Jillisa Overholt | Indiana University (original) (raw)
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Papers by Jillisa Overholt
Research has connected sedentary lifestyles with numerous negative health outcomes, including a s... more Research has connected sedentary lifestyles with numerous negative health outcomes, including a significant increased risk for mortality. Many health care professionals seek ways to help clients meet physical activity guidelines recommended by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the World Health Organization, and the American College of Sports Medicine in order to promote active lifestyles and improve overall wellness. Hiking is a cost-effective intervention that encourages people to be physically active while spending time in nature. Time in nature can lead to health benefits through contact with the natural elements, participation in physical activity, restoration of mental and emotional health, and time with social contacts. Benefits may be immediate, such as decreased blood pressure, decreased stress levels, enhanced immune system functioning, and restored attention, or transpire over time, such as weight loss, decreased depression, and overall wellness. Health care providers are ideally positioned to recommend and prescribe hiking to clients. Federal, state, and local natural resource agencies are beginning to partner with health care professionals to promote outdoor nature-related activities. Examples of successful doctor and other health care practitioner partnership programs are described, along with tips for getting started.
Leadership is one of the principal goals and desired outcomes from participation for many outdoor... more Leadership is one of the principal goals and desired outcomes from participation for many outdoor education programs. This study examines the effectiveness of a short-term expedition-based outdoor experience on the leadership skill level of program participants. Results demonstrate a significant increase in self-reported leadership skills over time for the treatment group, p < .001, as well as a significant difference in leadership skill levels between the treatment group and the control group, p < .05. Outdoor education settings may offer the types of hands-on and diverse experiential leadership development that is often lacking in other leadership development realms. Building on current leadership theory, implications for outdoor leadership training programs are discussed and several models of outdoor leadership skill development are presented.
The natural environment is being increasingly recognized as an essential component of human healt... more The natural environment is being increasingly recognized as an essential component of human health. This literature review explores this relationship as it occurs in the scholarly literature, with particular emphasis on the ways that outdoor recreation as an academic discipline facilitates human-natural environment interactions. Salient theories from a variety of disciplines are tied to parks, protected lands and wilderness, and global trends are discussed. Ultimately, it is suggested that outdoor recreation and its parent discipline of recreation and leisure studies can be viewed as integral pieces of the emerging wellness model, and that interaction with natural environments may foster stewardship and health.
Wilderness and Protected Landscapes (WPLs) have long been considered special areas for a variety ... more Wilderness and Protected Landscapes (WPLs) have long been considered special areas for a variety of reasons including baseline data, impact analyses, protected zones, and other tangible and intangible values. Another salient, and some would argue, a more important value offered through WPLs is that of human transformation. Accordingly, three theories have provided the bulk of the explanatory framework regarding the connection of WPL to human health: (1) attention restoration theory (ART), (2) psycho-evolutionary theory (PET), and intentionally designed experiences (IDE). Transforming experiences associated with WPLs are often strongly related to emotion, affect, and social cognitive variables, such as developmental/therapeutic health, physical health, self-sufficiency, and educational, spiritual, and aesthetic/creativity benefits. The relationship between these types of experiences and transformations of attitude, beliefs, and behaviors in human populations is presented. The Eastern religions, such as Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism, and their erudite philosophers, have a long historic link to health, spiritualism, and wilderness environments. In response to this fact, this paper will discuss wilderness and human transformation from both the familiar Western concepts as well as an international (Asian) perspective on wilderness and transformative experiences.
Research has connected sedentary lifestyles with numerous negative health outcomes, including a s... more Research has connected sedentary lifestyles with numerous negative health outcomes, including a significant increased risk for mortality. Many health care professionals seek ways to help clients meet physical activity guidelines recommended by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, the World Health Organization, and the American College of Sports Medicine in order to promote active lifestyles and improve overall wellness. Hiking is a cost-effective intervention that encourages people to be physically active while spending time in nature. Time in nature can lead to health benefits through contact with the natural elements, participation in physical activity, restoration of mental and emotional health, and time with social contacts. Benefits may be immediate, such as decreased blood pressure, decreased stress levels, enhanced immune system functioning, and restored attention, or transpire over time, such as weight loss, decreased depression, and overall wellness. Health care providers are ideally positioned to recommend and prescribe hiking to clients. Federal, state, and local natural resource agencies are beginning to partner with health care professionals to promote outdoor nature-related activities. Examples of successful doctor and other health care practitioner partnership programs are described, along with tips for getting started.
Leadership is one of the principal goals and desired outcomes from participation for many outdoor... more Leadership is one of the principal goals and desired outcomes from participation for many outdoor education programs. This study examines the effectiveness of a short-term expedition-based outdoor experience on the leadership skill level of program participants. Results demonstrate a significant increase in self-reported leadership skills over time for the treatment group, p < .001, as well as a significant difference in leadership skill levels between the treatment group and the control group, p < .05. Outdoor education settings may offer the types of hands-on and diverse experiential leadership development that is often lacking in other leadership development realms. Building on current leadership theory, implications for outdoor leadership training programs are discussed and several models of outdoor leadership skill development are presented.
The natural environment is being increasingly recognized as an essential component of human healt... more The natural environment is being increasingly recognized as an essential component of human health. This literature review explores this relationship as it occurs in the scholarly literature, with particular emphasis on the ways that outdoor recreation as an academic discipline facilitates human-natural environment interactions. Salient theories from a variety of disciplines are tied to parks, protected lands and wilderness, and global trends are discussed. Ultimately, it is suggested that outdoor recreation and its parent discipline of recreation and leisure studies can be viewed as integral pieces of the emerging wellness model, and that interaction with natural environments may foster stewardship and health.
Wilderness and Protected Landscapes (WPLs) have long been considered special areas for a variety ... more Wilderness and Protected Landscapes (WPLs) have long been considered special areas for a variety of reasons including baseline data, impact analyses, protected zones, and other tangible and intangible values. Another salient, and some would argue, a more important value offered through WPLs is that of human transformation. Accordingly, three theories have provided the bulk of the explanatory framework regarding the connection of WPL to human health: (1) attention restoration theory (ART), (2) psycho-evolutionary theory (PET), and intentionally designed experiences (IDE). Transforming experiences associated with WPLs are often strongly related to emotion, affect, and social cognitive variables, such as developmental/therapeutic health, physical health, self-sufficiency, and educational, spiritual, and aesthetic/creativity benefits. The relationship between these types of experiences and transformations of attitude, beliefs, and behaviors in human populations is presented. The Eastern religions, such as Hinduism, Taoism, and Buddhism, and their erudite philosophers, have a long historic link to health, spiritualism, and wilderness environments. In response to this fact, this paper will discuss wilderness and human transformation from both the familiar Western concepts as well as an international (Asian) perspective on wilderness and transformative experiences.