Consensus in Action: Context-Specific Physical Activity Guidelines for Undergraduate Students at a South African University.

Journal: International journal of environmental research and public health

Volume: 21

Issue: 12

Year of Publication: 2025

Affiliated Institutions:  Department of Sports, Recreation, and Exercise Science, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town , South Africa. Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies of Children, Families and Society, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town , South Africa.

Abstract summary 

Physical inactivity among undergraduate university students has been considered a public health concern. To address this, researchers have utilized consensus workshop approaches to develop effective physical activity (PA) recommendations. However, the existing research has limitations: it is outdated, not context-specific to young adults, and does not account for psychosocial factors (such as mental health, motivation, and social support) that hinder or promote PA behavior, particularly in South Africa. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to engage with stakeholders to achieve a consensus on a set of context-specific guidelines to enhance the physical activities of undergraduate university students. Utilizing the Social Ecological Model, this study employed two online consensus workshops with 25 purposively selected stakeholders (Round 1 = 8 and Round 2 = 17). Stakeholders were divided into breakout rooms via the Google Meets feature, to discuss and brainstorm the guidelines, expressing their agreement or disagreement with the proposed names and descriptions. The consensus was considered achieved when the majority of stakeholder responses fell into the 'Agree with the guideline' category. An inductive thematic analysis approach was used to generate common themes, which were then coded via Atlas Ti. V8. Stakeholders reached a consensus on four categories and 32 guidelines, namely, PA (9 guidelines), mental health (7 guidelines), motivation (9 guidelines), and social support (7 guidelines). Each category, along with its respective set of guidelines, provides insights into the type of information undergraduate students require to enhance their PA participation. Using a consensus workshop facilitated the co-creation of context-specific guidelines to enhance the physical activities of undergraduate university students. This approach proved to be a valuable tool for fostering collaboration between academic staff and students.

Authors & Co-authors:  Johannes Chanté C Roman Nicolette V NV Onagbiye Sunday O SO Titus Simone S Leach Lloyd L LL

Study Outcome 

Source Link: Visit source

Statistics
Citations :  Bauman A.E., Reis R.S., Sallis J.F., Wells J.C., Loos R.J.F., Martin B.W., Lancet Physical Activity Series Working Group Correlates of physical activity: Why are some people physically active and others not? Lancet. 2012;380:258–271. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(12)60735-1.
Authors :  5
Identifiers
Doi : 1651
SSN : 1660-4601
Study Population
Male,Female
Mesh Terms
South Africa
Other Terms
South Africa;consensus workshop;context-specific;guidelines;physical activity;undergraduate;university students
Study Design
Study Approach
Country of Study
South Africa
Publication Country
Switzerland