Exercise is Medicine™ (EiM) on campus targets physical activity (PA) participation on college campuses. Limited research has addressed how PA initiatives can be operationalized on college campuses.
Purpose: To describe the implementation of EiM on a large U.S. university campus and present preliminary outcomes on participation and awareness.
Methods: EiM week was implemented on a large university campus. Exercise stations were set-up at campus locations to encourage brief bouts of PA and educate about the benefits of PA. Evaluation included observations of participation, surveys, and intercept surveys to assess awareness and reach.
Results: EiM week was implemented during Fall 2013. Exercise stations elicited 1771 exercise bouts from participants. Surveys indicated widespread reach across the university (13 of 17 colleges); most students (50.8%) became aware of the EiM campaign by passing by the exercise stations. Campus intercept surveys 1-week post-event indicated 54% students had heard about EiM, of which 39% had heard/seen the event through messages encouraging exercise.
Conclusion: The current study was successful in engaging a large, diverse population on a college campus. Lessons learned from the development, implementation, and evaluation of EiM on campus activities provide insight for university campuses looking to target student health and PA participation.
Keywords: College students; Exercise is Medicine; Health promotion; Intervention; Physical activity.
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