| Title: | Your Road to Health |
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| Status: | Completed |
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| Topic: | Health Promotion & Wellness;Nutrition / Diet;Program or Product Development;School-based |
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| Funding Source: | Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), with supplemental funding from Griffin Hospital |
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| Funding Period: | 2013-2017 |
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| Study Design: | Pre/post combined with program opinion surveys. |
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| Purpose: | This study was a subset of the Valley Initiative to Advance Health & Learning in Schools (VITAHLS). The purpose was to develop, pilot test, evaluate, and revise a nutrition education program for use in middle and/or high schools. The goals were to motivate, teach, and help students develop skills to make healthful food choices and adopt an active lifestyle. |
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| Further Study Details: | This project focused on developing and offering a pilot version of the program, and evaluating its feasibility and effectiveness when taught by health teachers in 3 middle schools and 1 high school in two VITAHLS districts (Shelton and Seymour). The pilot program included a lesson plan, PowerPoint, and 2 hands-on activities. A total of 237 students and 4 health teachers took part in the evaluation.We used the pilot study findings to guide revisions, and implement and evaluate a refined version of the program participating VITAHLS school districts. We replaced the PowerPoint with a Prezi presentation (using cloud-based software that is more interactive and engaging), and edited the content to reduce the potential for misconceptions about nutrition. The revised program also includes a lesson plan and 7 hands-on activities. |
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| Findings: | After exposure to the pilot program, students’ mean nutrition knowledge scores (maximum possible score of 100%) increased from 52% at baseline to 78% on the post quiz (p<0.0001). Students’ responses to additional open-ended questions provided insight regarding potential misconceptions about nutrition concepts. Students’ suggestions to improve the program included: eliminating repetition of content; making the presentation more entertaining; and adding more facts, activities, and tips. Teachers’ suggestions included: shortening the PowerPoint and/or replacing it with a smart board or Prezi presentation; and adding more activities. |
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| Eligibility: | Students and teachers in participating health classes in two middle schools and one high school |
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Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center