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

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.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Teachers; Physiotherapist
• Intervention / Treatment: Behavioral: International Physical Activity Questionnaire; Behavioral: The Nutrition Knowledge Level Scale; Behavioral: Maslach Burnout Inventory; Behavioral: Short Form-36 Health Survey

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.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 50

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Turkey (Türkiye)
  • Merkez
    • Niğde, Merkez, Turkey (Türkiye)
      • Nigde Omer Halisdemir University

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: Adult
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

Professionals who work with individuals with special needs: Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and teachers

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• 18-45 years old
• Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and teachers working in a private education and rehabilitation center or any public institution.
• Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and teachers who have been working for at least two years due to professional experience and attrition.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Individuals who do not volunteer to participate in the study.
• Retired physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and teachers.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

1

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Intervention / Treatment

Professionals Serving Individuals with Special Needs; The difficulty and slow progress of programs implemented for individuals with special needs can cause physical and emotional wear and tear on professionals providing services to individuals, change in their eating habits, decrease their quality of life, and affect their general health.; Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and teachers working in a private education and rehabilitation center or any public institution.; Physiotherapists, occupational therapists, and teachers who have been working for at least two years, due to professional experience and allowance for attrition.

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.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
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. The time spent sitting (sedentary behavior) is computed separately as an independent score. By multiplying the duration (minutes), frequency (days), and corresponding MET value (metabolic equivalent of task; the ratio of work metabolic rate to resting metabolic rate), a composite score is obtained and expressed as MET-minutes/week. The MET values are defined as 3.3 METs for walking, 4 METs for moderate-intensity activity, and 8 METs for vigorous-intensity activity. Inactive: <600 MET-min/week Low physical activity level: 600-3000 MET-min/week Sufficient physical activity level: >3000 MET-min/week	4 months
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). The scale was developed to assess adults' nutritional knowledge and consists of items addressing food and nutrient knowledge, food preparation and cooking methods, and the relationship between nutrition and health. The items are rated on a five-point Likert scale, ranging from strongly agree (4 points) to strongly disagree (0 points). Items containing incorrect statements regarding nutrition knowledge are reverse scored.	4 months
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. These subscales collectively assess the degree of burnout experienced by individuals in professional settings. Each item of the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) is rated on a 5-point Likert scale (0 = never, 4 = always). Higher Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization scores indicate greater burnout, while higher Personal Accomplishment scores indicate lower burnout. Burnout is evaluated based on the three subscale scores rather than a total score.	4 months
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. Each subscale is scored from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating better perceived health status and quality of life.	4 months

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: Nigde Omer Halisdemir University

Publications and helpful links

General Publications

• Öztürk, M. (2005). A research on reliability and validity of international physical activity questionnaire and determination of physical activity level in university students. Hacettepe University Health Science Institute an Unpublished PhD Thesis, Ankara (in Turkish).

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): October 25, 2025
• Primary Completion (Actual): January 1, 2026
• Study Completion (Actual): January 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: November 14, 2025
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: November 14, 2025
• First Posted (Actual): November 18, 2025

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): February 12, 2026
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: February 11, 2026
• Last Verified: November 1, 2025

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: physical activity; quality of life; individuals with special needs; burnout; Nutrition knowledge level
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Behavioral Symptoms; Stress, Psychological; Behavior; Burnout, Psychological; Motor Activity; Maslach Burnout Inventory
• Other Study ID Numbers: Special Needs and Professional

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO

Drug and device information, study documents

• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product: No
• Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product: No