Part A of Anatomy at the Mall: A Multimodal Activity to Enhance Health Awareness and Identify Early Signs of Health-Related Issues in the General Public

Abstract

Background: There is a gap in the common knowledge of anatomy and its relationship to health in the community. Objective: We intend to obtain insight into community-dwelling adults' health status and promote health awareness using basic anatomy. Methods: Ninety-seven adults (average 32.6 years, 79.1 kg, 1.65 m) were participants at malls (MP) within the DFW area, and 36 healthy young adults performed as the control group (CP) (average 24.4 years, 67.7 kg, 1.65 m). MPs received a pretest/post-test to investigate their underlying knowledge and evaluate the knowledge of human anatomy and physiology before visiting six learning stations covering different anatomy systems. This research measured gait speed, isometric strength, balance, coordination, blood pressure, blood oxygenation, and heart rate to examine the health status and support the integration of the learned anatomy. Results: MPs displayed shifts from normative values with altered balance, lower leg strength, reduced gait speed, and high blood pressure. Conclusion and Clinical Relevance: The community-dwelling participants of this study revealed various health-related alterations link to poor quality of life. Regularly visit public areas such as malls, should incorporate free health screening educational booths or stations comparable to those in this research. Clinicians should recognize that the community-dwelling population requires knowledge of anatomyphysiology and health implications. Therefore, we encourage them to include educational items in the intervention strategies.