# Increasing compliance with physical education laws to reduce health inequities

> **NIH NIH K01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY · 2022 · $179,820

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
Today’s youth suffer from unprecedented levels of physical inactivity and poor physical fitness, which
contribute to myriad health complications, including increased risk for cardiovascular disease. School physical
education (PE) is one of the most valuable tools for increasing physical activity and improving youth fitness and
shows potential for reducing related health disparities. However, despite laws in 43 states mandating that
schools offer PE, compliance is extremely low in elementary schools, and disparities based on school-level
student race/ethnicity and income exist. Evidence points to a lack of accountability as a major factor in low PE
law compliance, but measures of accountability are inconsistent (or non-existent) across states, and best
practices for increasing compliance with PE mandates remain unknown. This study proposes to examine two
novel approaches for increasing PE law compliance by first, determining the impact of the New York City
Department of Education’s multi-level school physical education (PE) intervention on PE law compliance and
student cardiorespiratory fitness, as well as its cost-effectiveness for increasing student physical activity in
order to inform replicability in other school districts. Secondly, one component of New York’s intervention – a
PE audit and feedback tool – will be piloted in Oakland, CA schools to determine the effectiveness,
adaptability, and scalability of this potential cost-effective approach for increasing PE law compliance and
student physical activity. I am pursuing the NHLBI K01 Mentored Research Scientist Development Award to fill
critical training gaps in (1) causal inference from observational data; (2) cost-effectiveness analysis; and (3)
implementation science. This award will build upon my significant experience in school-based physical activity
research, epidemiologic methods, and participatory action research. My long-term career goal is to develop
and rigorously evaluate policy and programmatic approaches to improve youth health through physical activity.
The skills I seek to obtain will be critical in achieving this goal. My detailed training plan includes formal
coursework at UC Berkeley and UCSF, NIH courses, mentored experience, meetings, seminars, and directed
readings. The research component of this project will provide opportunities to integrate new knowledge into
practical research experience. Together, the training and protected time provided by the K01 award, combined
with the rich collaborative environment and strong institutional support at the UC Berkeley School of Public
Health and the Nutrition Policy Institute, will facilitate my transition into an independent investigator who can
successfully compete for R01 funding. It will also provide the means to help me become a leader in the
development and testing of scalable school physical activity environment and policy interventions that will
reduce population risk of inactivity-related chro...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10347189
- **Project number:** 5K01HL151805-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA BERKELEY
- **Principal Investigator:** Hannah R Thompson
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $179,820
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-02-08 → 2026-01-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10347189

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10347189, Increasing compliance with physical education laws to reduce health inequities (5K01HL151805-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-23 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10347189. Licensed CC0.

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