The University of Arizona College of Health Sciences held its second Wellness and Wonder event on Saturday, Sept. 20, on the Health Sciences campus.
The community event was part of an effort to make health and wellness accessible topics for people of all ages and abilities. Sessions included a Dance for Wellness led by Christine Childers, the director of the UA Doctor of Physical Therapy program, creative projects for kids, tours of the Arizona Simulation Education Technology Center, Connect 2 Stem activities and a drum circle.
Growing up as a dancer and dance teacher, Childers has used her experience as a tool to help patients stay active in a fun way. As a clinician, she specialized in caring for older adults, receiving a Masters of Science in Gerontology and a Doctorate in Health Psychology. In 2021, the university hired her as the founding director of the Doctor of Physical Therapy program, which opened for students in August of this year.
“I hate using the word exercise with older adults, because they don’t like exercise,” Childers explained. “They think of it as boring or whatever, but any kind of movement is positive for the human body. And so, the older we get, the more we need to keep moving because that’s what the body needs and wants, and that’s what prevents falls, prevents pressure sores, prevents all sorts of problems.”
On the first floor of the Health Sciences Innovation Building, Childers’ guided dance was backed by a playlist that included Adele, The Beatles and Frank Sinatra.
Jesica Ram participated in the Dance for Wellness along with her friends, Marisol Vindiola and Beatriz Medina. Ram, who began weightlifting after going through menopause, stressed the importance of opening up more dialogue about health, especially for menopausal women.
“Now that I know and am more involved in healthy activities, it makes a totally big difference in my life,” Ram said. “If we can extend this invitation to other women in the community, especially Latinas that don’t have access to this kind of information event, that would be great.”
Throughout the first floor and patio of the Health Sciences Innovation Building, local organizations including Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center, Skin Cancer Institute and Team Awareness Combatting Overdose set up booths to teach children and adults about health sciences.
At the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine, Andrew Ecker led a drum circle. Drumming Sounds, Ecker’s organization utilizes an evidence-based approach to reduce stress and improve mental health through rhythm and community.
Dr. Stephen Dahmer, director of the Andrew Weil Center for Integrative Medicine and a 2006 graduate of the program, participated in the drum circle along with his family. While Dahmer expressed enthusiasm about holistic health and wellness gaining traction, he’s worried about the prevalence of false information in the space.
“There’s a $1 billion wellness industry that’s feeding misinformation,” Dahmer said. “People are constantly looking for a trusted source. We are that trusted source, and we’re going to take even further strides to make sure we prove that to Americans.”
According to Dahmer, for those trying to parse what’s real and what’s not in the vast landscape of wellness information, the first question should be, am I being sold something? If the answer is yes, that should be a warning sign.
Lewis Irby came to the event with his son and mother. Having suffered from a stroke 2 years ago, leading to aphasia and difficulty communicating, he hopes for a more open, nuanced discourse around his condition.
“The powers that be, they think that it’s one way, but it’s not that way,” Irby said. “They tell you, ‘Keep working at it, cause at six months, that’s all you’re healing.’ And that’s not true. I’ve gotten better in the last six months than I have in the whole 2 years, and my stroke was 2 years ago.”
Irby has found success working with a speech therapist and taking some time to slow down when speaking.
“Some of the doctors are good, but most times they just heal them when they’re in the hospital and push them on — never ask about them again,” Irby said.
Upcoming events hosted by the University of Arizona Health Sciences can be found on their website. Other groups that hosted booths at the event included AZ Climate Health, PediaCats, MEZCOPH Student Affairs Undergraduate Ambassadors, American Industrial Hygiene Association student chapter and Environment Exposure Science and Risk Assessment Center.
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