Health Promotion in the New Haven Public Schools (2009-2010)
Complete Project
Title:
Health Promotion in the New Haven Public Schools (2009-2010)
Status:
Completed
Topic:
Nutrition / Diet
Funding Source:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
Funding Period:
2009-2010
Study Design:
Pre/Post
Purpose:
To partner with the New Haven Public Schools District-wide Wellness Committee to implement and evaluate health programs for elementary school students.
Further Study Details:
During our prior collaboration during the 2007-08 and 2008-09 school years, we examined the feasibility of offering the Nutrition Detectives™ program in selected NHPS elementary schools with funding from the Community Foundation for Greater New Haven. In 2009-10, at the request of the Wellness Committee, we condensed the original 90-minute Nutrition Detectives™ (ND) program to 45 minutes, for inclusion in a new health education curriculum for fifth grade students. Physical education teachers taught the ND lesson in all schools, and the PRC administered a pre/post ‘food label quiz’ in 5 schools to evaluate the lesson.
Findings:
After the lesson, students on average had a 16% increase in food label quiz scores, which was statistically significant. The increase in scores was similar to those found with the 90-minute version of the program offered in prior years in the New Haven Public Schools and in the Independence School District in Missouri. This indicates that it may be possible for other schools to offer a condensed version of the program without diluting its messages.
Eligibility:
Fifth grade students in 5 selected schools in the New Haven Public Schools
Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center