Health promotion through digital media in physical education: a qualitative interview study on student experiences and acceptance

$\textbf{Introduction}$
Digital media offer innovative opportunities to support health-related content and optimize learning processes in physical education (PE), yet their pedagogical integration in PE remains underexplored. This qualitative study aims to explore how secondary school students experience, evaluate, and accept the use of digital media for health promotion and the development of health literacy in PE.

$\textbf{Methods}$
Based on the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM; Davis, Bagozzi, & Warshaw, 1989) and Nutbeam’s Health Literacy Model (Nutbeam, 2000), 15 semi-structured interviews with secondary school students were conducted and analysed using qualitative content analysis with MAXQDA. Key factors such as perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, external factors, attitudes towards use, and behavioural intentions were identified.

$\textbf{Results}$
The findings indicate that students reported perceived benefits of digital media, including digital formats (e.g. videos) and digital tools (e.g. tracking tools, tablets, and apps), compared to non-digital PE practices, particularly regarding individualised learning and motivational support. ... mehrAt the same time, barriers such as inadequate technical infrastructure, limited digital competencies among teachers, and structural constraints were also noted.

$\textbf{Discussion}$
The findings suggest that students’ acceptance of digital media in PE depends less on the mere presence of digital tools than on their perceived pedagogical value. Digital media were accepted when they supported individualisation, feedback, reflection, and health-related understanding without reducing movement time. The study extends TAM to health-promoting PE by showing that perceived usefulness and ease of use are closely linked to subject-specific conditions, particularly meaningful integration, privacy, and the preservation of PE as a movement-based subject.