Presentation
Healthy Habits, Healthy U: A School Based Cancer Education Program
American Public Health Association 2016 Annual Meeting and Expo
(2016)
Abstract
Healthy Habits, Healthy U (HHHU) is a school-based cancer prevention program, which is a collaborative effort among Boise State University, St. Luke’s Mountain States Tumor Institute, and local schools. HHHU is a community outreach initiative designed to teach and reinforce positive health habits in students. The two-day program utilizes a variety of educational strategies highlighting the relationships among nutrition, physical activity, sugar-sweetened beverages, and cancer risks. Unique to this program is the viewing of cancerous and noncancerous human tissue samples. The purpose of this pilot study was to establish efficacy in the program by evaluating its effectiveness on eighth-grade students’ knowledge of cancer, how their health habits can influence the risk of developing cancer, and behavioral intent. A quasi-experimental design was utilized to evaluate the knowledge gained by students. Health teachers administered pretest/posttest surveys to the intervention and control groups. The HHHU program was presented to 969 students. Of those, 439 participated in the short-term outcome evaluation of the program, yielding a 45% response rate. Results indicate that the HHHU program increases students’ knowledge of how their health habits influence the risk of developing cancer. There was a small increase in students’ general cancer knowledge. There was no statistical difference between the groups in establishing behavioral intentions. HHHU was well received by students, teachers, and university interns, along with school and hospital administrators. HHHU is a promising prevention program and is effective in increasing knowledge. Program evaluation efforts are ongoing to improve the curriculum and assessment tool.
Keywords
- cancer,
- community-based partnership & collaboration
Publication Date
November 2, 2016
Location
Denver, CO
Citation Information
Alicia Anderson, Caile Spear and Mary Pritchard. "Healthy Habits, Healthy U: A School Based Cancer Education Program" American Public Health Association 2016 Annual Meeting and Expo (2016) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/caile_spear/16/