Welcome to
HEAL
In HEAL, we conduct integrated studies of human-environment interactions as they intersect with leisure and impact health and well-being. Drawing from knowledge and methods in psychology, public health, environmental epidemiology, leisure sciences, and human dimensions of natural resources, we employ an interdisciplinary approach to examine environmental, socioeconomic, and cultural conditions as well as individual-level factors that contribute to various mechanisms key to human health, well-being, and flourishing.
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HEAL NEWS
Presentation: The Playful (Re)Framing Effect
How does playfulness (re)frame the world? Do playful people perceive, approach, and respond to their environment and life events differently than less playful individuals? Dr. Shen and HEAL researcher Zoe Crawley shed light on these questions in a presentation at The Association for the Study of Play (TASP) 50th conference held on March 21, 2024 at the Strong National Museum of Play. Their study examined playfulness as a perceptual lens and its potential broader cascade effects spanning cognition, emotions, and behaviors in the unique context of the pandemic, wherein playful (re)framing might very well demarcate adaptive wellbeing from adverse outcomes. Plenary Talk: The Science behind Playful Parenting
Dr. Shen was invited to give a plenary presentation at the 2023 Families Learning Conference on October 25, 2023 in Omaha, Nebraska. Addressing over 400 dedicated practitioners, educators, and researchers in family engagement and learning, Dr. Shen spoke about the science behind playful parenting and its associations with positive child outcomes, parent-child relationships, and parent well-being, as well as innovative approaches to supporting family health and learning through (re)connecting parents and caregivers to their inner playfulness. Paper Published: Play and Scientific Creativity
How and to what extent do scientists engage in play? Are more playful scientists also more creative? Does play contribute to scientific creativity? And in what circumstances? In this open access paper published in the Journal of Creative Behavior, Dr. Shen synthesizes the state of knowledge across these interconnected areas, and proposes an integrative theoretical framework to advance systematic research on fostering scientific creativity through play. Seminar Talk: Exploring Innovative and Interdisciplinary Approaches to Better Connecting Human and Nature
Dr. Shen gave a seminar talk on May 10, 2023 on play as a transformative pathway to promoting environmental health. She invited College of Forestry faculty and students to cross the aisle and explore innovative ways to foster social-ecological well-being through interdisciplinary research collaborations. Project Funded: Climate Change Education through Outdoor Play...with Food
Junior Outdoor Food Navigators (JOFN): Fostering youth climate resilience and environmental health through positive outdoor food experiences, a project co-led by Drs. Siew Sun Wong and Sharon Shen, is awarded with funding by National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences through the ASP3IRE Children’s Environmental Health Center. JOFN is an interdisciplinary collaboration between the HEAL lab, Moore Family Center for Whole Grain Foods, Nutrition and Preventative Health, OSU extension (Oregon Sea Grant, Oregon Environmental Literacy Program) and community partners (KidSpirit, 4-H Outreach Leadersihp Institute, Grand Ronde tribe) dedicated to environmental education and positive youth development. Erkkila Endowment Award for Playful Parent
The HEAL lab's research project, Playful Parent: The development and empirical evaluation of a play intervention program to enhance playfulness for parents of children with disabilities, was awarded with funding by Good Samaritan Hospital Foundation John C. Erkkila, M. D. Endowment for Health and Human Performance. The project is led by Drs. Sharon Shen and Megan MacDonald. Media Report: Adaptive Leisure Engagement Contributes to Mental Health
The HEAL lab's study on pandemic leisure was featured in The World, Medical Xpress, Mirage (Australia), EurekAlert! (The American Association of the Advancement of Science), NEWSBREAK, UK Today News, and KOIN 6. The study reported broad patterns of leisure engagement among US adults, and highlighted the importance of adaptive engagement, rather than the frequency of activities, in predicting positive mental health outcomes. |
Paper Published: The Roles of Play and Playfulness in Adult-Centered Psychological Interventions
How do play and playfulness contribute to adult mental health? This open access paper presents findings from reviewing three decades of empirical evidence on play or playfulness' roles--as a mediating process, moderator, or outcome--in impacting adult mental health. The paper is part of a two-year integrative review project led by Dr. Shen. Project Funded: The Playful Path to Parenting Project Received A National Award
National Center for Families Learning and the Sharon Darling Innovation Fund have awarded a grant to support Drs. Sharon Shen and Shauna Tominey's work to iterate the parental playfulness intervention model. Over 350 applicants submitted proposals and the Playful Path to Parenting was one of three proposals to be awarded funding. Drs. Shen and Tominey spoke about their work on OPB's "Think Out Loud". Playful Parent Playbook Published: Free Resources to Support Playful Parenting (or Simply Being a Fun Adult!)
The Playful Parent project has produced four educational booklets, now available on the HEAL website. These research-based resources provide insights and ideas to foster joyful caregiver-child connections through transformative play. Anyone interested in bringing more lightheartedness and imagination into their interactions with children or the young at heart can freely access these booklets packed with playful activities and strategies. Presentation: Child Outdoor Play and Well-being during the Pandemic
Lydia Gorrell gave a terrific presentation on November 14, 2022 about child outdoor play and well-being under sustained stress and major disruptions of the pandemic. This is part of the Play2Cope project and also Lydia's Master thesis presentation. She successfully defended her thesis and graduated in December, 2022. Congrats, Lydia! Workshop: Play Fully through Immersive Cultural Experiences
The HEAL lab presented a play workshop on November 3, 2022 at the Peavy Forest Science Center. Participants explored culturally informed playful experiences of body sensation, social connections, performance, and transgression. HEAL researcher Leland Masek led the workshop. Findings Published: Pandemic Leisure
The first set of findings from the Play2Cope project is published in January 2022 in the Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. The open access paper reported important findings about the Leisure Engagement during COVID-19 and Its Association with Mental Health and Well-being in U.S. Adult. Invited Talk: The Complexity and Promises of Adult Play and Playfulness
Dr. Sharon Shen was an invited speaker at the Health & Development Lab, Florida International University. Her talk engaged students, faculty, and practitioners in conversations about the challenges associated with measurement and cultural considerations, as well as exciting new directions in adult play and playfulness research. Graduated: Colby Parkinson Joins Penn State Colby Parkinson successfully defended his Master thesis on Outdoor recreation during COVID-19: The role of adaptive strategies and associations with mental health. He also received the 2022 Outstanding Graduate Student Award in the FES Department, College of Forestry and now joins the doctoral program in Recreation, Park, and Tourism Management at Penn State University with a Distinguished Graduate Fellowship. Congrats, Colby! |