Manurewa High School students tackle physical exercise for diabetes prevention
August 2016
Year 11 students from Manurewa High School’s Heath Sciences Academy are putting real-world application into their
learning plan this year, in a collaborative research project with the Liggins Institute at the University of Auckland,
and Fisher & Paykel Healthcare.
Nicole Stevens, project lead and teacher at Manurewa High School, tells how they’ve been successful in obtaining a grant
of $18,500 to carry out the project from SouthSci, the Participatory Science Platform, South Auckland pilot.
“The students are really excited to be able to put their ideas and plans into practice. Normally with this module of
work we would be focussing on the theory, but by running it as a real and tangible research study in collaboration with
industry experts – the students are gaining knowledge and experience we hadn’t even expected” Stevens says.
SouthSci project manager, Dr Sarah Morgan explains “this is a great example of a community science project where each
group is gaining something really valuable; whether it’s excellence (fingers crossed) in their NCEA studies, data
collection and connection with the community, or corporate social responsibility. This is one of the best project teams
we’ve had, and we can’t wait to see where the project takes them all”.
The students are working with the experts to design physical activity interventions within the context of diabetes, and
learning how to collect robust heart rate data before, during and after the intervention to analyse its effectiveness.
“The high-tech hook has been really effective in engaging the students” says Stevens, who has helped the group to set up
30 Fitbit HRs to facilitate data collection. “We’re also interested in emotional responses to the exercises and have
some nifty techniques being used by the students to track this”.
The students will be showcasing their progress at the Manurewa High School Health Expo on the 24th August, with the
Diabetes NZ Auckland Branch van on site for testing, as well as student-designed informational pamphlets and posters, a
blind tasting of normal and healthily-cooked traditional foods, and a showcase of their physical activity interventions.
Community welcome!
ENDS