The North Carolina Center for Health and Wellness is delighted to announce the following recipients of Wellness Initiative Starter (WIS) grants for the 2008 calendar year. Each team brings together
faculty and student researchers from multiple academic departments, focusing health promotion efforts on two Center priority areas: childhood obesity prevention and workplace wellness.
Evelyn Chiang (Psychology) and Sandra Byrd (Education, Asheville Graduate Center) were awarded $14,350 for their project, “Is it up to me? Parents’ sense of agency in promoting child health and
children’s beliefs and values regarding healthy behaviors.” To better understand motivations underlying eating and physical activity behaviors, the researchers will survey children and parents at
local elementary schools regarding their attitudes about health and obesity. Such information will be of great value in designing effective intervention programs for families struggling with obesity.
Laura Facciponti (Drama), Mark Harvey (Psychology), and Connie Schrader (Health and Wellness) were awarded $17,000 for their research study, “Workplace wellness through conscious breathing.” This
project will assess the effectiveness of conscious breathing, a stress reduction technique, in relieving negative emotional states among employees. UNCA faculty and staff will be offered the
opportunity to serve as participants in this research along with full-time employees from other regional worksites.
Heidi Kelley (Sociology and Anthropology) and Ken Betsalel (Political Science) received $17,500 for their investigation of workplace wellness among people with disabilities, “Into an engaged and
productive life: Stories people with disabilities tell about work and wellness.” This project focuses attention on the issues of underemployment and health-related quality of life among people with
disabilities. By learning about the wellness concerns and obstacles to employment of this underserved population, the researchers hope to be able to recommend improved workplace policies for people
with disabilities.
