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The call for participants for the WOLP
study has finished.
HEC would like to thank the hundreds
of people who took part in this study.
WOLP,
developed by HEC, is the first wellness
on-line program aimed at changing people's
behaviours via the internet.
A Monash University study tested
WOLP in 2003-2004 to see how effective it
is.
 The
data are currently being analysed.
Preliminary findings suggest that WOLP was
successful in
changing our participant's behaviours via
the internet towards a more 'wellness' promoting
lifestyle. We will report the full results
in a future newsletter.
If
you enrol for WOLP, we will notify
you via email when WOLP becomes available
in 2005.
INTRODUCTION
Congratulations!
You have commenced your journey into 'wellness
discovery' by thinking about joining WOLP.
 Monash
University PhD student (Azizah Omar)
is conducting research on whether
it is possible to improve "wellness"
via the internet. By enrolling in
this study you will help her find
out whether the internet can be used
as a medium and you will also find
out how to improve your diet, exercise
regimen and other factors affecting
wellness. To thank you for taking
part in the study you will receive
1 FREE video at the beginning of the
6 week program. To motivate you to
complete the program you will get
free on-line access to the book "Food
Facts" in week 6. The wellness
program has been developed in conjunction
with HEC's Professor Wahlqvist and
Dr Kouris.
Please note: the
video is supplied for completing WOLP
in its entirety. Should you be unable
to complete the 6 weeks program the
video must be returned to us or paid
for ($25).
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Background
Through
his experience as a physician and understanding
of the scientific literature, Professor
Wahlqvist has identified small, but significant,
dietary and lifestyle changes that one can
make
simultaneously in order to improve sense
of 'wellness' and minimise disease risk.
He has called this "lifestyle synergy"
consisting of "small synergistic steps".
A
PhD student from Monash University, Azizah
Omar, is testing the wellness on-line program
(WOLP), developed by the Healthy Eating
Club (HEC). She is under the supervision
of HECs Professor Mark Wahlqvist and HECs
Dr Antigone Kouris who are also affiliated
with the Asia Pacific Health and Nutrition
Centre of the Monash Asia Institute, Monash
University in Melbourne, Clayton, Victoria
Australia.
This
novel 6 week on-line wellness program, developed
by HEC, is the first of its kind on the
web. Unlike other programs, this program
is more about motivating people to make
positive changes to various aspects of their
life rather than just giving them information
to read and leaving
them to their own devices.
The
Aim of WOLP
The
aim of the Wellness program is to bring
to your attention aspects of your life which
may be contributing to feelings of 'unwellness'
and to encourage the pursuit of wellness
as a
lifelong behaviour pattern.
WOLP is designed to help the individual
assessment taker become aware of different
areas of their life and to help him or her
identify the areas that need improvement.
So
what do we mean by "wellness"?
Our
lives today are very complex thus making
it more difficult to achieve an overall
feeling of "wellness". The definition
for wellness includes many dimensions of
our lives. To maintain health, all
dimensions of our lives need attention.
If we invest too much of our energies in
one or two of these dimensions, the others
will suffer, resulting in a decrease of
our overall wellness. All dimensions relate
to and affect each other. For example, what
happens at home often affects what happens
at work and vice versa.
A popular model adopted by some university,
corporate, and public health programs encompasses
6 dimensions:
1.
Social
2. Occupational
3. Spiritual
4. Physical (diet & physical activity)
5. Intellectual
6. Emotional
 To
read more about this click here.
This
six-dimensional model emphasizes the importance
of creating a balance in the many different
areas which make up your life. Each of these
affects each other and determines your overall
wellness status. The
goal of a wellness lifestyle is to continually
strive for both a
balance between the dimensions as well as
a high level of wellness in each dimension.
WOLP
- who is it for and how much does it cost
If
you are aged 18 and above and are not pregnant
then you are eligible to join the program
at no extra cost at all. To motivate you
to stick to and complete the 6 week program,
you
will receive:
a
FREE copy of the exercise video
"ageACTIVE" in week 1 because
you will need to refer to it for your weekly
exercises.
FREE
on-line access to the book "Food
Facts" at the end of the 6 week
program
How
does WOLP work ?
WOLP
runs for 6 weeks.
Every week you will be asked to perform
TWO 'synergistic steps' from the
'Physical' domain.
Every week you will also be asked
to perform ONE 'synergistic step'
from the other domains
so that all 6 domains are covered by the
end of the 6 week program. This will help
you:
 increase
your level of physical
activity
improve
your diet
become
aware of other aspects
of your lifestyle which may be
affecting your feelings of 'wellness'
SUMMARY
The
activities are simple, easy to follow and
would take around 30-45 minutes of your
time. Some of the activities include listening
to music, walking short distances, phoning
and chatting to a friend
and eating more fruit. These activities
will be assessed/monitored by an on-line
quiz at the d end of the week. WOLP
will also provide the resources, 'reminders'
and incentives (free CDs) to help you stick
to the weekly recommended lifestyle activities.
HEC will provide regular prompts of encouragment/reminders
via emails to gently "nudge" you
into changing your behaviour.
In
summary - each week consists of:
1. 1 short on-line
quiz at the end of the week to
map your progress with the lifestyle activity
and to motivate you; the frequency that
you performed the activities across the
week (comapred to other participants) will
be displayed in a bar chart when the 'end
of week' quiz is completed
2. 3 synergistic
steps e.g on week 1 you may choose
to walk 30 min daily, eat an extra piece
of fruit daily, and to listen to music daily);
for some activities, it will be recommended
that they are
performed daily to have an impact on your
feelings of 'wellness', but if you can't
that's OK. You will have the opportunity
to write in a 'text box' at then end of
the week what stopped you from performing
the activity more often; you will be asked
to perform different activities each week;
ideally we would like you to continue activities
from previous week(s)
3. practical tips
on how to incorporate the activity into
your lifestyle
In week 1, 3 and 6 we will ask you to complete
the short on-line research questionnaires
which include an assessment of wellness
using an on-line instrument called TESTWELL.
In week 1 and 6 you will be asked to assess
your diet and physical activity level using
our novel on-line program "Food Web"
and physical activity quiz.
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