Supporting Self-Advocacy in Nutritional Health: Using Health Imaginaries to Navigate Student Wellness and University Resources

Abstract

This IRB-exempt, exploratory, mixed-methods study aims to show how integrating social representations of people, places, and things known as imaginaries can enhance a nutrition course for non-traditional adult learners early in academic programs to support their success. Using an Elicit, Design, Create, Deploy, and Research (EDCDR) process, the accommodations-eligible health imaginaries were embedded into resources and activities in the nutrition course to achieve universal design goals. Through an exploratory mixed methods approach, we evaluated the impact of these health and wellness-focused imaginaries on improving learners’ self-awareness and advocacy following curriculum adjustments. Pre-test and post-test course surveys of the intervention led to a small positive shift in scores, indicating increased student awareness and confidence regarding accommodation eligibility, timing, success, and faculty fairness. The Mann–Whitney U test revealed significant difference in students’ awareness and knowledge of accommodations and ADA resources following the intervention. Key areas of improvement included understanding accommodation eligibility (z = −11.51, p < .001, r = 0.10), the request process (z = −17.83, p < .001, r = 0.15), timing of requests (z = −16.39, p < .001, r = 0.14), perceptions of accommodation success (z = −15.02, p < .001, r = 0.13), and faculty fairness (z = −10.92, p < .001, r = 0.09), with small but meaningful effect sizes. Qualitative results showed participants found the health and wellness course engaging and relatable, especially due to the realistic, diverse characters and their connection to real-life challenges in nutrition and health, though some noted issues with course-material alignment and imaginary character development. The intervention led to small but significant improvements in students’ knowledge and perceptions of accommodations, demonstrating its effectiveness as a low cost, scalable solution for supporting students in higher education.

Keywords

imaginary nutrition undergraduate programs accommodations health wellness

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