Effects of Participating in Online Health Promotion Activities on University Students’ Generic Skills

Abstract

This study aimed to determine the impact of students’ participation in a university-based online health promotion activity for community-dwelling older adults on their fundamental skills as working adults. Participants included 25 first-year university students (16 males, 9 females, 18±1 years old) attending a university specializing in training physical and occupational therapists. Fourteen of the students participated in the online health promotion activities, while 11 comprised the control group, which did not participate in the activities. The Progress Report on Generic Skills test assessed basic skills for working adults. The study results showed that the activity participation group had significantly lower comprehensive literacy scores than the control group at the end of the activity. In pre-and post-activity comparisons, both literacy and competency tended to decrease in the Activity Participation group after completing the activity compared to before its commencement. The results suggest that students’ awareness of their generic skills decreased after a short period due to changes in their environment and relationships. Encouraging participants to reflect on this experience through formative evaluation is essential, fostering behavioral change through self-reflection.