Impact of a Structured Wellness Program on Perceived Physical Wellness
Location
Center for Advanced Learning and Simulation (CALS)
Publication Date
April 2025
Start Date
17-4-2025 8:00 AM
Description
Physical wellness encompasses an individual’s physical health and health-related behaviors (Williams et al., 2011). Physical activity has been linked to improvements in quality of life, mental health, and overall well-being (Gualdi-Russo & Zaccagni, 2021). Structured programs can provide both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for improving wellness by cultivating community and support, encouraging competition, and allowing the opportunity to experience satisfaction with individual performance (Sebire et al., 2009; Courtemanche et al., 2021; Carter & Alexander, 2019; Pickett et al., 2016). This survey-based study aims to examine whether the structured three-week wellness program at LSUHSC increases physical wellness. Pre and post participation, we measured six dimensions of perceived wellness using the Perceived Wellness Scale (PWS). Participants tracked their progress across five wellness activities. Participant satisfaction was assessed using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ). Results showed that participants reported their physical wellness activities positively impacted their overall wellness with 80.3% of participants reporting engagement in physical activities during the wellness challenge. However, we did not find a statistically significant increase in overall PWS wellness scores for individuals who reported higher participation in physical wellness activities. In addition, we found that 77.5% of participants reported that co-workers and friends inspired their participation in the wellness challenge. In conclusion, the authors propose that the participants in the wellness challenge already regularly engaged in physical activity prior to starting the program which impacted the overall wellness PWS scores. Based on participants’ response to inspiration, authors propose that various intrinsic and extrinsic factors played a role in participants’ motivation to take on the challenge.
Recommended Citation
Smeltzer, Ashlyn; Shapiro, Mary; Le, Viet; Embley, Scott; and Bishop-Baier, "Impact of a Structured Wellness Program on Perceived Physical Wellness" (2025). Dept. of Psychiatry Research Symposium. 17.
https://digitalscholar.lsuhsc.edu/psych_rd/2025/presentations/17
Impact of a Structured Wellness Program on Perceived Physical Wellness
Center for Advanced Learning and Simulation (CALS)
Physical wellness encompasses an individual’s physical health and health-related behaviors (Williams et al., 2011). Physical activity has been linked to improvements in quality of life, mental health, and overall well-being (Gualdi-Russo & Zaccagni, 2021). Structured programs can provide both intrinsic and extrinsic motivators for improving wellness by cultivating community and support, encouraging competition, and allowing the opportunity to experience satisfaction with individual performance (Sebire et al., 2009; Courtemanche et al., 2021; Carter & Alexander, 2019; Pickett et al., 2016). This survey-based study aims to examine whether the structured three-week wellness program at LSUHSC increases physical wellness. Pre and post participation, we measured six dimensions of perceived wellness using the Perceived Wellness Scale (PWS). Participants tracked their progress across five wellness activities. Participant satisfaction was assessed using the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ). Results showed that participants reported their physical wellness activities positively impacted their overall wellness with 80.3% of participants reporting engagement in physical activities during the wellness challenge. However, we did not find a statistically significant increase in overall PWS wellness scores for individuals who reported higher participation in physical wellness activities. In addition, we found that 77.5% of participants reported that co-workers and friends inspired their participation in the wellness challenge. In conclusion, the authors propose that the participants in the wellness challenge already regularly engaged in physical activity prior to starting the program which impacted the overall wellness PWS scores. Based on participants’ response to inspiration, authors propose that various intrinsic and extrinsic factors played a role in participants’ motivation to take on the challenge.