ERIC Number: EJ1247091
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2020-Apr
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1090-1981
EISSN: N/A
Initial Findings of a Multicomponent School Health Intervention in Rural Appalachia: The Greenbrier CHOICES Project
Jones, Emily; Zuest, Luciana; Bulger, Sean; Elliott, Eloise; Cho, Kibum; Lilly, Christa
Health Education & Behavior, v47 n2 p332-343 Apr 2020
Background: Schools are an important setting for health promotion because they afford children and adolescents numerous opportunities to accumulate the recommended physical activity (PA) minutes and make other health-related decisions, including healthy eating. Unfortunately, there is little evidence of coordinated school-based health interventions in rural Appalachia. The Greenbrier Children's Health Opportunities Involving Coordinated Efforts in Schools Project was a federally funded, 3-year, multicomponent school-based health intervention focused on PA, healthy eating, and weight management. Aims: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of Greenbrier Children's Health Opportunities Involving Coordinated Efforts in Schools on adolescent PA, dietary behaviors, and weight status. Method: Measures of PA, dietary behaviors, and body mass index were collected across 14 data points throughout the intervention (including a baseline in Year 1). Results: Participants included 4,633 randomly selected middle school students (M = 2,289, F = 2,344) across the intervention. Baseline to Year 3 findings revealed a 12.8 percentage point increase in students achieving 60 minutes of daily PA. There were no significant differences in either dietary behavior or body mass index. Discussion: Findings provide evidence of the positive impact comprehensive school-based health interventions can have on middle school student health-related behaviors. Conclusion: Schools remain an ideal setting for health promotion. Initiatives targeting more than one level of influence on health-related behaviors are more likely to succeed.
Descriptors: Intervention, Health Promotion, Rural Schools, Child Health, Adolescents, Physical Activity Level, Eating Habits, Dietetics, Body Weight, Faculty Development, Physical Education, Comprehensive School Health Education, Middle School Students
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: http://sagepub.com
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Junior High Schools; Middle Schools; Secondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: West Virginia
Grant or Contract Numbers: Q25F110479