NCT07234435

Professionals Serving Individuals With Special Needs and Quality of Life

Examining the Relationship Between Physical Activity, Nutrition Knowledge, and Burnout Levels of Professionals Serving Individuals With Special Needs and Their Quality of Life

• Status: Completed
• Phase: —
• Study type: Observational
• Enrollment: 50 (actual)
• Sponsor: Nigde Omer Halisdemir University · Academic / Other
• Sex: All
• Age: 18 Years – 45 Years
• Healthy volunteers: Accepted

Summary

In recent years, the number of individuals with special needs (SNIs) requiring care has been increasing both globally and in our country. In line with the principles of a social welfare state, professionals have taken on a growing role in the care, treatment, and education of SNIs. These professionals include physiotherapists, teachers, psychologists, occupational therapists, and social workers. Unlike the education and treatment of typically developing individuals, providing services to SNIs can place additional burdens on staff, potentially leading over time to various physical, psychological, and emotional challenges. The demanding nature of working with SNIs, high expectations, environmental conditions, low wages despite intensive labor, lack of job security in the private sector, and the potential risks associated with working with individuals with disabilities can all create significant stress for service providers. This, in turn, may negatively affect both their personal and family lives as well as the quality of the services delivered.

Detailed description

The demanding nature of working with SNIs, high expectations, environmental conditions, low wages despite intensive labor, lack of job security in the private sector, and the potential risks associated with working with individuals with disabilities can all create significant stress for service providers. This, in turn, may negatively affect both their personal and family lives as well as the quality of the services delivered. Therefore, this study aims to examine the levels of physical activity, nutritional knowledge, burnout, and quality of life among professionals-such as physiotherapists, special education teachers, and other specialists (e.g., occupational therapists, speech and language therapists)-who provide services to individuals with special needs. Within the scope of the research, physical activity levels will be assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), nutritional knowledge using the Nutrition Knowledge Questionnaire, burnout levels using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI), and quality of life using the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36). Additionally, informative sessions will be conducted to promote social participation, collaboration, and knowledge exchange among professionals serving individuals with special needs.

Conditions

• Physiotherapist
• Teachers

Interventions

Type	Name	Description
BEHAVIORAL	International Physical Activity Questionnaire	The physical activity levels of the participants will be assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). In this study, the self-administered short form, which covers the last seven days, will be used. The total score of the questionnaire is calculated by summing the duration (in minutes) and frequency (in days) of walking, moderate, and vigorous activities. .
BEHAVIORAL	The Nutrition Knowledge Level Scale	It is assumed that nutritional knowledge enables individuals to choose healthy foods, prepare them in accordance with healthy eating recommendations, and consume them appropriately, thereby leading to improvements in dietary habits. The Nutrition Knowledge Level Scale for Adults, recently developed by Batmaz and Güneş (2018) in Turkey, includes subdomains such as basic nutrition and dietary preferences (Batmaz, H., \& Güneş, E., 2018).
BEHAVIORAL	Maslach Burnout Inventory	Burnout levels will be assessed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Developed by Maslach and Jackson (1981), the inventory conceptualizes burnout not as a single-dimensional construct but as a multifaceted phenomenon, allowing each dimension to be evaluated independently rather than by a single overall score. The MBI consists of 22 items grouped under three subscales: Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment.
BEHAVIORAL	Short Form-36 Health Survey	Quality of life will be assessed using the Short Form-36 Health Survey (SF-36). This is a self-report questionnaire that evaluates eight dimensions of health through 36 items: physical functioning, social functioning, role limitations due to physical and emotional problems, mental health, vitality (energy), bodily pain, and general health perception.

Timeline

• Start date: 2025-10-25
• Primary completion: 2026-01-01
• Completion: 2026-01-15
• First posted: 2025-11-18
• Last updated: 2026-02-12

Locations

1 site across 1 country: Turkey (Türkiye)