The Inclusion of Sports & Exercise Related Module into Pharmacy Curriculum: The Outcome on Students Wellbeing

INTRODUCTION: In an effort to promote a holistic approach to healthcare, the University of Cyberjaya (UoC) introduced a unique elective course called Sport Pharmacy. This course was exclusively offered to Year 4 Semester 1 Bachelor of Pharmacy students. As part of their assessments, students were required to partake in practical sessions that focused on non-pharmacological methods such as diet control and physical activity. The alarming rates of physical inactivity and unhealthy eating habits among pharmacy students highlighted the necessity for a non-pharmacological approach in their field of study. Therefore, this study was conducted to examine the effects of non-pharmacological practices on the health parameters of Year 4 Pharmacy students, while also exploring the motivations behind their continuation of these methods.
METHODS: During a period of rest in May 2019, a retrospective study was conducted for pre and post practical session between September 2018 and November 2018. A total of 47 Year 4 Pharmacy students participated in the pre, post, and post-resting study. A data collection form used in the Sport Pharmacy course was used for data collection.
RESULTS: In the pre, post and post-resting study, the majority of students had regular levels of Total Cholesterol (TC) and Fasting Blood Glucose (FBG). However, a little less than half of the students displayed normal Body Mass Index (BMI). It is interesting to note that after the resting period, there was a rise in the number of students classified as obese, as well as those with high TC and FBG. This could be attributed to the fact that only a small proportion of students, 23% to be exact, continued to control their diet. Likewise, only 32% maintained their physical activity levels during the post-resting study.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: Among those who did continue their diet control, the main motivations were health, with 34.8% selecting this option, followed closely by seeing results at 30.4% and feeling better at 26.1%. In the post-resting study, respondents were asked about the factors that motivated them to continue physical activity. The top three factors identified were health, feeling better, and having fun. On the other hand, the main reasons for not continuing a non-pharmacological approach were lack of motivation, study schedule, and lack of time. A significant impact on FBG was observed after conducting a 10-week non-pharmacological approach that included physical activity and diet control. Surprisingly, there was no noticeable impact on BMI and TC. Interestingly, the post-resting study revealed that only a minority of the participants continued with the non-pharmacological approach, resulting in no significant changes in BMI, FBG, and TC.