Perceived Benefits of Physical Activity on Wellness among Female Lecturers in Bayero University (BUK), Kano, Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the perceived benefits of physical activity on wellness among female lecturers at Bayero University Kano, Nigeria, with specific focus on psychological and physical wellness dimensions. Two null hypotheses were formulated to guide the investigation. A cross-sectional research design was employed to collect data from 197 female lecturers at Bayero University Kano using an availability sampling procedure. The research instrument was a self-developed questionnaire specifically designed to assess perceived benefits of physical activity and wellness outcomes, which underwent validation by experts from the Department of Health Education at Bayero University Kano for face and content validity, and demonstrated satisfactory reliability with a coefficient of 0.77 using the split-half method. Data analysis utilized descriptive statistics including percentages and frequency counts for demographic characteristics, while inferential statistics employed Pearson Product-Moment Correlation to test the hypotheses at 0.05 level of significance. The results demonstrated a moderately positive and statistically significant relationship between perceived benefits of physical activity and psychological wellness, with a correlation coefficient of r equals 0.532 and p-value less than 0.01, accounting for approximately 28.3 percent of the variance in psychological wellness. Similarly, findings revealed a moderate, positive, and statistically significant relationship between perceived benefits of physical activity and physical wellness, with r equals 0.476 and p-value less than 0.01, explaining approximately 22.6 percent of the variance in physical wellness. The study concluded that perceived benefits of physical activity constitute powerful predictors of wellness outcomes among female lecturers at Bayero University Kano, operating through cognitive and behavioral mechanisms that reinforce continued participation in exercise activities. Based on these significant findings, it recommended that the development and implementation of comprehensive wellness programs specifically designed for female lecturers, establishment of accessible fitness facilities on campus with flexible operating hours, creation of supportive institutional policies that encourage physical activity integration into the workday, organization of group-based physical activities to foster social support networks, and collaboration between health education departments and university administration to conduct regular health screenings and personalized fitness assessments.

Keywords: Perceived benefits, Physical activity, Wellness, Psychological wellness, Physical wellness, Female lecturers