Poster Presentation Australian and New Zealand Obesity Society Annual Scientific Conference 2026

Upskilling future clinicians: initial evaluation of the ‘Healthy Moves 4 Healthy Kids ’n’ Teens’ student-led physiotherapy program (#133)

Margarita D Tsiros 1 2 3 , Narelle Ryan 3 , Alexia Peña 4 , Alison M Hill 5 6 , Sophie Lefmann 6 7
  1. Adelaide University, Innovation, IMPlementation And Clinical Translation in Health (IIMPACT), School of Allied Health and Human Performance, College of Health , Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  2. Adelaide University, Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), School of Allied Health and Human Performance, College of Health, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  3. Adelaide University, School of Allied Health and Human Performance, College of Health , Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  4. Adelaide University, School of Medicine, College of Health, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  5. Adelaide University, Alliance for Research in Exercise, Nutrition and Activity (ARENA), School of Allied Health and Human Performance, College of Health, Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  6. Adelaide University, School of Allied Health and Human Performance, College of Health , Adelaide, South Australia, Australia
  7. Adelaide University, Innovation, IMPlementation And Clinical Translation in Health (IIMPACT), School of Allied Health and Human Performance, College of Health , Adelaide, South Australia, Australia

Background: Children with higher weight experience difficulties with movement and activity, yet access to suitably trained Allied Health professionals may be limited and costly.

Aim: To describe the ‘Healthy Moves 4 Healthy Kids n’ Teens’ physiotherapy student-led clinical service (‘p-HealthyMoves’) and undertake an initial evaluation of service uptake and student learning experiences.

Methods: p-HealthyMoves is a community-based clinical service providing 1 hour, weekly sessions in 5-week blocks for 4-15 year olds, at a low-cost to families. Sessions focus on improving capacity/engagement in activity, addressing movement barriers (e.g. pain, low strength/fitness) using play-based, family-centred approaches. Sessions are led by final year physiotherapy students, supervised by qualified clinicians, with some opportunities for multi-disciplinary collaboration (e.g. nutrition students). Clinical service data were analysed from 2025-2026 examining referrals. Physiotherapy students completed an optional online survey (Likert scales, open-ended responses), evaluating their learning experiences, preparedness, confidence and future interest in paediatric obesity management.

Results: Preliminary data indicates that 54 referrals were received, mostly from hospital-based health professionals (89%) with 30 enrolled and 8 waitlisted. Physiotherapy students (N=15) rated their overall experience in p-HealthyMoves as ‘good’ (mean rating 4.1/5, higher scores better), with online resources adding ‘moderately’ to their knowledge (mean rating 3.3/5). Students felt ‘moderately-to-very’ prepared for practice (mean rating 3.7/5) and ‘slightly-to-moderately’ confident having sensitive conversations with families about healthy lifestyle strategies (mean rating 2.9/5). Students were ‘slightly-to-moderately’ interested in undertaking further professional development in this field (mean score 2.9/5). Qualitative comments provided further context to ratings, providing positive feedback, along with areas for improvement.

Conclusions: The p-HealthyMoves student-led program appears to fill an unmet need in the community for low-cost services, with an established referral network. Physiotherapy student feedback indicates that students valued the learning opportunity, with evidence of professional upskilling in this nuanced area of practice, although areas for improvement were identified.