Thursday, October 26, 11:00
a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Moderator
Dalton G. Paxman, Ph.D.
Regional Health Administrator, Region III, Office of the Secretary
Presentations
THE STRATEGY OF YEAH!: AN APPLICATION OF THE HEALTH BELIEF MODEL IN
ADDRESSING YOUTH OBESITY PREVENTION
Jennie A. Hefelfinger, M.S.
Florida Department of Health, Tallahassee, FL
With the goal of creating youth advocates to promote healthy lifestyles and obesity prevention,
the Florida Department of Health, along with several youth organizations, developed the YEAH!
Program—Youth Empowered Ambassadors for Health. The purpose of the program is to integrate
physical activity, healthy nutrition, and decreased screen time into the daily routines of youth.
The Health Belief Model (HBM) is used to explain the process of training youth ambassadors to
communicate the benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. The HBM is a psychological model that
attempts to explain and predict health behaviors by focusing on the beliefs and attitudes of
individuals (Glanz, Rimer, and Lewis, 2002). The three assumptions of the HBM fit logically
into the YEAH! Program structure (assumption one: the feeling that the negative health
condition can be avoided—YEAH! participants believe obesity can be prevented;
assumption two: by taking a recommended positive action, an individual can avoid a negative
health condition—YEAH! participants are taught the benefits of healthy lifestyle choices to
prevent obesity; and
assumption three: an individual believes he/she can take health action smoothly and
successfully to prevent a negative health consequence—YEAH! participants are taught that
their healthy lifestyle choices can fit easily into their lives and the lives of their peers).
The main reason the HBM was chosen as the paradigm to examine the YEAH! Program was the abundance
of empirical data in support of individual self-efficacy.
This presentation will focus on two learning objectives. First, participants will be able to
evaluate their current advocacy programs based on the criteria of the HBM. Second, participants
will be able to create opportunities, based on the YEAH! Program and the HBM, to enhance
self-efficacy in training youth advocates and peer mentors.
MEDIA-SMART YOUTH: EAT, THINK, AND BE ACTIVE!: AN AFTER-SCHOOL PROGRAM FOR YOUTH
John McGrath, Ph.D.; Jill K. Center
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, National Institutes of
Health, Bethesda, MD
The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), part of the National
Institutes of Health, has designed, field-tested, evaluated, and is currently disseminating
the Media-Smart Youth after-school curriculum kit. The presentation will provide an overview
of the program and present results of the formative research and effectiveness evaluation of
this curriculum designed to encourage youth age 11–13 to make healthy choices concerning food
and physical activity while teaching media literacy and production skills.
In response to the increasing rates of overweight and obesity in the United States, NICHD
designed the Media-Smart Youth program to:
- Encourage young people to establish physical activity and healthy eating as values
in their lives
- Empower youth to discern how media may influence choices concerning their health
- Provide youth an opportunity to develop local campaigns and media messages about
physical activity and nutrition for their peers.
The Media-Smart Youth curriculum is designed to create awareness of the role that media
play in shaping choices concerning physical activity and nutrition, while building skills
to encourage critical thinking and informed decision-making. The goal of the program is to
help youth establish healthy habits now that will last into adulthood. NICHD worked with
youth-serving organizations around the country to design and pilot-test the curriculum. As
part of the program, young people work with a media partner to learn media production skills
that enable them to plan and create media messages about nutrition and physical activity
for their peers.
This presentation will include an overview of the Media-Smart Youth program, present results
from the national pilot test and preliminary results of the effectiveness evaluation, display
some of the youth-designed media projects, and inform audience members about how the program
is being implemented in after-school programs across the country.
PROJECT HEALTHY SCHOOLS: A MIDDLE SCHOOL-BASED HEALTH EDUCATION PROGRAM
TO PREVENT OBESITY IN YOUTH AND LONG-TERM RISKS
Jean E. DuRussel-Weston, M.P.H., B.S.N1;
Kim A. Eagle, M.D.1; Timothy B. Cotts, M.D.1; Caren S.
Goldberg, M.D.1; LaVaughn Palma-Davis, M.A.1; Susan Aaronson,
R.D.1; Cathy Fitzgerald, R.D.1; Roopa Gurm, M.S.1;
Deborah VanHoewyk, M.A.1; Marc A. Zimmerman, Ph.D., M.S.2; Anita
Sandretto, Ph.D., M.P.H.2; Theresa L. Han-Markey, M.S.2; Bruce Rogers1
1University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor, MI;
2University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI
Project Healthy Schools (PHS) is a community-university collaborative that provides
school-based programming to prevent and reduce obesity and its long-term health risks
in youth. Partners
include the University of Michigan Health System, Ann Arbor Public Schools and Recreation
Department, Washtenaw County Public Health, University of Michigan School of Public Health,
community leaders, and businesses. PHS promotes healthy habits through behavioral and
environmental change. Students complete pre- and post-behavioral surveys and wellness
screenings including body mass index, blood pressure, step test, full lipid panel, and
random glucose.
Students participate in interactive activities based on five goals: make better beverage
choices; eat more fruits and vegetables; exercise at least 150 minutes each week; eat
less fast and fatty food; and reduce mindless screen time. Increased physical activity is
promoted through activities such as jumping rope, pilates, yoga, and motivational speakers
including college athletes. Students log minutes of exercise and healthy food choices on an
online blog to obtain rewards. Environmental changes are promoted and measured in the
cafeteria and student store with healthier entrees and elimination of high fat, high
sugar foods. Parent education and communication is enhanced through collaboration with We Can!
Results in 2004–2005 indicated that 83 sixth grade students demonstrated program effectiveness
in lowering total cholesterol and lipid levels: mean (SD) TC 169 (28) to 151 (24);
LDL 90 (23) to 74 (21). Fruit and vegetable purchases in the school cafeteria rose by 10
percent. In 2005–2006, 278 students had TC 169 (26) to 154 (27); LDL 86 (25) to 83 (23);
and triglycerides 143 (92) to 109 (67). P values were < 0.001; 61 percent of students had
one or more risk factors, and 10 percent required pediatrician follow-up.
Keys to success include incorporating the program into the school curriculum, identifying
program champions, providing rewards for students and staff participation, ongoing parent
communication, and implementing the Healthy Schools Action Tool.
A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF BRIEF INTERVENTION SESSIONS FOR HEALTH PROMOTION AND REDUCTION
OF ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION IN COLLEGE STUDENTS
Elizabeth M. Rash, Ph.D.
University of Central Florida, Winter Park, FL
The use of alcohol among college students is widespread and fraught with numerous negative
consequences. Due to healthcare provider time constraints, brief interventions may be effective
approaches to improving healthy behaviors and reducing alcohol consumption by students. Brief
interventions were designed to be patient-centered and were founded on motivational interviewing
techniques. Although many studies have demonstrated that motivational interviewing interventions
can be successful in reducing negative alcohol behaviors, few studies have described or analyzed
these interventions to determine whether they were consistent with motivational interviewing
principles.
The purpose of this study was to evaluate brief intervention sessions for fidelity with
motivational interviewing principles and to identify content and processes that achieve
efficacious outcomes in a university student health services (SHS) center trial of brief
interventions for negative alcohol behaviors.
Brief interventions were conducted by four healthcare providers at a university SHS center.
Three hundred students were randomized to a control group receiving traditional pamphlet
information on negative alcohol behaviors or an experimental group receiving two brief
intervention sessions to reduce negative alcohol behaviors. The brief interventions were
to be based on the principles of motivational interviewing. Forty-eight students were
randomly selected from the experimental group, and their brief intervention sessions were
audio-taped and analyzed using the Motivational Interviewing Skill Code (MISC) to
determine their fidelity with motivational interviewing principles. In addition,
participant and provider brief intervention session feedback forms were compared with
the MISC analyses to assess convergent validity of brief intervention interpretations.
Findings from this study will determine if the outcomes of the brief interventions are a
result of motivational interviewing principles or other factors. This determination will
direct schema for future SHS negative alcohol behavior brief interventions and perhaps
can be generalized to other healthy lifestyle behavior brief interventions, resulting
in a healthier academic and local community.
For questions or more information, please contact
summit@hhs.gov.
