage publications. slimani, m., chamari, k., miarka, b., del vecchio, f. b., & chéour, f. (2016). effects of plyometric training on physical fitness in team sport athletes: a systematic review. journal of human kinetics, 53, 231–247. https:// doi.org/10.1515/hukin-2016-0019 stojanović, e., ristić, v., mcmaster, d. t., & milanović, z. (2017). effect of plyometric training on vertical jump performance in female athletes: a systematic review and meta-analysis. sports medicine, 47(5), 975–986. subedi, d. (2021). training specificity for athletes: emphasis on strength-power training. journal of exercise science & fitness, 20(4), 269–278. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jesf.2022.11.001 suchomel, t. j., nimphius, s., & stone, m. h. (2016). the most effective performance gains occur when training mirrors the biomechanical and physiological demands of the target activity. strength and conditioning journal, 38(1), 1–6. triola, m. f. (2018). elementary statistics (13th ed.). pearson education. türkarslan, e., & deliceoğlu, g. (2024). the effect of a plyometric training program on agility and performance in young athletes. international journal of sports studies, 12(1), 45–52. verkhoshansky, y. v. (1968). the shock method for developing explosive strength. soviet sports review, 3(2), 76–78. watkins, j., fernandez-fernandez, j., & zoffmann, h. (2021). injury risks associated with plyometric training in adolescent athletes. international journal of sports physical therapy, 16(4), 887–894. article 3616.indd pa ge 1 pa ge 40 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) correlations between anthropometric indices and hypertension in adults: emerging trends in a contemporary urban setting norbert sunday chukwu1, aloysius obinna ikwuka2*, francis chigozie udeh2 volume 2 issue 2, year 2024 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v2i2.3616 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: august 01, 2024 accepted: september 12, 2024 published: october 21, 2024 anthropometric indices are infl uenced by nutrition, genetics, lifestyle, age, and ethnicity thus assessing these indices is a cheap tool to predict risk factors that affect blood pressure. there is no consensus on the anthropometric index that best predicts adults’ blood pressure. this research aimed to determine the relationships between anthropometric indices (weight, height, waist circumference (wc), hip circumference (hp), neck circumference (nc), chest circumference (cc), subscapular fold (ssf), triceps fold (tf), body mass index (bmi), waist-hip ratio (whr), waist-height ratio (whtr), subscapular-triceps ratio (str), and blood pressure; and to determine the best predictor(s) of hypertension among these indices. this cross-sectional study was carried out in enugu city, south-east nigeria, and involved 355 adults, aged between 20-75 years. the comparison of the indices was done using the student’s t-test. pearson correlation coeffi cient (r) was used to relate the indices with blood pressure, and receiver operating characteristic (roc) was used to determine the cut-off points of the indices to identify the best predictor(s) of hypertension. the prevalence of hypertension was 38.0%. all the anthropometric indices except height, nc, and str were signifi cantly higher in hypertensive participants than in the non-hypertensive participants. pearson correlation coeffi cient (r) showed that all the indices except height, nc, and str have weak linear positive relationships with blood pressure (r=0.1127-0.375) at p<0.001. the rocs showed that wc was the best predictor with an area under curve (auc) of 0.692, a cut-off point of 96.50cm, and a ppv of 57%. however, with an auc <0.7, all the indices were weak predictors of hypertension. hypertension correlated positively with increased age. although anthropometric indices are weak predictors of hypertension, wc is the best index in predicting hypertension. due to the inconsistent effects of wc on sensitivity, specifi city, and ppv, wc is still a weak predictor of hypertension. however, the predictive power of wc could be augmented by age if the participants were above 45 years. at age >45 years, the participants had 5 times the chance of developing hypertension regardless of gender. keywords adults, anthropometric indices, blood pressure, correlations, emerging trends, hypertension, obesity, risk factors, urban setting introduction anthropometry is a highly effective method for assessing the nutritional and health status of an individual or a population (hamieda, 2002). anthropometry is universally applicable, serving as a valuable technique in evaluating body size and proportions, and offers cheap, non-invasive, ease of use and high precision advantages (bates, 2017). various indices of anthropometric measurements are infl uenced by nutrition, genetics, lifestyle, and ethnicity, thus making anthropometric assessment a cheap tool to predict risk factors such as hypertension and obesity. standard anthropometric measurements include weight, height/length, mid-upper arm circumference (muac), triceps skinfold thickness (tsf), subscapular skinfold, head circumference, chest circumference, waist circumference, and hip circumference. additionally, various indices such as body mass index (bmi), weightfor-height, weight-for-age, subscapular-triceps ratio, waist-hip ratio, and waist-height ratio are used to assist in assessing health and nutritional status (hamieda, 2002). it has been established that anthropometric parameters are related to different metabolic disorders. metabolic disorders e.g. hypertension, adiposity, diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia collectively known as metabolic syndrome diseases (msds) are diseases related to one another and have very high morbidity and mortality rates (ikwuka, 2015; ikwuka, 2017a; ikwuka, 2017c; ikwuka, 2023c; ikwuka, 2023f; virstyuk, 2016). results obtained from different researches have shown that hypertension, diabetes mellitus, adiposity and dyslipidemia, asymptomatic hyperuricemia, activation of systemic immune infl ammatory processes, and fi brogenesis can lead to kidney damage (ikwuka, 2017d; ikwuka, 2017e; ikwuka, 2018c; ikwuka, 2018d; ikwuka, 2019a; ikwuka, 2019c; ikwuka, 2022; ikwuka, 2023d; virstyuk, 2017a; virstyuk, 2018a; virstyuk, 2019; virstyuk, 2021a; virstyuk, 2021b). it has also been reported that chronic metabolic disorders have the ability to compromise immunity (iorhemba, 2024). high blood pressure (hbp) or hypertension is a medical condition in which the blood exerts a force on the arterial wall which exceeds normal, 120/80 mmhg (world health organization, 2023). the main modifi able causes of hbp are diet (high salt intake), lack of exercise, obesity, and excessive alcohol consumption (le, 2017). moreover, hbp, smoking, diabetes, and hyperlipidemia 1 faculty of postgraduate studies, texila american university, georgetown, guyana 2 college of medicine and health sciences, american international university west africa, banjul, the gambia * corresponding author’s e-mail: aloysiussweet@yahoo.com pa ge 41 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 40-53, 2024 are documented risk factors for cardiovascular diseases like coronary artery disease (cad), atherosclerosis, stroke and heart failure (le, 2017). according to the who, hypertension is a growing world health problem as the prevalence is on a steady rise. the global prevalence of hbp is approximately 1.28 billion adults between ages 30–79 years, of which a majority (2⁄3) of them reside in lowand middle-income countries (who, 2023). the who african region has a 27% prevalence of hypertension (who, 2023), and in nigeria, approximately 38.1% of adults are hypertensive according to a national survey (odili, 2020). in addition, hypertension is termed “a silent killer” because it may express no symptoms, a reason 46% of hypertensive individuals are unaware they have it (who, 2023). to make this situation worse, hbp previously known as a disease for adults is now becoming common in teenagers and children (katamba, 2020). anthropometry has been enormously studied in children (sebati, 2020; who, 2017), in adolescents (katamba, 2020; who, 2017), in youth and adults (ejheisheh, 2022). fat deposit in the body is logically the link associating anthropometry to blood pressure. anatomically, fat is stored in the hypodermis and yellow bone marrow, and pathologically in the stroma of organs and within blood vessels. accumulation of fat in the hypodermis causes robustness in the physique and if uncontrolled can lead to obesity. similarly, the accumulation of cholesterol (fat) plaques in the elastic arteries causes atherosclerosis which occludes the lumen of elastic arteries (le, 2017). just as hypertension is a risk factor for atherosclerosis, atherosclerosis on its own can be asymptomatic and could be fatal when complications set in (le, 2017). with possible complications and a set relationship between atherosclerosis, hypertension, and excess fat accumulation, it is therefore crucial to assess anthropometric indices among adults in order to boost the awareness of their health status and to determine the best predictor(s) for high blood pressure in such adults. materials and methods study area enugu state university teaching hospital (esuth), parklane is in enugu city, south-east nigeria. with a total land area of 556 km2, the city is made up of three local government areas (enugu north, enugu south, and enugu east), and is historically known for coal mining. study design this research employed a descriptive, cross-sectional approach because the data was meant to be collected quickly. data collection in this study spanned over 3 months (september to november 2023), at the enugu state university teaching hospital (esuth), parklane, enugu city. study population enugu city has a population of approximately 875,552 (world population review, 2024), but the adult population was not delineated. however, with this fi gure, the adult population is estimated to be over 100,000. sample size with an estimated adult population of over 100,000 in enugu city, the cochran equation for descriptive, crosssectional studies with a study population >10,000 was used to determine the sample size (udeh, 2023a). n0, sample size for large population >10,000 = (z2 pq)/d2 where: z is the abscissa of the normal curve that cuts off an area α at the tail set at a 95% confi dence interval (1.96); p is the proportion of participants with hypertension which is 35.3% (0.353) as derived from the studies of (ekwunife, 2011) and (akinlua, 2015); q is (1 p) = (1 – 0.353) = 0.647; and d is the precision set at 5% (p<0.05). the prevalence of hypertension among adults in enugu city is unknown but (ekwunife, 2011) and (akinlua, 2015) estimated the prevalence of hypertension in nigeria to be 12.4-34.5% and 47.2% respectively. the prevalence of 35.3% was derived from the mean of the two studies and used to calculate the minimum sample size (n0). n0 = (1.962×0.353×0.647)/ 0.052 = 350.95 ~ 351 the minimum sample size (n) of 351 participants was generated. meanwhile, after adding 10% attrition rate, 386 was generated as the sample size. inclusion and exclusion criteria to be included in this study, participants must reside in enugu city, consent to participate with no motive of fi nancial compensation, must be between ages 20-75 years, and must possess basic education. excluded in this study were pregnant women, individuals residing outside enugu city, the physically impaired whose physique has a great chance to alter the results of this study, patients using psychotropic drugs, and those with renal disease confi rmed by either self-reporting or medical confi rmation. study instruments the following instruments were used to obtain data for this study: a well-structured questionnaire to collect sociodemographic characteristics, past medical history, past family history, and record the anthropometric indices and blood pressure. for anthropometric indices: an electronic weighing scale was used to measure the weight of the study participants to the nearest 0.1 kg; a stadiometer was used for height measurement to the nearest 0.1 cm; fi bre-glass in elastic tape was used for the measurement of waist circumference (wc), head circumference (hc), neck circumference (nc), and chest circumference (cc) to the nearest 0.1 cm; holtian skinfold calliper was used to measure subscapular skinfold (ssf) and triceps fold (tf) to the nearest 0.1mm. pa ge 42 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 40-53, 2024 accoson® desktop mercury sphygmomanometer was used to measure blood pressure (bp). data collection anthropometric measurements: eight anthropometric indices were measured directly from the participants, others were calculated from measured indices: body mass index (bmi = (weight (kg))/( height2 (m2))); waist-hip ratio (whr = (waist circumference (cm))/ (hip circumference (cm))); waist-height ratio (whtr =(waist circumference (cm))/ (height (cm))); subscapular-triceps ratio (str = (subscapular fold (cm))/(triceps fold (cm))). height participants were asked to remove their wig (if any), jewelry, and shoes. they stood on the stadiometer platform with the back straight against the backboard and the head aligned in frankfort’s horizontal plane. the headpiece was lowered to compress the hair as they took and held a deep breath. weight with wig (if any), jewelry, shoes, and extra clothing removed except underwear, the participants stood on an electronic scale placed on a solid-fl at ground. the arms were by the sides and face forward, then the weight was recorded. wc was measured as the study participants stood erect and raised their clothes to reveal their waists. the tape was wound around from the left/right anterior superior iliac spine to the other. hc was measured at the level of the widest buttocks with the tape not loosened or too tight. cc was measured by encircling the upper part of the chest with the tape. nc was measured at the level of cervical vertebra 4 (c4) or below the laryngeal prominence (in men) with the tape while the participants stood and looked straight ahead with the shoulders relaxed. skinfolds the study participants stood at ease while measuring the subscapular and triceps folds. a thickness of skinfold was pinched at the inferior angle of the right scapular and the midpoint of the posterior arm respectively, with the left thumb and index fi nger. the caliper’s jaws were applied 2cm above the two fi ngers and 2cm laterally (for the subscapular fold). readings were taken after three seconds. bp the study participants sat comfortably for 5-10 minutes. three consecutive measurements of 4-5 minutes apart were made on the dominant arm by tying an adult cuff 2-3 cm above the cubital fossa. the radial artery was palpated as the cuff was infl ated until the pulse disappeared. the bell of the stethoscope was placed over the brachial artery in the cubital fossa as the cuff was gradually defl ated. the fi rst sound (1st korotkoff) denotes the systolic blood pressure and the disappearance of the sound (5th korotkoff) is the diastolic blood pressure. the average of the last two blood pressure measurements was recorded to the nearest 2 mmhg. data analysis data collected was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 22.0. the sociodemographic characteristics, blood pressure, and anthropometric indices were presented as mean and standard deviation. mean was compared using a student’s t-test. pearson correlation coeffi cient (r) was used to measure the relationship between anthropometric indices and blood pressure. the association between anthropometric indices and hypertension was done using logistic regression. receiver operating characteristic (roc) was used to determine the cut-off values of anthropometric indices used to identify the predictors of hypertension. sensitivity and specifi city were calculated and the point having the highest sum was taken as the cut-off of the indicator. all tests of signifi cance were two-tailed and the level of signifi cance was set at p<0.05. ethical consideration ethical clearance and permission to conduct the research were obtained from the ethics committee of enugu state university teaching hospital (esuth), parklane, enugu city. results and discussion table 1: socio-demographic characteristics of the study participants parameters frequency percentage sex male 154 43.4 female 201 56.6 age group 20 – 24 32 9.0 25 – 29 38 10.7 30 – 34 54 15.2 35 – 39 53 14.9 pa ge 43 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 40-53, 2024 a total of 355 study participants were involved in this study, males and females accounted for 43.4% and 56.6% respectively. 9.0% of the participants were between ages 20-24 years, 10.7% were between 24-29 years, 15.2% were between 30-34 years, 14.9% were between 35-39 years, 11.3% were 40-44 years old, 11.3% were 45-49 years old, and 27.6% were ≥50 years old. only 26.2% of the participants were single, while a greater percentage (65.1%) were married. 35.5% of the participants were administrative employees, 27.6% were skilled workers, 1.1% were unskilled workers, 5.6% were unemployed, 4.2% were retired, and 25.9% were in various jobs classifi ed as others. most (68.5%) of the participants had tertiary education, 11.3% had only primary school education, and 20.3% had only secondary school education. the level of physical activity shows that 67.3% of the participants trek, 2.8% ride bicycles, 1.4% were generally involved in an exercise, and 28.5% drive always irrespective of the distance. table 2 shows that approximately one-fi fth (20.3%) of the participants had a family history of diabetes mellitus, 33.5% had a family history of hypertension, 13.8% had a family history of stroke, and 42.8% had a family history of obesity, respectively. 40 – 44 40 11.3 45 – 49 40 11.3 ≥50 98 27.6 marital status single 93 26.2 married 231 65.1 divorced 3 0.8 widow/widower 28 7.9 occupation administrative 126 35.5 skilled labor 98 27.6 unskilled labor 4 1.1 unemployed 20 5.6 pensioner 15 4.2 others 92 25.9 level of education primary 40 11.3 secondary 72 20.3 tertiary 243 68.5 level of physical activity trekking 239 67.3 riding of bicycle 10 2.8 always using vehicle 101 28.5 involvement in exercise 5 1.4 table 2: family history of study participants disease condition frequency (%) diabetes mellitus 72 (20.3) hypertension 119 (33.5) stroke 49 (13.8) fatness 152 (42.8) table 3: social history of study participants lifestyle frequency (%) cigarette smoking yes 27 7.6 no 328 92.4 use of snuff yes 17 4.8 no 338 95.2 use of alcohol yes 173 48.7 no 182 51.3 patronise fast-food vendors yes 213 60.0 no 142 40.0 table 3 shows that most participants were non-tobacco users (92.4% do not smoke cigarettes and 95.2% do not use snuff). however, 7.6% of the participants were pa ge 44 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 40-53, 2024 cigarette smokers whereas 4.8% used snuff. 48.7% of the participants drink alcohol while 60.0% patronize fastfood vendors. participants with transient stroke were also on medication (1.7%). 2.5% of the participants had heart attack of which 1.7% were on medication for heart attack. figure 1: pie chart showing the prevalence of hypertension in study participants table 5: comparison of mean anthropometric indices between hypertensive and non-hypertensive study participants anthropometric indices (scale) hypertension yes mean ± sd no mean ± sd t p-value weight (kg) 83.69 ± 18.08 76.56 ± 14.19 4.127 < 0.001 height (m) 1.69 ± 0.11 1.69 ± 0.09 0.131 0.896 wc (cm) 99.72 ± 12.74 91.45 ± 11.20 6.404 < 0.001 hc (cm) 108.60 ± 12.66 101.67 ± 11.02 5.432 < 0.001 nc (cm) 37.48 ± 4.25 37.15 ± 9.85 0.365 0.715 cc (cm) 100.27 ± 13.11 93.52 ± 12.54 4.841 < 0.001 ssf (mm) 25.31 ± 11.24 20.19 ± 10.36 4.374 < 0.001 tf (mm) 19.81 ± 10.60 15.98 ± 8.68 3.705 < 0.001 bmi (kg/m2) 29.56 ± 6.26 27.03 ± 5.36 4.045 < 0.001 whr 0.92 ± 0.07 0.90 ± 0.08 2.262 0.024 whtr 59.39 ± 8.45 54.38 ± 7.54 5.795 < 0.001 str 1.41 ± 0.47 1.51 ± 1.44 0.770 0.442 p<0.05 = statistically signifi cant relationship; p≥0.05 = no statistically signifi cant relationship table 6: relationships between anthropometric indices and blood pressure indices statistics systolic bp diastolic bp weight (kg) r 0.288 0.321 p-value < 0.001 < 0.001 height (m) r 0.010 0.076 p-value 0.851 0.154 wc (cm) r 0.375 0.374 p-value < 0.001 < 0.001 hc (cm) r 0.312 0.323 p-value < 0.001 < 0.001 nc (cm) r 0.046 0.025 p-value 0.385 0.634 table 4: medical history of study participants disease medical history on medication frequency (%) frequency (%) diabetes mellitus 29 (8.2) 25 (7.0) high blood pressure 97 (27.3) 83 (23.4) stroke 6 (1.7) 6 (1.7) heart attack 9 (2.5) 6 (1.7) table 4 shows that a total of 8.2% of the participants had diabetes mellitus. however, almost all of them were on medication. 27.3% were hypertensive of which 23.4% were on medication for hypertension. all of the yes = hypertensive participants; no = non-hypertensive participants 38% of the participants were hypertensive while 62% were non-hypertensive. table 5 shows that all the anthropometric indices used in this study were signifi cantly higher in hypertensive participants (p<0.001) than in non-hypertensive participants except for height, nc, whr, and str. the most signifi cant of all indices were wc (t=6.404 at p<0.001), and hc (t=5.432 at p<0.001). the least signifi cant was whr (t=2.262 at p=0.024). pa ge 45 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 40-53, 2024 table 6 shows statistically signifi cant relationships between anthropometric indices and bp (systolic and diastolic), except for height, nc, whr, and str with p≥0.05. using pearson correlation coeffi cient (r), the anthropometric indices had a weak positive linear correlation with bp, except for str. str had a weak negative linear correlation. the index that showed the most signifi cant relationship with bp was wc (r=0.375 systolic and 0.374 diastolic, at p<0.001) and hc (r=0.312 systolic and 0.323 diastolic, at p<0.001). the index with the least signifi cant correlation was whr (r=0.147 systolic and 0.127 diastolic, at p=0.005 and 0.017 respectively). cc (cm) r 0.278 0.382 p-value < 0.001 < 0.001 ssf (mm) r 0.285 0.277 p-value < 0.001 < 0.001 tf (mm) r 0.228 0.185 p-value < 0.001 < 0.001 bmi (kg/m2) r 0.268 0.266 p-value < 0.001 < 0.001 whr r 0.147 0.127 p-value 0.005 0.017 whtr r 0.332 0.307 p-value < 0.001 < 0.001 str r -0.006 0.007 p-value 0.917 0.898 bp = blood pressure; r = pearson correlation coeffi cient (-1 = negative linear correlation, 0 = no linear correlation, +1 = positive linear correlation); p<0.05 = statistically signifi cant relationship; p≥0.05 = no statistically signifi cant relationship table 7: association between bmi, wc, and hypertension indices hypertension yes n (%) no n (%) p-value or 95% c.i. for or bmi (kg/m2) normal 37 (32.5) 77 (67.5) underweight 2 (18.2) 9 (81.8) 0.339 0.462 0.095 – 2.249 overweight 34 (31.2) 75 (68.8) 0.840 0.943 0.537 – 1.658 class 1 obesity 36 (45.0) 44 (55.0) 0.077 1.703 0.944 – 3.071 class 2 obesity 20 (62.5) 12 (37.5) 0.003 3.468 1.534 – 7.844 class 3 obesity 6 (66.7) 3 (33.3) 0.022 4.162 0.986 – 17.572 waist circumference (cm) obese 107 (44.8) 132 (55.2) <0.001 2.548 1.552 – 4.183 normal 28 (24.1) 88 (75.9) table 7 shows that participants with class 2 obesity were 3.5 times more likely to have hypertension when compared to normal participants (p=0.003, or=3.468, 95% c.i.=1.534–7.844). class 3 obesity participants were 4 times more likely to have hypertension when compared to normal participants (p=0.022, or=4.162, 95% c.i.=0.986–17.572). obese participants based on wc were 2.5 times more likely to have hypertension when compared to normal participants (p<0.001, or=2.548, 95% c.i.=1.552–4.183). table 8: association between age, sex, and hypertension indices hypertension yes n (%) no n (%) p-value or 95% c.i. for or age group (years) >45 79 (61.7) 49 (38.3) < 0.001 4.923 3.086 – 7.853 ≤ 45 56 (24.7) 171 (75.3) pa ge 46 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 40-53, 2024 negative actual state group. a. under the non-parametric assumption b. null hypothesis: true area = 0.5 in table 9, wc had the best auc (0.692; p=0.000). next is whtr with a good auc (0.679; p=0.000), followed by hc (0.656; p=0.000). all the anthropometric indices had signifi cant positive auc except for height (0.492; p=0.792), and str (0.527; p=0.396). all aucs were <70% (0.70) signifying poor predictive power for hypertension. table 9: receiver operating characteristics (rocs) for anthropometric indices predicting hypertension with their areas under curves area under curve (auc) test result indices auc std. errora asymptotic sig.b asymptotic 95% confi dence interval lower bound upper bound weight (kg) .615 .031 .000 .554 .677 height (m) .492 .033 .792 .427 .556 wc (cm) .692 .029 .000 .635 .749 hc (cm) .656 .031 .000 .595 .716 nc (cm) .620 .031 .000 .559 .680 cc (cm) .664 .030 .000 .605 .722 ssf (mm) .639 .031 .000 .579 .699 tf (mm) .603 .031 .001 .541 .664 bmi (kg/m2) .621 .031 .000 .559 .682 whr .609 .031 .001 .547 .671 whtr .679 .030 .000 .621 .738 str .527 .032 .396 .465 .589 table 10: data showing the sensitivity and specifi city at various cut-off points of the anthropometric indices to predict hypertension indices hypertensive (n=135) normal (n=220) se ns iti vi ty sp ec ifi ci ty 1sp ec ifi ci ty positive predictive value (ppv %) negative predictive value (npv %) true positive (tp) false negative (fn) false positive (fp) true negative (tn) weight (kg) 77.500 82 53 98 102 0.607 0.509 0.491 45 66 78.500 79 56 91 109 0.585 0.545 0.455 46 66 79.500 77 58 83 117 0.570 0.586 0.414 48 67 80.500 72 63 73 127 0.533 0.636 0.364 50 67 81.500 66 69 68 132 0.489 0.659 0.341 49 66 height (m) 1.6850 67 68 111 89 0.496 0.445 0.555 38 57 1.6950 64 71 107 93 0.474 0.464 0.536 37 57 1.7050 58 77 100 100 0.430 0.500 0.500 37 57 1.7110 55 80 87 113 0.407 0.564 0.436 39 58 1.7160 55 80 86 114 0.407 0.568 0.432 39 59 sex male 62 (40.3) 92 (59.7) 0.449 1.182 0.767 – 1.820 female 73 (36.3) 128 (63.7) table 8 shows that the likelihood of developing hypertension is increased in participants above 45 years of age at 95% c.i. irrespective of gender. the test result indices: weight, height, wc, hc, nc, cc, ssf, tf, bmi, whr, whtr, and str have at least one tie between the positive actual state group and the pa ge 47 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 40-53, 2024 waist circumference (cm) 94.5000 92 43 82 118 0.681 0.591 0.409 53 73 95.5000 89 46 75 125 0.659 0.627 0.373 54 73 96.5000 85 50 64 136 0.630 0.682 0.318 57 73 97.5000 78 57 60 140 0.578 0.700 0.300 57 71 98.5000 74 61 56 144 0.548 0.718 0.282 57 70 hip circumference (cm) 102.500 87 48 93 107 0.644 0.536 0.464 48 69 103.500 84 51 86 114 0.622 0.568 0.432 49 69 104.500 80 55 75 125 0.593 0.627 0.373 52 70 105.500 75 60 67 133 0.556 0.664 0.336 53 69 106.500 73 62 59 141 0.541 0.705 0.295 55 69 neck circumference (cm) 35.5000 101 34 104 96 0.748 0.482 0.518 49 74 36.5000 80 55 83 117 0.593 0.586 0.414 49 68 37.5000 62 73 61 139 0.459 0.695 0.305 50 66 38.5000 47 88 47 153 0.348 0.764 0.236 50 63 39.5000 38 97 32 168 0.281 0.841 0.159 54 63 chest circumference (cm) 95.5000 91 44 83 117 0.674 0.586 0.414 52 73 96.5000 87 48 75 125 0.644 0.623 0.377 54 72 97.5000 84 51 70 130 0.622 0.650 0.350 55 72 98.5000 78 57 62 138 0.578 0.691 0.309 56 71 99.5000 68 67 53 147 0.504 0.736 0.264 56 69 subscapular fold (mm) 20.5000 87 48 89 111 0.644 0.555 0.445 49 70 21.5000 85 50 85 115 0.630 0.577 0.423 50 70 22.5000 82 53 75 125 0.607 0.627 0.373 52 70 23.5000 77 58 69 131 0.570 0.655 0.345 53 69 24.5000 74 61 65 135 0.548 0.677 0.323 53 69 triceps fold (mm) 15.5000 80 55 87 113 0.593 0.564 0.436 48 67 16.5000 79 56 85 115 0.585 0.577 0.423 48 67 17.5000 75 60 79 121 0.556 0.605 0.395 49 67 18.5000 68 67 75 125 0.504 0.627 0.373 48 65 19.5000 68 67 71 129 0.504 0.645 0.355 49 66 bmi (kg/m2) 27.5984 77 58 87 113 0.570 0.564 0.436 47 66 27.6456 77 58 86 114 0.570 0.568 0.432 47 66 27.6912 77 58 85 115 0.570 0.573 0.427 47 66 27.7093 77 58 85 115 0.570 0.577 0.423 48 67 27.7250 77 58 84 116 0.570 0.582 0.418 48 67 whr 0.9071 83 52 81 119 0.615 0.595 0.405 51 70 0.9083 83 52 80 120 0.615 0.600 0.400 51 70 0.9095 80 55 77 123 0.593 0.614 0.386 51 69 0.9100 78 57 76 124 0.578 0.618 0.382 51 68 0.9104 78 57 75 125 0.578 0.623 0.377 51 69 pa ge 48 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 40-53, 2024 in table 10, the best cut-off points and auc of the anthropometric indices for predicting hypertension are shown. the summary is shown in table 11. none of the anthropometric indices had signifi cant predicting power for hypertension. however, wc (auc=0.692, cut-off points=96.5cm, sensitivity=63.0%, specifi city=68.2%, ppv=57%, and npv=73%), and whtr (auc=0.679, cutoff points=56.88, sensitivity=65.9%, specifi city=65.9%, ppv=57%, and npv=74%) were the best predictors for hypertension. the indices with the worst predictive power for hypertension were height (auc=0.492, best cut-off points=1.71m, sensitivity=43.0%, specifi city=50.0%, ppv=37%, and npv=57%), and str (auc=0.527, best cut-off points=1.30, sensitivity=52.6%, specifi city=52.7%, ppv=43%, and npv=62%). the sensitivity, specifi city, and ppv values of the best predictors were below 70% which means they have low predictive powers. whtr 56.7627 89 46 71 129 0.659 0.645 0.355 56 74 56.8466 89 46 69 131 0.659 0.655 0.345 56 74 56.8806 89 46 68 132 0.659 0.659 0.341 57 74 56.8914 89 46 67 133 0.659 0.664 0.336 57 74 56.9366 88 47 66 134 0.652 0.668 0.332 57 74 str 1.2829 71 64 98 102 0.526 0.509 0.491 42 61 1.2887 71 64 96 104 0.526 0.518 0.482 42 62 1.2958 71 64 95 105 0.526 0.527 0.473 43 62 1.3022 70 65 95 105 0.519 0.527 0.473 43 62 1.3060 70 65 94 106 0.519 0.532 0.468 43 62 table 11: summary of results of anthropometric indices in predicting hypertension area under curve (auc) anthropometric indices auc best cut-off points sensitivity specifi city ppv npv weight (kg) 0.615 79.50 57% 59% 48% 67% height (m) 0.492 1.71 43% 50% 37% 57% wc (cm) 0.692 96.50 63% 68% 57% 73% hc (cm) 0.656 104.50 59% 63% 52% 70% nc (cm) 0.620 37.50 46% 70% 50% 66% cc (cm) 0.664 97.50 62% 65% 55% 72% ssf (mm) 0.639 22.50 61% 63% 52% 70% tf (mm) 0.603 17.50 56% 61% 49% 67% bmi (kg/m2) 0.621 27.69 57% 57% 47% 66% whr 0.609 0.91 59% 61% 51% 69% whtr 0.679 56.89 66% 66% 57% 74% str 0.527 1.29 53% 53% 43% 62% in table 11, an area under the curve (auc) of less than 0.70 showed that the test is weak for predicting hypertension. tables 10 and 11 showed that the anthropometric indices were not excellent for predicting hypertension. however, the best predictors in the list were wc and whtr. their best cut-off points still yielded weak results. at these cutoff points, the sensitivity, specifi city, and ppv of these anthropometric indices were below 70%. anthropometry is related to high blood pressure (hypertension) and obesity. obesity is a risk factor for hypertension. obesity is also a risk factor for non-hodgkin lymphoma (ikwuka, 2023e). due to globalization and commercialization, diet transition is sweeping across the globe and enugu city is not an exception. this diet transition has led to the sprouting of fast food restaurants in all the nooks and crannies of enugu city. linked with the induction of oxidative stress are major free radicals. among these major free radicals, superoxide anion, hydroxyl radical, and hydroperoxyl radical are of physiological signifi cance. non-radical of physiological signifi cance is hydrogen peroxide (ikwuka, 2023b; ama, 2023). increased oxidative stress can lead to mutation which is an alteration in the dna sequence which produces new alleles (ikwuka, 2023a). the combination of these factors and other factors such as reduced physical activities and sedentary life will affect anthropometry and blood pressure. this was in line with the research fi ndings that 60.0% of the study participants pa ge 49 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 40-53, 2024 patronized fast-food vendors, 48.7% drank alcohol, and 28.5% always drove their vehicles irrespective of the distance thereby reducing their physical activities. the prevalence of hypertension in this present study was 38%. this result is almost the same as the 38.1% prevalence reported by (odili, 2020), and 47.2% reported by (akinlua, 2015). interestingly, 33.5% of the participants in this present study reported having a positive family history of hypertension. the mean anthropometric indices measured in the study were signifi cantly higher in the hypertensive participants than in the non-hypertensive participants except for height and nc which showed no difference, and str which was not signifi cantly higher in non-hypertensive participants. these fi ndings agree with the fi ndings in a korean study (lee, 2014), in a nigerian study (ononamadu, 2017), in a study in the netherlands (grievink, 2014), in greece (panagiostakos, 2009), and in japan (sakurai, 2006). the marked signifi cance of whtr in hypertensive participants in this present study corresponds with the fi ndings in barbados (rodrigues, 2011), in taiwan (tseng, 2010), and in korean men (park, 2009). obesity is due to massive body fat deposits, and it has been noted as a risk factor for hypertension. with the report that 60.0% of the participants ate fast food with high calories, consumption of these meals coupled with other risk factors could be implicated as the cause of overweight or obesity noted in the hypertensive participants. this explains why the hypertensive participants had signifi cantly higher anthropometric indices. obesity is also a major nexus between anthropometry and hypertension. in this present study, the mean values of bmi, ssf, wc, hc, and whr were signifi cantly higher (p<0.005) in the hypertensive participants compared to the nonhypertensive participants. wc, hc, ssf, and whr are measures of central obesity while bmi is a measure of general obesity (lee, 2015). using pearson correlation coeffi cient (r); wc, hc, ssf, whtr, and bmi showed a statistically signifi cant but weak relationship with high blood pressure (r=(0.113-0.375); p<0.05). the greater the level of obesity, the higher the chances of developing hypertension (class 2 obesity with or=3.47 at p=0.003; class 3 obesity with or=4.16 at p=0.022, the obese band of wc has an or= 2.55 at p<0.001), all set at 95% confi dence interval (ci). these fi ndings in this present study agree with the fi ndings in a korean anthropometric study (lee, 2014). in this present study, the receiver operator characteristics (rocs) for anthropometric indices predicting hypertension, all the areas under curves were less than 0.7 denoting that the anthropometric indices were not very strong in predicting hypertension because of probable confounding factors. however, the best predictors of hypertension for both genders were wc and whtr, and their cut-off points still yielded a weak result because sensitivity, specifi city, and ppv were below 70%. conversely, height was the least predictor with a ppv of 37%. for the male study participants, the best predictors for hypertension were wc (best cut-off points=92.5 cm; ppv=61%), whtr (best cut-off points=53.92; ppv=57%), and cc (best cut-off points=93.5 cm; ppv=54%). for the female study participants, the best predictors for hypertension were wc (best cutoff points=97.5 cm; ppv=53%), hc (best cut-off points=108.5 cm; ppv=55%), and whtr (best cut-off points=58.98 cm; ppv=54%). these fi ndings agree with the who recommendation cut-off point for cardiometabolic risk: wc ≥94 cm for wc in males and whr ≥0.90 cm for both men and women (who, 2008). meanwhile, the fi ndings were at variance with the who cut-off recommendation for wc which is (>80 cm) for cardiometabolic risk for women (who, 2008). moreover, the wc cut-off point (wc >120 cm) for males in an american study was higher compared to this present study, just as the wc cut-off point (88 cm) for females differs with the fi ndings of this present study (expert panel on detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood cholesterol in adults, 2001). the regionalization, sometimes intra-regionalization, nutrition in childhood, and the current nutritional status accounted for the difference in anthropometric indices cut-off points (who, 2008; idf, 2006). the prevalence of hypertension in this study was 38%. hypertension reported in this present study might not be attributed to obesity even as 60% of the participants patronize fast-food vendors because 71.5% of the participants were involved in at least a form of physical activity. however, there is a link connecting hypertension to genetics in this present study because 33.5% of the participants had a positive family history of hypertension. in addition, 20.3% had a positive family history of diabetes mellitus, and 8.2% of the participants were diabetics. other factors that could be associated with hypertension in this present study were cigarette smoking (7.6%), use of snuff (4.8%), alcohol use (48.7%), patronizing fastfood vendors (60.0%) and age. tobacco has a teratogenic effect on fetuses and causes hepatorenal injury during pregnancy (udeh, 2023b; udeh, 2023c). at above 45 years of age, the likelihood of becoming hypertensive signifi cantly increases. the consequences of hypertension were also present among the study participants – heart attack (2.5%), and stroke (1.7%). nevertheless, there is also need for new and effective treatment options in patients with metabolic syndrome diseases. sodium-glucose linked transporter 2 (sglt2) inhibitors e.g. dapaglifl ozin and glucagon-like peptide 1 receptor agonists (glp-1 ras) e.g. liraglutide have been found to improve the effi cacy of treatment and clinical course of type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension in patients with such comorbidities (ikwuka, 2017b; ikwuka, 2018a; ikwuka, 2018b; ikwuka, 2019b; ikwuka, 2021; ikwuka, 2024; virstyuk, 2017b; virstyuk, 2018b; virstyuk, 2018c). it has also been documented that coconut water has hepatorenal protective functions in alloxan-induced type 1 diabetes mellitus (ekechi, 2023). pa ge 50 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 2(2) 40-53, 2024 however, it is pertinent to point out some of the limitations of this present study because other causes of hypertension e.g. renal disease, aortic and renal artery stenosis, and pheochromocytoma were not investigated. bias in this present study could be from selection, information, and measurements even though extreme case sampling, well structured self-administered questionnaire, participants with basic education, and standardized equipments were used. the aucs of rocs were not adjusted in this study. therefore, the relationship between each anthropometric index and hypertension might be confounded by the infl uence of age, thereby underestimating the actual predictive value of the anthropometric index during roc determination. conclusion anthropometry is related to hypertension and obesity is a risk factor for hypertension. hypertension is a global health challenge which also affects enugu city in southeast nigeria. the prevalence of hypertension in this present study was 38.0%. apart from obesity, other factors such as nutrition or diet transition, genetics, medical conditions, and age are also associated with hypertension. all the mean values of anthropometric indices were higher in the hypertensive participants than in the nonhypertensive participants except height, nc and str. wc best correlated with systolic blood pressure (sbp) and diastolic blood pressure (dbp) and thus wc was the best predictor of hypertension, followed by whtr. the sensitivity, specifi city, and ppv for all anthropometric indices were below 70%. acknowledgements special thanks to the management and staff of enugu state university teaching hospital (esuth), parklane, enugu city; and to all the men and women who participated in this study for their cooperation and support in carrying out this research. references akinlua, j. t., meakin, r., umar, a. m., & freemantle, n. (2015). current prevention pattern of hypertension in nigeria: a systematic review. plos one, 10(10), e0140021. ama, m. i., ikwuka, a. o., udeh, f. c., ekechi, h. o., & eteudo, a. n. (2023). sperm parameters and testicular histology of male wistar rats treated with phoenix dactylifera after consumption of local mmahi salt. american journal of bioscience and bioinformatics, 2(1), 41–51. https://doi.org/10.54536/ajbb.v2i1.2275 bates, c. j., bogin, b., & holmes, b. a. (2017). nutritional assessment methods. in c. geissler & h. powers (eds.), human nutrition (13th ed., pp. 614–646). oxford university press. ejheisheh, m. o., batran, a., ayed, a., correa-rodríguez, m., fernández-aparicio, a., gómez-urquiza, j. l., & schmidt-riovalle, j. (2022). correlation between anthropometric measurements and blood pressure in a population of palestinian adults. science progress, 105(2), 1–11. https://doi.org/10.1177/00368504221102782 ekechi, h. o., ikwuka, a. o., udeh, f. c., epete, m. a., & uche, v. u. (2023). hepatorenal protective functions of coconut water in alloxan-induced type 1 diabetes mellitus. world journal of current medical and pharmaceutical research, 5(4), 114–122. https://doi. org/10.37022/wjcmpr.v5i4.276 ekwunife, o. i., & agunwa, c. n. (2011). a meta-analysis of prevalence of hypertension in nigerian population. journal of public health epidemiology, 3, 604–607. expert panel on detection, evaluation, and treatment of high blood cholesterol in adults. 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(2024). enugu population. https://worldpopulationreview.com/world-cities/ umuahia-population pa ge 1 pa ge 65 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) correlation between glycemic control and cardiovascular events among type-2 diabetic patients birupaksha biswas1*, umme sadia2, md sazzad hossain3, sayonto kumar gomosta3, md mehedi hasan4, simonto mirza5 volume 3 issue 2, year 2025 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v3i2.5900 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: august 12, 2025 accepted: september 15, 2025 published: november 14, 2025 the aim of this study is to determine the relationship between cardiovascular events and glycemic management in bangladeshi individuals with type 2 diabetes. a cross-sectional study. this study was carried out 400 patients between the ages of 40 and 75 who were receiving treatment at two dhaka tertiary care institutions (dhaka medical college and hospital (dmch) and mugda general hospital). glycated hemoglobin (hba1c) readings were used to measure glycemic management, and patient interviews and medical records were used to gather information on cardiovascular events. the demographic and clinical features were compiled using descriptive statistics, and the association between hba1c levels and the incidence of cardiovascular events was investigated using pearson correlation analysis. the results revealed that 45% of the patients had experienced at least one cardiovascular event, such as myocardial infarction, stroke, or heart failure, and 62% had poor glycemic control (hba1c > 7%). higher hba1c levels were strongly associated with increased cardiovascular risk, as indicated by the moderately favourable correlation (r = 0.39, p < 0.01) between hba1c levels and cardiovascular events. these results implied that among bangladeshi patients with type-2 diabetes; poor glycemic control was a significant contributing factor to the emergence of cardiovascular problems. in order to reduce cardiovascular risks in this susceptible group, the study underlined the significance of efficient diabetes management techniques, such as routine monitoring and tailored medication. keywords cardiovascular events, glycemic control, hba1c, type-2 diabetes mellitus 1 department of public health, parul university, gujarat, india 2 department of medical and life science, university of chester, chester, uk 3 department of biochemistry and molecular biology, jagannath university, dhaka, bangladesh 4 department of narcotics control, security services division, ministry of home affairs, dhaka, bangladesh 5 department of physical and mathematical sciences, chattogram veterinary and animal sciences university, chattogram, bangladesh * corresponding author’s e-mail: pakshabiru2142@gmail.com introduction one of the most common chronic illnesses in the world, type-2 diabetes mellitus (t2dm) is becoming more and more common in lowand middle-income nations like bangladesh (sara, 2023). insulin resistance and chronic hyperglycaemia are hallmarks of type 2 diabetes, which is linked to numerous problems that drastically lower life expectancy and quality. the most common cause of morbidity and death in diabetes people is still cardiovascular diseases (cvds) (kim, 2021). compared to people without diabetes, people with diabetes have a two to four times higher risk of developing cardiovascular problems, including myocardial infarction, stroke, and heart failure. over the past 20 years, diabetes has become much more common in bangladesh due to factors like aging, dietary changes, fast urbanization, and physical inactivity (rana, 2024). in 2021, more than 13 million people in bangladesh had diabetes, according to the international diabetes federation (idf), and this number is expected to increase significantly over the next several years. even with advancements in t2dm diagnosis and treatment, a sizable fraction of diabetics still have inadequate glycaemic control, particularly in environments with limited resources (erdin, 2023). one of the most important modifiable risk factors for microvascular and macrovascular consequences is poor glycaemic control (sun, 2021). since glycated hemoglobin (hba1c) represents the average blood glucose levels over the previous two to three months, it is commonly recognized as the gold standard biomarker for evaluating long-term glycaemic management. elevated hba1c levels have been associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular problems in numerous studies. to lower the risk of vascular consequences, it is crucial to keep hba1c within target ranges, according to the uk prospective diabetes study (ukpds) and other seminal trials (sinha, 2021). despite the rising prevalence of diabetes in bangladesh, little research has been done on the precise relationship between hba1c and cardiovascular events in that country. additionally, various populations may be affected by illness outcomes in different ways by differences in food habits, socioeconomic level, health literacy, genetic predisposition, and access to healthcare resources (taylor, 2022). understanding the connection between glycemic management and cardiovascular outcomes is essential for developing effective interventions and policies in bangladesh, where out-of-pocket medical expenses are considerable and routine blood glucose monitoring is frequently irregular (farzana, 2024). thus, the purpose of this study was to look into the relationship between cardiovascular events and glycemic control in bangladeshi patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus. this study intends pa ge 66 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 65-71, 2025 to inform clinical practice and public health strategies focused at lowering diabetes-related cardiovascular complications in the nation by determining if inadequate glycemic management links with increased cardiovascular risk. literature review the association between glycemic control and cardiovascular events in type 2 diabetic patients in bangladesh reflects a complex interplay of factors influencing health outcomes. according to a study, people without vascular disease had a 27% increased risk of cardiovascular events for every 1% increase in hba1c, however patients with pre-existing vascular disorders did not have a significant risk (kranenburg, 2015; sinha & sinha, 2021). atherosclerosis, endothelial dysfunction, oxidative stress, and inflammatory responses are all accelerated by chronic hyperglycemia, which is a major factor in the pathophysiology of vascular problems (díaz-flores, 2019). glycated hemoglobin (hba1c), which is commonly used to measure glycemic control, has been extensively researched as a modifiable risk factor for cardiovascular outcomes in individuals with diabetes (cavero-redondo, 2017). nevertheless, different research have shown different levels of consistency and intensity in this connection. every 1% decrease in hba1c was linked to a 14% decrease in myocardial infarction and a 37% decrease in microvascular sequelae, according to the study of (mostafa, 2018). this seminal study laid the groundwork for hba1c as a crucial clinical aim in diabetes treatment. large cohort studies and recent metaanalyses have reinforced the notion that poor glycemic management is associated with an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease (gilani, 2024). more than 100,000 individuals were included in a 2022 systematic analysis published in diabetes care, which found that elevated hba1c levels were independently linked to higher risks of cardiovascular death, coronary heart disease, and stroke (cheng, 2023). more complex findings were found in other trials, such as the accord (action to control cardiovascular risk in diabetes) research. despite improvements in glycemic indices, the accord study, which aimed for intensive glycemic control (hba1c target (6.0%), was prematurely stopped because the intensive treatment arm experienced higher all-cause mortality(joseph yeboah, 2018). intense glycemic control also had minimal macrovascular advantages, according to the advance and vadt trials. these results moved the emphasis to personalized glycemic goals, particularly for individuals with numerous comorbidities or severe illness. few extensive research have specifically looked at the relationship between hba1c and cardiovascular events in south asia, and bangladesh in particular (shane, 2022). more than 60% of t2dm patients had poor glycemic control (hba1c >7%), and cardiovascular events were more common in this group, according to a study by (morris, 2023). however, the study’s conclusions were limited because it did not use correlation analysis or account for confounding variables. although it lacked a large sample size and a consistent measure of glycemic control, another observational study conducted in dhaka by (reza, 2021) revealed a considerably greater prevalence of ischemic heart disease among patients with uncontrolled diabetes. it has been demonstrated that geographical and ethnic characteristics affect the course of diabetes and cardiovascular consequences. for example, there is a higher likelihood of insulin resistance and abdominal obesity among south asians, especially bangladeshis, which are associated with a higher risk of cardiovascular disease (mak, 2021). the necessity for country-specific data is highlighted by these metabolic and genetic predispositions. furthermore, the burden is made worse by bangladeshi diabetes individuals’ lack of understanding of cardiovascular risks, limited usage of hba1c monitoring, and unequal access to treatment. less than 40% of t2dm patients in bangladeshi public hospitals had ever received a hba1c test, and only 28% were able to recognize cardiovascular problems as a risk associated with diabetes, according to a recent crosssectional survey by (latif, 2017). all of these results suggest a steady, if occasionally nuanced, correlation between cardiovascular outcomes and glycemic management. more population-specific research are required in low-resource contexts like bangladesh to contextualize clinical guidelines, enhance monitoring techniques, and direct resource allocation, even though worldwide data supports hba1c as a significant predictor of cardiovascular risk. the principal objective of this study is to assess the association between glycemic control and cardiovascular events in type-2 diabetic patients in bangladesh. specific objectives • to determine the level of glycemic control (hba1c) among t2dm patients. • to assess the prevalence of cardiovascular events in the study population. • to examine the correlation between hba1c levels and cardiovascular events. materials and methods between january and june 2024, 400 patients with type2 diabetes mellitus who visited the outpatient clinics of two tertiary care institutions in dhaka, bangladesh, participated in a cross-sectional study. simple random sampling was used to choose participants, who had to meet the following inclusion criteria: be between the ages of 40 and 75, have had a recorded hba1c test result during the previous three months, and have had a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes for at least a year. individuals with incomplete medical information, type-1 diabetes, or gestational diabetes were not included. structured questionnaires and an examination of medical records were used to gather data. these included demographics, the length of diabetes, hba1c levels, and any prior history of cardiovascular events including heart failure, pa ge 67 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 65-71, 2025 myocardial infarction, or stroke. hba1c was used as a continuous variable to measure glucose control, while binary and frequency data were used to record cardiovascular events. all subjects gave their informed consent, and the institutional review boards of the cooperating hospitals granted ethical approval. the data were analyzed using spss version 25, where the sample characteristics were summarized using descriptive statistics and the association between the frequency of cardiovascular events and hba1c levels was evaluated using pearson correlation analysis, with significance established at p < 0.05. results and discussion this section summarizes the main conclusions drawn from the examination of data gathered from 400 type2 diabetes patients in bangladesh, with an emphasis on the connection between the incidence of cardiovascular events and glycemic control as determined by hba1c levels. the findings are interpreted in light of the body of research to emphasize how important glycemic control is in lowering cardiovascular risk in diabetes populations. demographic and clinical characteristics at two tertiary care facilities in dhaka (dhaka medical college and hospital (dmch) and mugda general hospital), bangladesh, 400 patients with type-2 diabetes mellitus (t2dm) were enrolled in the study. according to the demographic profile, there were 182 (45.5%) male participants and 218 (54.5%) female participants. with an age range of 40 to 75 years, the study population’s mean age was 58.3 years (±9.4). the bulk of participants (60%) were between the ages of 51 and 65. 68% of the participants lived in cities, and 88% of them were married. 34% of respondents had finished secondary school, whilst 22% lacked literacy. in terms of occupation, 28% were retired, 21% worked in various corporate or professional capacities, and 41% were stay-at-home moms. clinically, 46% of participants had diabetes for more than ten years, and the average duration of diabetes was 8.6 years (±5.2). overall, the sample’s mean hba1c was 8.2% (±1.6), which suggests inadequate glycemic control. only 38% (n = 152) of patients maintained controlled glycemic levels (hba1c ≤ 7%), whereas 62% (n = 248) of patients had hba1c levels above 7%. in terms of body mass index (bmi), according to asian-specific bmi cut-offs, 28% were considered obese and 33% were overweight. 52% had a history of dyslipidemia, and 70% reported having concomitant hypertension. of the individuals, 24% reported smoking, and 18% reported leading a sedentary lifestyle with little exercise. figure 1: demographic and clinical characteristics in figure 1 there are four factors identified within demographic and clinical characteristics. these are: clinical parameters, lifestyle habits, demographic characteristics and duration of diabetes. 180 patients (45%) experienced cardiovascular events, such as heart failure (7%), stroke (11%), and ischemic heart disease (27%). patients with poor glycemic control had a considerably higher prevalence of cardiovascular events than those with adequate control (58.5% vs. 23.7%). these results imply that among type-2 diabetic patients in the population under study, cardiovascular outcomes are significantly influenced by both clinical parameters (such as hba1c levels, concomitant diseases, and duration of diabetes) and demographic characteristics (such as age and gender). prevalence of cardiovascular events there was a significant burden of cardiovascular disease (cvd) among the 400 type-2 diabetic patients in this study, as 180 of them (45%) reported having at least one cardiovascular event. ischemic heart disease (ihd), pa ge 68 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 65-71, 2025 which affected 27% of patients, was the most commonly reported cardiovascular consequence. it was followed by stroke (11%) and congestive heart failure (7%). at the time of data collection, 55% of patients did not disclose any cardiovascular events that had been identified. males experienced somewhat more cardiovascular events (49%) than females (42%), according to a genderbased study, however this difference was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). patients with poor glycemic control (hba1c > 7%) had a significantly higher prevalence of cardiovascular events when stratified by glycemic control; 58.5% of these patients reported at least one cardiovascular complication, compared to only 23.7% of patients with good glycemic control (hba1c ≤ 7%). the correlation study, which showed a moderately good link between hba1c levels and the incidence of cardiovascular events (r = 0.41, p < 0.01), further corroborated this strong association. figure 2: poor glycaemic control elevates cvd risk the figure 2 showed that, numerous international investigations that have demonstrated a connection between hyperglycaemia and cardiovascular problems are in agreement with these findings. in the development of atherosclerosis and cardiovascular events, endothelial dysfunction, arterial stiffness, and a pro-inflammatory state are all facilitated by chronic hyperglycaemia. the findings in this study are corroborated by the uk prospective diabetes study (ukpds) and other large cohort studies, which have demonstrated that every 1% increase in hba1c is linked to a considerable increase in cardiovascular risk. in bangladesh, a number of coexisting risk factors, including obesity, sedentary lifestyle, dyslipidaemia, hypertension, and lack of access to cardiovascular screening or regular follow-up, may further contribute to the high prevalence of cvd among diabetic patients. more over half of the individuals in this trial had dyslipidaemia, and 70% had concomitant hypertension, both of which are significant independent risk factors for cvd. additionally, the observed rates of cardiovascular events may be influenced by delayed diagnosis and limited usage of preventive cardiovascular drugs. the results show that cardiovascular risk screening and care for diabetic patients, especially those with poorly managed blood glucose, urgently need to be strengthened. the incidence of cvds in this highrisk group could be significantly decreased by clinical interventions that emphasize rigorous glycemic control, lifestyle modification, and early diagnosis of cardiac symptoms. to better treat diabetes and associated cardiovascular consequences, public health initiatives should also prioritize integrated care models, regular hba1c monitoring, and diabetes education. correlation analysis using hba1c levels as a continuous variable and the number of cardiovascular events as a quantitative outcome, a pearson correlation analysis was conducted to investigate the association between glycemic control and the incidence of cardiovascular events in patients with type-2 diabetes. spss version 25 was used to analyze data gathered from 400 participants. the figure 3 showed that the frequency of cardiovascular events and hba1c levels had a moderately significant positive connection (r = 0.41, p < 0.01). this suggests that the probability and quantity of cardiovascular problems tended to rise in tandem with elevated hba1c levels. higher hba1c readings were associated with an increased risk of heart failure, stroke, and ischemic heart disease, among other cardiovascular problems. further analysis of the correlation across various subgroups revealed that the correlation coefficient was slightly higher (r = 0.45) among patients over 60, indicating a stronger association in older adults; similarly, the correlation between hba1c and cardiovascular events was significantly stronger (r = 0.48) among participants who had had diabetes for more than ten years, highlighting the cumulative impact of prolonged poor glycemic control. previous research has identified glycemic control as a key determinant of cardiovascular health in diabetic populations, with studies like the ukpds and accord trials demonstrating that elevated hba1c levels over time contribute to pa ge 69 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 65-71, 2025 macrovascular complications. physiologically, chronic hyperglycemia causes endothelial damage, encourages atherosclerosis, and increases oxidative stress—all of which are essential for the development of cardiovascular disease. the hypothesis that increasing glycemic control may lessen the burden of cardiovascular disease among type-2 diabetic patients in bangladesh is supported by the significance level (p < 0.01), which indicates that the link found in this study is unlikely to have happened by accident. correlation does not, however, imply causation, even when it does show a relationship. to learn more about the causal pathways that connect poor glycemic control to cardiovascular outcomes in this population, future longitudinal or interventional investigations are required. perception and awareness designing successful public health interventions requires an understanding of how type-2 diabetes patients perceive and are aware of glucose management and its relationship to cardiovascular events. participants in this study answered a series of structured questions designed to gauge their attitudes, knowledge, and beliefs on cardiovascular risk and diabetes treatment. figure 3: correlation between glycemic control and cardiovascular risk figure 4: perception and awareness of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. the figure 4 showed that, just 38% of the 400 participants knew that cardiovascular problems could be directly caused by inadequate glucose control. many people did not clearly link uncontrolled blood sugar to hazards like heart attacks, strokes, or heart failure, even though 72% of respondents were aware that maintaining normal blood glucose levels was crucial for their general health. there is a notable lack of knowledge on the wider systemic effects of inadequate glycemic control, as approximately 41% of participants thought that diabetes mainly affected only the kidneys or eyes. despite clinical guidelines that prescribe routine monitoring at least twice a year for patients with stable glycemic control and more frequently for those with uncontrolled diabetes, only 46% of respondents said they had had a hba1c test in the previous six months. furthermore, the majority of participants were unaware of how fasting or random blood glucose measurements relate to long-term cardiovascular risk, even though 60% of them reported taking these measurements at home or in a clinic. few people (less than 20%) said they had ever received official counseling on cardiovascular risks from healthcare providers, and only 35% of respondents acknowledged cardiovascular symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, or sudden weakness as potential signs of heart-related problems. despite the fact that lifestyle modifications including pa ge 70 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 65-71, 2025 diet, exercise, and quitting smoking are crucial for preventing cardiovascular disease, 58% of respondents stated they only used medication to control their diabetes. furthermore, awareness levels seemed to be influenced by socioeconomic characteristics. higher educated and urban-dwelling participants were substantially more aware of the connection between diabetes and heart disease (p < 0.05). this raises the possibility of unequal access to health information and emphasizes the significance of focused education for those with lower levels of education and those living in remote areas. overall, the results indicate that although there is a fair amount of basic information regarding diabetes as a chronic condition, there is still little particular understanding regarding the cardiovascular dangers connected to inadequate glycemic management. underutilization of preventative health services, poor self-management, and delayed diagnosis could all be caused by this ignorance. community-based health education initiatives, culturally competent counseling during normal diabetes care, and enhanced patient-provider communication about the systemic complications of diabetes are all clearly needed to close this gap. conclusion in this study, 400 type-2 diabetes patients in bangladesh were examined to determine the relationship between glycemic control and the frequency of cardiovascular events. the results showed that 62% of individuals had hba1c values above the suggested limit of 7%, indicating a significant proportion of poor glycemic control. of the sample group, ischemic heart disease, stroke, and heart failure were the most prevalent consequences, accounting for 45% of cardiovascular events. poor glycemic control is moderately linked to increased cardiovascular risk, according to a statistically significant positive connection (r = 0.41, p < 0.01) between hba1c levels and cardiovascular events. the cumulative effect of uncontrolled blood glucose over time was highlighted by this association, which was especially noticeable in older persons and those with a longer history of diabetes. significant gaps in patients’ knowledge and perception of the link between diabetes and cardiovascular problems were also found by the study. a significant percentage of participants lacked access to routine hba1c testing or thorough diabetes counseling, and many were ignorant that long-term hyperglycemia might directly cause heart disease and stroke. these results highlight the critical need for integrated diabetes and cardiovascular care approaches that prioritize patient education, ongoing monitoring, and early identification. the study’s conclusions suggest that healthcare professionals in bangladesh should give patient education on the connection between poor glycemic control and cardiovascular risks top priority. they should pay special attention to routine hba1c monitoring and the early identification of cardiovascular symptoms. public health campaigns should use culturally relevant language and resources to increase awareness at the community level, particularly among low-literate and rural communities. to guarantee early intervention, primary care settings should adopt integrated care models that incorporate cardiovascular screening and diabetes control. in order to promote improved glycemic control and lessen the long-term burden of cardiovascular disease among patients with type-2 diabetes, healthcare systems should also increase access to diagnostic testing, prescription drugs, and lifestyle counselling services. acknowledgements the authors would like to sincerely thank each and every participant for kindly providing their time and information for this research. additionally, we thank the participating hospitals’ medical staff for their participation during the data collection process. we would also want to thank our academic advisors for their invaluable advice during the study process. references amna, g. 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(2023). cumulative hba1c exposure as a cvd risk in patients with type 2 diabetes: a post hoc analysis of accord trial. diabetes research and clinical practice, 111009. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. diabres.2023.111009 pa ge 1 pa ge 56 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ health sefunmi titilope ola-akinlalu1* volume 3 issue 2, year 2025 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v3i2.5942 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: august 11, 2025 accepted: september 15, 2025 published: october 21, 2025 most teenagers view substance usage as a casual matter, unaware that prolonged use of these substances, even in tiny doses, can have negative effects and function more as a depressant than a stimulant. this study aimed to look into the relationship between teen drug usage and health. methods: teens (13 to 19 years old) attended school in ondo state for a minimum of one year. results: it was found that while mental health disorders, drug dependence, sex drive, teenage pregnancy, and violence were perceived as effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ mental health, stroke, irregular heartbeat, memory loss, hypoxia, and seizures were perceived as effects on adolescents’ physical health. furthermore, there was no discernible variation in the reported impacts of substance usage on the physical and emotional well-being of teenagers according to their gender. in conclusion, the adolescent’s bodily and emotional well-being depends on his or her giving up substance abuse of any kind. thus, we implore stakeholders in education and health to regularly arrange dramatizations and discussions among adolescents about the risks associated with substance abuse. public education initiatives by the government and non-governmental groups need to take a cooperative, multidisciplinary, and multi-sectoral approach. outreach initiatives and counseling should be used to increase public knowledge of drug misuse and usage. keywords adolescents, mental health, physical health, substance abuse 1 department of public health, city university, cambodia * corresponding author’s e-mail: titilopeolaakinlalu@gmail.com introduction during this stage of life, adolescents experience physical, psychological, social, and emotional changes. they also frequently take on habits that increase their chance of developing health issues, such as substance misuse (gray & squeglia, 2018). adolescent substance addiction is a growing global phenomenon that needs to be addressed by all helping professionals to create methods that will give teenagers the means to live a life free from substance misuse. adolescent substance misuse appears to have occurred at some point in their academic or professional life. drug abuse and substance abuse have been used interchangeably in literary works. according to agbonghale and okaka (2014), the use of a substance that alters behavior or mood in a way suggestive of a maladaptive pattern of use is commonly accepted to be the definition of drug abuse. according to musto (2018), substance abuse is the use of drugs that can lead to a condition in which the user experiences severe impairments or discomfort due to a maladaptive pattern of behavior or mood disturbance. such behaviours include, but are not limited to, frequently abstaining from social or professional commitments or consuming drugs when doing so puts oneself at risk or lands one in legal trouble. this suggests a change in conduct. substances are chemicals that interfere with the brain’s communication system, affecting how nerve cells typically send, receive, and process information. because the molecular structures of some drugs, like as heroin and marijuana, mirror those of natural neurotransmitters, these substances can activate neurons. the drugs can “fool” receptors by attaching to and activating nerve cells due to their similar structures. these drugs function on nerve cells differently from a normally occurring neurotransmitter, despite their appearance as brain chemicals. as a result, abnormal messages spread across the network. other substances, like cocaine or amphetamines, can either stop these molecules from being routinely recycled in the brain or cause the nerve cells to emit unusually high levels of their neurotransmitters. this finally causes a breakdown in the communication lines, which likewise dramatically magnifies the message. the effect of someone whispering in your ear and someone yelling into a microphone can be compared. according to cecilia (2010), using drugs to the degree where a person’s social, psychological, or physiological functioning is compromised is the medical definition of substance abuse. it entails utilizing illegal drugs or abusing over-thecounter or prescription pharmaceuticals. it describes the overuse of medications, or their prescription use for purposes other than those for which they are intended. opioids, amphetamines, tobacco, and barbiturates are some of these substances of abuse. substance abuse involves significant cultural and subjective prejudice, contingent on whether a given culture considers the use of a particular substance to be acceptable or not at a given time. enakpoya (2019) went on to define substance misuse as using medications without a prescription or guidance from a doctor. substance abuse is one of the most risky activities among teenagers attending secondary schools. even though it is pa ge 57 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 56-64, 2025 a global concern to educate students about psychoactive substances, many secondary schools nowadays only cover a small portion of the harmful impacts. most adolescents enrolling in secondary schools report that they first experimented with gateway drugs, including alcohol, cigarettes, and marijuana. marijuana is the most commonly used drug, followed by tobacco. as key centers of perception and stimulation, the brain, liver, kidneys, heart, and lungs are among the primary organs that can be harmed in substance abusers, according to a 2019 study by manbe. the report also noted that, in addition to various difficulties, substance abusers struggle to manage their social lives. this underscores the influence that teenage peer groups can have on a person’s decision to use drugs. consequently, aggressive tendencies have been observed, leading to violent crimes such as rape, theft, armed robbery, suicide attempts, juvenile offenses, and school expulsions. these adolescents often become social outcasts in their communities. medical professionals and scholars in nigeria have recognized that drug misuse and consumption impact pupils’ academic achievement (adamu & lawal, 2013). in a similar vein, atoyebi (2013) discovered that drug misuse is the primary factor behind many inappropriate classroom behaviors, such as violence and impulsivity, in addition to poor academic performance. this supports mayo’s (2013) claim that drug usage leads to low selfesteem, inadequate social coping skills, and educational difficulties for young people. in response to this troubling situation, the federal and state governments have tackled the issue of substance addiction by incorporating health counseling and guidance services into secondary school curricula. as a result, education and prevention programs addressing adolescent substance misuse are now primarily offered in nigerian schools. however, eneh and stanley (2014) pointed out that a significant amount of drug usage among teenagers takes place at schools. student substance addiction is a very widespread problem. social interactions and learnt behaviour are virtually invariably the cause of teenage drug and alcohol usage (swaid 2011). experimentation is one of the significant psychological phenomena that are seen throughout this phase of adolescence (graham et al., 2013). adolescents have been seen to experiment with new experiences like substance misuse and sex as a result of this behaviour, sometimes with disastrous outcomes. despite the detrimental effects of substance usage on adolescents’ ability to think, make wise decisions, and pursue academic goals, adolescent drug misuse is now widespread. adolescent substance misuse is on the rise; there has been a discernible increase in the involvement of women and the use of numerous substances, as well as changes in the types and patterns of drug usage among teenagers (ifabumuyi, 2017). thus, this research aims to investigate the potential health effects of substance usage on teenagers in akure, ondo state, nigeria. statement of the problem adolescents often view substance abuse as trivial. they are unaware that these drugs act more as depressants than stimulants, and that frequent use, even in small amounts, can lead to adverse effects. it is estimated that approximately 5% of the global population, or a quarter of a billion people, have used drugs at least once. even more alarming is the statistic that 29.5 million of those users, or 0.6% of the world’s population, have drug use disorders (unodc, 2016). according to the world drug report (unodc, 2018), drug-related deaths worldwide increased by 60% between 2000 and 2015. compared to all other continents, africa has the largest proportion of teenagers among its total population, making it the youngest continent globally. adolescents between the ages of 10 and 18 make up 32% of the population in west and central africa, as well as east and southern africa. this is higher than the global average of 24% (kendall, 2001). 31% of nigeria’s 158.4 million residents in 2010 were teenagers, or those between the ages of 10 and 19. it is projected that the number of teenagers globally will reach 73 million by 2025 and 116 million by 2050. things have gotten worse for the teenage population of nigeria since the results of a recent national survey on drug abuse were confirmed to be massive, meaning that the rate of psychoactive drug substance use among nigerian adolescents is higher than the global average, at 5.6% globally and 15% in nigeria. eight out of every nine high school students (1.19%, or 1.6 million) suffer from an addictive disorder; of those who have ever used tobacco, alcohol, or other substances, 19.4% satisfy the clinical diagnostic criteria for a substance use disorder, and 33.3% of those who use them currently also do so (casa, 2009). in 2009, the percentage of adolescents receiving official treatment for alcohol and other drug addiction at hospitals, rehabilitation centers, or mental health centers was limited to 6.4%. these adolescents meet the clinical criteria for alcohol or other drug use disorders. adolescents should not have to wait to obtain treatment; even when they do, their care is frequently insufficient (casa, 2009). the nigerian drug policy “has been characterized by a highly exclusive policy-making process,” claims klatschnig (2013). in this specific situation, repression “has become the sole means of implementation and a strong bond with international drug agencies.” this program focused primarily on punishment and prevention, paying little attention to the effects of drug abuse. rationale/justification for the review adolescent substance misuse has been documented in studies and reports. for instance, within six months, the national drug law enforcement agency (ndlea) in katsina state arrested 443 drug suspects in possession of at least 336.4043 kg of illicit substances and 2,553.06 liters of cough syrup suspected of containing codeine. at the federal high court of katsina, 110 cases were pending trial at various stages, while 23 suspects were prosecuted pa ge 58 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 56-64, 2025 and punished by the ndlea. it was also stated that the authorities had confiscated 53 kg of tramadol tablets, 51 kg of cannabis sativa, and 24,000 bottles of codeine. in addition, 128 bottles of codeine cough syrup and 21 students and infants under the age of one were captured in katsina state. an increasing amount of information is being released about the nationwide surge in adolescent drug misuse and related issues. peer pressure and emotional stress are the main causes of teenage drinking, among other factors. there have been several attempts, as was previously reported, but they have failed. thus, it is necessary to create a health education program that focuses on how substance abuse affects the health of adolescents. youth are a critical period for the development of coping behaviours and responses, such as drug use as a coping mechanism for stress, peer pressure, and emotional pain, according to the american journal of public health (2007). therefore, reducing exposure to risk factors and altering the factors that are already present should be the main goals of drug prevention initiatives. programs that emphasize the direct physiological repercussions of substance misuse as well as coping mechanisms for social pressure to abuse substances may be particularly effective in health education, given the impact that substance abuse has on adolescent health. teenagers may avoid substance usage with confidence and without flimsy justifications if they are aware of the risk factors. the results of the study could be useful in helping teenagers who have already developed a substance misuse habit quit using cessation techniques. understanding the negative consequences of substance misuse on the health of teenagers can help these young people avoid consuming drugs so they can focus on their education and grow up to be productive members of society. objectives general objective to investigate the effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ health specific objectives 1. examine the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ physical health. 2. investigate the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ mental health. research question 1. what are the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ physical health? 2. what are the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ mental health? hypotheses h01: there is no significant difference in perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ physical health based on gender. h02: there is no significant difference in the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ mental health based on gender. literature review adolescence the shortand long-term impacts of substance use can be deadly, which is why it is still a concern even though teens are most constrained by practical and legal restrictions. young people’s unintended injury and death (vehicle collisions, suicide, etc.) are primarily caused by substance addiction (johnston et al., 2011). maladaptive behavioural patterns are established during this time and are subsequently connected to both physical and mental health problems (matarazzo & perry, 2014). thus, examining the substance use and outcomes of adolescents can help tailor interventions and maximize long-term benefits. physical health/medical conditions development undergoes major changes during adolescence. as a result, even occasional drug usage may have negative effects. adolescent alcohol and drug usage raises the possibility of violence and injury (cdcp, 2011). according to the results of a nationwide research conducted in the united states a month before the poll, 24.1 percent of high school students reported being passengers in a car driven by someone who had used alcohol, and 8.2 percent reported driving a car after drinking. sixth of college students reported drugged driving (i.e., taking illegal or prescription drugs for nonmedical purposes) in the previous year, according to a survey of older teens (arria et al., 2011). when there is a combination of motor skill impairment and inexperience behind the wheel, the risk of traffic accident injuries and deaths increases. substance-using adolescents frequently engage in risky sexual behaviors (cdcp, 2012). twenty-one percent of sexually active high school students report using drugs or alcohol before their most recent sexual encounter (cdcp, 2012). consequently, a strong association has been observed between adolescent substance use, hazardous sexual behavior, and the incidence of sexually transmitted infections (stds) (kingree et al., 2010). according to riehman et al. (2016), social and chronic substance users are more likely to have unprotected sex and a history of multiple sexual partners well into late adolescence. according to current data from the centers for disease control and prevention (cdc) (cdcp, 2012), over 25% of new instances of hiv infection occur among young people, and approximately 60% of those infected were ignorant of their status, highlighting the severity of this danger. yan and colleagues conducted additional research (yan et al., 2017) to ascertain the relationship between drug usage and sexual risk behaviors associated with hiv/stds. they discovered that there was a substantial correlation between not using condoms and smoking three or more days in the preceding month in their pa ge 59 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 56-64, 2025 countrywide sample of young people in rural us settings who were sexually active. drug and alcohol abuse have historically and now been connected to several sexual partners. yan et al. (2017) state that substance abuse and risky sexual conduct seem to be parts of a constellation of irresponsible behaviors, some of which are normative and others of which are the result of social impairments. compared to teens without sud, adolescents with sud diagnoses had more acute and possibly chronic health issues. about half of emergency department (ed) visits for drug abuse or misuse in the us in 2011 were related to the non-medical use of prescription and over-the-counter drugs. when it comes to adolescents between the ages of 12 and 17, the number of ed visits for pharmaceutical abuse is more than the number for alcohol abuse (301 ed visits compared to 160 ed visits per 100,000 population) (cdcp, 2011). abuse of drugs and/or alcohol together increases the risk of serious injury. teenagers who use drugs have a greater incidence rate of one-fourth of the concomitant medical problems that mertens, flisher, fleming, and weisner (2017) examined. it can be challenging to identify certain chronic health conditions in younger individuals. it has been demonstrated that diagnoses related to pain and asthma, in particular, are prevalent and expensive medical conditions among the patient population. myers and brown (2014) and (2017) discovered that respiratory issues persisted for two to four years following drug misuse therapy for teenage smokers, regardless of the use of other substances. long-term drug use can worsen symptoms and, in certain situations, lead to more severe, potentially fatal diseases; nevertheless, it can be challenging to definitively link certain medical disorders to one another. mental health/psychiatric disorders suicidal thoughts and deeds create a clear link between mental and physical health. suicide is the third most common cause of mortality for youths in america between the ages of 10 and 19 (kochanek et al., 2012). although it is not necessarily the “cause” of suicidal thoughts and attempts, substance misuse is a significant risk factor for them (nock et al., 2013). those with substance use disorders (suds) are almost three times more likely than those without drug use to attempt suicide, according to research (bukstein et al., 2013). even after adjusting for depression, wu et al.’s (2014) study, which looked at data from a community sample of teens, discovered a significant link between alcohol misuse and dependency and attempts at suicide. these findings highlight the need for more investigation into the connection between substance misuse and abuse and suicidal thoughts and actions, both in the context of mental health issues and in the absence of them. according to storr et al. (2012), adolescents in clinical samples exhibit significant rates of comorbidity. two diagnoses are present in 70–80% of young individuals seeking therapy (kaminer & bukstein, 2017). however, comorbidity patterns vary according to the type of drug used, the severity of sud, and the mental health issue (roberts et al., 2007). for example, there are gender variations in the co-occurrence of mood disorders, even though internalizing disorders (e.g., anxiety, depression) are widespread in both clinical and general adolescent populations. specifically, compared to boys, girls with suds experience higher rates of depression (mcguinness et al., 2012). shrier et al. (2013) evaluated the psychological symptoms of young people with sub-diagnostic drug use disorders in a primary care setting to investigate this further. they discovered that girls who reported symptoms of mental disorders were more likely to become drug users. adolescent males and girls with diagnostic or problematic usage have been found to exhibit a high prevalence of anxiety symptomology (shrier et al., 2013). roughly 7% of youth with sud met the diagnostic criteria for any anxiety disorder in the preceding year (roberts et al., 2017). there is some evidence that externalizing disorders usually occur before suds, even if the precise order in which mental symptoms and substance use emerge varies from person to person (zucker et al., 2011). the constellation of maladaptive and disruptive behaviors that characterize disorders like conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and adhd initially emerged in childhood or adolescence (american psychiatric association, diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders). sub-diagnostic drug and alcohol use in teenagers, both male and female, has been linked to externalizing symptoms (shrier et al., 2013; molina, pelham, 2013). this shows a connection between problematic usage before meeting all sud criteria and behavioral disturbance. but according to epidemiological statistics, suds are linked to higher chances of odd and cd co-occurring (roberts et al., 2017). data suggest that problematic or diagnostic behaviors, substance use, and socially hazardous behaviors may co-occur and, when considered together, may even exacerbate each other (roberts et al., 2017; costello et al., 2013). these behaviors may not have as much of an effect during adolescence because of their limited social responsibilities, but when young people become adults, maladaptive behavior combined with prolonged substance use can exacerbate impairment. theoretical framework disease theory the disease idea most emphasizes the parallels and differences between those who suffer from addiction as a “disease” and those who do not. as stated in horvath et al. (2014) and dual diagnosis (2014), addiction is defined by this paradigm as an uncontrollable brain disorder with faulty structure and functioning that renders the addiction “irreversible”. the pathological changes in the brain that cause obsessive cravings are also addressed pa ge 60 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 56-64, 2025 by this approach (west & brown, 2013). the “heart” of the illness notion, according to west and brown (2013), is the desire episodes because they are “urgent and overpowering,” seemingly taking over the person both physically and emotionally. the disease theory states that a progressive, lifelong illness results from a lack of control. it also describes addiction as a medical problem and claims that some individuals are predisposed to addiction from birth (lindström, 2012; west & brown, 2013). even though the gene combination varies from case to case, the symptoms remain consistent. addiction outcomes are significantly influenced by the environment (dual diagnosis, 2014). the disease theory’s implications suggest that the goal of treatment for alcoholics who wish to stop drinking should be universal. inherited defective genes make those with a family history of drinking more susceptible. unaddressed substance misuse can have deadly effects, and recovery is unlikely to occur without intervention. to prevent these outcomes, treatment is necessary. even after receiving treatment, there is always a risk of relapse, regardless of how long someone has remained sober (lindström, 2012). the illness concept posits that discontinuing drug use and other related behaviors while receiving support from friends or family is the best approach for recovery. although relapses are a possibility, healing requires letting go of the addictive habit. after many years, some individuals may recover on their own, which could be attributed to a normalizing anomaly in the brain or the idea that they were never addicted in the first place. research has indicated that the twelve-step program and various forms of peer support have a noteworthy effect on the process of alcohol abstinence. while some believe that physical restraint is the only way to heal, motivation and hope—two significant results of the support—also play a role in a successful recovery (horvath et al., 2014; west & brown, 2013). materials and methods study area the capital of ondo state, akure, lies between latitudes 7046 n and longitudes 4034 e and 7.7670 n and 4.5670 e, and this is the research area. akure south and akure north local governments are the two local government areas in akure. akure has a population of more than 287,156 according to the 2006 census (provisional results) (wikipedia, 2012). sample design a descriptive study approach was used to examine teenagers enrolled in senior secondary schools in akure, ondo state, between the ages of 13 and 19. to minimize potential bias resulting from the influx of visiting teenagers, the study was restricted to in-school adolescents who had been admitted to secondary school for a minimum of one year. sampling technique in akure south local government. roughly ten (10) schools were chosen at random from the local government: c.a.c grammar school, fiwasaye grammar school, oyemekun grammar school, aquinas grammar school, omoluorogbo grammar school, commercial school, alagbaka grammar school, st. francis grammar school, army comprehensive school, and adu memorial. from each of the chosen schools, twenty(20) in-school teenagers were chosen using a basic random selection procedure. two hundred teenagers enrolled in senior secondary education make up the study’s sample. in order to treat all of the respondents equally, this study used the basic random sampling technique. instruments for data collection a basic 15-item questionnaire featuring both closedand open-ended questions was used to collect data from the target group. section a of the questionnaire primarily focused on sociodemographic data, while section b addressed the main study issues. the questionnaire employs four likert scales: 1 for strongly disagree, 2 for disagree, 3 for agree, and 4 for strongly agree. the questionnaire was self-administered, as well as administered by the researcher and her study assistants. each of the two hundred surveys was accurately completed and submitted. data analysis the methods for gathering and analyzing the data involved descriptive statistics. the t-test was employed to evaluate the hypotheses at the 0.05 level of significance, while percentages, means, and standard deviations were used to address the study difficulties. items were classified as agreeing with the study questions if their mean score was 2.50 or higher, and as dissenting if it was lower. the null hypothesis is accepted when the p-value for the hypothesis test exceeds alpha at the 0.05 level of significance. results and discussions demographic data table 1: frequency distribution of demographic data of the respondents variables frequency percentage age (in years) 13-14 years 78 39.0 15-17 years 104 52.0 18-19 18 9.0 pa ge 61 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 56-64, 2025 table 2: mean and rank order of the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ physical health item no. as far as i am concerned, the following are the effects of substance abuse on physical health mean rank 2 stroke 3.83 1st 5 irregular heartbeat 3.80 2nd 3 impairment in memory 3.76 3rd 6 hypoxia 3.73 4th 7 seizure 3.70 5th 4 sleep disorder 3.44 6th 1 respiratory depression 3.27 7th table 3: mean and rank order of the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ mental health item no. as far as i am concerned, the following are the effects of substance abuse on mental health mean rank 6 mental health disorder 3.83 1st 3 dependence on drug 3.80 2nd 5 sex drive 3.76 3rd 2 teenage pregnancy 3.73 4th 1 violence 3.70 5th 4 poor judgment 3.47 6th 7 poor academic performance 3.33 7th the respondents’ demographic details are shown in table 1. fifty-four out of the 104 responders (52%) were in the 15–17 age range. with 78 (39.0%) responses, the respondents between the ages of 13 and 17 made up the second-highest group in the survey. of the responses, only eighteen (9.0%) were in the 18–19 age range. out of all the responses, 81 (40.5%) are female and 119 (59.5%) are male teenagers enrolled in school. regarding the respondents’ class level, 63 (31.5%) of the respondents are in sss3, 54 (27.0%) are in sss1, and 83 (41.5%) of the respondents are in sss2. answering research questions research question 1 what are the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ physical health? the mean and rank order of the perceived impacts of substance misuse on the physical health of adolescents are displayed in table 2 above. as their response is 2.50 and above, the acceptance region (benchmark), it can be seen that the respondent agreed that stroke, irregular heartbeat, memory loss, hypoxia, and seizures are among the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ physical health. in contrast, items such as sleep disorder and respiratory depression were rejected because their mean response was less than 2.50. research question 2 what are the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ mental health? total 200 100 gender male 119 59.5 female 81 40.5 total 200 100 religion sss1 54 27.0 sss2 83 41.5 sss3 63 31.5 total 200 100 pa ge 62 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 56-64, 2025 given that the p-value (0.061) is higher than alpha (0.05), the hypothesis in table 4 above, which states that “there is no significant difference of perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ physical health based on gender,” is not rejected. thus, there is no discernible gender difference in the impact of substance usage on the physical health of teenagers. hypothesis 2 there is no significant difference in perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ mental health based on gender. the mean and standard deviation of the impact of substance misuse on the mental health of teenagers are displayed in table 3 above. given that their mean response fell below the acceptance region (benchmark), poor judgment and poor academic performance were rejected, while the table indicates that respondents agreed that mental health disorders, drug dependence, sex drive, teenage pregnancy, and violence are the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ mental health. testing of hypotheses hypothesis 1 there is no significant difference in the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ physical health based on gender. table 4: mean, sd, and t-test result showing difference in the perceived effect of substance abuse on adolescents’ physical health based on gender gender n mean sd df cal. t crit. t p-value male 119 3.60 0.73 198 3.87* 1.96 0.061 female 81 3.16 0.84 *p < 0.05 table 5: mean, sd, and t-test result showing difference in the perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ mental health based on gender. gender n mean sd df cal. t crit. t p-value male 119 3.50 0.51 198 0.76* 1.96 0.13 female 81 3.35 0.85 *p < 0.05 given that the p-value (0.13) is higher than alpha (0.05), the hypothesis in table 5 above, which states that “there is no significant difference of perceived effects of substance abuse on adolescents’ mental health based on gender,” is not rejected. thus, there is no discernible gender difference in the impact of substance usage on the mental health of teenagers. discussion of findings the majority of adolescents in akure, ondo state, who are enrolled in school, believe that substance abuse has an adverse influence on their physical health. this indicates that teenagers still in school are aware of the risks associated with substance addiction, including stroke, irregular heartbeat, memory loss, hypoxia, and seizures. the majority of adolescents in akure, ondo state, who are enrolled in school, think that substance misuse has an impact on the mental health of adolescents. it indicates that teenagers are conscious of mental health issues, drug addiction, sexual urges, adolescent pregnancy, and violence towards those who take substances on their own volition. this result confirms the findings of atoyebi (2013), who suggested that drug usage was the primary cause of most inappropriate classroom behaviors, including violence and impulsiveness, as well as academic failure. this is also consistent with mayo’s (2013) argument that drug usage causes young people to struggle academically and have low self-esteem or inadequate social coping mechanisms. additionally, the research supports pavla’s (2015) assertion that several factors affect adolescents’ perceptions of and attitudes about substance misuse. the study also shows that there is no discernible gender variation in the consequences of substance usage on the physical and mental health of teenagers. this study supports the findings of obiamaka (2004), who found that 66% of boys and girls had previously used alcohol. conclusions for the adolescent’s physical and mental well-being, they should stop taking substances in any way. the study’s conclusions led to the following recommendations being made: 1. adolescents can become more aware of the risks of drug use and misuse at home and at school if drama and debate about the subject are regularly organized. 2. public enlightenment requires a collaborative, multidisciplinary, and multisectoral approach from both government and non-government entities. 3. counseling and outreach programs should be used to raise awareness about drug abuse and usage. pa ge 63 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 56-64, 2025 references adamu, j. e., & lawal, o. 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(2011). parsing the undercontrol–disinhibition pathway to substance use disorders: a multilevel developmental problem. child development perspectives, 5(4), 248-255. pa ge 1 pa ge 44 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) depression, coping strategies and social support among infertile women attending gynecology clinics of a tertiary care hospital in south-west nigeria: prevalence, patterns, peculiarities and associated factors joy oluwabosede esan1, margaret inemesit akpan2, aloysius obinna ikwuka3*, babatunde ayodeji esan4 volume 3 issue 1, year 2025 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v3i1.4893 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: march 20, 2025 accepted: may 05, 2025 published: may 26, 2025 infertility is one of the fastest growing concerns when it comes to reproductive health and most often, women get the blame. consequently, females suffer from major psychosocial and emotional problems that may lead to serious mental health concerns. the aim of this research was to study depression, coping strategies, and social support among infertile women attending gynecology clinics of a tertiary care hospital in south-west nigeria, paying attention to their prevalence, patterns, peculiarities, and associated factors. a descriptive cross-sectional design was used involving 372 respondents. simple random sampling technique was used to select the study population and sample size. data collection was done using a semi-structured standardized questionnaire. applied statistical tests of significance were stated and were tested using chi-square test, with p-value <0.05 considered statistically significant. 38.7% of the respondents were within the age range of 31-36 years and only 1.0% of the respondents were within the age range of 19-24 years. majority of the infertile women in this study (39.2%) had a normal level of depression according to beck depression inventory. socio-demographic characteristics such as age, income, level of education, type of family, and duration of marriage were significantly related to occurrence of depression among the respondents. most of the respondents (57.5%) had first degree (bachelor’s degree) from the university. more than half (67.7%) had income >n100,000 monthly. majority of the respondents (76.9%) came from a monogamous family and the duration of marriage in 34.4% of the respondents was 6-10 years (p<0.001). majority of the respondents (55.9%) accepted sympathy and understanding from someone – seeking social support coping strategy; 68.3% of the respondents do not think they brought the problem on themselves accepting responsibility coping strategy; 50.0% of the respondents hoped a miracle would happen, and 43.0% of the respondents avoided being with people in general escape avoidance coping strategy; 51.1% of the respondents concentrated on the next step to be done painful problem-solving coping strategy; 71.0% of the respondents prayed positive re-appraisal coping strategy; 45.2% of the respondents did not express their anger to the person(s) that caused the problem confrontative coping strategy; 31.7% of the respondents somewhat keep their feelings to themselves self-controlling coping strategy; and 43.0% of the respondents tried to forget the whole thing distance coping strategy. the relationships between coping ability and severity of depression were examined and it was discovered that there is statistically significant relationship between the coping ability and severity of depression among the infertile women. there is a need to assess infertile women‘s general and psychological health. care for infertile women should be in a contextually and culturally appropriate manner to improve their health status and quality of life. health policy in developing countries needs to recognize the public health burden of depression as it affects infertile women. key health services available in the clinics should include integrating psychological care, strengthening social support network, counseling, and follow-up services in infertility management. keywords associated factors, coping strategies, depression, fertility clinic, ibadan, infertile women, infertility, oyo state, patterns, peculiarities, prevalence, social support, south-west nigeria, women, women’s health 1 department of nursing, university college hospital, ibadan, nigeria 2 faculty of allied medical sciences, university of calabar, calabar, nigeria 3 college of medicine and health sciences, american international university west africa, banjul, the gambia 4 department of obstetrics and gynecology, university college hospital, ibadan, nigeria * corresponding author’s e-mail: aloysiussweet@yahoo.com introduction reproductive health is defined as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity, in all matters relating to the reproductive system, its functions and processes (who, 2021b). global attention has been drawn to the importance of reproductive health. in fact, the united nation’s popular third sustainable development goal (sdg) is “good health and well-being”, which is to actualize healthy lives and accelerate well-being for all, at all ages. the seventh target states that by 2030, there will be universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including family planning, information and education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs (united nations, 2020). globally, infertility affects 9-15% of couples, with higher rates reported in the developing countries (zurlo, 2019). gametes which refer to the male and female reproductive cells (sperm and ova) are haploid and contain one set of chromosomes which could be either 1–22 x or 1–22 y (ikwuka, 2023a). even when fertilization occurs and results in pregnancy, the effects of tobacco consumption pa ge 45 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 44-56, 2025 on pregnancy have been reported (udeh, 2023a; udeh, 2023b; udeh, 2023c). the effects of hormonal imbalance on fertility (aliu-ayo, 2023a; aliu-ayo, 2023b), and anemia on pregnancy (inya, 2023a; inya, 2023b) have also been reported. according to the who, the clinical description of the reproductive system disease known as infertility – is defined as a failure to conceive naturally after 365 days or more of uninterrupted sexual intercourse (zurlo, 2019; bakhtiyar, 2019). in sub-saharan africa where nigeria is located, infertility affects 25% of couples (fehintola, 2017). in addition, there are ongoing studies dwelling on the links between metabolic disorders and infertility. metabolic syndrome diseases (msds) which include hypertension, obesity, diabetes mellitus, and dyslipidemia, are interlinked diseases and often occur concurrently. msds are associated with very high economic costs, morbidity and mortality rates (ikwuka, 2015; ikwuka, 2017a; ikwuka, 2017c; ikwuka, 2023c; ikwuka, 2023f; ikwuka, 2024; virstyuk, 2016). numerous studies have also reported associations between msds and increased levels of blood pressure, glucose and lipid metabolic disorders, asymptomatic hyperuricemia, systemic immune inflammation, and fibrogenesis – factors that may eventually lead to kidney damage (ikwuka, 2017d; ikwuka, 2017e; ikwuka, 2018c; ikwuka, 2018d; ikwuka, 2019a; ikwuka, 2019c; ikwuka, 2022; ikwuka, 2023d; virstyuk, 2017a; virstyuk, 2018a; virstyuk, 2019; virstyuk, 2021a; virstyuk, 2021b). nonetheless, remaining involuntarily without issue, due to inability to conceive is one of life’s highest misfortunes. besides being a medical condition in itself, involuntary childlessness can have a significant impact on well-being and quality of life (mol, 2018). abnormal immune responses e.g. formation of anti-sperm antibodies in women against their partner’s sperm cells have been identified as contributing factors to female infertility. additional immune-related mechanisms include antibodies to clotting factors, which may result in both thrombosis and hemorrhage; as well as hemolytic reactions which can occur in the process of transfusion of blood products (ikwuka, 2023e). oxidative stress has also been linked to infertility. the major contributors to oxidative stress are free radicals such as superoxide anions, hydroxyl radicals, and hydroperoxyl radicals and all are significant physiologically. a non-radical which is significant physiologically is hydrogen peroxide (ama, 2023; baysah, 2023; ikwuka, 2023b; uche, 2023). infertility has been ranked as one of the high stressors in life with psychological, social, and cultural consequences (maroufizadeh, 2018). one of the most common mental health problems among women with infertility is depression (aflakseir, 2016). depression is defined as a disposition or expressive state that is marked by moods of low self-respect or guilt and a reduced ability to enjoy life (britannica, 2021). globally, depression affects up to 300 million persons of all ages (alimohamadi, 2020) and approximately 40% of infertile women are reported to have symptoms of depression and anxiety (crawford, 2017; cusatis, 2019). many studies have revealed that couples with infertility are twice likely to suffer from anxiety and depression than couples who are fertile (maroufizadeh, 2018; cusatis, 2019). the resultant psychosocial issues affect the female gender more adversely than her spouse, especially in societies where there are prejudices against women (bakhtiyar, 2019). this is so, due to the association of infertility and the women’s social role (cusatis, 2019). attitudes toward women’s infertility are often influenced by ethnic and cultural groups with some cultures vindicating the male spouse from the issue of infertility thus making infertility solely the woman’s challenge (bakhtiyar, 2019). men can easily cope with childlessness, more than women (amini, 2020). moreover, treatments of infertility are quite expensive, emotionally draining, and time-consuming. therefore, it is necessary for the clinicians to know the state of wellbeing of the infertile women before engaging them in the treatment. findings from a study conducted by (crawford, 2017) revealed that failure in infertility treatment leads to higher rates of depression and anxiety. implications of infertility on the well-being of women are becoming alarming in the world, nigeria inclusive. on the other hand, metabolic syndrome diseases (msds) are interrelated diseases that contribute significantly to healthcare costs, morbidity, and mortality rates, thus requiring the search for new, effective, and innovative treatment options (ikwuka, 2024). innovative treatment options such as combining hmg-coa reductase inhibitors, sglt-2 inhibitors, and angiotensin ii receptor blockers (type 1) i.e. a2rb (at1), have shown clinical effectiveness indicated by marked improvements in the metabolic functions of the heart, liver, pancreas, and kidney (ikwuka, 2017b; ikwuka, 2018a; ikwuka, 2018b; ikwuka, 2021; virstyuk, 2017b; virstyuk, 2018b; virstyuk, 2018c; ikwuka, 2024). additionally, glucagonlike peptide 1 receptor agonists (glp-1 ras) such as liraglutide have been shown to improve the clinical outcomes in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and hypertension (ikwuka, 2019b). meanwhile, studying depression, coping strategies, and social support among infertile women will contribute to existing literature – which will in turn assist members of the healthcare team to understand how best to address the needs of these women and care for them holistically. in addition, findings from this study will serve as a reference source for policymaking on the healthcare needs of infertile women in oyo state, and nigeria, at large. lastly, this study will broaden the knowledge of the researchers on the topic. therefore, this research aimed to study depression, coping strategies, and social support among infertile women attending gynecology clinics of a tertiary care hospital in south-west nigeria, paying attention to their prevalence, patterns, peculiarities, and associated factors. pa ge 46 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 44-56, 2025 materials and methods study area this study was carried out at university college hospital (uch), ibadan, ibadan north local government area (lga), oyo state, south-west nigeria. the university college hospital, ibadan started with 500 bed spaces but has expanded overtime to 1,000 bed spaces and 163 examination couches with occupancy rates ranging from 55-60%. it has about 65 departments among which is the department of obstetrics and gynecology which has five units namely assisted conception unit (acu), fertility research and endocrinology unit (freu), fetomaternal medicine unit (fmmu), genito-urinary unit (guu), and gyne-oncology unit (gou). university college hospital, ibadan was chosen for this study because it is the only government (public) hospital that has a well-structured gynecology clinic and in-vitro fertility center within the ibadan north lga which caters for infertility cases. study design this study adopted a descriptive cross–sectional design. study population the study population consisted of infertile women (who presented with a history of inability to conceive after a period of one year) attending gynecology clinics at uch, ibadan, irrespective of age, tribe or religious affiliation. sample size the cochran equation for descriptive, cross-sectional studies with a study population >10,000 was used to determine the sample size (singh, 2014). n0, sample size for large population >10,000 = (z2 pq)/d2 where: z is the abscissa of the normal curve that cuts off an area α at the tail set at a 95% confidence interval (1.96); p is 32% (0.32) as derived from a comparative study of depression among fertile and infertile women in a south– western nigerian city (oladeji, 2018); q is (1 p) = (1 – 0.32) = 0.68; and d is the precision set at 5% (p<0.05). n0= ((1.962×0.32×0.68)/0.052 ) = 334.4 the minimum sample size (n0) of 334 respondents was generated. meanwhile, after adjusting for non-response (attrition) rate of 10%; then, 1 – 0.1 = 0.9. thus, 334 ÷ 0.9 = 372 which is the sample size. sample size distribution table 1: sample size distribution unit clinic days population proportion guu tuesdays 152 73 fmmu mondays 140 68 gou thursdays 156 75 freu mondays 129 63 acu tuesdays 193 93 inclusion criteria • infertile women attending gynecology clinics at uch, ibadan within the period of this study for reasons connected with infertility • infertile women attending gynecology clinics at uch, ibadan within the period of this study, who have psychological problems such as depression, anxiety disorders linked to infertility exclusion criteria • all women attending gynecology clinics at uch, ibadan within the period of this study for other reasons which are not infertility • infertile women attending gynecology clinics at uch, ibadan within the period of this study, who have other existing psychological problems such as depression, anxiety disorders not linked to infertility sampling technique this study used the simple random sampling technique to recruit respondents on each clinic day. each eligible respondent was asked to pick a ballot paper which was prepared by the one of the researchers before the clinic starts. in this way, every eligible patient had equal chances of being selected to join the study. study instruments an adapted questionnaire was distributed to the study respondents. the questionnaire consisted of three parts. the first part included socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents such as age, tribe, marital status, type of marriage, duration of marriage, husband’s and wife’s educational qualifications, husband’s occupation, monthly income, number of children, etc. the second part consisted of beck’s depression inventory which the validity and reliability has been tested by many researchers, the internal consistency ranged from 0.73 to 0.92 with a mean of 0.86 (bowen, 2017; park, 2020). the beck’s depression inventory (bdi) is a self-reporting catalogue that measures attitudes and symptoms of depression. it was developed into different forms. it was used in screening the infertile women for depression (american psychological association, 2021). in clinical practice, the beck’s depression inventory and ways of coping questionnaire assist clinicians in making judgments about the areas in which a patient is mostly affected pa ge 47 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 44-56, 2025 by the disease psychologically and in making treatment decisions. the third part consisted of revised ways of coping (folkman, 1985), the validity and reliability of which was tested by (soares, 2018). in order to ascertain the suitability of these standardized instruments locally, (awoyinka, 2014) tested their reliability using a test-retest method, and 0.8 (cronbach’s alpha) was the reliability coefficient gotten. the adapted questionnaire has three sections with 62 items as follows: section a contains the socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents with 11 items that were developed by the researchers. section b contains causes of depression among the respondents with 21 items that were adapted from the beck’s depression inventory. section c contains coping strategies among the respondents with 30 items that were adapted from folkman’s ways of coping (revised). data collection a consent letter was written and attached to the questionnaire explaining the purpose of the study and period that the study will elapse. consent was obtained and the respondents’ pressing issues concerning the study (if there are) were answered. the data collection spanned through six weeks and it was ensured that all selected respondents participated in the study because they met the inclusive criteria and gave their consent voluntarily without any financial inducement. data analysis data collected was analyzed using statistical package for social sciences (spss) version 22.0. descriptive analysis was done using frequencies, tables, and percentages. inferential analysis was done using pearson correlation coefficient (r) and chi–square, with statistical significance set at p<0.05. the adjusted odds ratio (or) was determined at 95% confidence interval (ci). ethical considerations the respondents were included in the study only after they gave their voluntary consent and were free to opt out of the study if they so wished without any prejudice. none of them opted out. confidentiality of all data gathered was maintained. for ethical reasons, awareness on depression, and coping strategies among infertile women were created for the infertile women, and other health workers. all infertile women with depression and poor coping strategies were referred to psychotherapists while undergoing infertility treatment. the research was registered by the university of ibadan (ui) and university college hospital (uch), ibadan ethical committee (ec) with the ui/uch ec registration number: nhrec/05/01/2008a dated 23/07/2021. notice of full approval after full committee review dated 21/10/2021 was given with the ui/uch ethics committee assigned number: ui/ec/21/0365. results and discussion table 2: socio-demographic characteristics of the respondents age 19-24 years 25-30 years 31-36 years 37-42 years >42 years 2(1.1%) 140(37.6%) 144(38.7%) 70(18.3%) 16(4.3%) tribe yoruba hausa igbo fulani others 200(53.8%) 66(17.7%) 106(28.5%) 0(0%) 0(0%) marital status married divorced separated widowed 360(96.8%) 4(1.1%) 2(0.5) 6(1.6%) type of marriage monogamy polygamy 286(76.9%) 86(23.1%) duration of marriage 1-5 years 6-10 years 11-15 years >15 years 100(26.9%) 128(34.4%) 74(19.9%) 70(18.8%) husband’s educational qualification phd msc bsc hnd ond nce ssce 62(16.7%) 86(23.1%) 180(48.4%) 40(10.8%) 2(0.5%) 0(0%) 2(0.2%) wife’s educational qualification phd msc bsc hnd ond nce ssce 14(3.8%) 46(12.3%) 214(57.5%) 72(19.4) 14(3.8%) 10(2.7%) 2(0.5%) pa ge 48 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 44-56, 2025 husband’s occupation farmer artisan trading/ business public servant private sector worker 20(5.4%) 6(1.6%) 52(14.0%) 172(46.2%) 122(32.8%) monthly family income <n10,000 n10,000n50,000 n50,001n100,000 >n100,000 0(0%) 18(4.8%) 102(27.4%) 252(67.7%) no. of children none one two three > three 86(23.1%) 210(56.5%) 64(17.2%) 12(3.2%) 0(0%) 2(1.1%) of the respondents were within the age range of 19-24 years, 140 (37.6%) were within the age range of 2530 years, 144(38.7%) were within the age range of 31-36 years, 70(18.3%) were within the age range of 37-42 years, and 16(4.3%) were within the age range of >42 years. figure 1: pie chart showing age of the respondents 200(53.8%) of the respondents were yoruba, 66(17.7%) were hausa, and 106(28.5%) were igbo. 360(96.8%) of the respondents were married, 4(1.1%) were divorced, and 2(0.5%) were separated, and 6(1.6%) were widows. 286(76.9%) of the respondents were in monogamous marriages while 86(23.1%) were in polygamous marriages. 100(26.9%) of the respondents were within the duration of marriage of 1-5 years, 128(34.4%) were within the duration of marriage of 6-10 years, 74(19.9%) were within the duration of marriage of 11-15 years, and 70(18.8%) were within the duration of marriage of >15 years. concerning husband’s educational qualification, 62(16.7%) of the respondents had husbands with phd, 86(23.1%) had husbands with msc, 180(48.4%) had husbands with bsc, 40(10.8%) had husbands with hnd, 2(0.5%) had husbands with ond, and 2(0.5%) had husbands with ssce. 14(3.8%) of the respondents had phd, 46(12.4%) had msc, 214(57.5%) had bsc, 72(19.4%) had hnd, 14(3.8%) had ond, 10(2.7%) had nce, and 2(0.5%) had ssce. with regards to the husband’s occupation, 20(5.4%) have farmers as husbands, 6(1.6%) have artisans as husbands, for 52(14.0%) the husband’s occupation was trading/ business, 172(46.2%) have public servants as husbands, and for 122(32.8%) the husbands are private sector workers. 18(4.8%) of the respondents had monthly family income of n10,000-n50,000, 102(27.4%) had monthly family income of n50,001-n100,000; and 252(67.7%) had monthly family income of >n100,000. 86(23.1%) of the respondents had no child, 210(56.5%) had one child, 64(17.2%) had two children, and 12(3.2%) had three children. using the beck’s depression inventory, table 3 shows the level of depression among the respondents. the score added for each twenty-one question ranges from zero to three. the possible highest score is sixty-three and lowest score is zero. the total score is the level of depression. 0-10 was scored as minimal or normal 11-16 was scored as mild mood disturbance 17-20 was scored as borderline clinical depression 21-30 was scored as moderate depression 31-40 was scored as severe depression over 40 was scored as extreme depression 146(39.2%) of the respondents had a minimal or normal level of depression, 90(24.2%) had a mild mood disturbance level of depression, 36(9.7%) of the respondents had a borderline clinical depression, 68(18.3%) had a moderate depression, 18(4.8%) had a severe depression, and 14(3.8%) had an extreme depression. 34(9.1%) of the respondents do not use professional help, 104(28.0%) used somewhat, 156(41.9%) used pa ge 49 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 44-56, 2025 quite a bit, and 78(21.0%) used professional help a great deal. however, 8(2.2%) of the respondents did not accept sympathy and understanding from someone, 80(21.5%) used somewhat, 208(55.9%) used quite a bit, and 76(20.4%) accepted sympathy and understanding from someone a great deal. in addition, 12(3.2%) of the respondents did not ask a relative or friend for advice, 74(19.9%) used somewhat, 200(53.8%) used quite a bit, and 86(23.1%) asked a relative or friend they respected for advice a great deal. moreover, 22(5.9%) did not talk to someone who could do something concrete about the problem, 86(23.1%) used somewhat, 194(52.2%) used quite a bit, and 70(18.0%) talked to someone who could do something concrete about the problem a great deal. nevertheless, 14(3.8%) did not talk to someone to find out more about the situation, 76(20.4%) used somewhat, 160(43.0%) used quite a bit, and 122(32.8%) talked to someone to find out more about the situation a great deal. table 3: level of depression among the respondents level of depression frequency percentage minimal or normal 146 39.2% mild mood disturbance 90 24.2% borderline clinical depression 36 9.7% moderate depression 68 18.3% severe depression 18 4.8% extreme depression 14 3.8% total 372 100.0% table 4: the use of seeking social support coping strategy among the respondents seeking social support coping strategy not used, n(%) used somewhat, n(%) used quite a bit, n(%) used a great deal, n(%) i got professional help 34(9.1%) 104(28.0%) 156(41.9%) 78(21.0%) accepted sympathy and understanding from someone 8(2.2%) 80(21.5%) 208(55.9%) 76(20.4%) i asked a relative or friend whom i respected for advice 12(3.2%) 74(19.9%) 200(53.8%) 86(23.1%) i talked to someone who could do something concrete about the problem 22(5.9%) 86(23.1%) 194(52.2%) 70(18.0%) i talked to someone to find out more about it 14(3.8%) 76(20.4%) 160(43.0%) 122(32.8%) table 5: the use of accepting responsibility coping strategy among the respondents accepting responsibility coping strategy not used, n(%) used somewhat, n(%) used quite a bit, n(%) used a great deal, n(%) i realized that i brought the problem on myself 254(68.3%) 72(19.4%) 44(11.8%) 2(0.5%) criticized or lectured myself 14(3.8%) 70(18.8%) 188(50.5%) 100(26.9%) table 6: the use of escape avoidance coping strategy among the respondents escape avoidance coping strategy not used, n(%) used somewhat, n(%) used quite a bit, n(%) used a great deal, n(%) took it out on other people 160(43.0%) 104(28.0%) 54(14.5%) 54(14.5%) hoped a miracle would happen 10(2.7%) 42(11.3%) 134(36.0%) 186(50.0%) tried to make myself feel better by eating, drinking, smoking, using drugs or medication, etc 34(9.1%) 64(17.2%) 186(50.0%) 88(23.7%) avoided being with people in general 16(4.3%) 102(27.4%) 94(25.3%) 160(43.0%) talked to someone about how i was feeling 18(4.8%) 60(16.1%) 220(59.1%) 74(19.9%) 254(68.3%) of the respondents did not realize that they brought the problem on themselves, 72(19.4%) used somewhat, 44(11.8%) used quite a bit, and 2(0.5%) realized that they brought the problem on themselves a great deal. 14(3.8%) of the respondents did not criticize or lecture themselves, 70(18.8%) used somewhat, 188(50.5%) used quite a bit, and 100(26.9%) criticized or lectured themselves a great deal. pa ge 50 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 44-56, 2025 160(43.0%) of the respondents did not take it out on other people, 104(28.0%) used somewhat, 54(14.5%) used quite a bit, and 54(14.5%) took it out on other people a great deal. 10(2.7%) of the respondents did not hope that a miracle would happen, 42(11.3%) used somewhat, 134(36.0%) used quite a bit, and 186(50.0%) hoped a miracle would happen a great deal. 34(9.1%) of the respondents did not try to make themselves feel better by eating, drinking, smoking, using drugs or medication, etc., 64(17.2%) used somewhat, 186(50.0%) used quite a bit, and 88(23.7%) used a great deal. in addition, 16(4.3%) of the respondents did not avoid being with people in general, 102(27.4%) used somewhat, 94(25.3%) used quite a bit, and 160(43.0%) avoided being with people in general a great deal. 18(4.8%) of the respondents did not talk to someone about how they were feeling, 60(16.1%) used somewhat, 220(59.1%) used quite a bit, and 74(19.9%) used a great deal. table 7: the use of painful problem-solving coping strategy among the respondents painful problem-solving coping strategy not used, n(%) used somewhat, n(%) used quite a bit, n(%) used a great deal, n(%) just concentrated on what i had to do next the next step 6(1.6%) 24(6.5%) 152(40.9%) 190(51.1%) 6(1.6%) of the respondents did not just concentrate on what they had to do next, 24(6.5%) used somewhat, 152(40.9%) used quite a bit, and 190(51.1%) used a great deal. table 8: the use of positive re-appraisal coping strategy among the respondents positive re-appraisal coping strategy not used, n(%) used somewhat, n(%) used quite a bit, n(%) used a great deal, n(%) i prayed 4(1.1%) 14(3.8%) 90(24.2%) 264(71.0%) i found a new faith 10(2.7%) 48(12.9%) 72(19.4%) 242(65.1%) table 10: the use of self-controlling coping strategy among the respondents self-controlling coping strategy not used, n(%) used somewhat, n(%) used quite a bit, n(%) used a great deal, n(%) i tried to keep my feelings to myself 58(15.6%) 118(31.7%) 106(24.2%) 90(24.2%) table 9: the use of confrontative coping strategy among the respondents confrontative coping strategy not used, n(%) used somewhat, n(%) used quite a bit, n(%) used a great deal, n(%) i expressed anger to the person(s) who caused the problem 168(45.2%) 94(25.3%) 58(15.6%) 52(14.0%) 4(1.1%) of the respondents did not pray, 14(3.8%) used somewhat, 90(24.2%) used quite a bit, and 264(71.0%) prayed a great deal. moreover, 10(2.7%) of the respondents did not find a new faith, 48(12.9%) used somewhat, 72(19.4%) used quite a bit, and 242(65.1%) used a great deal. 168(45.2%) of the respondents did not express anger to the person(s) who caused the problem, 94(25.3%) used somewhat, 58(15.6%) used quite a bit, and 52(14.0%) used a great deal. 58(15.6%) of the respondents did not try to keep their feelings to themselves, 118(31.7%) used somewhat, 106(24.2%) used quite a bit, and 90(24.2%) used a great deal. table 11: the use of distance coping strategy among the respondents distance coping strategy not used, n(%) used somewhat, n(%) used quite a bit, n(%) used a great deal, n(%) i tried to forget the whole thing 24(6.5%) 78(21.0%) 160(43.0%) 110(29.6%) 24(6.5%) of the respondents did not try to forget the whole thing, 78(21.0%) used somewhat, 160(43.0%) used quite a bit, and 110(29.6%) of the respondents tried to forget the whole thing a great deal. tests of research hypotheses hypothesis 1 there is no statistically significant relationship between socio-demographic characteristics (age, type of marriage, pa ge 51 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 44-56, 2025 duration of marriage, husband’s educational qualification, wife’s educational qualification, and monthly income) and presence of depression among the infertile women (ci=95.0%). table 12: the test of hypothesis 1 total chi-square value degree of freedom (df) p-value age 372 816.033 172 .000 type of marriage 372 231.775 43 .000 duration of marriage 372 629.925 129 .000 husband’s educational qualification 372 1099.784 215 .000 wife’s educational qualification 372 1122.456 258 .000 monthly income 372 297.079 86 .000 table 13: the test of hypothesis 2 total chi-square value degree of freedom (df) p-value coping strategies 372 6024.374 2623 .000 consequently, the relationship between the sociodemographic variables and the presence of depression was examined to look for association. a chi-square test with age (df=172) was performed resulting in a test statistics of 816.033, type of marriage (df=43) was performed resulting in a test statistics of 231.775, duration of marriage (df=129) was performed resulting in a test statistics of 629.925, husband’s educational qualification (df=215) was performed resulting in a test statistics of 1099.784, wife’s educational qualification (df=258) was performed resulting in a test statistics of 1122.456, and monthly income (df=86) was performed resulting in a test statistics of 297.079. these results all had p-value less than 0.001. hypothesis 1 was rejected. therefore, there is a statistically significant relationship between socio-demographic characteristics (age, type of marriage, duration of marriage, husband’s educational qualification, wife’s educational qualification, and monthly income) and presence of depression among the infertile women. hypothesis 2 there is no statistically significant relationship between coping strategies and level of depression among the infertile women. the relationship between coping strategies and level of depression among the infertile women was examined. a chi-square with (df=2623) was performed resulting in a test statistics of 6024.374 (p<0.001). hypothesis 2 was rejected. therefore, there is a statistically significant relationship between coping strategies and level of depression among the infertile women. hypothesis 3 there is no statistically significant relationship between table 14: the test of hypothesis 3 seeking social support coping strategy not used, n(%) used somewhat, n(%) used quite a bit, n(%) used a great deal, n(%) degree of freedom (df) chisquare pvalue i got professional help 34(9.1%) 104(28.0%) 156(41.9%) 78(21.0%) 129 548.155 .000 accepted sympathy and understanding from someone 8(2.2%) 80(21.5%) 208(55.9%) 76(20.4%) 129 550.896 .000 i asked a relative or a friend whom i respected for advice 12(3.2%) 74(19.9%) 200(53.8%) 86(23.1%) 129 564.703 .000 i talked to someone who could do something concrete about the problem 22(5.9%) 86(23.1%) 194(52.2%) 70(18.0%) 129 492.142 .000 i talked to someone to find out more about it 14(3.8%) 76(20.4%) 160(43.0%) 122(32.8%) 129 536.501 .000 seeking social support coping strategy and level of depression among the infertile women. with a p-value less than 0.001 in all checked parameters, hypothesis 3 was also rejected. therefore, there is a statistically significant relationship between seeking social support coping strategy and level pa ge 52 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 44-56, 2025 of depression among the infertile women. prevalence of depression among the respondents table 3 revealed that majority (39.2%) of the infertile women in this current study had a minimal or normal level of depression with a beck’s depression inventory (bdi) score ranging from 0-10. a few (9.7%) of the infertile women had a borderline clinical depression, while 18.3% had a moderate depression. similar findings were recorded by (odunvbun, 2018) where 48.1% prevalence of depression was reported among infertile women in delta state, south-south nigeria. about 24.2% of the respondents in this current study had a mild mood disturbance level of depression, while 4.8% had a severe depression. this is in disagreement with a study conducted by (alimohamadi, 2020) whose findings revealed that approximately 40.0% of the infertile women had symptoms of severe depression and anxiety. however, it is safe to say that the infertile women in this current study were not depressed since majority of them had a good bdi score. this is quite impressive, because several studies have reported that infertility comes with its own social and psychological challenges such as anxiety, depression, and social withdrawal (rooney, 2018). associated factors of depression among the respondents table 12 revealed that socio-demographic characteristics such as age, type of marriage, duration of marriage, husband’s educational qualification, wife’s educational qualification, and monthly income were significantly related to presence of depression among the respondents. this finding is in consonance with the finding of another study (oladeji, 2018) which identified that some sociodemographic characteristics associated with depression include age and duration of marriage (≥10 years). similar finding was reported by (yilmaz, 2020) who stated that education, age, socio-economic status, and individual characteristics could be great factors causing depression. the duration of infertility can result in depression (szkodziak, 2020). it was further stated that women with infertility whose duration of infertility were between 4-6 years had the tendency of depressive symptoms (szkodziak, 2020). factors causing depression are often multi-factorial. but then, socio-demographic characteristics being associated with depression in this current study are quite predictable, most especially age, educational qualification, type of marriage, and duration of marriage. generally, the age of an individual determines how long the person has been on earth and what he or she has experienced. there is bound to be increased level of anxiety and depressive symptoms as infertile women move down the reproductive age as their chances of becoming mothers reduce. in fact, (aiyenigba, 2019) noted that psychological distress such as depression was higher in infertile women above 35 years. regarding the level of education, education makes a woman feel independent, strong, and less vulnerable to unjustified societal pressures. indeed, every girl should be encouraged to receive higher education throughout the world so that she can be prepared to stand up for her rights and boldly face the challenges that come later. in many traditional societies to date, the main role feel of the females in the family is to bear children and be a home maker. so, when a woman fails to fulfil one of those roles, she is deemed useless and worthless by the society. on the other hand, professional women contribute financially to the family’s well-being and stay productive, which automatically increases their value. nevertheless, the duration of marriage clearly reflects how long an infertile woman has been battling with infertility which in most cases discourages her. coping strategies adopted by the respondents the findings from this current study established that majority used seeking social support coping strategy as 28.0% got professional help somewhat, and 41.9% used it quite a bit. this finding agrees with (steuber, 2015) findings which revealed that the respondents made known that social support decreases depression and infertile women who received family support were more likely to complete infertility treatment. social support has a great impact on both physical and mental health. social support influences people’s choices on health issues and behaviors either positively or negatively. social support helps people to cope well with stress and also enhances motivation (cherry, 2020). the use of accepting responsibility coping strategy was adopted as majority utilized “criticized or lectured myself ”. this finding is in agreement with (afshani, 2019)’s study which discovered that self-compassion which comprises of self-kindness, talking to self, common humanity, and mindfulness is a good way of coping with infertility. the use of escape avoidance coping strategy was also utilized as infertile women tried to make themselves feel better by eating, drinking, smoking, using drugs or medication, etc., as 17.2% used it somewhat, 50.0% used it quite a bit, and 23.7% used it a great deal. moreover, hoping for a miracle as a coping mechanism was used somewhat by 11.3%, whereas 36.0% used it quite a bit, and 50.0% used it a great deal. in discordance with the findings of (elyasi, 2020) which reported two main styles of coping strategies: emotion-focused style which includes ability to relieve negative emotional responses associated with distress, and problem-focused style which includes psychologicalbased processing of actions, and information, are majorly used for coping mechanism. the use of painful problem-solving coping strategy was used by almost all the respondents (98.4%). however, positive re-appraisal coping strategy was of positive use as 71.0% of the respondents prayed a great deal. 65.1% of the respondents found a new faith a great deal. these findings are quite similar to (mohammed-durosinlorun, 2019)’s study where it was established that most women pa ge 53 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 44-56, 2025 with infertility seek spiritual help relating to their faith, though some of the educated ones mixed spiritual help with medical treatment. the use of self-controlling coping strategy was of positive use as 84.4% in total tried to keep their feelings to themselves which agrees with the findings of (elyasi, 2020). the use of distance coping strategy including trying to forget the whole thing was used somewhat by 21.0%, 43.0% used it quite a bit, and 29.6% used it a great deal. this is in agreement with (jordan, 2015)’s study who reported two rationally derived theory of coping metacategories called problem-focused coping and emotionfocused coping. problem-focused coping included efforts to manage the stressor, and change the person’s environment and relationship causing the stress, while emotion-focused coping was found to regulate emotional distress caused by stressors. various coping strategies utilized by the respondents in this current study include seeking social support, accepting responsibility, escape avoidance, painful problem-solving, positive re-appraisal, confrontative, self-controlling, and distance. nonetheless, it is pertinent to point out some of the limitations of this current study. several parameters of the study were based on self-report and are subject to recall bias. prospects for further research include the fact that the sample size was modest to make any wide-scale assumptions. similar studies should be repeated using both rural and urban samples with different psychological variables to find the similarities and differences between various groups of people with diverse background. conclusion there is a low level of depression among infertile women attending gynecology clinics at university college hospital, ibadan, south-west nigeria. infertile women seeking treatment for infertility should be screened for depression. healthcare providers need to assess the general and psychological health of infertile women, and care for them in a contextually and culturally appropriate manner, in order to improve their health status and quality of life. acknowledgement the authors are thankful to the management and staff of the department of obstetrics and gynecology at university college hospital (uch), ibadan, oyo state, south-west nigeria; to all the infertile women who agreed voluntarily and without any financial inducement to participate in this research; and to everyone who contributed in one way or the other to make this research a success. reference aflakseir, a., & mahdiyar, m. (2016). the role of religious coping strategies in predicting depression among a sample of women with fertility problems in shiraz. journal of reproduction and infertility, 17(2), 117-122. afshani, s. a., abooei, a., & mohamad, a. a. (2019). self-compassion training and psychological wellbeing of infertile female. international journal of reproductive biomedicine, 17(10), 757-762. https://doi. org/10.18502/ijrm.v17i10.5300. aiyenigba, a. (2019). interventions to reduce psychological morbidities associated with infertility in nigeria. thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the university of liverpool for the degree of doctor of philosophy. alimohamadi, y., mehri, a., sepandi, m., esmaeilzadeh, f., & rashti, r. 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(2021)b. available online: https://www.who.int/westernpacific/healthtopics/reproductive-health yilmaz, t., yazici, s., & benli, t. (2020). factors associated with infertility distress of infertile women: a crosssectional study. journal of psychosomatic obstetrics & gynecology, 41(4), 275-281. https://doi.org/10.1080/0 167482x.2019.1708318. zurlo, m. c., cattaneo, d., volta, m. f., & vallone, f. (2019). the association between stressful life events and perceived quality of life among women attending infertility treatments. the moderating role of coping strategies and perceived couple’s dyadic adjustment. bmc public health, 19, 1548. https://doi. org/10.1186/s12889-019-7925-4. pa ge 1 pa ge 42 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) skill competency level of nurse educators in bicol region, philippines charmaine b. maravillas1* volume 3 issue 2, year 2025 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v3i2.5351 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: may 18, 2024 accepted: june 20, 2025 published: september 12, 2025 this study assessed the skill competency level of nurse educators in the bicol region, philippines, along performing the research process, fostering human relations with students, supporting students’ clinical practicum, engaging in instructional design, promoting students’ proactive learning, supporting the learning needs of local-community residents, performing roles within the organization, performing social activities using resources, engaging in good communication with other organization members, providing appropriate support for students’ learning-related issues, and ensuring the quality of educational activities. the study used a quantitative descriptive cross-sectional design to assess the skill competency levels of nurse educators in the bicol region at a single point in time. data were collected from 210 nurse educators across five state universities and colleges using the validated clinical nursing faculty competence inventory (cnfci), which measured various competency domains through a 5-point likert scale. descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, and weighted mean, were applied to analyze and interpret the data. results showed that nurse educators in the bicol region demonstrated a very high level of skill competency across all assessed domains. they consistently showed strong abilities in performing the research process, fostering human relations with students, supporting clinical practicums, engaging in instructional design, and promoting students’ proactive learning. likewise, they excelled in supporting community learning needs, fulfilling organizational roles, using resources for social activities, communicating effectively within their institutions, providing appropriate support for student learning issues, and ensuring the quality of educational activities. keywords bicol nurse, nurses, nursing education, skill competency. 1 bicol university college of nursing, legazpi city, philippines * corresponding author’s e-mail: charmaine_maravillas@yahoo.com introduction nursing education is fundamental in developing future healthcare professionals and be equipped with the necessary knowledge, skills, and attitudes to provide safe, effective, and compassionate care. globally, organizations such as the world health organization have emphasized the importance of competent nurse educators in achieving universal health coverage and improving health outcomes. the who’s nurse educator core competencies serve as a global standard to guide nurse educators in maintaining excellence in teaching, curriculum development, research, leadership, and community engagement, all of which are vital to improving nursing education and health service delivery (world health organization, 2016). similarly, in the philippines, the commission on higher education mandates that nurse educators must possess advanced academic qualifications, clinical experience, and active engagement in professional organizations to ensure the quality of nursing programs (commission on higher education, 2017). these frameworks collectively stress that the competence of nurse educators is foundational to producing graduates who can address the evolving needs of communities and health systems. the philippine qualifications framework outlines standards for qualifications and learning outcomes that aim to align local education with international standards and enhance the mobility of filipino professionals. this framework supports the development of nurse educators who can perform a wide range of functions, including engaging in research, fostering positive human relations, supporting students’ clinical practicum, designing instructional materials, and addressing the learning needs of local communities. international models, such as those from the national league for nursing and the national council of state boards of nursing, further highlight the broad responsibilities of nurse educators. these include promoting proactive learning, supporting students’ academic and emotional needs, demonstrating leadership within their organizations, collaborating across disciplines, and utilizing technological innovations in teaching (oermann & frank, 2023; national council of state boards of nursing, 2023). moreover, scholars like billings and halstead (2019) and boyle and oermann (2020) have pointed out the importance of personalized support, inclusive teaching, and the integration of evidence-based practices to enhance educational quality. despite these well-established competencies and standards, there remains limited empirical data specific to the philippine context, particularly in regional areas such as the bicol region. while studies have explored the general competencies of nurse educators, few have examined their actual skill competency levels across diverse functional areas, including research, instructional design, student support, community engagement, organizational roles, and communication within institutions. existing research has largely focused on broader national or international samples or specific aspects such as clinical teaching or curriculum design, leaving a gap in understanding how pa ge 43 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 42-55, 2025 nurse educators in bicol perform across these varied and vital roles. hence, the study assessed the skill competency level of nurse educators in the bicol region, philippines, along performing the research process, fostering human relations with students, supporting students’ clinical practicum, engaging in instructional design, promoting students’ proactive learning, supporting the learning needs of local-community residents, performing roles within the organization, performing social activities using resources, engaging in good communication with other organization members, providing appropriate support for students’ learning-related issues, and ensuring the quality of educational activities. literature review studies, such as those by goleman (1995), emphasize the importance of emotional intelligence in fostering positive human relations. nurse educators with high ei are better equipped to manage classroom dynamics, resolve conflicts, and provide emotional support to students, thereby enhancing the learning environment. clear and open communication is essential for building trust and rapport with students. in the context of diverse classrooms, cultural competence is crucial. research by campinha-bacote (2002) highlights that nurse educators who are culturally competent and sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of their students can better address their unique needs and foster an inclusive learning environment. implementing inclusive teaching practices that acknowledge and celebrate diversity helps in creating a supportive environment for all students. this includes understanding cultural differences in communication styles, learning preferences, and values. research by zimmerman (2002) shows that helping students set realistic goals and manage their time effectively can enhance their ability to engage in selfdirected learning. educators can guide students in creating learning plans and setting milestones to track their progress. effective mentorship can significantly impact students’ proactive learning. studies by betancourt et al. (2003) emphasize the need for educators to understand cultural beliefs, values, and practices when designing social interventions to ensure they are inclusive and respectful of diverse communities. nurse educators should establish networks and partnerships with local stakeholders, government agencies, and non-profit organizations to enhance the impact of social activities. creating interactive and engaging content, such as case studies, simulations, and group activities, is essential. for instance, a study by jeffries (2005) demonstrates that simulation-based learning encourages active participation and critical thinking among nursing students. promoting critical thinking is essential for proactive learning. according to myrick and yonge’s (2005) research, students are more likely to develop confidence and take an active role in their learning when mentors offer guidance, support, and constructive feedback. educators can modify their instructional strategies by including student feedback mechanisms to more effectively accommodate students’ diverse requirements. research by israel et al. (2005) suggests that collaborative partnerships facilitate resource sharing, increase community participation, and promote sustainable social programs. social activities organized by nurse educators should focus on building community capacity and empowering individuals and groups to take ownership of their health. studies by skiba and barton (2006) highlight the benefits of using e-learning platforms, simulation, and other technological tools to enhance learning and engagement. research by jeffries and rizzolo (2006) highlights the benefits of using interactive teaching methods, incorporating simulation-based learning, promoting critical thinking skills, and fostering active learning environments to enhance educational quality. creating a student-centered learning environment is crucial for educational quality. research by ironside and mcnelis (2010) emphasizes the importance of educators being available for consultations, office hours, and open communication channels. effective support involves active listening and demonstrating empathy towards students’ concerns and challenges. frank et al. (2010) conducted research that endorses the implementation of competency-based education, which emphasizes the development and evaluation of particular skills and competencies. this methodology is especially pertinent in the field of nursing education, where practical abilities are indispensable. the significance of technology integration in instructional design is on the rise. community engagement strategies that are effective are indispensable for the success of educational initiatives. israel et al. (2010) conducted research that emphasizes the significance of community forums, partnerships with local organizations, and participatory approaches in order to foster active involvement and ownership of learning initiatives. nurse educators are essential in their advocacy for policies that promote health equity and the learning requirements of local communities. benner et al. (2010) have conducted research that underscores the fact that educators who participate in ongoing clinical education and clinical practice are better equipped to provide students with the necessary support in the clinical setting. research suggests that nurse educators must implement a diverse array of instructional strategies to accommodate differing learning styles. reflective practice, problembased learning, and simulation-based learning are identified as effective strategies for improving students’ clinical abilities (cant and cooper, 2010). it is imperative to offer students constructive, specific, and expeditious feedback in order to facilitate their growth. research by ironside and mcnelis (2010) emphasizes the importance of aligning curriculum with program pa ge 44 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 42-55, 2025 outcomes, integrating evidence-based content, and utilizing active learning strategies to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. educators must be proficient in learning assessment and evaluation methods to measure student progress, identify areas for improvement, and ensure program effectiveness. research by weimer (2013) highlights the benefits of student-centered teaching approaches, where the educator actively involves students in the learning process and adapts to their individual needs. this approach fosters a supportive and inclusive learning environment. research by ironside et al. (2014) shows that educators who offer guidance, feedback, and emotional support foster a positive learning environment, promote student retention, and enhance student satisfaction. research by mcgonigal (2015) highlights the role of educators in promoting a positive learning environment, offering encouragement, and referring students to mental health resources when needed. by excelling in these areas, nurse educators can effectively support students’ learningrelated issues, promote academic success, and contribute to a positive and nurturing learning environment within nursing education programs. research by arnold and boggs (2015) suggests that effective communication skills in nurse educators lead to improved student engagement and learning. this includes both verbal and non-verbal communication skills. according to oermann and gaberson (2016), clinical proficiency is essential for educators to provide accurate and relevant guidance to students in real-world settings. ongoing professional development and clinical practice are necessary for maintaining clinical competence. strong communication skills are essential for nurse educators to effectively convey expectations, provide instructions, and facilitate student learning. according to the study by foronda, macwilliams, and mcarthur (2016), clear and open communication between educators and students enhances the learning experience and improves clinical outcomes. building positive relationships with students helps create a supportive and trusting environment. research by oermann and gaberson (2016) emphasizes that educators with advanced clinical skills can effectively guide and mentor nursing students, ensuring they receive a quality education. effective teaching and instructional design skills are crucial for nurse educators. studies by oermann and gaberson (2016) suggest that educators who use valid and reliable assessment tools, provide timely feedback, and conduct outcome evaluations contribute to maintaining educational quality. nurse educators should employ evidence-based teaching practices grounded in educational research and best practices. gender may have influences in the areas of clinical expertise and area of assignment among nurse educators. for instance, studies by smith and johnson (2016) suggest that female educators may be more prevalent in specialties such as maternal-child health or community nursing, while male educators may be more represented in critical care or emergency nursing. research could also explore whether gender influences participation in professional development activities and mentorship roles among nurse educators. research by lahtinen et al. (2017) highlights the empathetic and nurturing communication style often associated with female educators, which contributes to effective teaching and mentorship. studies by jones and brown (2017) suggest that gender biases or assumptions about leadership abilities, communication styles, or technical skills may influence how educators are perceived and evaluated. studies by thompson and johnson (2018) indicate that female educators may be more involved in mentorship programs, peer support networks, and continuing education initiatives. research findings highlight the impact of gender perceptions and stereotypes on the competency levels of nurse educators. research by billings and halstead (2019) indicates that educators who apply these theories can create learning experiences that are more engaging and effective. pedagogical content knowledge, which integrates subject matter expertise with teaching methods, is crucial. research by billings and halstead (2019) highlights the benefits of personalized support strategies, such as tutoring, mentoring, and academic advising, to address learning difficulties and enhance student success. supporting students goes beyond academic assistance and includes addressing emotional well-being and stress management. research by billings and halstead (2019) emphasizes educators’ role in promoting active learning, fostering critical thinking, encouraging inquiry-based learning, and providing opportunities for student reflection and selfassessment. nurse educators of different genders may exhibit variations in teaching approaches and styles. for example, studies by boyle and oermann (2020) suggest that female educators may emphasize collaborative learning, while male educators may lean towards directive or authoritative teaching styles. findings indicate that female nurse educators tend to excel in communication and interpersonal skills, fostering rapport with students and colleagues. a study by yamamoto et al. (2021) on the factors affecting clinical nursing competency showed age is one of the factors affecting basic nursing competency together with ease of taking time off, a workplace with a clear vision, and good interpersonal relationships. study by saiga et al. (2024) on the relationship between clinical nursing competence and work environment by career stage for nurses with 1 to 10 years of clinical experience showed that clinical nursing competence and the work environment differed according to years of experience. interventions to improve clinical nursing competence should be developed for each experience group considering the associations. pa ge 45 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 42-55, 2025 table 1: scoring and interpretation score score range verbal description verbal interpretation 1 1.00-1.79 strongly disagree very high competency 2 1.80-2.59 disagree high competency 3 2.60-3.39 cannot decide moderate competency 4 3.40-4.19 agree low competency 5 4.20-5.00 strongly agree very low competency table 2: level of skill competency of bicol nurse educators along performing research process skills weighted mean verbal interpretation adjectival interpretation 1 i am able to collect data in a manner that accords with the research purpose 4.34 strongly agree very high competency 2 i am able to summarize research theses necessary for research 4.28 strongly agree very high competency 3 i am able to write logical sentences 4.24 strongly agree very high competency 4 i am able to select a research design that can obtain effective findings 4.24 strongly agree very high competency 5 i am able to clarify the framework of the research concept 4.19 agree high competency 6 i am able to clarify research issues 4.15 agree high competency 7 i am able to create research plans that accord with research ethics 4.11 agree high competency materials and methods research design this study employed a quantitative descriptive crosssectional research design to determine the skill competency level of nurse educators in the bicol region, philippines. the design aimed to provide a snapshot of the competencies of nurse educators at a single point in time, describing their current levels across various competency domains. data were gathered using a validated questionnaire to measure specific skill areas related to nurse educators’ roles. research instrument the study used the clinical nursing faculty competence inventory (cnfci) developed by hou et al. (2011), a reliable and valid tool for measuring nurse educator competencies. the cnfci assessed nurse educators’ competencies in the following areas: performing the research process, fostering human relations with students, supporting students’ clinical practicum, engaging in instructional design, promoting students’ proactive learning, supporting the learning needs of local-community residents, performing roles within the organization, performing social activities using resources, engaging in good communication with other organization members, providing appropriate support for students’ learning-related issues, and ensuring the quality of educational activities. the cnfci used a 5-point likert scale where 1 meant least important and 5 meant most important. the tool demonstrated high reliability, with cronbach’s alpha values ranging from 0.71 to 0.98 across domains, and 0.96 for the whole instrument (hou et al., 2011). research locale and population the study was conducted in five state universities and colleges in the bicol region that offer nursing programs: bicol university main campus, bicol university tabaco campus, bicol university polangui campus, catanduanes state university, and camarines sur polytechnic colleges. the participants were nurse educators who held either full-time or part-time teaching positions and were involved in hospital or community teaching assignments. a total of 210 nurse educators across these institutions were eligible to participate. data collection procedure after securing ethics approval, permission was sought from the deans of the identified schools. the researcher distributed the cnfci questionnaires, with the assistance of designated contact persons, to nurse educators who met the eligibility criteria. the participants completed the questionnaires during their available time, and the researcher ensured completeness and clarity upon collection. data analysis procedure the data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, including frequency, percentage, and weighted mean, to describe the competency levels of nurse educators across the specified domains. the weighted mean was interpreted using the following scale: pa ge 46 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 42-55, 2025 8 i am able to present research outcomes at a conference 4.07 agree high competency 9 i am able to interpret research findings 4.05 agree high competency 10 i am able to prepare a thesis based on research outcomes 4.05 agree high competency 11 i am able to analyze data using analysis methods that are suited to the research purpose 4.05 agree high competency 12 i am able to recruit human resources (research collaborators, educators/supporters, etc.) in order to complete research 4.00 agree high competency mean 4.17 agree high competency results and discussion the competency level of nurse educators in the research process is critical for fostering a culture of evidence-based practice and advancing the nursing profession. nurse educators need to possess a range of competencies to effectively teach and guide nursing students in research. table 2 illustrates the level of skill competency of nurse educators while performing the research process. it revealed that 4 out of 12 indicators show that they have “very high level of competency” on the following: “collecting data in a manner that accords with the research purpose”, “summarizing research theses necessary for research”, “writing logical sentences”, and “selecting a research design that can obtain effective findings.” the nurse educators showing a very high level of competency in these areas explain that research findings consistently emphasize the importance of aligning data collection methods with the research purpose to ensure the validity and reliability of the results. studies show that misalignment between data collection methods and research objectives can lead to irrelevant or unusable data. for example, a study by bryman (2012) highlights that qualitative methods are more suitable for exploratory research questions, while quantitative methods are better for testing specific hypotheses. effective data collection strategies are often customized to fit the specific context of the study. a mixed-methods approach, as suggested by creswell (2014), can provide a comprehensive understanding by combining the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative methods. summarizing research theses involves distilling essential information from existing studies to build a solid foundation for new research. boote and beile (2005) emphasize that thorough literature reviews are critical for identifying gaps in existing research and providing context for new studies. effective summarization involves not only identifying key findings but also understanding the methodologies and limitations of previous research. research by hart (1998) highlights the importance of critically evaluating existing studies to understand their strengths and weaknesses. this critical perspective helps in identifying areas needing further investigation and justifying the new research’s rationale. synthesizing information from multiple sources helps in creating a coherent narrative. findings from studies like torraco (2005) show that well-synthesized literature reviews can significantly enhance the clarity and impact of the research thesis. in terms of writing logical sentences, the ability to write logical and clear sentences is fundamental to effectively communicating research findings. research by barrass (2002) shows that clear and precise language improves the readability and comprehension of research documents. ambiguities and complex sentence structures can confuse readers and obscure the main points. along with selecting a research design that can obtain effective findings, research by yin (2014) shows that the research questions and objectives should drive the choice of research design. for example, case studies are ideal for in-depth exploration of complex issues, while randomized controlled trials are best for testing causal relationships. studies emphasize the importance of choosing designs that enhance the validity and reliability of the research. table 3: level of skill competency of bicol nurse educators along fostering human relations with students skills weighted mean verbal interpretation adjectival interpretation 1. recognize that students are future nurses and treat them accordingly 4.70 strongly agree very high competency 2. i am able to respond sincerely to students’ opinion and provide consultation 4.61 strongly agree very high competency 3. i am able to communicate with students 4.57 strongly agree very high competency 4. i am able to flexibly respond to students 4.52 strongly agree very high competency 5. i am able to foster mutual respect between students and faculty members 4.51 strongly agree very high competency pa ge 47 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 42-55, 2025 6. i am able to relate to students and show confidence in their potential 4.50 strongly agree very high competency 7. i am able to show understanding of students’ ideas and thoughts 4.47 strongly agree very high competency 8. i am able to create atmospheres in which students can talk easily 4.46 strongly agree very high competency 9. i am able to alleviate students’ nervousness 4.44 strongly agree very high competency 10. i am able to relate to students in terms of their psychological aspects 4.44 strongly agree very high competency 11. i am able to hold free discussions with both students and other faculty members 4.42 strongly agree very high competency 12. i am able to protect students’ positions 4.41 strongly agree very high competency mean 4.51 strongly agree very high competency a mixed-methodology particularly explanatory sequential strategy was used in the study to collect data, integrating quantitative and qualitative methods. the clinical nursing faculty competence inventory (cnfci) and survey questionnaires were used in the quantitative part of the study to collect information on the skill competency levels and demographics of nurse educators. to ascertain the variables influencing the skills competency level, teaching abilities, and areas for development, the qualitative component included interview guides and focus group discussions. the goal of the project was to create an improvement program for bicol nurse educators to acquire skills and competencies. table 3 illustrates the level of skill competency of nurse educators along with fostering human relations with students. it revealed that all of the 12 indicators show that they “strongly agree.” studies, such as those by goleman (1995), emphasize the importance of emotional intelligence in fostering positive human relations. nurse educators with high ei are better equipped to manage classroom dynamics, resolve conflicts, and provide emotional support to students, thereby enhancing the learning environment. clear and open communication is essential for building trust and rapport with students. research by arnold and boggs (2015) suggests that effective communication skills in nurse educators lead to improved student engagement and learning. this includes both verbal and non-verbal communication skills. research by weimer (2013) highlights the benefits of student-centered teaching approaches, where the educator actively involves students in the learning process and adapts to their individual needs. this approach fosters a supportive and inclusive learning environment. in the context of diverse classrooms, cultural competence is crucial. research by campinha-bacote (2002) highlights that nurse educators who are culturally competent and sensitive to the diverse backgrounds of their students can better address their unique needs and foster an inclusive learning environment. implementing inclusive teaching practices that acknowledge and celebrate diversity helps in creating a supportive environment for all students. this includes understanding cultural differences in communication styles, learning preferences, and values. the competency level of nurse educators in fostering human relations with students significantly impacts the educational experience and outcomes for nursing students. effective interpersonal skills, emotional intelligence, communication, support, respect, and cultural competence are all critical components. nurse educators can create a positive and supportive learning environment that enhances student engagement, satisfaction, and success by focusing on these areas. table 4: level of skill competency of bicol nurse educators along supporting students’ clinical practicum skills weighted mean verbal interpretation adjectival interpretation 1. i am able to help students pay attention to patients’ safety 4.62 strongly agree very high competency 2. i am able to connect knowledge from clinical experience with the students’ learning content 4.59 strongly agree very high competency 3. i am able to guide students to utilize their own clinical nursing experience 4.58 strongly agree very high competency 4. i have sufficient skills to participate in the students’ patient care 4.58 strongly agree very high competency 5. i am able to respond appropriately with regard to exhibiting the nursing methods used in clinical care 4.57 strongly agree very high competency pa ge 48 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 42-55, 2025 6. i am able to guide students based on evidence 4.56 strongly agree very high competency 7. i am able to contact nursing staff at the practicum facility and make necessary arrangements 4.55 strongly agree very high competency 8. i am able to help students understand instructions provided by their preceptors 4.54 strongly agree very high competency 9. i am able to be a role model regarding nursing practice 4.54 strongly agree very high competency 10, i am able to help students collect patients’ information 4.54 strongly agree very high competency 11. i am able to create an environment in the practicum facility where students can consult me about any learning-related issues they have 4.53 strongly agree very high competency 12. i am able to supplement students’ knowledge regarding tasks they find difficult by collaborating with the staff where the students are being trained 4.48 strongly agree very high competency 13. i am able to support students’ learning progress so that they can eventually present at training conferences 4.45 strongly agree very high competency 14. when necessary, i am able to give instructions in practicum guidance through collaboration with individuals from the other specialty professions 4.43 strongly agree very high competency mean 4.54 strongly agree very high competency the competency level of nurse educators along with supporting students’ clinical practicum is crucial for ensuring that nursing students acquire the necessary skills and knowledge for effective clinical practice. research findings in this area highlight several key competencies and best practices that nurse educators must possess to effectively support students during their clinical practicum. table 4 illustrates the level of skill competency of nurse educators along with supporting students’ clinical practicum. it revealed that all of the 14 indicators show that they “strongly agree.” nurse educators must have a high level of clinical expertise and current knowledge in their specialty areas. according to oermann and gaberson (2016), clinical proficiency is essential for educators to provide accurate and relevant guidance to students in real-world settings. ongoing professional development and clinical practice are necessary for maintaining clinical competence. studies by benner et al. (2010) emphasize that educators who engage in regular clinical practice and continuing education can better support students in the clinical environment. research indicates that nurse educators need to employ a variety of teaching strategies to support diverse learning styles. simulation-based learning, problem-based learning, and reflective practice are highlighted as effective methods for enhancing students’ clinical skills (cant & cooper, 2010). providing timely, constructive, and specific feedback is crucial for student development. strong communication skills are essential for nurse educators to effectively convey expectations, provide instructions, and facilitate student learning. according to the study by foronda, macwilliams, and mcarthur (2016), clear and open communication between educators and students enhances the learning experience and improves clinical outcomes. building positive relationships with students helps create a supportive and trusting environment. the competency level of nurse educators in supporting students’ clinical practicum encompasses a wide range of skills and attributes, including clinical expertise, effective teaching and facilitation, mentorship, communication, assessment, and the integration of theory and practice. by excelling in these areas, nurse educators can significantly enhance the clinical learning experience for students, ensuring they are well-prepared for their professional roles as nurses. table 5: level of skill competency of bicol nurse educators along engaging in instructional design skills weighted mean verbal interpretation adjectival interpretation 1. i have knowledge of the subjects i teach in class 4.62 strongly agree very high competency 2. i am able to review the material used in class 4.58 strongly agree very high competency 3. i am able to accurately select class content for the topics that i am teaching 4.56 strongly agree very high competency pa ge 49 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 42-55, 2025 table 6: level of skill competency of bicol nurse educators along promoting students’ proactive learning skills weighted mean verbal interpretation adjectival interpretation 1. i am able to encourage students to become aware of learning issues 4.52 strongly agree very high competency 2. i am able to direct students’ learning 4.51 strongly agree very high competency 3. i am able to encourage students to set learning achievement goals 4.51 strongly agree very high competency 4. i am able to support students in regard to their self-learning 4.49 strongly agree very high competency 5. i am able to give feedback on assignments that students have performed 4.48 strongly agree very high competency 6. i am able to encourage students to think critically 4.47 strongly agree very high competency 7. i am able to help student based on learning plans created by the students themselves 4.42 strongly agree very high competency 8. i am able to encourage self-assessment of the students’ assignments 4.41 strongly agree very high competency 9. i am able to help students create a learning plan 4.38 strongly agree very high competency mean 4.47 strongly agree very high competency the competency level of nurse educators along with engaging in instructional design is vital for creating effective and engaging educational experiences that enhance learning outcomes for nursing students. research findings in this area highlight several key competencies and best practices necessary for successful instructional design. table 5 illustrates the level of skill competency of nurse educators along with engaging in instructional design. it revealed that all of the 10 indicators show that they “strongly agree.” nurse educators must have a solid understanding of educational theories, such as constructivism, behaviorism, and cognitive learning theories, to design effective instruction. research by billings and halstead (2019) indicates that educators who apply these theories can create learning experiences that are more engaging and effective. pedagogical content knowledge, which integrates subject matter expertise with teaching methods, is crucial. research by frank et al. (2010) supports the implementation of competency-based education, which focuses on the development and assessment of specific skills and competencies. this approach is particularly relevant in nursing education, where practical skills are crucial. the integration of technology in instructional design is increasingly important. studies by skiba and barton (2006) highlight the benefits of using e-learning platforms, simulation, and other technological tools to enhance learning and engagement. creating interactive and engaging content, such as case studies, simulations, and group activities, is essential. the competency level of nurse educators in engaging in instructional design is multifaceted, requiring a deep understanding of educational theories, curriculum development, technology integration, assessment strategies, learner-centered approaches, and continuous professional development. 4. i am able to clarify questions for the class that i am teaching 4.56 strongly agree very high competency 5. i am aware of the curriculum of the university in which i am teaching 4.55 strongly agree very high competency 6. i am able to instruct students on the main points of the class 4.53 strongly agree very high competency 7. i am able to understand the educational methods used in class 4.49 strongly agree very high competency 8. when necessary, i am able to design material relevant to the clinical scenes in question 4.48 strongly agree very high competency 9. i am able to conduct a class using educational/ learning theories 4.45 strongly agree very high competency 10. when necessary, i am able to utilize literature and research outcomes in class content 4.42 strongly agree very high competency mean 4.52 strongly agree very high competency pa ge 50 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 42-55, 2025 the competency level of nurse educators along with promoting students’ proactive learning is a critical competency as proactive learning involves encouraging students to take initiative, engage actively in their learning process, and develop self-directed learning skills. research findings in this area highlight several key competencies and best practices that nurse educators must possess to effectively promote proactive learning. table 6 illustrates the level of skill competency of nurse educators along with promoting students’ proactive learning. it revealed that all of the 9 indicators show that they “strongly agree.” research indicates that using interactive learning methods such as group discussions, case studies, and simulations can significantly enhance student engagement and proactive learning. for instance, a study by jeffries (2005) demonstrates that simulation-based learning encourages active participation and critical thinking among nursing students. promoting critical thinking is essential for proactive learning. research by zimmerman (2002) shows that helping students set realistic goals and manage their time effectively can enhance their ability to engage in self-directed learning. educators can guide students in creating learning plans and setting milestones to track their progress. effective mentorship can significantly impact students’ proactive learning. research by myrick and yonge (2005) shows that mentors who provide guidance, support, and constructive feedback help students develop confidence and take initiative in their learning. incorporating student feedback mechanisms allows educators to adjust their teaching strategies to better meet students’ needs. the competency level of nurse educators in promoting students’ proactive learning involves a combination of active learning strategies, critical thinking development, self-directed learning encouragement, supportive environments, technological integration, and effective assessment practices. by excelling in these areas, nurse educators can foster an environment that empowers nursing students to take initiative, engage deeply with their learning, and develop the skills necessary for lifelong learning and professional success. table 7: level of skill competency of bicol nurse educators along supporting the learning needs of localcommunity residents skills weighted mean verbal interpretation adjectival interpretation 1 i am able to provide explanations to local residents that are suited to their levels of understanding 4.49 strongly agree very high competency 2 i am able to set learning content that is suitable for the learning experience and levels of local residents 4.46 strongly agree very high competency 3 i am able to provide learning content that accords with themes requested by local residents 4.40 strongly agree very high competency 4 i am able to provide learning content that is suitable for the life stages of the local residents 4.37 strongly agree very high competency mean 4.43 strongly agree very high competency the competency level of nurse educators along with supporting the learning needs of local community residents is multifaceted and requires a range of skills, knowledge, and strategies. table 7 illustrates the level of skill competency of nurse educators along with supporting the learning needs of local community residents. it revealed that all of the 4 indicators show that they “strongly agree.” effective community engagement strategies are essential for successful educational initiatives. research by israel et al. (2010) highlights the importance of participatory approaches, community forums, and partnerships with local organizations to promote active involvement and ownership of learning initiatives. nurse educators play a vital role in advocating for policies that support the learning needs and health equity of local communities. table 8: level of skill competency of bicol nurse educators along performing roles within the organization skills weighted mean verbal interpretation adjectival interpretation 1. i am able to perform my own role in the committee activities, etc., of the university with which i am affiliated 4.53 strongly agree very high competency 2 i am able to protect the organization mechanism of the university with which i am affiliated 4.47 strongly agree very high competency 3 i am able to conduct educational activities that accord with the educational policy of the university with which i am affiliated 4.47 strongly agree very high competency pa ge 51 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 42-55, 2025 table 9: level of skill competency of bicol nurse educators along performing social activities using resources skills weighted mean verbal interpretation adjectival interpretation 1 i am able to participate in social activities related to my specific areas of expertise 4.40 strongly agree very high competency 2 i am able to participate in social activities involving human resource 4.35 strongly agree very high competency 3 i am able to participate in social activities through networks 4.33 strongly agree very high competency 4 i am able to participate in social activities using physical resources 4.33 strongly agree very high competency mean 4.35 strongly agree very high competency the competency level of nurse educators along with performing roles within the organization highlights several key aspects that contribute to their effectiveness. table 8 illustrates the level of skill competency of nurse educators along with performing roles within the organization. it revealed that all of the 5 indicators show that they “strongly agree.” nurse educators must possess strong clinical expertise and up-to-date knowledge in nursing practice. research by oermann and gaberson (2016) emphasizes that educators with advanced clinical skills can effectively guide and mentor nursing students, ensuring they receive a quality education. effective teaching and instructional design skills are crucial for nurse educators. research by ironside et al. (2014) shows that educators who offer guidance, feedback, and emotional support to students foster a positive learning environment, promote student retention, and enhance student satisfaction. the competency level of nurse educators within the organization encompasses a range of skills, including clinical expertise, teaching abilities, leadership skills, communication proficiency, technology integration, research engagement, professional development, and student support. by excelling in these areas, nurse educators contribute significantly to the success of nursing education programs and the overall quality of patient care. the competency level of nurse educators along with performing social activities using resources is illustrated in table 9. it revealed that all of the 4 indicators show that they “strongly agree.” nurse educators are expected to engage with the community and utilize available resources effectively to address social determinants of health. studies by betancourt et al. (2003) emphasize the need for educators to understand cultural beliefs, values, and practices when designing social interventions to ensure they are inclusive and respectful of diverse communities. nurse educators should establish networks and partnerships with local stakeholders, government agencies, and non-profit organizations to enhance the impact of social activities. research by israel et al. (2005) suggests that collaborative partnerships facilitate resource sharing, increase community participation, and promote sustainable social programs. social activities organized by nurse educators should focus on building community capacity and empowering individuals and groups to take ownership of their health. the competency level of nurse educators in performing social activities using resources involves community engagement, cultural competence, networking, advocacy, evaluation, capacity building, sustainability, and strategic planning. by integrating these competencies into their practice, nurse educators can effectively address social determinants of health, promote health equity, and improve outcomes for diverse communities. 4 i am able to understand the philosophy of the university with which i am affiliated 4.45 strongly agree very high competency 5 i am able to understand the characteristics of the university with which i am affiliated 4.44 strongly agree very high competency mean 4.47 strongly agree very high competency pa ge 52 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 42-55, 2025 table 10: level of skill competency of bicol nurse educators along engaging in good communication with other organization members skills weighted verbal adjectival 1. i am able to maintain my own mental health 4.44 strongly agree very high competency 2. i am able to respect the opinions of other organization members 4.41 strongly agree very high competency 3. i am able to give my own opinions to organization members 4.39 strongly agree very high competency 4. i am able to collaborate with organization members 4.31 strongly agree very high competency mean 4.39 strongly agree very high competency table 11: level of skill competency of bicol nurse educators along providing appropriate support for students’ learning-related issues skills weighted mean verbal interpretation adjectival interpretation 1. i am able to guide students based on their level of commitment 4.49 strongly agree very high competency 2. i am able to guide students to overcome obstacles in the learning process 4.47 strongly agree very high competency 3 i am able to guide students by helping them build on their own ideas 4.47 strongly agree very high competency 4 i am able to confirm students’ learning readiness 4.43 strongly agree very high competency mean 4.46 strongly agree very high competency the competency level of nurse educators along with engaging in good communication with other organization members is presented in table 10. it revealed that all of the 4 indicators show that they “strongly agree.” nurse educators should demonstrate clear and effective communication skills when interacting with other members of the organization, including administrators, fellow educators, healthcare providers, and support staff, concerning the study by boyle and oermann (2020) wherein female educators may emphasize collaborative learning, while male educators may lean towards directive or authoritative teaching styles. findings indicate that female nurse educators tend to excel in communication and interpersonal skills, fostering rapport with students and colleagues. nurse educators often work in interdisciplinary teams, requiring them to communicate effectively with professionals from various healthcare disciplines. they should provide and receive feedback constructively to promote professional growth and continuous improvement. the competency level of nurse educators in engaging in good communication with other organization members encompasses clear communication, collaboration, interdisciplinary communication, feedback mechanisms, adaptability, technology utilization, and leadership communication skills. by honing these competencies, nurse educators contribute to a positive organizational culture, effective teamwork, and improved outcomes for both educators and learners within the healthcare organization. the competency level of nurse educators along with providing appropriate support for students’ learningrelated issues is presented in table 11. it revealed that all of the 4 indicators show that they “strongly agree.” nurse educators should be accessible and approachable to students, creating a supportive learning environment where students feel comfortable seeking help. research by ironside and mcnelis (2010) emphasizes the importance of educators being available for consultations, office hours, and open communication channels. effective support involves active listening and demonstrating empathy towards students’ concerns and challenges. research by billings and halstead (2019) highlights the benefits of personalized support strategies, such as tutoring, mentoring, and academic advising, to address learning difficulties and enhance student success. supporting students goes beyond academic assistance and includes addressing emotional well-being and stress management. research by mcgonigal (2015) highlights the role of educators in promoting a positive learning environment, offering encouragement, and referring students to mental health resources when needed. by excelling in these areas, nurse educators can effectively support students’ learningrelated issues, promote academic success, and contribute to a positive and nurturing learning environment within nursing education programs. pa ge 53 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 42-55, 2025 table 12: level of skill competency of bicol nurse educators along ensuring the quality of educational activities skills weighted mean verbal interpretation adjectival interpretation 1. i am able to participate in educational activities utilizing my knowledge of my specialty area 4.51 strongly agree very high competency 2. i am able to obtain knowledge and a wider perspective of other specialty areas 4.47 strongly agree very high competency 3. i am able to obtain information necessary for the educational activities i conduct 4.45 strongly agree very high competency 4. i am able to participate in specialized learning opportunities for personal improvement 4.41 strongly agree very high competency mean 4.46 strongly agree very high competency the competency level of nurse educators along with ensuring the quality of educational activities is presented in table 12. it revealed that all of the 4 indicators show that they “strongly agree.” nurse educators should possess expertise in curriculum development and design to ensure the quality of educational activities. research by ironside and mcnelis (2010) emphasizes the importance of aligning curriculum with program outcomes, integrating evidence-based content, and utilizing active learning strategies to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes. educators must be proficient in learning assessment and evaluation methods to measure student progress, identify areas for improvement, and ensure program effectiveness. studies by oermann and gaberson (2016) suggest that educators who use valid and reliable assessment tools, provide timely feedback, and conduct outcome evaluations contribute to maintaining educational quality. nurse educators should employ evidence-based teaching practices grounded in educational research and best practices. research by jeffries and rizzolo (2006) highlights the benefits of using interactive teaching methods, incorporating simulationbased learning, promoting critical thinking skills, and fostering active learning environments to enhance educational quality. creating a student-centered learning environment is crucial for educational quality. research by billings and halstead (2019) emphasizes educators’ role in promoting active learning, fostering critical thinking, encouraging inquiry-based learning, and providing opportunities for student reflection and self-assessment. conclusions the results of the study revealed that nurse educators in the bicol region demonstrated a very high level of skill competency across all assessed domains. they consistently showed strong abilities in performing the research process, fostering human relations with students, supporting clinical practicums, engaging in instructional design, and promoting students’ proactive learning. likewise, they excelled in supporting community learning needs, fulfilling organizational roles, using resources for social activities, communicating effectively within their institutions, providing appropriate support for student learning issues, and ensuring the quality of educational activities. these findings indicate that bicol nurse educators are well-equipped with the competencies required to deliver quality nursing education and contribute meaningfully to both academic and community settings. references arnold, e. c., & boggs, k. u. 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(2002). becoming a self-regulated learner: an overview. theory into practice, 41(2), 64-70. https://doi.org/10.1207/s15430421tip4102_2 pa ge 1 pa ge 57 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) a parsimonious model of nursing students’ clinical learning environment and self-directed learning: basis for a self-directed learning development program maria majorie m. castillo1* volume 3 issue 1, year 2025 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v3i1.4807 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: march 20, 2025 accepted: april 22, 2025 published: june 13, 2025 the importance of self-directed learning (sdl) in nursing education has grown as students are ready for independent clinical practice and ongoing professional growth. understanding the variables that impact sdl preparedness is essential for formulating efficient educational approaches. the present research used a descriptive-correlational methodology to investigate the association between the clinical education environment and nursing students’ preparedness for self-directed learning. the dundee ready education environment measure (dreem) and the self-directed learning readiness scale (sdlrs) were used to examine data obtained from 300 nursing students. stratified random selection guaranteed the inclusion of second to fourth-year students. the data was studied using descriptive statistics, correlation analysis, and structural equation modeling (sem). the findings indicated that most participants were female (82.70%), and their perception of the clinical education setting was generally good, with notably high ratings regarding learning and teaching effectiveness. the students exhibited exceptional preparedness for self-directed learning, displaying outstanding self-management, a strong desire for learning, and selfcontrol. the results of the correlation study indicated strong negative associations between the year level and the clinical education environment and self-directed learning preparation. conversely, academic performance (gwa) exhibited favorable connections with both variables. sem analysis revealed that the clinical education setting substantially impacted the preparedness for sdl. enhanced fit indices of the modified model indicate that a desirable clinical education setting benefits sdl preparedness. keywords clinical education environment, educational interventions, nursing students, program development, self-directed learning readiness, structural equation modeling 1 st. paul university manila, philippines * corresponding author’s e-mail: mariamajoriec@gmail.com introduction in a clinical learning environment, nursing students’ educational experiences go beyond traditional classroom settings, encompassing hospitals, community health centers, and other real-world healthcare settings. these environments play a crucial role in shaping students’ competencies and professional readiness. vasli (2023) self-directed learning had a significant positive effect on clinical competence as bates (2015) pointed out, a safe and vibrant learning environment is essential for students to develop competence, motivation, and encouragement, all of which are influenced by interactions with peers and teachers. in clinical education, the environment is further characterized by hands-on learning, exposure to diverse patient care situations, and a need for critical thinking and adaptability (jamshidi et al., 2016). this distinctive setting requires nursing students to be independent, innovative, and responsive, traits that align with the concept of selfdirected learning. research has extensively examined the relationship between the clinical educational environment and nursing students’ competence, revealing a statistically significant and positive correlation between students’ perceptions of their clinical environment and their competence (visiers‐jiménez et al., 2021). these findings highlight the importance of optimizing clinical settings to support sdl, as students who perceive their environment positively tend to demonstrate greater competency in their clinical practice. additionally, nursing students’ satisfaction with the clinical learning environment has been identified as a key factor contributing to their overall learning experience. papastavrou et al. (2016) emphasized that satisfaction within clinical settings can lead to potential reforms aimed at improving learning activities and achievements. moreover, the challenges faced by nursing students, such as the need for adequate self-confidence in caregiving, significantly impact their learning (jamshidi et al., 2016). the impact of sdl on problem-solving abilities has also been studied, revealing a complex relationship between self-directed learning readiness and problem-solving skills among nursing students (luo et al., 2019). although the correlation between these variables is low, the study underscores the necessity of sdl in fostering critical thinking and problem-solving capabilities. furthermore, mirzawati et al. (2020) observed a positive and significant relationship between self-efficacy, the learning environment, and sdl, emphasizing the interconnected nature of these variables. the learning environment plays a vital role in shaping students’ sdl strategies, as demonstrated by schweder and raufelder (2021), who found differences in how students engage in self-directed versus teacher-directed learning environments. the necessity for sdl programs has been recognized in various educational fields, including pharmacy (unni et al., 2019), pre-medical education (kim et al., 2022), pa ge 58 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 57-70, 2025 and nursing education (noh & kim, 2019). in nursing, the effectiveness of sdl programs utilizing blended coaching has been explored, demonstrating the need for further research on associated variables and long-term effects (noh & kim, 2019). additionally, vasli (2023) and asadiparvar-masouleh (2022) examined the mediating role of the clinical learning environment in the effects of sdl on clinical competence among internship nursing students, reinforcing the significance of clinical settings in supporting self-directed learning approaches. another aspect of sdl is its relationship with nursing students’ satisfaction and competency self-efficacy. ibrahim et al. (2019) established that students’ satisfaction with the clinical learning environment significantly impacts their confidence in their competencies. this finding illustrates the importance of fostering a supportive and engaging clinical education environment where sdl can thrive. moreover, clinical nursing education aims to develop students’ professional skills, critical thinking abilities, independence, and lifelong learning habits (sebaee et al., 2017). given these objectives, incorporating sdl into nursing education is imperative for producing competent and self-reliant nursing professionals. however, despite the significance of the clinical learning environment, a gap has been observed between the skills and traits nursing students need to thrive in these settings and their actual readiness for self-directed learning. prior research, such as the studies by ojekou and okanlawon (2019) and grande et al. (2022), has shown moderate levels of self-directed learning readiness among nigerian and southeast asian nursing students. these findings suggest that, while students may be motivated, there is often a disconnect between the learning environment and their ability to fully engage in self-directed learning. this gap becomes particularly evident in clinical settings, where students must navigate complex and unpredictable situations independently, yet may lack the necessary readiness to do so effectively. to address this issue, the present study aimed to investigate the relationship between the clinical learning environment and self-directed learning among filipino nursing students. the objective is to develop a structural equation model that illustrates the interrelationships between these two elements, filling a significant gap in the literature. by understanding these dynamics, this research seeks to contribute valuable insights to educational practices, informing the development of tailored interventions that enhance self-directed learning among nursing students in the filipino context. self-directed learning (sdl): history and concepts the practice of self-directed learning can be traced back to classical antiquity with the self-study of philosophers such as socrates, plato, and aristotle. in colonial america, individuals pursued learning independently due to the limited number of formal schools (hiemstra, 1994). formal academic interest in sdl emerged in the 19th century, with contributions from craik (1840) and smiles (1859), but it was in the 1960s when houle (1961) and his student tough (1979) laid the modern foundation of sdl as a field of research. tough’s work examined how adults learn independently, which influenced many studies worldwide. knowles (1975) introduced the concept of andragogy and emphasized adult learning principles, stating that learners are motivated by internal factors such as self-esteem and curiosity. guglielmino (1977) developed the self-directed learning readiness scale (sdlrs), a widely used tool in sdl research. further research by spear and mocker (1984) and long & agyekum (1983) highlighted the role of the learner’s environment and led to the establishment of the international symposium on self-directed learning. concepts and definitions of sdl sdl is a complex concept defined through multiple lenses. kerka (1999) described it as a process in which autonomous individuals pursue learning for personal growth and as a social phenomenon influenced by context. rowland and volet (1996) also emphasized the cultural influences on sdl, stating that social and cultural contexts shape how learners engage in independent learning. van der walt (2012) proposed two approaches: one based on individual understanding and another that redefines sdl beyond knowles’ original framework. merriam et al. (2007) identified three core purposes of sdl: enhancing self-determination, promoting deep learning, and fostering social change. braman (1998) linked sdl to individualistic values and argued that both personal goals and cultural expectations shape it. brookfield (2009) added that sdl involves not just actions like goal-setting and strategy use, but also internal changes in how learners perceive knowledge. these insights show that sdl is both a personal and social process requiring autonomy, critical thinking, and adaptability (o’donnell, 2005). literature review the process of self-directed learning the university of waterloo outlines sdl as a fourstep process: (1) readiness to learn, (2) setting goals, (3) engaging in the process, and (4) evaluating learning (centre for teaching excellence, university of waterloo, 2023). readiness involves assessing one’s environment and past experiences. goal-setting requires coordination between student and mentor using tools like learning contracts. engagement means students must be aware of their learning styles and take responsibility for progress. evaluation involves self-reflection, seeking feedback, and making necessary adjustments. robinson and persky (2020) emphasized that while sdl promotes independence, both students and faculty face challenges in its implementation. faculty must shift from instructors to facilitators and support students through this transition. sumuer (2018) noted that students must move away from rote or strategic learning and instead adopt deep, reflective approaches for effective sdl. self-directed learning in nursing education in nursing, sdl is closely linked to clinical competence. pa ge 59 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 57-70, 2025 studies show that a positive perception of the clinical environment leads to higher competence among nursing students (visiers-jiménez et al., 2021). student satisfaction with the clinical learning setting enhances learning outcomes (papastavrou et al., 2016), while challenges like lack of confidence can hinder progress (jamshidi et al., 2016). sdl readiness correlates with problem-solving ability, although the relationship is complex (luo et al., 2019). other studies highlight the role of self-efficacy and satisfaction in enhancing sdl (mirzawati et al., 2020; schweder & raufelder, 2021). the need for sdl programs is evident across fields such as pharmacy (unni et al., 2019), pre-medical (kim et al., 2022), and nursing education (noh & kim, 2019). vasli & asadiparvarmasouleh (2022, 2023) also demonstrated the mediating role of the clinical learning environment in influencing clinical competence through sdl. learning environment of nursing students bates (2015) defined the learning environment as a combination of physical, cultural, and contextual settings where learning takes place. these include student characteristics, teaching goals, learning activities, evaluation strategies, and institutional culture. for nursing students, physical environments range from traditional classrooms to home setups for online learning, especially during covid-19. the psychological environment involves motivation, trust, and student-teacher interaction, while emotional environments focus on safety, selfexpression, and emotional support. clinical education environments (cees) include real-life hospital settings and virtual platforms. these settings allow students to develop practical skills and are influenced heavily by the guidance of clinical instructors (zhang et al., 2022). the role of cees is essential in preparing students for professional nursing roles and reinforces the need for supportive and structured learning environments that foster sdl. materials and methods research design this study used a correlational research design to explore the relationship between clinical learning environment and self-directed learning readiness among nursing students. correlational designs examine associations but do not imply causation (polit & beck, 2017). structural equation modeling (sem) was used to analyze complex relationships between variables and assess model fit. sem is commonly used in social sciences due to its ability to represent latent constructs and test hypotheses using empirical data (beran & violato, 2010; hair et al., 2021). research locale the study was conducted at luna goco colleges in calapan city, a recognized institution in nursing education. the college offers access to various clinical settings, including hospitals and community centers. its comprehensive clinical exposure made it a suitable site to study how learning environments influence students’ selfdirected learning. findings are expected to benefit the institution and contribute to nursing education practices. research instruments two validated tools were used: the dundee ready education environment measure (dreem) and the self-directed learning readiness scale (sdlrs). the dreem (roff et al., 1997) evaluates students’ perceptions of their educational environment across five subscales, with high reliability (α = 0.91). sdlrs (fisher, king, & tague, 2001) assesses readiness for sdl through self-management, desire for learning, and self-control, with cronbach’s alpha ranging from 0.83 to 0.924. population and sampling the study employed consecutive sampling, a nonprobability method suitable for ordered populations. eligibility was based on students being enrolled in the nursing program during the data collection year (bujang & baharum, 2017). a total of 300 students were targeted to ensure statistical power. informed consent was obtained, and ethical procedures were followed. ethical considerations the study complied with ethical guidelines from the university ethics committee. participants remained anonymous and responses were kept confidential. consent forms preceded the survey and detailed the study’s purpose, procedures, risks, and benefits. ethical approval was obtained before data collection. no vulnerable groups were included (gordon, 2020). data collection procedure after ethical and administrative approval, questionnaires were distributed during students’ free time with teachers’ permission. instructions were provided, and students were free to ask questions. completed questionnaires were reviewed for completeness before analysis. data analysis procedure data analysis was conducted using ibm spss and amos version 20.0. a significance level of 0.05 was applied. normality was assessed using shapiro-wilk and doornik-hansen tests. pearson’s correlation was used to evaluate linear relationships. structural equation modeling (sem) was applied to assess model fit using cb-sem with maximum likelihood estimation (byrne, 2010). fit indices included χ2/df ≤ 3.00, rmsea ≤ 0.08, cfi and gfi ≥ 0.90, and pnfi (huang et al., 2010). path analysis determined direct, indirect, and total effects among variables. results and discussion this chapter presented the discussion, analyses, and interpretation of the data gathered mainly through survey questionnaires to determine the clinical learning environment readiness and self-directed learning of the nursing students in luna goco colleges. pa ge 60 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 57-70, 2025 demographic profile of the participants in terms of 1. gender 2. year level 3. general weighted average (gwa) in the previous semester 4. ncm courses enrolled table 1: demographic profile of participants (n = 300) characteristics frequency (percentage) mean (sd) sex (f, %) male 52 (17.30%) female 248 (82.70%) year level (f, %) second year 135 (45.00%) third year 92 (30.70%) fourth year 73 (24.30%) general weighted average (x̅, sd) 83.77 (2.40) enrolled courses (f, %) ncm 109 135 (45.00%) ncm 110 135 (45.00%) ncm 115 92 (30.70%) ncm 116 92 (30.70%) ncm 117 92 (30.70%) ncm 121 73 (24.30%) ncm 122 73 (24.30%) abbreviations: x̅ = mean, sd = standard deviation the demographic profile shows that most nursing students are female (82.70%), consistent with global trends in nursing education (smith & leggat, 2007). this gender imbalance is important, as female students often encounter different stressors and learning experiences (albaqawi et al., 2022). addressing these differences through gender-sensitive strategies like mentorship can improve learning and well-being (englund, 2023). moreover, promoting gender diversity benefits student learning, patient care, and teamwork in clinical settings (ramjan, 2023; tekbaş & pola, 2020). inclusive practices can enrich the educational environment and prepare students for diverse healthcare teams (dubs, 2023). the year level distribution, second year (45%), third year (30.70%), and fourth year (24.30%)—reflects the typical progression in nursing education. each level represents a unique phase: foundational learning in the second year, specialized training in the third, and final preparation for licensure and practice in the fourth (smith & leggat, 2007; ramjan, 2023). recognizing these stages helps educators design targeted instruction that supports students’ developmental and academic needs (albaqawi et al., 2022). the pattern of course enrollment aligns with these academic stages. high enrollment in ncm 109 and 110 (45%) emphasizes the focus on foundational nursing care, while ncm 115, 116, and 117 (30.70%) reflect advanced clinical topics (lee & thompson, 2019). ncm 121 and 122 (24.30%) likely cover specialized or elective topics (brown & miller, 2020). understanding this structure aids in aligning nursing curricula with healthcare needs and educational standards, ultimately producing competent, practice-ready graduates. evaluation of the nursing students on the education environment in terms of: 1. learning 2. teacher 3. academic 4. atmosphere 5. social table 2: descriptive statistics of clinical education environment among the participants (n = 300) variables mean (sd) score range interpretationa overall clinical education environment score 159.28 (6.15) 0 to 200 excellent student’s perception of learning 37.73 (1.92) 0 to 48 highly positive teaching student’s perception of teachers 35.74 (2.23) 0 to 44 model teachers student’s academic self-perceptions 26.01 (1.99) 0 to 32 confident student’s perception of atmosphere 39.06 (2.28) 0 to 48 good feeling overall student’s social self-perceptions 20.74 (1.41) 0 to 28 not too bad pa ge 61 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 57-70, 2025 the evaluation of the clinical education environment among nursing students revealed key insights across five dimensions: learning, teachers, academic self-perception, atmosphere, and social self-perception are shown in table 2. the overall clinical education environment received an excellent rating, with a mean score of 159.28 (sd=6.15), indicating a highly supportive and effective educational setting (vaughan et al., 2014). in terms of learning, students expressed a highly positive perception, with a mean score of 37.73 (sd=1.92), reflecting their satisfaction with the quality of education. this indicated that students find the learning environment conducive to acquiring both theoretical and practical knowledge, crucial for academic engagement and success. positive perceptions of learning environments are known to enhance student motivation and overall academic performance (cohen, 2010). the perception of teachers also received high praise, with a mean score of 35.74 (sd=2.23), categorizing the instructors as “model teachers.” this suggests that students view their teachers as effective mentors who provided essential support for professional development. the presence of highly regarded teachers has been shown to positively influence students’ clinical confidence and preparedness (kuh & hu, 2001). effective teaching in clinical education is vital, as it shapes students’ readiness to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world settings (smith & leggat, 2007). students’ academic self-perception scored 26.01 (sd=1.99), reflecting a strong sense of confidence in their academic abilities, which is crucial for fostering resilience and self-directed learning. confidence in academic performance has been linked to better student outcomes, including higher persistence and success rates in demanding programs such as nursing (pascarella & terenzini, 2005). this level of academic self-efficacy helped students navigate the challenges of their studies, improving both their academic and clinical competencies (albaqawi et al., 2022). the atmosphere within the clinical education environment received the highest rating, with a mean score of 39.06 (sd=2.28), signifying a “good feeling overall” (vaughan et al., 2014). this suggests that students perceived their academic atmosphere as positive and conducive to learning. a positive learning atmosphere has been consistently associated with improved student satisfaction, academic achievement, and retention (pascarella & terenzini, 2005). it provides a space where students feel supported, engaged, and motivated to succeed, which enhances their overall educational experience. however, social self-perception was rated lower than the other dimensions, with a mean score of 20.74 (sd=1.41), indicating a “not too bad” experience. this suggests that while students do not feel overly negative about their social integration, there is room for improvement. literature suggests that improving social self-perceptions, through initiatives such as peer mentoring and group learning activities, can foster a stronger sense of belonging and support (strange & banning, 2001). a supportive social environment is key to mitigating feelings of isolation and promoting students’ overall well-being, which can ultimately enhance their academic success and retention. lastly, the clinical education environment is viewed positively, particularly in terms of the learning experience and academic atmosphere. while the social aspect required attention, the strong ratings in other areas indicated that students are generally well-supported in their academic journey. addressing social integration through strategic interventions can further enhance the comprehensive educational experience, ensuring that nursing students are fully prepared for professional practice (cleary, 2011; macdonald & callender, 2010). sdl readiness of the nursing students in terms of 3.1. selfmanagement 3.2. desire for learning 3.3. self-control the self-directed learning (sdl) readiness of nursing table 3: descriptive statistics of self-directed learning readiness among the participants (n = 300) variables mean (sd) score range interpretationa overall self-directed learning readiness score 175.35 (6.42) 40 to 200 ready for self-directed learning self-management 49.70 (3.20) 12 to 60 excellent self-management desire for learning 59.26 (2.45) 13 to 65 excellent desire for learning self-control 66.39 (2.74) 15 to 75 excellent self-control students was evaluated across three dimensions: selfmanagement, desire for learning, and self-control. table 3 presents the descriptive statistics for sdl readiness among the participants. the overall sdl readiness score had a mean of 175.35 (sd=6.42), which falls within the “ready for self-directed learning” category, as defined by fisher et al. (2001). this indicated that the nursing students are well-prepared for sdl, an essential skill in healthcare education where continuous learning and adaptability are critical. in terms of self-management, the mean score was 49.70 (sd=3.20), interpreted as “excellent self-management.” this suggested that students are adept at organizing, planning, and regulating their learning activities. effective self-management is crucial in sdl as it enables learners to take responsibility for their educational progress, making informed decisions about what and how to learn (abd-elfattah, (2010). with this high level of self-management, students demonstrated the ability to manage their study schedules, set learning goals, and actively engage in learning without needing constant external direction. for desire for learning, the mean score was 59.26 pa ge 62 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 57-70, 2025 (sd=2.45), categorized as “excellent desire for learning.” this dimension reflects the students’ strong motivation and enthusiasm to acquire new knowledge. desire for learning is an intrinsic drive that pushes students to seek out educational opportunities and deepen their understanding of clinical practices (deci & ryan, 2000). the high score in this area indicated that the participants possess a robust internal motivation, which is fundamental for sdl since motivated learners are more likely to engage in self-directed educational activities and sustain learning efforts over time. the mean score for self-control was 66.39 (sd=2.74), also interpreted as “excellent self-control.” this shows that students have a high capacity to regulate their behaviors, emotions, and learning processes. self-control plays a critical role in sdl readiness by allowing students to stay focused on their goals, resist distractions, and persevere through challenges (duckworth et al., 2007). the participants’ strong self-control suggests that they are capable of maintaining discipline in their studies, which is essential for success in the often rigorous and demanding clinical education environment. collectively, these high mean scores across the three dimensions reflected the students’ readiness for sdl. with a total sdl readiness score of 175.35, the nursing students demonstrate that they are equipped with the necessary skills to take charge of their learning. these findings aligned with fisher et al.’s (2001) interpretation that individuals with scores above 150 are considered ready for sdl. the readiness for sdl is particularly important in clinical education, where nursing students must continuously update their skills and knowledge to stay current with healthcare advancements. the high levels of self-management, desire for learning, and self-control indicate that the students have developed the competencies required for sdl. educators can build upon this readiness by implementing strategies that further promote sdl, such as problem-based learning (pbl) and case-based learning (cbl), which encouraged students to take initiative in solving real-world clinical problems. moreover, given the strong desire for learning among students, fostering an environment that supports lifelong learning through continuous feedback and opportunities for self-reflection will reinforce these positive sdl behaviors. lastly, nursing students in this study exhibit a high level of sdl readiness, with strengths in self-management, desire for learning, and self-control. these findings suggested that students are well-prepared to manage their educational journey independently, and further educational interventions can help sustain and enhance these capabilities. creating supportive learning environments that encourage self-regulation and intrinsic motivation will be key in fostering continued student success in sdl (zimmerman, 2002) significant relationship between the participants’ sd profile and their self-directed learning table 4 presents the correlation coefficients between participants’ demographic characteristics, the dimensions of the clinical education environment, and the dimensions of self-directed learning readiness (sdlr). the dimensions of sdlr examined included selfmanagement, desire for learning, and self-control. the table 4: correlation coefficients of the correlations between the demographic characteristics, the dimensions of clinical education environment, and the dimensions of self-directed learning readiness (sdlr) among the participants (n = 300) va ria bl es 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 1. sex (female) – – – – – – – – – – – – 2. year levels 0. 07 (0 .2 38 ) – – – – – – – – – – – – 3. general weighted average –0 .0 1 (0 .8 90 ) –0 .3 5* (0 .0 01 ) – – – – – – – – – – – 4.course (ncm 109 and 110) –0 .1 4* (0 .0 20 ) –0 .1 4* (0 .0 20 ) 0. 32 * (0 .0 01 ) – – – – – – – – – – 5. course (ncm 115, 116, and 117) 0. 17 * (0 .0 03 ) 0. 83 * (0 .0 01 –0 .0 8 (0 .1 60 –0 .6 1* (0 .0 01 ) – – – – – – – – – 6. course (ncm 121 and 122) –0 .0 3 (0 .6 34 ) 0. 85 * (0 .0 01 ) –0 .2 8* (0 .0 01 ) –0 .5 1* (0 .0 01 ) –0 .3 8* (0 .0 01 ) – – – – – – – – pa ge 63 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 57-70, 2025 7. student’s perception of learning (clinical education environment) 0. 12 * (0 .0 41 ) –0 .3 7* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 13 * (0 .0 33 ) 0. 21 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 20 * (0 .0 01 ) –0 .4 6* (0 .0 01 – – – – – – – 8. student’s perception of teachers (clinical education environment) –0 .0 1 (0 .9 27 ) –0 .1 3* (0 .0 21 ) 0. 07 (0 .2 55 ) 0. 05 (0 .3 68 ) 0. 12 * (0 .0 01 ) –0 .1 9* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 53 * (0 .0 01 ) – – – – – – 9. student’s academic selfperceptions (clinical education environment) –0 .0 8 (0 .1 53 ) –0 .3 4* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 13 * (0 .0 29 ) 0. 36 * (0 .0 01 ) –0 .1 8* (0 .0 02 ) –0 .2 3* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 21 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 16 * (0 .0 05 ) – – – – – 10. student’s perception of atmosphere (clinical education environment) 0. 00 (0 .9 97 ) –0 .2 9* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 21 * (0 .0 14 ) 0. 19 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 09 (0 .1 03 ) –0 .3 2* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 21 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 27 * (0 .0 02 ) 0. 15 * (0 .0 09 ) – – – – 11. student’s social perceptions (clinical education environment) 0. 05 (0 .4 07 ) –0 .3 0* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 10 (0 .0 90 ) 0. 14 * (0 .0 13 ) 0. 22 * (0 .0 01 ) –0 .4 0* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 24 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 21 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 18 * (0 .0 02 ) 0. 42 * (0 .0 01 ) – – – 12. selfmanagement (selfdirected learning readiness) 0. 03 (0 .5 55 ) –0 .2 8* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 13 * (0 .0 29 ) 0. 12 * (0 .0 36 ) 0. 21 * (0 .0 01 ) –0 .3 7* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 25 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 19 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 26 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 30 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 34 * (0 .0 01 ) – – 13. desire for learning (selfdirected learning readiness) –0 .0 6 (0 .2 78 ) –0 .8 0* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 31 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 77 * (0 .0 01 ) –0 .2 6* (0 .0 01 ) –0 .6 1* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 31 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 19 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 36 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 27 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 27 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 29 * (0 .0 01 ) – 14. self-control (self-directed learning readiness) –0 .0 9 (0 .1 25 ) –0 .6 8* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 23 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 74 * (0 .0 01 ) –0 .4 3* (0 .0 01 ) –0 .4 1* (0 .0 01 ) 0. 20 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 11 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 27 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 23 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 23 * (0 .0 01 ) 0. 16 * (0 .0 07 ) 0. 63 * (0 .0 01 ) note: values are represented as r-value (p-value). *significant at 0.05 correlation analysis revealed several key findings regarding these relationships. sex demonstrated minimal correlations with both the dimensions of the clinical education environment and sdlr dimensions, with r-values ranging from –0.01 to 0.12. this suggested that sex does not significantly influence the participants’ perceptions of their clinical education environment or their readiness for self-directed learning, aligning with previous studies indicating no substantial gender differences in sdl capabilities (murad et al., 2010). in contrast, year level exhibited significant negative correlations with various aspects of the clinical education environment and the sdlr dimensions. specifically, year level had correlations ranging from –0.13 to –0.37 with the clinical education environment and from –0.28 to –0.80 with the sdlr dimensions. this negative association implies that as students’ progress through their academic program, their perception of the clinical environment and their readiness for sdl tend to decrease. this could be attributed with the increase academic and clinical pressures faced by upper-year students, leading to higher stress levels and less favorable perceptions of their learning environment. (fung et al., 2014). the general weighted average (gwa) showed positive correlations with the dimensions of the clinical education environment, ranging from 0.07 to 0.21, and with the sdlr dimensions, ranging from 0.13 to 0.31. this indicates that students with higher academic achievement tend to have a more positive view of their clinical learning environment and exhibit greater readiness for sdl. this supports the notion that academic success is linked with favorable learning experiences and proactive learning behaviors (stewart, 2017). the courses enrolled, specifically ncm 109/110, ncm 115/116/117, and ncm 121/122, showed perfect pa ge 64 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 57-70, 2025 correlations among themselves and significant associations with year level, with correlations ranging from –0.89 to 0.85. this multicollinearity issue necessitated their exclusion from the structural equation modeling (sem) analysis to maintain model validity. the correlations between the dimensions of the clinical education environment and sdlr were consistently positive and statistically significant, ranging from 0.11 to 0.36. this suggested that a more positive perception of the clinical education environment is associated with higher self-management, greater desire for learning, and improved self-control among the students. these findings have several implications for educational practice. the negative correlation between year level and both the clinical education environment and sdlr suggested that targeted interventions may be necessary to support upper-year students. institutions might consider implementing stress management programs, offering additional resources, and creating a supportive learning environment to help mitigate the pressures faced by senior students (vidal et al., 2020). additionally, the positive correlation between gwa and sdl dimensions underscores the importance of academic support services. providing tutoring, mentorship, and other academic support can enhance students’ academic performance, which in turn could improve their perceptions of the learning environment and their readiness for sdl. lastly, while sex does not significantly impact sdl readiness, year level and gwa do show notable relationships. the findings suggested that academic support and stress management strategies could be beneficial in enhancing sdl readiness, particularly for upper-year students facing increased academic pressures. significant relationship between the participants’ evaluation of the clinical education environment and self-directed learning the hypothesized model of the associations of the demographic characteristics, clinical education environment, and self-directed learning readiness are presented in figure 1. as previously mentioned, only sex and year level were the demographic characteristics included in the modeling analyses due to issues on linearity and multicollinearity of other demographic variables. initial analysis of the hypothesized model indicated very poor model fit indices (table 5). results also showed that the association of general weighted average to clinical education environment (β=0.02, p=0.606) and self-directed learning readiness (β=0.02, p=0.717) were not statistically significant. modification indices also recommended a covariance term between the error terms of the dimensions of perceptions of learning and teachers (mi=30.85, par. change=2.66); perceptions of atmosphere and social self-perceptions (mi=19.03, par. change=1.14); and, self-management and self-control (mi=4.06 par. change=–0.83). these initial results were used to trim and respecify the hypothesized model. the initial analysis of the hypothesized model revealed significant limitations, as indicated by the poor model fit indices. the lack of significant associations between gwa and both the clinical education environment and sdlr suggested that gwa may not be a critical factor in understanding these relationships. this finding is consistent with previous studies that have found mixed results regarding the impact of academic performance on learning environment perceptions and self-directed learning readiness (dunlap, 2005). the suggested modifications, based on the modification indices, indicated potential improvements to the model through the inclusion of covariance terms between certain error terms. specifically, the high modification index (mi) and parameter change between the perceptions of learning and perceptions of teachers (mi=30.85, par. change=2.66) suggest a significant overlap between these dimensions. this overlap could be due to the integral role that teacher quality plays in shaping students’ overall learning experiences (ginns et al., 2007). similarly, the covariance between perceptions of atmosphere and social self-perceptions (mi=19.03, par. change=1.14) implies that a positive learning atmosphere is closely linked to students’ social well-being and selfperceptions. a supportive and inclusive atmosphere can enhance students’ social interactions and their confidence in self-directed learning. the covariance between self-management and selfcontrol (mi=4.06, par. change=–0.83) underscores the interconnected nature of these constructs. both selfmanagement and self-control are crucial components of self-directed learning, as they involve regulating one’s behavior and learning processes (zimmerman, 2000). these findings align with the theoretical frameworks that emphasize the synergy between different self-regulation strategies (pintrich, 2004). the initial poor fit of the hypothesized model and the non-significant associations involving gwa highlight the need to consider other variables that might better explain the relationships among demographic characteristics, the clinical education environment, and sdlr. educational institutions should focus on enhancing the clinical education environment and supporting students’ selfdirected learning readiness through targeted interventions rather than relying solely on academic performance indicators. the modifications suggested by the modification indices offer valuable insights for improving educational strategies. emphasizing the quality of teaching and creating a positive learning atmosphere can significantly impact students’ perceptions and their readiness for self-directed learning. training programs for educators that focus on effective teaching strategies and creating inclusive learning environments can be beneficial (hattie, 2009). furthermore, the close relationship between selfmanagement and self-control suggests that programs aimed at enhancing these skills should be integrated into the curriculum. workshops and courses on time management, goal setting, and self-regulation can help students develop the competencies necessary for successful self-directed learning. pa ge 65 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 57-70, 2025 parsimonious model developed among the profile, clinical education environment and self-directed learning figure 2 depicted the emerging model of the associations of demographic characteristics, clinical education environment, and self-directed learning readiness. after two iterations of model re-specification and trimming, the emerging model showed acceptable model fit parameters (table 6). it can be noted that year level had a strong, negative influence on both clinical education environment (β=–0.73, p=0.003) and self-directed learning readiness (β=–0.70, p=0.049). these results denoted that as year level increases by 1-unit (e.g., from second year to third year), clinical education environment decreases by 0.73-unit and self-directed learning readiness by 0.70-unit. results also showed that year level had a negative, indirect effect on self-directed learning readiness (β=–0.22, p=0.036) through the mediation of clinical education environment, indicating an indirect decrease in self-directed learning readiness by 0.22-unit for every 1-unit increase in year level. it can also be noted from the emerging model that clinical education environment had a moderate and positive influence on self-directed learning readiness (β=0.30, p=0.044), which indicates that every 1-unit increase in clinical education environment leads to a 0.30-unit increase in self-directed learning readiness. analyses also showed that year level alone measured 53.20% of the variance of clinical education environment, while both year level and clinical education environment measured 88.50% of the r2-value or explained variance of self-directed learning readiness. table 5: model fit parameters of the hypothesized and emerging models (n = 300) model cmin rmsea 90% ci cfi gfi pnfi χ2 df χ2/df (p-value) rmsea (p-value) lower bound upper bound acceptable threshold – – ≤3.00 (>0.05) ≤0.08 (>0.05) – – ≥0.90 ≥0.90 em> hm hypothesized model 144.25 31 4.65 (0.001) 0.111 (0.001) 0.093 0.129 0.873 0.916 0.583 emerging model 73.90 30 2.46 (0.001) 0.070 (0.051) 0.050 0.090 0.951 0.954 0.614 abbreviations: χ2 = chi-squared value; df = degrees of freedom; rmsea = root mean square error of approximation; cfi = comparative fit index; gfi = goodness-of-fit index; pnfi = parsimonious normal fit index; em = emerging model; hm = hypothesized model table 6: path analyses of the total, direct, and indirect effects among the study variables (n = 300) outcomes year level clinical education environment indirect effect direct effect total effect indirect effect direct effect total effect clinical education environment – –0.73* (0.003) –0.73* (0.003) – – – self-directed learning readiness –0.22* (0.036) –0.70* (0.049) –0.92* (0.010) – 0.30* (0.044) 0.30* (0.044) note: values are presented as standardized regression or beta coefficient (p-value). *significant at 0.05 level figure 1: hypothesized model of the associations of demographic characteristics, clinical education environment, and self-directed learning readiness pa ge 66 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 57-70, 2025 the hypothesized model, depicted in figure 3, illustrated the relationships between self-directed learning readiness (sdlr), the clinical education environment, and demographic characteristics. the model suggested that the clinical education environment and sdlr are primarily influenced by demographic characteristics, such as age, gender, and prior educational background. the relationship between sdlr and demographic characteristics is hypothesized to be mediated by the clinical education environment, which includes factors such as mentorship quality, available resources, and institutional support. the model’s directional arrows suggested that sdlr is anticipated to be improved by a supportive clinical education environment and favorable demographic characteristics. the hypothesized model posits that sdlr is substantially influenced by demographic characteristics. the notion that age and prior educational experiences influence learning styles and aptitude for self-directed learning is supported by recent research. as a result of their extensive educational and life experiences, mature pupils frequently demonstrated higher sdlr (guglielmino & long, 2011). furthermore, research has demonstrated that gender differences in learning preferences exist, with certain studies suggesting that female students may be more self-directed than their male counterparts (murad et al., 2010). the clinical education environment is proposed to serve as a critical mediator between sdlr and demographic characteristics. students’ motivation and conviction to participate in self-directed learning can be improved by a positive educational environment that includes constructive feedback, supportive mentorship, and adequate resources (brydges et al., 2012). williams and beovich (2019) conducted a study that found that nursing students’ sdlr was substantially enhanced by supportive mentorship and access to learning resources. this underscores the significance of a well-structured clinical education environment. the significance of demographic characteristics in the development of educational strategies is emphasized by the results of the hypothesized model. mentorship programs that are customized to meet the unique requirements of various age groups and genders may prove to be more advantageous. additionally, it is imperative to establish a clinical education environment that is supportive and provides sufficient resources and mentorship. to cultivate an environment that is conducive to learning, institutions should allocate resources to mentorship programs of high quality and ensure that there are adequate learning resources (brydges et al., 2012). the model depicted in figure 4 emerged through a series of data-driven refinements and iterations aimed at explaining the relationships between demographic characteristics, the clinical education environment, and self-directed learning readiness (sdlr). initially, the hypothesized model suggested that demographic factors, such as year level and general weighted average (gwa), would directly influence both the clinical education environment and sdlr, with the clinical education environment acting as a mediator between these variables. data were collected from 300 participants, capturing key variables such as perceptions of the clinical education environment (including perceptions of learning, teachers, academic self-perception, and atmosphere) and sdlr (including self-management, desire for learning, and selfcontrol). the first iteration of path analysis tested these relationships, but non-significant paths were removed in subsequent rounds of model specification. through model trimming, year level was found to have a significant, negative direct impact on both the clinical education environment (β = –0.73, p = 0.003) and sdlr (β = –0.70, p = 0.049). this indicated that as students advanced in their year levels, both their perception of the clinical education environment and their readiness for self-directed learning decreased. importantly, the model also revealed an indirect effect of year level on sdlr (β = –0.22, p = 0.036) mediated by the clinical education environment, further suggesting that the declining quality of the clinical environment as students progressed had an additional negative impact on sdlr. the final model highlighted the positive influence of the clinical education environment on sdlr (β = 0.30, p = 0.044), showing that a supportive educational environment could enhance students’ readiness for selfdirected learning, despite the negative influence of year progression. with these relationships established, the model demonstrated that year level accounted for 53.20% of the variance in the clinical education environment, while year level and the clinical education environment together explained 88.50% of the variance in sdlr. this model emerged after refining the initial hypothesis, validating the significant pathways, and trimming nonsignificant ones, ultimately providing a more focused understanding of how year level and clinical education interact to influence self-directed learning readiness. the initial hypotheses are expanded upon by the emerging model, which incorporates empirical data to disclose more intricate interactions between the variables. for example, the model implies that sdlr is more strongly associated with antecedent educational attainment than was previously believed. stewart (2017) has recently discovered that learners with higher educational credentials are more proficient at self-directed learning as a result of their developed critical thinking and problemsolving skills. the emerging model also identified the quality of clinical placements and the availability of simulation-based learning as critical factors that influence sdlr. sdlr is considerably improved by simulation-based education, which offers realistic and engaging learning experiences (fey et al., 2014). the necessity for a more sophisticated strategy to improve sdlr is underscored by the emergent model. educational interventions should be customized to pa ge 67 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(1) 57-70, 2025 the unique demographic characteristics of students, with a particular emphasis on their prior educational achievements. furthermore, the integration of simulationbased learning and the provision of high-quality clinical placements can substantially enhance sdlr. simulationbased learning should be incorporated into the curricula of institutions, and clinical placements should provide supportive and enriching learning experiences (fey et al., 2014; vidal et al., 2020). conclusions the demographic profile revealed that most nursing students were female and maintained consistent academic performance. this highlights the need for teaching strategies that consider gender diversity and support learning in clinical settings. the clinical education environment was generally rated positively, though improvements in student social interaction are recommended to enhance the overall learning experience. nursing students showed a strong readiness for self-directed learning (sdl), indicating the value of incorporating sdl-based activities into the curriculum to develop their independence. the study also found that demographic factors and the clinical environment significantly influence sdl readiness. therefore, continuous monitoring and customized interventions based on students’ year levels are essential. while the original hypothesized model did not fit well with the data, the revised model better reflected the relationship between the clinical environment and sdl readiness. these findings reinforce the importance of creating supportive, student-centered environments and tailoring education strategies to foster 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(2002). becoming a self-regulated learner: an overview. theory into practice, 41(2), 64-70. pa ge 1 pa ge 16 american journal of physical education and health science (ajpehs) kicking beyond the mat: development and validation of taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training tool for sksu student-athletes magno rogelio t.1*, jr. emy a. morbo1 volume 3 issue 2, year 2025 issn: 2992-9679 (online) doi: https://doi.org/10.54536/ajpehs.v3i2.4788 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs article information abstract received: march 20, 2025 accepted: april 21, 2025 published: august 05, 2025 taekwondo training must evolve to align with modern competition standards, yet many student-athletes at sultan kudarat state university (sksu) struggle to adapt to new rule changes and techniques. this study developed and evaluated instructional videos as a supplemental training tool to enhance athletes’ physical performance, particularly in speed, strength endurance, strategy, and technique execution. this study employed a one-group pre-test/post-test research design to assess the impact of instructional videos on sksu taekwondo student-athletes. a total of 48 athletes participated, undergoing a pre-test assessment before training with the instructional video. after a structured intervention period, a post-test was conducted to measure improvements in performance. the instructional videos were evaluated based on content, instructional quality, presentation, technical quality, appropriateness, and usability. data analysis utilized descriptive and inferential statistics to determine the significance of performance differences. findings revealed significantly improved athletes’ speed, strength endurance, strategy, and technical execution after training with the instructional videos. the evaluation of the instructional videos indicated high ratings in content relevance, instructional quality, and usability, confirming their effectiveness as a supplementary training tool. statistical analysis demonstrated a significant difference in pretest and post-test scores, validating the impact of the intervention. the study concluded that instructional videos are an effective supplementary tool for enhancing taekwondo training. their integration into training programs can bridge gaps in skill development, providing athletes with structured guidance to improve performance in competitive settings. further research is recommended to explore their long-term effects and application to other sports disciplines. keywords instructional videos, sksu, student-athletes, taekwondo training 1 sultan kudarat state university, access, ejc montilla, tacurong city, philippines * corresponding author’s e-mail: rogeliomagno@sksu.edu.ph introduction taekwondo, a korean martial art and olympic sport, emphasizes both physical and mental discipline. it consists of kyorugi (full-contact sparring) and poomsae (performance-based techniques). staying updated with rule changes, which occur every four years, is crucial for athletes. however, many student-athletes and coaches struggle to adapt due to a lack of awareness, knowledge, and training resources. according to son et al. (2020), significant rule changes in taekwondo competitions have left many athletes behind. similarly, cho et al. (2020) found that modern techniques favor quick, simple kicks, requiring updated training approaches. the transition from traditional to modern taekwondo poses challenges, particularly in environments with limited instructor availability and training tools. in this regard, instructional videos can bridge this gap, supporting training both inside and outside formal settings (van der meij, 2017). in the philippines, traditional taekwondo training methods often leave athletes underprepared. a study conducted in alaminos city (2022-2023) highlighted athletes’ dissatisfaction with basic movements and sparring training, emphasizing the need for program revisions. similarly, bernal-torres et al. (2020) found that instructional videos enhance technique execution and error correction, making them a valuable tool in skill development. additionally, bueza et al. (2023) demonstrated their effectiveness in improving footwork performance, further reinforcing the potential of videobased learning in sports training. in region xii, particularly in sultan kudarat, sultan kudarat state university (sksu) has been one of the top-performing schools, excelling in taekwondo at the annual mindanao association of state and tertiary schools (masts) competition in 2017 (falle, 2017). the university consistently accumulated a high number of medals and represented region xii in the state colleges and universities athletic association (scuaa) (ibot, 2017). however, in recent masts competitions, sksu lost its competitive edge and has yet to recover (usman, 2023). notably, there are no existing studies on the use of instructional videos as a supplementary training tool to enhance and strengthen the physical performance of athletes at sultan kudarat state university. thus, this study aimed to develop an instructional video as a supplemental training tool for student-athletes at sultan kudarat state university. specifically, it sought to train student-athletes to strengthen and enhance their physical and taekwondo performance while supporting the university in achieving its goal of regaining its status as a leading institution in sports, particularly in taekwondo. pa ge 17 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 literature review quality and effectiveness of instructional videos content quality content quality in instructional materials must align with current practices and be structured to reinforce skill acquisition. according to mayer and fiorella (2020), content that is relevant and practical supports students in connecting theory to practice, enhancing the real-world applicability of their learning. high-quality instructional videos should present accurate, relevant, and wellstructured content that aligns with learning objectives. schooley et al. (2022) emphasize the importance of including clear learning objectives and reliable sources in instructional videos to enhance content quality. navarrete et al. (2023) highlight that content should be aligned with learners’ needs and instructional goals to ensure effectiveness. min et al. (2024) discuss the significance of incorporating authentic assessment strategies in instructional videos, suggesting that content should be relevant and applicable to real-world scenarios. in the context of sksu taekwondo videos, ensuring content that reflects modern scoring systems and techniques is critical for providing student-athletes with practical, upto-date information. instructional quality effective instructional videos employ sound educational design principles to facilitate learning. schooley et al. (2022) developed the instructional video quality checklist (ivqc), which includes items related to educational design, such as the inclusion of learning objectives and adherence to multimedia principles, to enhance instructional quality. navarrete et al. (2023) emphasize the importance of instructional design in video-based learning, highlighting that well-designed videos can significantly enhance learning outcomes. min et al. (2024) suggest that incorporating perceptual video quality assessment can improve instructional quality by aligning teaching methods with real-world applications. presentation effective presentation is another crucial factor, as it helps reduce cognitive load and allows learners to focus on the material. clark and mayer (2020) suggest that multimedia learning should use clear visuals and wellpaced audio to aid comprehension and retention. the presentation of instructional videos encompasses the organization and delivery of content, including visual and auditory elements. schooley et al. (2022) highlight the importance of adhering to multimedia principles, such as coherence and signaling, to improve the presentation quality of instructional videos. navarrete et al. (2023) found that visual and audio features play a crucial role in the effectiveness of video-based learning, emphasizing the need for clear and engaging presentation. min et al. (2024) suggest that incorporating perceptual video quality assessment can enhance presentation by making the content more engaging and relevant to learners. this approach supports the design of taekwondo instructional videos by ensuring that demonstrations and explanations are clear and engaging, enabling sksu student-athletes to better understand and practice techniques. technical quality technical quality pertains to the production aspects of the video, including clarity of visuals and audio, editing, and overall professionalism. schooley et al. (2022) include multimedia principle adherence in their ivqc, which encompasses technical quality aspects crucial for effective learning. min et al. (2024) emphasize that high-quality video requires clear visuals and audio to be effective in improving learning outcomes. navarrete et al. (2023) note that incorporating appropriate visual and audio features in instructional videos can enhance technical quality by providing realistic and relatable scenarios for learners. appropriateness appropriateness refers to how well the video content matches the learners’ needs, considering factors like cultural relevance and alignment with learners’ skill levels. navarrete et al. (2023) emphasize the importance of developing instructional strategies that ensure the content is relevant and engaging for students. min et al. (2024) highlight that tailored video content can address individual learner needs, enhancing the appropriateness of the instructional material. schooley et al. (2022) suggest that including alternative language translations and accessibility features can improve the appropriateness of instructional videos for diverse learner populations. consistency across instructional materials contributes to a coherent learning experience by reducing distractions and helping students internalize concepts more effectively. zhang and koehler (2021) found that maintaining consistent language, structure, and design in educational videos fosters a stable learning environment, promoting knowledge retention. this is particularly relevant for sksu taekwondo videos, where consistency in terminology, demonstrations, and techniques will help student-athletes build a solid foundation in taekwondo practices. in instructional design, clearly defined objectives are essential for guiding learners effectively, as they help students understand what they are expected to achieve. heinich et al. (2019) emphasize that instructional videos with specific objectives enable focused learning, helping students retain critical skills more effectively. these findings underscore the importance of integrating clearly defined objectives in sksu’s taekwondo instructional videos to ensure student-athletes can focus on specific skill development goals in each training module. usability usability, or the ease with which users can navigate and interact with instructional content, directly impacts learning effectiveness. reeves and oh (2018) assert that educational videos must be intuitive and accessible, as usability barriers can distract learners and reduce pa ge 18 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 engagement. usability involves the ease with which learners can access and navigate the instructional videos. schooley et al. (2022) found that usability is a critical component in the effectiveness of instructional videos, highlighting the need for materials that are easy to follow and understand. navarrete et al. (2023) emphasize that user-friendly video interfaces can enhance learning outcomes in video-based training. min et al. (2024) suggest that incorporating perceptual video quality assessment can improve usability by making the content more relatable and easier to apply in real-world scenarios. for sksu’s taekwondo videos, high usability will help student-athletes easily access and review material, supporting their ability to engage in independent learning and practice. physical performance of taekwondo student-athletes there is a widespread belief that sleep is a component of the recovery process that occurs after training, and it is a vital component of the athlete’s effort to retain control and monitoring of their ongoing training. still in its infancy, the study that provides evidence in favor of the idea that sleep is connected to athletic performance is taking shape. accordingly, vargas and jiménez (2020) conducted research in which they explored the connection between the quantity of sleep that athletes obtain and the level of physical performance that they exhibit for themselves. they were able to accomplish this by monitoring taekwondo players at universities while they were participating in a training macrocycle (park et al., 2022). the physical performance measures that were utilized included the kicking movement time, the kicking reaction time, the muscular strength, and the squat jump, the countermovement leap, the drop jump, and the arm countermovement jump. all dependent variables were evaluated before training, at the end of the first mesocycle, and twice a week throughout the period of tapering that lasted for three weeks. applicably, accelerometry was employed to record the efficiency of sleep, and all dependent variables were evaluated. in addition, according to charest et al. (2020), insufficient sleep duration and poor sleep quality are associated with declines in explosive power and reaction time in taekwondo athletes, emphasizing the need for sleep monitoring as part of high-performance training programs. in agreement with gaamouri et al. (2019), da silva santos et al. (2020), and ojeda-aravena et al. (2021), taekwondo is a combat sport that is characterized as an activity that is of an intermittent nature, of high physiological intensity, and with motor actions that are accomplished at high speed, mostly using the lower limbs. suitably, a group of scholars who had previously performed study on the topic came to the conclusion that this categorization should be used. in order to participate in taekwondo, athletes are needed to demonstrate a high level of proficiency in a number of different aspects of physical fitness. in addition to aerobic and anaerobic power, muscular strength and power, flexibility, speed, and agility are other traits that fall under this category. henceforth, the competition in taekwondo is defined by the fact that it is highly specialized and that it sets strict demands on both the physical and physiological components of the athlete. in addition, the competition is characterized by the fact that it is very competitive. punching, precise unipedal standing and leaping kicks, and defensive moves with hands and feet (cuts, blocks) are some of the strong motions that fighters utilize in taekwondo to attack and counterattack their opponent’s body and head. taekwondo is a martial art that was developed in korea. according to menescardi et al. (2019), da silva santos et al. (2020), and janowski et al. (2020) taekwondo provide a series of exercises that comprise fast displacement linked by a variety of dodges with change-of-direction (cod). these maneuvers are carried out across a 16 m2 space. according to the findings of a study that was conducted by chaabene et al. (2020), participants in striking combat sports are required to exhibit a crucial physical characteristic known as cod speed. this speed refers to the power to change directions in a short period of time. it is necessary for taekwondo fighters to be able to accelerate, decelerate, and swiftly change direction in order to attack or repose all during the course of the battle. additionally, they need to be able to place themselves in an advantageous circumstance with regard to their opponent in order to perform a variety of strikes (punches and kicks) with the appropriate speed and precision utilizing both sides of their body (ojeda-aravena et al., 2020). this is necessary in order for them to be able to execute these blows. based on kwok and cheung (2023), it is often accepted that taekwondo gained its reputation for the extensive variety of striking techniques that it has, and that this continues to be the case even in contemporary world. the use of instructional videos in sports training several publications and researchers have conducted a great number of studies to investigate the efficacy of instructional movies in a variety of sports settings. research conducted by elyakim et al. (2019) indicated that video-based training has the potential to increase performance and technical abilities in any sports discipline. these abilities are essential in every facet of life, including the job, and they are essential. students may also benefit from partaking in physical exercise since it can assist them in developing their social skills and in making new acquaintances (llego, 2022). in contrast, concerns have been raised and confusion has been prompted regarding the applications, effectiveness, expectations, experiences, and outcomes related to these distance-based materials and teaching (dos santos, 2019, 2020; espino et al., 2020). in view of the implementation of computer-aided teaching and learning approaches in the current education system (traditional-age students’ classroom, vocational-based courses, and adult learning), it has caused these issues to arise. among the challenges that are encountered, some of the concerns include the following: (1) students’ inability to access the internet; pa ge 19 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 (2) a shortage of essential devices that are needed for online learning; and (3) instructors’ inadequate technical capability to manage online classrooms (tumbokon & lantajo, 2024). furthermore, the concerns and problems that were experienced in the e-learning platform were felt twice as strongly by both the students and the instructors who were registered for the physical education classes. in addition, according to the research conducted by apriyanto and adi (2021), the epidemic has caused a shift in the routines that pupils follow among themselves. students also show a significant amount of interest in the utilization of certain forms of internet media that are used by teachers. according to bueza et al. (2023), learners are also interested in the strategy that is associated with the use of online learning techniques. the adoption of the audio-visual technique of teaching became the most convenient and suitable strategy employed by instructors in light of the scenario brought about by the pandemic. in particular, this is due to the fact that video lessons can be stopped, replayed, and played in slow motion (athmika & athmika, 2023). conferring to yu and jee (2021), learners have also claimed that the most effective way for studying physical education and sports is to follow instructional videos. the use of both demonstration and instructional materials in the process of instructing athletes in physical education is thus the most effective method for enhancing both teaching and learning (alnajdi, 2019). the beginning of the covid-19 epidemic has brought to light the relevance of video-based electronic learning, often known as e-learning, in the context of physical education lessons. as a result of the constraints imposed by the epidemic, physical education instructors have resorted to having their classes delivered via the use of instructional dvds (aguinaldo, 2021). meanwhile, it is abundantly clear that technology makes it feasible to teach dual sports via the use of e-learning videos (go, 2020). the employment of technology has been shown to increase physical education and athletic performance, according to the findings of a study that was conducted by muhammad (2023). even if there are a number of drawbacks associated with e-learning, such as the high cost of technical infrastructure, the absence of human connection, and the doubtful efficacy of learning, it is still possible to utilize it to enhance learning (diallo, 2022).however, despite the fact that there was evidence of successful utilization of video-based e-learning (i.e., the sports education and training program of the philippine sports institute (psi) created online video lectures to assist its learners), particularly in dual sports, there are still uncertainties regarding the effectiveness of its utilization satumbaga-villar (2021). moreover, according to tagimaucia et al. (2024), conventional physical education instructors are uncertain regarding the efficacy of using instructional films in the delivery of their lectures. permitting to the instructors’ own observations, the students were unable to complete their performance assignments in an accurate manner since they did not get timely feedback and were not given the option to have their children corrected. as a result, the teachers are concerned that they will not be able to assist students in achieving self-mastery, competence, and self-confidence in terms of developing and demonstrating skills in their respective fields of expertise. this is the primary objective of physical education, as stated in republic act no. 5708, article xiv section 19 of the constitution of 1987, and cmo no. 18, section 2017. in light of this, it is necessary to undertake study in order to investigate the efficiency of the video-based e-learning system that is used in the nation. according to go (2020), there is a demand for research that would provide educators with information that would enlighten them about the construction of new standards and instructional practices that are adaptable to the changing times. according to katzman and stanton (2020), students in the lowest classes of the nation were feeling the pressure to entirely avoid attending online courses since they were having trouble catching up on lectures that they had missed via online classes. every single one of the instructors’ individual methods to teaching was suffocated by this new norm. since the very first day of school, the majority of students have been forced to depend on a method of trial and error in order to construct effective methods and discover the most effective means of delivering their respective classes and physical activities (perez et al., 2022). online taekwondo and physical education teaching online taekwondo were mostly used by trainers and coaches during the pandemic, according to mihaylov (2021), the covid-19 pandemic significantly disrupted traditional taekwondo training and education, prompting the adoption of interactive online methods to maintain athlete engagement and skill development. his study revealed that while many taekwondo practitioners adapted to digital platforms, the number of active students declined, largely due to concerns about the virus and the challenges of remote training. according to dos santos (2022) the martial art of taekwondo, which originates in korea, may be divided into three distinct categories, each of which is determined by the rules of the game and the way it is that is why knowledge is necessary. when it comes to winning tournaments, taekwondo competitors must take into consideration a variety of criteria. the physiological, technical, tactical, and strength needs of taekwondo have been researched, and a number of studies have been gathered in order to train in an efficient manner (uh et al., 2024). other studies have also been collected. in order to get optimal results from your workouts, it is essential to combine aerobic exercise with intermittent training and to reduce the amount of time spent resting. the flexibility of the hips and knees may be improved via the use of static stretches and proprioceptive neuromuscular facilitation stretches. additionally, visual training using red and blue lights is indicated for tactical components. due to the fact that pa ge 20 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 taekwondo is a sport that needs competitive sparring that is both severe and full contact, mobile stances, agility, speed, flexibility, and endurance, it is very uncommon for players to have injuries while participating in the sport (ji, 2019).according to the findings of bores-garcía et al. (2024), the researchers conducted an investigation to see if the use of virtual reality-based badminton instruction in the field of physical education may potentially enhance the learning results at the teaching site. the findings demonstrated that teaching badminton in physical education through the use of virtual reality can be effective for learning aspects; nonetheless, it still needs to be improved in a variety of areas, including repeated practice and an understanding of the fundamentals, posture adjustment and mastery of the knack, support for teamwork, and learning prompting. online taekwondo and physical education teaching is beneficial to everybody in enhancing their performance, the study of lee et al. (2021) conducted a randomized controlled study examining the effectiveness of synchronous online physical education classes using tabata training among adolescents during the covid-19 pandemic. their findings demonstrated that real-time online pe sessions significantly improved various aspects of physical fitness, including muscle mass, lower limb strength, and balance, indicating that well-structured virtual programs can support adolescent physical health even in remote learning settings. on the other hand, the findings of the research conducted by zheng et al. (2021) shown that students who participated in blended learning performed better than students who participated in single-type learning in every area. this demonstrates that the suggested strategy is both achievable and successful. a significant and complicated change in viewpoint has been created for educators all around the globe as a result of the incorporation of physical education into the landscape of online teaching. conversely, the rapid closure of educational facilities and the need to preserve social distance forced that physical education instructors (pets) immediately alter their instructional techniques (bozkurt et al., 2020). this was necessary because of the pandemic. the study of dos santos (2021) explored how the shift to online platforms during the covid-19 pandemic affected taekwondo education, particularly from the perspective of parents. using the social cognitive career and motivation theory, the study found that parents were primarily motivated to enroll their children in online martial arts programs to support long-term educational and career goals, regardless of the students’ personal motivation or the outcomes of the programs. for this reason, teacher assessments have been conducted offline up until this point, despite the fact that they are an essential component of the learning process (kánová & pišútová, 2022; tolgfors et al., 2022). the educators, on the other hand, were looking for creative techniques that made use of technology in order to bridge the gap (tan et al., 2021). in a broader sense, it was found by goad et al. (2020) that the use of virtual sessions, livestreamed exercises, and curated fitness applications had a significant impact in supporting the involvement of students in physical activities while they were restricted to their homes. notwithstanding this, there are a few studies that have been conducted to investigate the efficacy of video-based teaching. one such study is the one conducted by ou et al. (2019), which found that there is a need to investigate and identify new design principles for effective video-based learning. thus, this need arises as a result of the rapid advancement of technology and the growing number of students who are taking online courses and relying heavily on video lessons for their education (campos et al., 2022). consequently, the purpose of their research is to determine whether or not e-learning videos are useful for dual sports footwork exercise for students attending bped college. in a similar vein, blegur et al. (2022) discovered that video analysis tools were advantageous for college athletes, as they assisted them in recognizing and rectifying technical flaws that occurred in the sports that they were training themselves for. technology-enhanced training in taekwondo from the start around the turn of the year 2020, several government agencies in south korea and a great number of other nations and areas throughout the world mandated that their educational institutions, regardless of their status or the subject matter they teach, transition to online platforms. on the other hand, practical-based courses, such as martial arts training, may be subject to worries and uncertainty due to the fact that their instructions can only be delivered inperson and via performance-based education. lassoued et al. (2020) suggested that as a result of the pandemic, classes had been moved online in order to avoid the hazards that were associated with attending classes in person. additionally, jelani et al. (2020), the use of virtual reality (vr) and motion capture technologies can significantly enhance self-directed taekwondo training by replicating trainer movements in three-dimensional formats. in addition, petrenko et al. (2020) argued that the applications of delivering vocational courses through online learning prompt problems regarding the tailormade coursework curriculum, effective exchanges between teachers and students, useful interactions between students, and practical exercises with effective comments (freer & evans, 2019). these problems were discovered by petrenko et al. (2020). in a similar manner, training in taekwondo enhanced the cardiovascular endurance, muscular endurance, and power of primary school pupils; however, it did not have a practical or less helpful effect on other aspects of physical fitness (nam & lim, 2019). according to kadri et al. (2019) also studied the practice of taekwondo that has the potential to enhance selective attention in adolescents. this technique, which does not include the use of pharmaceuticals, might be regarded an effective treatment option for combating or counteracting pa ge 21 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 the attention impairment that is associated with persons who have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. in accordance with hanski (2016), who is mentioned in shi (2023), technology assists students in becoming physically active and fit by transforming their sedentary lifestyles into more active lifestyles. correspondingly, williams et al. (2020) conducted research that revealed that high school students had a more favorable attitude about their online learning experience when compared to face-to-face programs. this finding was supported by the findings of those students. in accordance with fernández-batanero et al. (2019), in order to simplify the regulations and norms pertaining to physical education, it is necessary to have an understanding of the technological requirements that instructors of physical education have. in its essence, recognizing the needs of technology may assist instructors of physical education in keeping up with the latest technological advancements that can bring about improvements in their teaching. weng et al. (2019) investigated the impact of multimedia-based teaching materials on junior high school students’ attitudes toward learning taekwondo aerobic and their findings revealed that students with varying learning styles responded positively to multimedia instruction, indicating that such digital approaches can enhance student engagement and learning effectiveness in physical education contexts. additionally, this may assist educators in incorporating technology into their lessons and remaining up-to-date in a society that is increasingly driven by technology. in the words of pangrazi and beighle (2019), the core nature of physical education, which is strongly anchored in physical exercise, team sports, and interactive activities, posed an instant problem in an online learning environment. for this reason, it is essential that instructors be given priority in training programs in order for them to acquire the self-assurance and expertise necessary to instruct physical education utilizing technology (zhou et al., 2021). considering traditional physical education (pe) instruction is often dull, both instructors and students often experience feelings of exhaustion. in addition to this, it does not provide a personalized training plan (rapp, 2020). as a result of the emergence of the new education model known as big data + artificial intelligence + education, the institution started utilizing the sports information service platform for the purpose of data collection and accumulation, thereby offering decision-making guidance for education management (urquiza-fuentes & paredesvelasco, 2017; kuo et al., 2019). when it comes to physical education, motion sensing control technology may be used in the actual training of students to achieve realtime identification of the sense organs and movements of students via the utilization of electronic apparatus. during the procedure, the motions of the user are sent back depending on the motion sensing mode that has been defined. this allows students to have a more intuitive experience with the training (bolgova et al., 2020). consequently, the fast advancement of information technology has resulted in the realization and application of human-computer interaction in a variety of fields, including industry, medicine, the creation of smart cities, and physical exercise (kim et al., 2020). henceforth, human-computer intelligent contact is accomplished during physical activity by the identification of sports objectives using intelligent devices (hou et al., 2019). this interaction is realized through the use of intelligent equipment. furthermore, the system will be able to thoroughly capture the final results of personal training, and via the analysis of large data, it will be able to provide more scientific exercise advice. students’ participation in sports is improved by the physical education programs that are based on somatosensory technology. additionally, this technology allows for numerous individuals to study together and facilitates interactions both online and offline, which increases the amount of fun that can be found in physical education. the study of ma et al. (2021) also support and proves that technology enhanced athletes’ performance where they developed a flexible all-textile dual tactile-tension sensor capable of accurately monitoring athletic motion, including movements in taekwondo. the e-textile demonstrated high durability, broad pressure and deformation sensitivity, and washability, making it highly suitable for real-time performance tracking and training feedback in martial arts. in addition, shin et al. (2024) reviewed the application of artificial intelligence and other fourth industrial revolution technologies in taekwondo. the study emphasized how ai-based motion tracking systems and metaverse coaching platforms could revolutionize training, performance evaluation, and technique analysis in taekwondo. it also highlighted the limitations of manual competition analysis and proposed ai solutions to enhance accuracy and efficiency. instructional videos as a supplemental training approach it is possible for physical educators to make use of technology in order to enhance the skills of athletes and to bring more value to their education. according to soltani and morice (2020), computers are increasingly being used to simulate the dynamics of sporting activities in gaming settings. wearable sensors have also garnered attention over the last few years owing to the fact that they have the potential to monitor the health and fitness of users as well as their surroundings while they are wearing them. the efficacy of various additional training methods in the realm of athletics has been the subject of much research. in their study on the effects of online and blended instruction in physical education on athletic performance, killian et al. (2019) discovered that there were very few learning-related outcomes reported across all of the research. furthermore, ljubojevic et al. (2014) explored the effectiveness of using supplementary video clips in multimedia instruction and found that strategically placed educational videos significantly enhance students’ pa ge 22 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 learning efficiency, motivation, and quality of experience. as noted by asio et al. (2021), the usage of mobile devices has grown widespread among students as a result of its accessibility, ease, and affordability in comparison to other technical equipment. when students were exposed to recorded lectures or edited audio-visual snippets, as opposed to receiving instruction in person, participating in tutorials, or completing reading assignments, study found that students had substantial overall gains in their learning (burt, 2021). in this aspect, there is a positive impact that the e-learning videos have on the students’ comprehension of the fundamental footwork for dual sports competition. furthermore, as evidenced by the significant increase in posttest scores of the participants who indicated having little to no knowledge regarding the fundamentals of playing sports such as badminton and table tennis (ping & liu, 2020), e-learning videos are an effective alternative learning material that can be used to teach the basic concepts of dual sport footwork. in a similar manner, cormier et al. (2020) investigated the advantages that video-assisted training has been applied to physical sports for student-athletes. they came to the conclusion that augmented reality-assisted instruction is more successful than video-assisted instruction. it is becoming more common for universities all around the globe to use online learning, often depending on videos (asynchronous multimedia). concurrently, noetel et al. (2021) discovered that substituting video for the techniques of instruction that were already in place resulted in marginal enhancements to the learning of the students. the use of video into learning was shown to result in significant learning improvements. according to al-samarraie (2019), the findings imply that videos are unlikely to be harmful to student learning and, in most cases, promote student learning. based on the findings of these research, it seems that the use of supplementary training techniques may have a beneficial impact on athletic performance. for that reason, the use of hybrid units by teachers promotes an autonomy-supportive, inclusive, and equitable learning environment. this environment allows all students, regardless of their gender and/or the content focus of the unit, to have opportunities to increase their engagement, enjoyment, and social interactions within physical education lessons (gil-arias et al., 2020). on the other hand, this is the case despite the fact that there are social stereotypes regarding physical activity despite the fact that the results may be susceptible to some experimental and publishing bias. in secondary school physical education, rekik et al. (2019) examined the effects of instructional media (video vs. photographs) showing tactical actions in basketball on learning outcomes (game understanding and game performance), cognitive load (mental effort invested and estimated difficulty), and attitudes. moreover, video was more effective than photos for all indicators. these results suggest that video is best for teaching whole-body tactical maneuvers and have implications for instructional media design. in this thorough aspect, physical educators are finding video analysis useful for training and evaluation. as a result, slow-motion playback, magnification, and voice-over narration are incorporated into cheap mobile devices and apps that instructors may employ to promote student learning (laughlin et al., 2019). also, barnes and mccoy (2023) conducted an empirical study to evaluate the effectiveness of supplemental instructional videos (sivs) in improving student performance in construction education. the study emphasizes the importance of carefully moderating expectations when implementing sivs solely for performance improvement in construction-related courses. in addition, wang et al. (2024) conducted a comprehensive bibliometric review to analyze global trends in digital technology’s influence on education reform and states that the expansion of the internet and other associated technologies has brought about changes in education and society, which have resulted in the introduction of new requirements or expectations for educators. given the inherent difficulties in conceptualizing the successful training and evaluation of physical exercise in an online context, the delivery of online physical education (olpe) has been regarded with skepticism (goad et al., 2019). in a similar vein, videos that are created by instructors in order to satisfy certain learning goals are an element of the revolution in technology-enhanced learning that is now taking place in higher education. the majority of the study that has been conducted on teaching videos has been favorable. additionally, the research has focused on the advantages that teaching videos provide for the students’ experience, as well as the ways in which certain aspects of films might improve learning and achievement (harrison, 2019). speed and dolyo chagi kick speed in taekwondo when it comes to competition, taekwondo is a combat sport that involves strong kicks and forceful motions along with continual contact between opponents and opposing aims (akhmad et al., 2021). taekwondo athletes thus need the elements of leg muscle speed and explosive force. acceleration (changing speed to attain maximum speed) and maintenance (maintaining speed throughout the remaining distance) are two crucial stages that make up speed, which is the least amount of time required for a person to go a certain distance (aloui et al., 2022). meanwhile, muscles that function at their best in a brief amount of time are known as explosive power, or power (cho et al., 2020). one of the key elements in martial arts winning is speed (podrigalo et al., 2023). in accordance with sabatini, nugraha, and dewi (2019), there are two key components in the context of speed in taekwondo, and those components are the speed of the kick and the agility of the kick. the movement of the thigh and leg that is carried out fast and for a relatively short period of time against the target is a significant factor that determines the speed of taekwondo kicks. in order to be able to unleash a kick or strike at a preset target in the shortest amount of time feasible when pa ge 23 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 the stimulus arrives, a taekwondo athlete has to have a high level of speed. according to jeong et al. (2021), it seems that younger athletes have a harder time with kicking speed and agility. increasing leg muscle strength and dolyo chagi kick speed in taekwondo players was the objective of fajar et al. (2023), who wanted to examine the impact of offering three distinct workout techniques (plyometric, saq, and traning circuit) to the athletes. according to nam and lim (2019), taekwondo is a martial arts sport that has gained worldwide recognition as a sport that has participated in the olympics since the year 2000. taekwondo also originated as a result of mixing several kinds of martial arts that were practiced in korea. in addition, the term taekwondo originates from the korean words tae, which means kicking, kwon, which means punching, and do, which means method. taekwondo may be seen as a kind of self-defense that incorporates the use of punching techniques, leaping kicks, blocks, as well as hand and foot movements. in addition, taekwondo is a kind of martial arts that emphasizes the use of the legs as the primary weapon (wijayanti & hartini, 2021). in addition, the taekwondo sports are presently in a state of great development in indonesia (rasyono, 2021). as part of the sport of taekwondo, one of the kicking methods that is used is called dolyo chagi. moreover, an athlete with powerful and quick leg muscles is likely to be able to strike and outkick his opponent with a powerful kick. young athletes may benefit from plyometric activities to assist increase their lower limbs’ speed and explosive power (fischetti et al., 2019; yuniana et al., 2022; nasrulloh et al., 2021, 2022). it is also well recognized that plyometrics helps young taekwondo competitors perform better (genç & dağlıoğlu, 2021). correspondingly, the training approach known as speed, agility, and quickness (saq) has gained popularity because it helps athletes build fundamental abilities that enable them to become more proficient at quicker speeds and with more accuracy (azmi & kusnanik, 2019). through neuromuscular growth, saq may also enhance the body’s ability to regulate its movements (surawan et al., 2022). furthermore, through neuromuscular retraining, it aims to increase explosive strength and multidirectional motion ability by making movement more efficient. additionally, circuit training is one of the more sophisticated training techniques, therefore it may be used to enhance general physical fitness, which encompasses fundamental biomotor skills (ulfah & walton, 2019). circuit training is characterized by training with a distinct set of exercises at each post that are completed consecutively and in sequence throughout a single round (patah et al., 2021). the explosive power of the leg muscles may be greatly increased by circuit training, especially circuit training that incorporates strength and speed training movements (yuliandra et al., 2020). according to the previously given explanation, it is important to compare three well-liked training methods—plyometric, saq, and circuit training—in order to determine which is best for enhancing the leg power and kick speed of dolyo chagi taekwondo competitors. in consequence, the development of the nevromes berler system is the goal of the saq (speed, agility, quickness) training system, which aims to improve motor abilities and regulate body movements (latip & isyani, 2020). accordingly, saq is a training approach designed to enhance athletes’ strength and speed while also fostering the development of fundamental motor skills (khaleel, 2022). furthermore, it has been shown that six weeks of saq training enhance biomotor speed, agility, and power. it is also known that the saq training approach improves physical fitness levels (subekti et al., 2021). in this manner, a taekwondo athlete’s leg strength and kick speed are crucial to their success (sepriadi & har, 2020). as follows, power is a mix of strength and speed that may be used to taekwondo kicks and other explosive actions (fajrin et al., 2018; suharjana et al., 2020). in the meanwhile, muscular strength determines kick speed (moreira et al., 2019). therefore, in order to perform well while creating taekwondo kicks, leg strength and kick speed need to be increased. strength endurance in taekwondo for taekwondo competitors to maintain high-intensity moves for prolonged periods of time, strength endurance is crucial. according to akbar & pramono (2020) participating in sports is an essential physical activity that may improve human quality and lead to both physical and mental well-being. additionally, ouergui et al., (2020) states that for the accomplishments of his sportsmen, a coach often overlooks factors that contribute to an athlete’s performance because he only expects the best performance from them. furthermore, singh et al., (2019) stated that taekwondo is an unarmed fighting style for self-defense that requires the application of skilled techniques like punching, jump kick, block, dodge, and parry action with hands and feet, an athlete must possess kick speed and agility when competing. moreover, people may be both physically and psychologically healthy by participating in sports, which is a physical activity that is very vital to increase human quality (li et al., 2023). with technology permeating every aspect of contemporary life, it is impossible to separate it from it. technology is advancing quite quickly these days, as seen by the many inventions that have been produced, including sports technology (putra & rusdiana, 2019). developed nations have used technology in the present to assist its athletes’ accomplishments; examples of these nations are the united states, germany, and other developed nations that have achieved success in sports with the usage of technology (giartama et al., 2020). the research by swandana et al. (2021) titled the development of speed and reaction resistance training tools for taekwondo kick speed using pyongyo is one of the pertinent studies that has been conducted. conversely, the study’s findings indicate that the developed tools can be used as speed and reaction resistance training tools for kick speed. pa ge 24 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 more importantly, exercises for core stability have been shown to improve sports performance and lower injury rates. the findings of some research were to look at how young male taekwondo athletes’ balance and performance were affected by six weeks of core stability training (ezadi & hesar, 2021). on the other hand, one of the issues for athletes to practice response speed training is the absence of facilities to develop reaction strength endurance and punches in martial arts in indonesia (rarasti & heri, 2019). furthermore, both the anaerobic and aerobic metabolisms must work hard to support the unique intermittent activity of an official taekwondo bout. research analyzing the energy systems’ contributions during the fictitious match revealed that the oxidative system contributed between 62 and 74% (apollaro et al., 2023). consequently, while broad tests are often used to evaluate players’ endurance in taekwondo, research has concentrated on creating measures unique to the sport. to put it simply, taekwondo competitors’ physical fitness has an impact on their performance. to execute challenging methods and intricate sequences of motions with a high degree of specificity, elite athletes need to be physically fit (liu & jia, 2023). according to khazaei et al. (2023), a taekwondo athlete’s ability to perform well depends on their biomotor skills. the purpose of this research was to examine the effects on the bio-motor capabilities of top female taekwondo competitors after eight weeks of functional training vs classical resistance. at the core of any martial arts training session is the development of physical strength, endurance, and resistance. this is so because fighting requires both resistance and strength (jones, 2023). there is a ground fighting, grappling, striking, kicking, and throwing component in every martial art discipline. different strategies in taekwondo sports taekwondo is well known for its extensive repertoire of striking techniques, which include kicks, punches, and knee strikes, among other body parts. for taekwondo competitors to make wise judgments during competition, strategic thinking is fundamental. combat success depends on the accuracy, force, and speed with which these strategies are used (voysey, 2023). meanwhile, menescardi et al. (2019) used a markov processes study to look at how olympic taekwondo contestants moved in relation to their tactical choices. markov chains aid in giving researchers and coaches pertinent data on how often certain acts occur during a genuine competition, including how frequently they occur and in what sequence. it is advised that while preparing for an actual competition, coaches and players concentrate on these patterns. similar to this, new research on taekwondo training indicates that practicing in an arena improves taekwondo players’ aerobic capacity (ouergui et al., 2021). the effects of detraining brought on by canceling and suspending the training program may cause elite athletes significant stress, frustration, anxiety, and sadness, even though prior research on training cessation showed positive effects on psychological recovery and injury recovery (parm et al., 2021). (toresdahl & asif, 2020). even after brief training breaks (no more than three weeks), athletes may retain adaptations particular to their training. athletes who stop training for extended periods of time—six to eight weeks—show a decline in ideal body composition status and exercise performance adaptations (gavanda et al., 2020). to see more of its essence, taekwondo may be interpreted as martial arts in martial arts books written in ancient times, but in the present day, it can be understood as kung fu or modern martial arts. moreover, taekwondo is associated with the martial arts. an overwhelming number of techniques are proposed by the author in order to address the aforementioned issues, one of which is that the assessment system that is used in taekwondo instruction need to be enhanced (lorås, 2020). consequently, in the context of taekwondo and traditional sports, taekwondo possesses a certain fresh, which ought to be fully reflected in the process of sports training in text, give full play to various students teaching properties of diverse characteristics, and, more importantly, in the process of motion planning, not only to take into consideration the students’ capacity to accept. in addition, the goals of instruction may be specified more precisely, and the depth of the information that is taught outside of class can be increased, which will allow taekwondo to continue to develop and expand in a variety of domains (hyvarinen et al., 2019). as a result, problems such as an imperfect market organization and operation system, an unreasonable competition system, and an imperfect management system of sports teams have been brought to light as a result of the rapid development of the taekwondo league for middle school students (liu & jiang, 2024). these problems have an impact on the competition’s ability to continue to develop in a sustainable manner. herewith, according to howland et al. (2020), the objective of schools is not just to teach a bunch of examination machines, but also to develop kids who are well-rounded and have great knowledge and theoretical skills in addition to having strong physical fitness. accordingly, when it comes to taekwondo, there are not many studies that have been conducted in the past, and even if there are studies that are pertinent, they are based on theoretical study. kyurogi techniques applied in taekwondo performance according to sousa et al. (2024), the majority of effective techniques in taekwondo are strong kicks, which are delivered by striking the opponent’s chest armor or the head. taekwondo is a full contact combat sport for which the majority of methods are successful. sparring, also known as kyorugi, is one of the disciplines that make up taekwondo. there are specific regulations that must be followed in order to prevent injuries and to guarantee that the competition is fair. it is a free-form battle pa ge 25 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 between two persons. according to sportsedtv (2023), the competitors are required to wear body armor that includes a head and trunk protection. this body armor is equipped with electronic sensors that can detect punches and kicks if they are delivered with appropriate power. in addition, sousa et al. (2024) noted that the roundhouse kick is the technique that has been researched the most in the sport of taekwondo. in korean language, the roundhouse kick is referred to as bandal chagui or dollyo chagui and means kick to the chest gear or kick to the helmet gear. conferring to liu et al. (2024), quantifying tkd kicks has been investigated extensively in a laboratory context, but it has been examined only seldom in a free-living environment. when it comes to this particular component, hariadi et al. (2023) discovered that the peta chagi kicking and the punch method (jireugi) are the most effective taekwondo kicking techniques that senior kyourugi athletes, whether male and female, employ to attack during competition. in addition, compared to karate, taekwondo requires a greater amount of kicking, leaping, and spinning, and competitors must utilize their hands as a backup. karate, on the other hand, prioritizes the use of hand assaults, with kicks serving as a backup strategy for athletes. as a result, the majority of their legs remain planted on the ground (li, 2024). based on chang et al. (2022), the proposed reform on the physical education curriculum is a complicated and laborious program that is designed to be systematic. it is mostly comprised of a number of things. the first is the modification of the content of the curriculum. the second step is to improve the organization of the classroom program. in order for student-athletes in many schools to develop a decent ability structure, it is one of the basic conditions that the curriculum must be optimized. research in the taekwondo has generally concentrated on certain parts of athletes’ total technical and tactical abilities, while disregarding other significant topics such as determining how successful athletes get points (jeon & lim, 2024). the scientific literature in this sport has mostly concentrated on the technical and tactical elements of all participants, while ignoring other significant topics such as determining the behavior of athletes who are skilled or successful. according to maneiro et al. (2019), the conduct of a particular player has been analyzed in other sports, such as soccer, in order to determine how well that player performed in various situations. the data on the elements that determine the results of wins and losses is a special area of interest among the information that is generated in the sports industry. in addition to being employed for the purpose of athlete training and game strategies, this information is also utilized for the purpose of providing entertaining material for sports media and spectators (kim et al., 2021). taekwondo, on the other hand, is a sport that involves movements via kicks, fists, and steps. taekwondo is distinguished by activities that range from extreme to moderate in terms of intensity. in the sport of taekwondo, research about winning and losing has been recorded (kim et al., 2021), and a significant amount of effort is being made to improve athlete performance (da silva santos et al., 2019). these findings have been reported by apolloro, moreira, and others with the year 2023. in addition, kim and jeon (2019) have revealed that time motion analysis and notation analysis of taekwondo athletes have been conducted. according to the findings of the research conducted by oh et al. (2022), the implementation of a win-loss system that is based on rounds has resulted in major changes in the administration of scores and the operations of games. these changes are stated to have a direct association with the results of matches. problems of taekwondo in sports training to begin, taekwondo is often considered to be among the most significant athletic activities that humans participate in. in addition to being a component of human existence, it functions as a component of people’s thinking, breathing, and actions. the cultivation of a healthy personality and the development of related self-defense methods is another protective behavior that is associated with it (rebelo et al., 2021). according to kudinova et al. (2021), taekwondo may be characterized as a meaningful lifestyle and sport for some individuals who participate in it. second, an additional kind of martial art is taekwondo. the majority of the time, martial arts are not merely a means of self-defense or everyday fighting that is onesided; rather, they symbolize a spirit and sentiments. according to rico-gonzález et al.’s (2020) research from 2020, taekwondo is a kind of martial arts that can readily dismantle an assault from an adversary without the need of any weapons in the game. being able to defend oneself is a skill that is essential and essential for both boys and girls in today’s culture. based on al-abdouh et al. (2020), taekwondo is a system and technique that teaches individuals how to defend themselves against assaults from the opponent by training and engaging in high mental stimulation. many of the major problems in the analysis of the reasons for the non-acceptance of the various groups in the survey results lie in the fact that the reason why taekwondo is not accepted in schools is because they do not know what taekwondo is and what the role of this sport is. this is something that can be discerned from the findings of garcía-hermoso et al. (2020). nearly ten years have passed since china began to emphasize the importance of great education, and sports are no longer only for the purpose of displaying talent. according to hurst et al. (2019), many various kinds of sports are emerging like a spring shower. this trend is expected to continue. as a result, taekwondo is not an exception. nevertheless, due to the fact that taekwondo is a new and new activity, there is a lack of professionalism in the instruction of taekwondo as a sport in countries, notably in china, and there is a situation of taekwondo instructors having several occupations (giusti et al., 2020). as a result, even if the corresponding taekwondo pa ge 26 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 instruction is carried out in the society or in schools, students are unable to effectively strengthen their own training effect in the learning process. in addition, they do not have a specific reference, and they do not have a way to determine which level they actually reach (gosselin et al., 2020). this is because teachers have limited abilities. as a consequence of the fact that taekwondo is meant to be an athletic course, many instructors focus only on the instruction of physical techniques in the classroom and disregard the significance of theoretical knowledge. according to marcelo et al.’s research from 2020, it is very challenging for students to comprehend taekwondo in a practical sense without incorporating it with theory. this is on top of the fact that it is difficult for them to comprehend the history of taekwondo and the movement skills that match to it. subsequently, the absence of theoretical information transfer in the process of teaching leads to a lack of love for taekwondo in the learning process. this lack of love for taekwondo is basically a lack of growth of the martial arts spirit, and as a result, the pupils go from having a passing fancy to having an avoidance mindset. according to tibebu et al.’s research from 2020, students are left with nothing but bewilderment and anxiety for the rest of their life as a result of the difficulties of attempting to learn taekwondo, which is deeper than the sensation of achievement. as a result, there is a problem with boosting their desire. as shown in chaabene et al. (2020), all of these issues are brought about by the fact that instructors do not provide students with an in-depth instruction of theoretical knowledge throughout the teaching and learning process. according to marcelo et al.’s research from 2020, it is very challenging for students to comprehend taekwondo. in the course of learning taekwondo, a lack of enthusiasm for the sport is a result of the absence of theoretical knowledge transmission that occurs throughout the training process. it is essentially a lack of development of the martial arts spirit that is causing this lack of passion for taekwondo, and the students move from having a passing fancy to having an avoidance attitude. the findings of a study that was conducted by tibebu et al. (2020) indicate that pupils are left with nothing but confusion and worry for the rest of their lives as a consequence of the challenges that they face while trying to learn taekwondo. this is a more profound than the feeling of accomplishment that they experience. the consequence of this is that there is a difficulty with increasing their desire. as shown by chaabene et al. (2020), all of these problems are brought about by the fact that teachers do not give students with an in-depth instruction of theoretical knowledge throughout the whole process of teaching and learning from beginning to end. material and methods research design the effectiveness of the instructional video, alongside the physical and taekwondo performance of sultan kudarat state university student-athletes, was assessed using a quantitative approach. this involved examining the quality of the developed instructional videos based on content, instructional quality presentation, technical quality, appropriateness, and usability. also, key physical and taekwondo performance indicators such as strategy and technique execution, speed, and strength endurance, which were analyzed using appropriate statistical methods. to systematically evaluate these aspects, the study employed a one-group pre-test/post-test design, where the dependent variable was measured before and after the intervention (creswell, 2015). to collect data, the researcher focused on a single group, utilizing athletes’ raw test scores from both a pre-test and post-test to measure performance improvements. the pre-test was administered before the athletes viewed the instructional video. during pre-test, the researcher assessed their physical performance and rated individually, then gave them enough time to watch it again for multiple times for them to replicate and digest the video and by these they will truly understand how new changes apply in this performance. post-test followed the training period in which they used the video as a supplemental tool, they were assessed through combat to evaluate their taekwondo performance which allowing for a direct comparison of performance levels. locale of the study the study was conducted at sultan kudarat state university (sksu), access campus, isulan campus and tacurong campus. the sksu taekwondo athletes were specifically chosen as respondents due to their historically low performance in the recent mindanao association of state and tertiary schools (masts) competition. this underperformance highlights the need for innovative training methods to improve their competitive edge. the researcher identified this gap, making these athletes ideal participants for the study, which seeks to enhance their skills through the development and validation of supplemental instructional videos. respondents of the study the respondents of this study comprised the entire population of sixteen (16) taekwondo kyorugi athletes from sultan kudarat state university (sksu) from access, isulan campus and tacurong campus which total into 48 sksu taekwondo student-athletes. this study developed and evaluated instructional videos designed to enhance and strengthen the training effectiveness and level of physical and taekwondo performance of sksu’s taekwondo athletes. the decision to include all 48 athletes as respondents was carefully deliberated to ensure comprehensive participation and to capture a wide range of perspectives within the sksu taekwondo program and these campuses are one of the providers of qualified players to represent sksu in higher competitions like mindanao association of state and tertiary schools (masts). sampling technique in this study, the researcher used total population sampling, also referred to as total enumeration sampling. total population sampling is a type of purposive sampling that pa ge 27 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 involves searching the entire population for people who share a particular set of traits (laerd, 2015). this sampling method is highly cost-effective and time-efficient as researchers select respondents specifically for the study. more information can be obtained by obtaining data from the entire population than by conducting a limited sample. furthermore, this method is particularly useful in studies involving small and specialized populations where every member possesses critical traits necessary for the research objectives (sharma & bhattarai, 2024). unlike random sampling, tps ensures that all eligible participants are included, leading to a comprehensive understanding of the research subject. one of the primary advantages of tps is its ability to capture detailed and representative data, as it eliminates selection bias that may arise from sampling a subset of the population (borromeo & maligalig, 2022). since the entire population is studied, findings can be more generalizable to that specific group. additionally, tps is a cost-effective and time-efficient approach, especially when the target population is small and easily accessible. researchers can gain deeper insights by analyzing data from all individuals who meet the study’s inclusion criteria, thereby strengthening the reliability and validity of the results. research instrument in this study, the researcher developed a comprehensive instructional video focusing on taekwondo basic kicks, techniques and strategies and was evaluated based on content, instructional quality presentation, technical quality, appropriateness, and usability designed to function as a supplemental training tool for athletes. the video aimed to enhance the learning experience by incorporating structured lessons that covered both fundamental and advanced taekwondo movements. specifically, the content included essential taekwondo skills such as speed, strength endurance, strategy and techniques. additionally, advanced training segments addressed high-performance techniques, tactical strategies, and methods to improve key athletic components such as speed, strength endurance, and adaptability in competition. the video also integrated insights on how to effectively utilize the latest advancements in competitive taekwondo. to ensure clarity and accuracy, the researcher— who possesses expertise in taekwondo—personally demonstrated and performed each skill and technique featured in the video. after the video was produced, it underwent a rigorous validation process conducted by a panel of experts. this panel included physical education instructors with a master of arts in teaching physical education, experienced taekwondo trainers, certified instructors, black belt practitioners, and members of the philippine taekwondo association (pta). the researcher used an adopted and researcher made. data gathering procedure in this study, the researcher conducted and undergo the following process in gathering the data. the procedure is shown in the flowchart (figure 3). the first step involves sending a formal letter of permission to the graduate school, requesting approval for the study from the dean. to ensure the developed instructional video was grounded in best practices and supported by expert insights, the researcher engage with taekwondo head instructors and trainers. these experts evaluated the supplemental video, assess its alignment with current trends in new school training and competition, and provide recommendations for improvement. after the supplemental video was evaluated and finalized, pilot test was conducted to know the quality of the developed instructional video as a supplemental training tool for sksu student-athletes. then a pre-test was conducted among the participating athletes. with the pre-test complete and adjustments made based on expert feedback, the supplemental video was implemented. after the completion of the process, the post-test conducted to measure any improvements or changes in the athletes’ skills and performance. the final step involves analyzing the data collected from the preand post-tests. the researcher interprets the results to determine the effectiveness of the supplemental video. statistical methods were used to identify any significant improvements in performance, and the findings were documented for future reference. statistical treatment in analyzing the data, the following statistical tools were utilized. in problem 1, mean was used to measure the level the quality of the evaluated developed taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training approach. for problem 2 and 3, mean was also used to measure the level of physical performance in the taekwondo kyurogi. for problem 4, z-test was applied calculate the significant difference between the pre-test and post-test results in the physical performance of the respondents. ethical consideration the confidentiality of the participants was ensured, and full permission for participation was obtained. the sufficient and precise information was based on the details provided by the participants. participants’ willingness to take part in this study was taken into consideration without pressure, force, or constraint. all data gathered during the process was kept confidential and used solely for the study. security, confidentiality, and anonymity were ensured by properly gathering, archiving, and distributing research materials. only relevant components gathered were included in the study. evaluations were conducted objectively, avoiding biased information or misleading ideas. research data, along with the privacy of participants, was protected to maintain an adequate level of confidentiality. the transparency of the evaluation ensured that respondents were informed about the topic, except for the specific data gathered. additionally, participants were allowed to withdraw freely without negatively impacting the study. pa ge 28 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 table 1 reveals that the overall mean was 4.64 with standard deviation of 0.57, which was described as excellent. in terms of indicator 1 it has a mean of 4.40 and a standard deviation of 0.55 and can be described as excellent. likewise, indicator 2 has a mean of 4.80 and a standard deviation of 0.45, which can be determined as excellent. also, indicator 3 has a mean of 4.60 with a standard deviation of 0.89, which was described as excellent. in indicator 4, it has a mean of 4.80 with a standard deviation of 0.45, which can be described as excellent. and for indicator 5, it has a mean of 4.60 with a standard deviation of 0.55 which is described as excellent. among all the indicators, indicator 2 and indicator 4 recorded the highest mean score of 4.80, indicating a strong positive reception in these areas. on the other hand, indicator 1 had the lowest mean score of 4.40, suggesting that while it was still rated as excellent, it may require slight improvements compared to the other indicators. content quality in instructional materials must align with current practices and be structured to reinforce skill acquisition. for instance, mayer and fiorella (2020) state that content that is relevant and practical supports students in connecting theory to practice, thereby enhancing the real-world applicability of their learning. similarly, high-quality instructional videos should present accurate, relevant, and well-structured content that aligns with learning objectives. in line with this, schooley et al. (2022) emphasize the importance of including clear learning objectives and reliable sources in instructional videos to enhanced content quality. moreover, navarrete et al. (2023) highlighted that content should be aligned with learners’ needs and instructional goals so as to ensure effectiveness. furthermore, min et al. (2024) discussed the significance of incorporating authentic assessment strategies in instructional videos, suggesting that content should be relevant and applicable to real-world scenarios. specifically, in the context of sksu taekwondo videos, ensuring content that reflects modern scoring systems and techniques is critical for providing student-athletes with practical, up-to-date information. in table 2, it shows that the indicator 1 has a grand table 1: level of quality of the evaluated developed taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training tool for sultan kudarat state university student-athletes in terms of content indicator m sd interpretation 1. the contents comprehensively cover the intended topics and objectives. 4.40 0.55 excellent 2. the contents are factual, precise, and clearly articulated. 4.80 0.45 excellent 3. the topics are well – organized. 4.60 0.89 excellent 4. the contents are appropriate to the ability or level of the intended learners. 4.80 0.45 excellent 5. the contents promote hands-on and performance-based learning activities. 4.60 0.55 excellent total 4.64 0.57 excellent table 2: level of quality of the evaluated developed taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training tool for sultan kudarat state university student-athletes in terms of instructional quality indicator m sd interpretation 1.the material complements and enhances the existing curriculum. 4.40 0.55 excellent 2. the material provides opportunities for collaborative activities and teamwork. 5.00 0.00 excellent 3. the material supports self-paced and autonomous learning. 4.80 0.45 excellent 4. the instructions are concise and easy to follow for learners. 4.80 0.45 excellent 5. the material builds on learners’ prior knowledge and experiences in basic exercises. 4.40 0.55 excellent total 4.68 0.48 excellent mean of 4.68 and a standard deviation of 0.48 and can be described as excellent. likewise, indicator 2 has a mean of 5.00 and a standard deviation of 0, which can be determined as excellent. also, indicator 3 has a mean of 4.80 with a standard deviation of 0.45, which was described as excellent. in indicator 4, it has a mean of 4.80 with a standard deviation of 0.45, which can be described as excellent. and for indicator 5, it has a mean of 4.40 with a standard deviation of 0.55 which is described as excellent. among all the indicators, indicator 2 had the highest mean score of 5.00, indicating a perfect rating and strong agreement among respondents regarding its effectiveness. on the other hand, indicator 5 had the lowest mean score of 4.40, suggesting that while still categorized as excellent, it may require further enhancements to match the higher-rated indicators. effective instructional quality videos employ sound educational design principles to facilitate learning. for example, schooley et al. (2022) developed the instructional video quality checklist (ivqc), which includes items related to educational design, such as the inclusion of learning objectives and adherence to multimedia principles, in order to enhanced instructional quality. similarly, navarrete et al. (2023) emphasized the importance of instructional design in video-based learning, highlighting that well-designed videos can significantly enhance learning outcomes. in addition, min et al. (2024) suggested that incorporating perceptual video quality assessment can improve instructional quality by ensuring that teaching methods aligned with real-world applications. pa ge 29 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 in table 3, it indicates that the overall mean was 4.64 with a standard deviation of 0.49, which was described as excellent. in terms of indicator 1, it has a mean of 4.60 and a standard deviation of 0.55 and can be described as excellent. likewise, indicator 2 has a mean of 4.80 and a standard deviation of 0.45, which can be determined as excellent. also, indicator 3 has a mean of 4.60 with a standard deviation of 0.55, which was described as excellent. in indicator 4, it has a mean of 4.40 with a standard deviation of 0.55, which can be described as excellent. and for indicator 5, it has a mean of 4.80 with a standard deviation of 0. 45, which is described as excellent. among all the indicators, indicator 2 and indicator 5 had the highest mean scores of 4.80, suggesting that these aspects were highly rated by the respondents. on the other hand, indicator 4 had the lowest mean score of 4.40, indicating that while still categorized as excellent, it may have slightly lower effectiveness or satisfaction compared to the other indicators. effective presentation is another crucial factor, as it not only helps reduce cognitive load but also allows learners to focus on the material. for instance, schooley et al. (2022) highlighted the importance of adhering to multimedia principles, such as coherence and signaling, in order to improve the presentation quality of instructional videos. likewise, navarrete et al. (2023) found that visual and audio features play a crucial role in the effectiveness of videobased learning, emphasizing the need for clear and engaging presentation. furthermore, min et al. (2024) suggest that incorporating perceptual video quality assessment can enhance presentation by making the content more engaging and relevant to learners. in this context, this approach supports the design of taekwondo instructional videos by ensuring that demonstrations and explanations are clear and engaging, enabling sksu student-athletes to better understand and practice techniques. table 3: level of quality of the evaluated developed taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training tool for sultan kudarat state university student-athletes in terms of presentation indicator m sd interpretation 1.the presentation was logically sequenced to facilitate understanding. 4.60 0.55 excellent 2. the presenter delivered key points in a clear, engaging, and understandable manner. 4.80 0.45 excellent 3. the presentation provided comprehensive and detailed coverage of the topic. 4.60 0.55 excellent 4. the presentation offered practical knowledge or insights relevant to my work or studies. 4.40 0.55 excellent 5.the presentation effectively conveyed its objectives and learning outcomes. 4.80 0.45 excellent total 4.64 0.49 excellent table 4: level of quality of the evaluated developed taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training tool for sultan kudarat state university student-athletes in terms of technical quality indicator m sd interpretation 1. the instructional video features intuitive navigation for seamless use. 4.60 0.55 excellent 2. the video operates smoothly, with minimal buffering or delays. 4.60 0.55 excellent 3. the instructional video supports independent use through intuitive design. 4.40 0.55 excellent 4. the video resolution enhances clarity and visual quality for users. 4.80 0.45 excellent 5. the audio quality is clear and aids in comprehension. 4.80 0.45 excellent total 4.64 0.49 excellent in table 4, it reveals that the overall mean was 4.64 with a standard deviation of 0.49, which was described as excellent. in terms of indicator 1, it has a mean of 4.60 and a standard deviation of 0.55 and can be described as excellent. likewise, indicator 2 has a mean of 4.60 and a standard deviation of 0.55, which can be described as excellent. also, indicator 3 has a mean of 4.40 with a standard deviation of 0.55, which was described as excellent. in indicator 4, it has a mean of 4.80 with a standard deviation of 0.45, which can be described as excellent. and for the indicator 5, it has a mean of 4.80 with a standard deviation of 0.45, which is described as excellent. among all the indicators, indicators 4 and 5 had the highest mean scores of 4.80, indicating that these aspects were the most positively evaluated by the respondents. on the other hand, indicator 3 had the lowest mean score of 4.40, suggesting that while still excellent, it may require slight improvements compared to the other indicators. technical quality pertains to the production aspects of the video, including clarity of visuals and audio, editing, and overall professionalism. for example, schooley et al. (2022) include multimedia principle adherence in their ivqc, which encompasses technical quality aspects that are crucial for effective learning. similarly, min et al. (2024) emphasize that high-quality video requires clear visuals and audio so as to be effective in improving learning outcomes. moreover, navarrete et al. (2023) note that incorporating appropriate visual and audio features in instructional videos can enhance technical quality by providing realistic and relatable scenarios for learners. pa ge 30 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 in table 5, it indicates that the overall mean is 4.72 with a standard deviation of 0.54, which was described as excellent. in terms of indicator 1, it has a mean of 4.80 and a standard deviation of 0.45 and can be described as excellent. likewise, indicator 2 has a mean of 4.80 and a standard deviation of 0.45, which can be determined as excellent. also, indicator 3 has a mean of 4.80 and a standard deviation of 0.45, which was described as excellent. in indicator 4, it has a mean of 4.60 with a standard deviation of 0.89, which can be described as excellent. and for indicator 5, it has a mean of 4.60 with a standard deviation of 0.55, which is described as excellent. appropriateness refers to how well the video content matches the learners’ needs, considering factors like cultural relevance and alignment with learners’ skill levels. in this regard, navarrete et al. (2023) emphasize the importance of developing instructional strategies that ensure the content is relevant and engaging for students. likewise, min et al. (2024) highlight that tailored video content can address individual learner needs, thereby enhancing the appropriateness of the instructional material. additionally, schooley et al. (2022) suggest that including alternative language translations and accessibility features can improve the appropriateness of instructional videos by making them more inclusive for diverse learner populations. table 5: level of quality of the evaluated developed taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training tool for sultan kudarat state university student-athletes in terms of appropriateness indicator m sd interpretation 1. the presentation flow was engaging and suited to the learners’ needs. 4.80 0.45 excellent 2. the presenter explained concepts in a way that was easy to understand. 4.80 0.45 excellent 3. the presentation deepened my understanding of the subject matter. 4.80 0.45 excellent 4. the presentation pacing matched the learners’ ability to follow along. 4.60 0.89 excellent 5.the presentation achieved its objectives and addressed learner expectations. 4.60 0.55 excellent total 4.72 0.54 excellent table 6: level of quality of the evaluated developed taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training tool for sultan kudarat state university student-athletes in terms of usability indicator m sd interpretation 1. the video is intuitive and user-friendly for first-time users. 4.80 0.45 excellent 2. the video provides clear guidance or prompts for navigation. 4.60 0.89 excellent 3. the video layout and interface enhance the learning experience. 4.60 0.55 excellent 4. the video is accessible on various devices (e.g., mobile, tablet, desktop). 4.60 0.55 excellent 5. the video supports diverse learning styles and preferences. 4.40 0.89 excellent total 4.60 0.65 excellent in table 6, it reveals that the overall mean was 4.60 with a standard deviation of 0.65, which was described as excellent. in terms of indicator 1, it has a mean of 4.80 and a standard deviation of 0.45 and can be described as excellent. likewise, indicator 2 has a mean of 4.60 and a standard deviation of 0.89, which can be determined as excellent. also, indicator 3 has a mean 4.60 with a standard deviation of 0.55, which was described as excellent. in indicator 4, it has a mean of 4.60 with a standard deviation of 0.55, which can be described as excellent. and for indicator 5, it has a mean of 4.40 with a standard deviation of 0.89, which is described as excellent. among all the indicators, indicators 1, 2, and 3 had the highest mean scores of 4.80, indicating that these aspects were the most positively evaluated by the respondents. meanwhile, indicators 4 and 5 had the lowest mean scores of 4.60, suggesting that while still excellent, they may have slightly lower levels of agreement or satisfaction compared to the other indicators. usability, or the ease with which users can navigate and interact with instructional content, directly impacts learning effectiveness. for instance, reeves and oh (2018) asserted that educational videos must be intuitive and accessible, as usability barriers can distract learners and reduce engagement. in other words, usability involves the ease with which learners can access and navigate the instructional videos. similarly, schooley et al. (2022) found that usability is a critical component in the effectiveness of instructional videos, highlighting the need for materials that are easy to follow and understand. moreover, navarrete et al. (2023) emphasize that userfriendly video interfaces can enhance learning outcomes in video-based training. furthermore, min et al. (2024) suggested that incorporating perceptual video quality assessment can improve usability by making the content more relatable and easier to apply in real-world scenarios. in the case of sksu’s taekwondo videos, high usability will help student-athletes easily access and review material, thereby supporting their ability to engage in independent learning and practice. pa ge 31 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 table 7 shows the level of quality of the developed taekwondo instructional video in terms of content, instructional quality, presentation, technical quality, appropriateness and usability. as you can observe from the level of quality of developed taekwondo instructional video, the content obtained a mean or average of 4.64 (sd=0.57), which meets 91-100% quality. while the level of quality of developed taekwondo instructional video when it comes to instructional quality obtained a mean or average of 4.68 (sd=0.48), which meets 91-100% quality. the level of quality of developed taekwondo instructional video when it comes to presentation and technical quality obtained a mean or average of 4.64 (sd=0.49), which meets 91-100% quality. the level of quality of developed taekwondo instructional video when it comes to appropriateness obtained a mean or average of 4.72 (sd=0.54), which meets 91-100% quality. and the level of quality of developed taekwondo instructional video when it comes to usability obtained a mean or average of 4.60 (sd=0.65), which meets 91100% quality. among these indicators, appropriateness had the highest mean score of 4.72, suggesting that the instructional video was highly relevant and suitable for its intended audience. on the other hand, usability had the lowest mean score of 4.60, indicating that while still within the excellent range, there may be minor areas for improvement in terms of user-friendliness or ease of application. the result reveals that the level of quality of developed taekwondo instructional video in terms of content, instructional quality, presentation, technical quality, appropriateness and usability has a grand mean of 4.65 with a standard deviation of 0.53, which can be described as perfectly acceptable. min et al. (2024) suggest that incorporating perceptual video quality assessment can improve instructional quality by aligning teaching methods with real-world applications. schooley et al. (2022) developed the instructional video quality checklist (ivqc), which includes items related to educational design, such as the inclusion of learning objectives and adherence to multimedia principles, in order to enhance instructional quality. it is possible for physical educators to make use of technology with in order to enhance the skills of athletes and to bring more value to their education. additionally, min et al. (2024) suggest that incorporating perceptual video quality assessment can improve usability by making the content more relatable and easier to apply in real-world scenarios. for sksu’s taekwondo videos, high usability will help student-athletes easily access and review material, supporting their ability to engage in independent learning and practice. according to soltani and morice (2020), computers are increasingly being used to simulate the dynamics of sporting activities in gaming settings. as noted by asio et al. (2021), the usage of mobile devices has grown widespread among students as a result of its accessibility, ease, and affordability in comparison to other technical equipment. when students were exposed to recorded lectures or edited audio-visual snippets, as opposed to receiving instruction in person, participating in tutorials, or completing reading assignments. also, study found that students had substantial overall gains in their learning (burt, 2021). table 7: summary of the level of quality of the evaluated developed taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training tool for sultan kudarat state university student-athletes in terms of content, instructional quality, presentation, technical quality, appropriateness and usability variables m sd interpretation 1. content 4.64 0.57 excellent 2. instructional quality 4.68 0.48 excellent 3. presentation 4.64 0.49 excellent 4. technical quality 4.64 0.49 excellent 5. appropriateness 4.72 0.54 excellent 6. usability 4.60 0.65 excellent total 4.65 0.53 excellent table 8: level of physical performance of the taekwondo student-athletes of sultan kudarat state university in terms of speed, muscular strength, strategy and techniques variables m sd interpretation 1. speed 2.41 0.51 fairly skilled 2. strength endurance 2.44 0.53 fairly skilled 3. strategy 2.37 0.51 fairly skilled 4. techniques 2.39 0.51 fairly skilled total 2.40 0.52 fairly skilled in table 8, it shows that the grand mean was 2.40 with a standard deviation of 0.52, which was described as fairly skilled. in terms of speed, it has a mean of 2.41 and a standard deviation of 0.51 and can be described as fairly skilled. likewise, strength endurance has a mean of 2.44 pa ge 32 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 and a standard deviation of 0.53, which can be described as fairly skilled. it also demonstrates that the strategy has a mean of 2.37 with a standard deviation of 0.51, which was described as fairly skilled. in addition, the techniques have a mean of 2.39 with a standard deviation of 0.51, which can be described as fairly skilled. the results implied that the physical performance of the sksu taekwondo student-athletes in terms of speed, strength endurance, strategy and techniques is fairly skilled. taekwondo skills are very important when competing sports like martial arts. when it comes to competition, taekwondo is a combat sport that involves strong speed kicks and forceful motions along with continual contact between opponents and opposing aims (akhmad et al., 2021) and for taekwondo competitors to maintain highintensity moves for prolonged periods of time, strength endurance is crucial. additionally, participating in sports is an essential physical activity that may improve human quality and lead to both physical and mental well-being (akbar & pramono, 2020). also, taekwondo is well known for its extensive repertoire of striking techniques, which include kicks, punches, and knee strikes, among other body parts. for taekwondo competitors to make wise judgments during competition, strategic thinking is fundamental. combat success depends on the accuracy, force, and speed with which these strategies are used (voysey, 2023). moreover, research in the taekwondo has generally concentrated on certain parts of athletes’ total technical and tactical abilities, while disregarding other significant topics such as determining how successful athletes get points (jeon & lim, 2024). table 9: level of taekwondo performance of the sultan kudarat state university student-athletes in taekwondo with taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training tool before the intervention variables m sd interpretation 1. speed 2.41 0.51 fairly skilled 2. strength endurance 2.44 0.53 fairly skilled 3. strategy 2.37 0.51 fairly skilled 4. techniques 2.39 0.51 fairly skilled in table 9, it shows that the overall mean was 2.40 with a standard deviation of 0.52, which was described as fairly skilled. in terms of speed, it has a mean of 2.41 and a standard deviation of 0.51 and can be described as fairly skilled. likewise, strength endurance has a mean of 2.44 and a standard deviation of 0.53, which can be described as fairly skilled. it also demonstrates that the strategy has a mean of 2.37 with a standard deviation of 0.51, which was described as fairly skilled. in addition, the techniques have a mean of 2.39 with a standard deviation of 0.51, which can be described as fairly skilled. the results implied that the taekwondo performance of the sksu taekwondo student-athletes before the intervention is fairly skilled. among these indicators, strength endurance had the highest mean score of 2.44, suggesting that student-athletes demonstrated slightly better endurance capabilities compared to other aspects. on the other hand, strategy had the lowest mean score of 2.37, indicating that athletes may need additional training in tactical execution and decision-making during competition. research conducted by elyakim et al. (2019) indicated that video-based training has the potential to increase performance and technical abilities in any sports discipline. these abilities are essential in every facet of life, including the job, and they are essential. they should be adaptable to the fast-changing transitions of sports competition, according to go (2020), there is a demand for research that would provide educators with information that would enlighten them about the construction of new standards and instructional practices that are adaptable to the changing times. the employment of technology has been shown to increase physical education and athletic performance, according to the findings of a study that was conducted by muhammad (2023). table 10: level of taekwondo performance of the sultan kudarat state university student-athletes in taekwondo with taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training tool after the intervention variables m sd interpretation 1. speed 4.00 0.34 skilled 2. strength endurance 4.01 0.52 skilled 3. strategy 4.03 0.57 skilled 4. techniques 4.10 0.49 skilled total 4.04 0.49 skilled table 10, reveals that the post-test was likely to be more effective, with a total overall mean of 4.04 and a standard deviation of 0.49, which was described as skilled. in terms of speed, it has a mean of 4.00 and a standard deviation of 0.34, which is described as skilled. likewise, the strength endurance has a mean of 4.01 and a standard deviation of 0.52, which can be determined as skilled. it also demonstrates that the strategy has a mean of 4.03 and a standard deviation of 0.57, which was described as skilled. in addition, the techniques have pa ge 33 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 a mean of 4.10 with a standard deviation of 0.49, which can be described as skilled. the results implied that the taekwondo performance of the sksu taekwondo student-athletes before the intervention is fairly skilled. among the indicators, techniques had the highest mean score of 4.10, indicating that student-athletes exhibited the most improvement in executing taekwondo techniques. conversely, speed had the lowest mean score of 4.00, suggesting that while improvements were made, additional training may still be needed to enhance reaction time and movement efficiency. instructional videos are effective tool in assisting and improving their understanding and skills when in training and competition. according to the study of cormier et al. (2020) investigated the advantages that video-assisted training has been applied to physical sports for studentathletes. they came to the conclusion that augmented reality-assisted instruction is more successful than videoassisted instructions. also, we can apply instructional videos in training the students if there is less access to instructors and trainers since it is becoming more common for universities all around the globe to use online learning, often depending on videos (asynchronous multimedia). concurrently, noetel et al. (2021) discovered that substituting video for the techniques of instruction that were already in place resulted in marginal enhancements to the learning of the students. the use of video into learning was shown to result in significant learning improvements. according to al-samarraie (2019), the findings imply that videos are unlikely to be harmful to student learning and, in most cases, promote student learning. table 11: the significant difference between the physical performance of sultan kudarat state university studentathletes in taekwondo with taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training tool before and after the intervention n m sd z-computed p-value interpretation before 48 2.40 0.17 -50.00 0.001 significant after 48 4.04 0.15 the table 11, shows results of the z-test that the posttest after using the developed instructional video as a supplemental training tool was likely to be more effective, with a total overall mean of 4.04 and a standard deviation of 0.15, compared to the pre-test, which had a total mean of 2.40 and a standard deviation of 0.17. this significant difference, as indicated by the z-computed value of -50.00 and a p-value of 0.001, confirms that the use of taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training approach had a positive impact on the physical and taekwondo performance of sultan kudarat state university taekwondo student-athletes. furthermore, this study examined the effectiveness of instructional videos in taekwondo as an intervention to enhance the skill level and overall performance of studentathletes. a z-test, a non-parametric statistical test, was employed to determine whether there was a significant difference between the pre-test and post-test results after the intervention. since the results demonstrated a statistically significant improvement, it highlights the effectiveness of video-based learning in sports training in taekwondo. in this study, instructional videos in taekwondo have proven to be an effective supplemental training tool for improving student-athletes’ performance. by providing step-by-step guidance, instructions and visual demonstrations, students have learned new techniques and refined their existing skills application to new school competition and training. videos that break down techniques into specific steps have helped athletes understand proper execution, leading to enhanced overall technique and performance. this supports the idea that video-based training is a valuable tool for skill development in sports education specially in taekwondo. conclusion based on the findings, the following conclusion is hereby formulated: our respondents have a total population of 48 sksu student-athlete. according to the results from the developed instructional video rated by physical education instructors, taekwondo head instructors and member of philippine taekwondo association, the instructional video was having good content, which indicates that the instructional video as a supplemental training tool for sksu stud`ent-athletes meets 91-100% of level of quality and can be used as a supplemental training tool for student athletes training. the quality of the developed instructional video has a descriptive rating of excellent in terms of its content, instructional quality, presentation, technical quality, appropriateness and usability. the results of the physical performance of the respondents in terms of speed, strength endurance, strategy and techniques have a descriptive rating of fairly skilled means that the student athletes have a lack of knowledge in new basic skills and training about the new school taekwondo. likewise, the results of the taekwondo performance of the respondents before the intervention was described as fairly skilled, also revealed that student athletes are at disadvantage when it comes to competition based on their performances. after showing the instructional video to the respondents, the results of the post test can be described as skilled with a grand mean of 4.04. the highest improvement was observed in techniques (m = 4.10), while speed, though improved, had the lowest mean score (m = 4.00), suggesting a need for further training in movement efficiency and reaction time. the z-test results further confirmed the effectiveness of instructional videos, showing a statistically significant difference between pre-test and pa ge 34 https://journals.e-palli.com/home/index.php/ajpehs am. j. phys. educ. health sci. 3(2) 16-41, 2025 post-test scores (z-computed = -50.00, p-value = 0.001) thus, rejects the hypothesis that there is no significant difference between the physical performance of sultan kudarat state university student-athletes in taekwondo with taekwondo instructional videos as a supplemental training approach in their pre-test and post-test results. this indicates that video-based training played a crucial role in enhancing the student-athletes’ skills and overall performance. references aguinaldo, j. c. 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