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Effect of Public Health Education on Safe Use of Shared Exercise Equipment among Gym Users in Nigeria

Abstract

Shared exercise equipment is commonly used in gyms and fitness centres by individuals seeking to improve physical fitness, manage body weight, enhance wellbeing, and prevent lifestyle-related health problems. However, inappropriate use and inadequate hygiene practices involving shared equipment may increase the risk of skin infections, respiratory infections, injuries, equipment-related accidents, and other preventable health concerns. Gym users may also lack adequate knowledge of equipment cleaning, appropriate use, personal hygiene, safe exercise techniques, and precautions when using equipment previously handled by other individuals. Public health education provides an opportunity to improve users' knowledge and encourage safer and more hygienic use of shared exercise equipment. Against this background, this study investigates the effect of public health education on the safe use of shared exercise equipment among gym users in Nigeria. The study will be anchored on the Health Belief Model, Social Cognitive Theory, and Social Ecological Model. The Health Belief Model explains how gym users' perceptions of susceptibility to equipment-related infections and injuries, perceived severity, perceived benefits of safe equipment use, perceived barriers, self-efficacy, and cues to action may influence their behaviour. Social Cognitive Theory emphasizes observational learning, behavioural modelling, self-efficacy, reinforcement, peer influence, and social support in shaping safe exercise and hygiene practices. The Social Ecological Model emphasizes the influence of individual, interpersonal, facility, environmental, institutional, and socioeconomic factors on safe use of shared exercise equipment. Collectively, these theoretical perspectives provide a suitable framework for explaining how public health education may influence the safe use of shared exercise equipment among gym users in Nigeria. The study will adopt a quantitative quasi-experimental or analytical cross-sectional research design. The study population will comprise adults aged 18 years and above who use selected public and private gyms or fitness centres across Nigeria. A multistage sampling technique will be used to select geopolitical zones, states, local government areas, communities, gyms or fitness centres, and eligible participants. Public health education will be assessed using indicators such as exposure to health-education sessions, frequency and duration of education, information on equipment hygiene, cleaning and disinfection, hand hygiene, use of personal towels or protective materials where appropriate, safe equipment operation, correct exercise techniques, equipment adjustment, injury prevention, recognition of equipment hazards, appropriate use of personal protective items, reporting of damaged equipment, and procedures for responding to equipment-related injuries or health concerns. Safe use of shared exercise equipment will be assessed using indicators such as cleaning or wiping equipment before or after use according to facility guidance, appropriate hand hygiene, proper equipment adjustment, adherence to manufacturer or facility instructions, correct exercise technique, appropriate use of protective equipment where required, avoidance of unsafe equipment use, reporting of damaged or contaminated equipment, appropriate personal hygiene, and compliance with gym safety rules. Data will be collected using structured questionnaires, standardized exercise-equipment safety and hygiene assessment tools, facility observation checklists, scenario-based questions, and pre-test and post-test assessments where a quasi-experimental intervention is adopted. Descriptive statistics will be used to summarize participants' demographic and socioeconomic characteristics, exercise patterns, frequency of gym use, previous experience with equipment-related injuries or hygiene concerns, sources of health information, exposure to education, and safe equipment-use practices. Inferential statistical techniques, including chi-square tests, paired and independent t-tests, correlation analysis, and logistic or multiple regression analysis where appropriate, will be used to determine the effect of public health education on safe use of shared exercise equipment. Where a quasi-experimental design is adopted, safe equipment-use scores before and after the educational intervention may be compared with those of a comparison group to determine changes associated with the intervention. Diagnostic tests will also be conducted to assess the reliability, validity, and robustness of the findings. The study is expected to find that public health education has a significant positive effect on the safe use of shared exercise equipment among gym users in Nigeria. Gym users exposed to structured, practical, and sustained public health education are expected to demonstrate better equipment hygiene, safer equipment operation, and improved injury-prevention practices than users without comparable exposure. Education may improve understanding of appropriate equipment cleaning, hand hygiene, safe exercise techniques, correct equipment adjustment, and recognition of equipment-related hazards. Practical demonstrations may strengthen users' confidence in operating equipment correctly and encourage them to report damaged, contaminated, or unsafe equipment to gym management. Education may also promote responsible personal hygiene and reduce behaviours that increase the risk of transmitting infections through frequently touched shared surfaces. However, inadequate cleaning supplies, poor facility maintenance, overcrowding, insufficient staff supervision, limited access to hygiene facilities, damaged equipment, and weak enforcement of gym safety policies may reduce the effectiveness of education alone. The study therefore expects accessible, practical, facility-specific, and sustained public health education, supported by effective equipment maintenance, hygiene supplies, and appropriate supervision, to contribute significantly to improved safe use of shared exercise equipment among gym users in Nigeria. The study is expected to contribute to the literature on exercise-equipment safety, gym hygiene, injury prevention, recreational health, physical activity, public health education, environmental health, infection prevention, fitness-centre safety, and public health in Nigeria. The findings will provide useful information to the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, state ministries of health, gym and fitness-centre operators, environmental health officers, healthcare professionals, physiotherapists, fitness trainers, public health practitioners, consumer-health organizations, development partners, and policymakers regarding strategies for promoting safer recreational exercise environments. The study will also provide evidence-based recommendations for strengthening public health education in gyms, improving equipment-cleaning practices, ensuring availability of hygiene supplies, strengthening equipment inspection and maintenance, improving staff supervision, promoting safe exercise techniques, and developing sustainable gym-based health and safety programmes that support the safe use of shared exercise equipment across Nigeria.

Keywords: Public health education, shared exercise equipment, gym users, exercise safety, equipment hygiene, injury prevention, infection prevention, physical activity, fitness centres, recreational health, Nigeria, public health.