ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Psychol.
Sec. Movement Science
This article is part of the Research TopicHarnessing Physical Activity for Cognitive Enhancement and Mental Health PromotionView all articles
Home-Based Physical Activity and Well-Being during Infectious Diseases: A Structural Equation Modeling Study
Provisionally accepted
- 1Shandong Xiehe University, Jinan, China
- 2Hunan City University, Yiyang, China
- 3Chengdu University of Technology, Chengdu, China
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Background: Respiratory infectious diseases that require home isolation and preventive measures seriously disrupt human well-being. Home isolation keeps individuals who do not need hospitalization at home for activities and treatments. Promoting accessible interventions, such as home-based physical activity, is critical for sustaining health during periods of limited mobility. This study helps us understand how home-based activities contribute to building resilience in situations with limited access to traditional health care. Objective: This study assessed the impact of home-based physical activity on quality of life, psychological resilience, physical and mental health, and sleep quality during respiratory infectious diseases. Methods: A testable structural model based on social cognitive theory was used to examine the hypotheses of this study. Data were collected using an adapted questionnaire via a web-based survey of 2,200 adults. A convenience sampling approach was used to determine the sample size of this study. Data analysis was performed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with SmartPLS 4.0 to test the hypotheses. Results: Statistical analysis revealed that infectious diseases significantly impair mental well-being (β = −0.241), sleep quality (β = −0.092), physical health (β = −0.232), and psychological resilience (β = −0.276). Home-based physical activity mediates these effects by improving mental health, sleep, and physical health. Significant (green paths) and insignificant (red paths) mediating effects were identified in the research framework and path diagrams. Reliability and validity metrics confirmed the model's robustness and the distinctness of the constructs. Conclusion: This study demonstrates that engaging in home-based physical activity enhances psychological resilience, physical health, and sleep quality during infectious disease episodes. Using social cognitive principles, this intervention provides a practical, non-pharmacological approach to combat declining well-being during isolation.
Keywords: home-based physical activity, Mental well-being, physical health, Preventive measures, respiratory infectious disease
Received: 26 Oct 2025; Accepted: 10 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Menhas, Peng and Saqib. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Rashid Menhas
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