3.5.2 Health promotion in schools and worksites

Question 1

Edwards and Hartwell (2002) - Health promotion in schools

Aim

Answer 1

Investigated whether children aged 8-11 could correctly identify commonly available fruits/vegetables, and to gain a broad understanding of childrens’ perceptions healthy eating.

Question 2

Edwards and Hartwell (2002) - Health promotion in schools

Ppts and procedure

Answer 2

Gave 221 children a questionnaire, as well as semi-structured interviews/discussions about readily avaliable fruits/vegetables in the UK.

Question 3

Edwards and Hartwell (2002) - Health promotion in schools

Overall, was fruit or veg more popular? Which was recognised better?

Answer 3

Fruit was more popular and recognition of it was better.

Question 4

Edwards and Hartwell (2002) - Health promotion in schools

What was increased recognition of vegetables positively correlated with?

Answer 4

Increased age.

Question 5

Edwards and Hartwell (2002) - Health promotion in schools

Were most children familiar or unfamiliar with the term ‘healthy eating’?

Where did they learn it?

Answer 5

Most children (75%) were familiar, citing school as the most common info source.

Question 6

Edwards and Hartwell (2002) - Health promotion in schools

Conclusions

Answer 6

Fruit is well-liked; vegetables are less acceptable.

Pupils showed an awareness/understanding of current recommendations for a balanced diet, although the message has become confused.

Question 7

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

Aim

Answer 7

To increase consumption of fruits/vegetables through the use of ‘Food Dudes’ in schools.

Question 8

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

Method

Answer 8

Variety of longitudinal studies carried out in schools and a nursery.

Question 9

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

Taste exposure

Answer 9

The idea that the more you taste a food, the more you will like it.

Encouraging someone to keep trying a food may result in them starting to like it.

Question 10

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

Modelling

Answer 10

When a child observes a behaviour and imitates it (SLT).

Observing more than one model has been shown to affect a child’s food preference and eating patterns.

Question 11

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

Evidence of rewards being effective/ineffective

Answer 11

• Cameron et al. (2001) - rewarding cetain behaviours encourages the behaviour.
• Deci et al. (1999) - rewarding behaviour reduces the intrinstic motivation for the behaviour, e.g. telling a child they can have dessert after veggies suggests to them that dessert is better.

Question 12

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

‘Food Dudes’

Answer 12

A video of a group of 4 children who gain superpowers from eating vegetables.

The Food Dudes battle against ‘Junk Punks’, who threaten to take over the planet by destroying all fruites/vegetables.

Throughout the video, both foods were eaten regularly.

Question 13

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

Participants

Answer 13

5-6 year-olds who were ‘fussy eaters’ at home and rarely at fruits/vegetables.

Question 14

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

4 different conditions (first used for fruit, then vegetables).

Answer 14

• Presentation only
• Rewarded taste exposure
• Peer modelling
• Rewarded taste exposure paired with peer modelling

Question 15

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

What rewards were used?

When were they given?

Answer 15

Food Dude stickers, pens and erasers were given to children for eating the target amount of fruits/vegetables.

Question 16

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

How was research extended after initial studies?

Answer 16

To a whole school programme, using children aged 4-11 in 3 primary schools in the UK.

Question 17

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

What was involved in the extended school programme?

Answer 17

• Food Dude videos
• Food Dude rewards
• letters from the Food Dudes encouraging children/reminding them how they get rewards
• staff manual, briefing video and support materials.

Children used these materials for 16 days.

Question 18

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

Which condition increased children’s consumption of fruit/vegetables the most?

Answer 18

The group which combined peer modelling and rewards increased children’s consumption of 100% fruit and 83% for vegetables.

Question 19

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

How did people respond to the programme?

Answer 19

Parents and teachers responded positively, suggesting children enjoyed it.

(Risk of social desirability bias though).

Question 20

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

What was improved due to the programme?

Answer 20

Improved attendance and increased confidence among low-achieving children.

Question 21

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

Was peer modelling without rewards effective?

Answer 21

No, it had a minial effect.

Question 22

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

Conclusions

Answer 22

Behaviour modification programmes can change children’s eating habits, in both the short term and the long term.

Question 23

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

After 4 months, what did researchers find?

Answer 23

Children were still eating more fruit/vegetables than before.

Question 24

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

Strengths

Answer 24

• Longitudinal = measured long and short-term effects.
• Generalisable/reliable = study was replicated in 5 schools across England and Wales.

Question 25

Tapper et al. (2003) - Health promotion in schools

Criticisms

Answer 25

• Cultural bias = only carried out in England and Wales.
• Validity = since questionnaires gathered data about consumption at home/school, parents may have given socially desirable answers.

Question 26

Peer-based programmes

Do peer-based programmes tend to be more or less helpful?

How is Food Dudes an example of this?

Answer 26

Peer-based programmes are more heplful, since we are most likely to take advice from people similar to ourselves or who we might respect, rather than strangers.

The ‘Food Dudes’ were virtual peers.

Question 27

Peer-based programmes

What kind of health promotion programme did Bachman et al. (1988) look at?

What did he find?

Answer 27

He looked at a programme where students were asked to talk about drugs to each other, state their disapproval and say they didn’t take any.

It was claimed the programme changed attitudes towards drugs and led to a reduction in cannabis use.

Question 28

Worksites with a focus on health/safety

Token economy system

Answer 28

A reward system is used, where tokens are given for specific desirable behaviour, and these tokens can then be exchanged for goods.

Question 29

Fox et al. (1987) - Worksites with a focus on health/safety

What technique does token economy utilise?

Answer 29

Operant conditioning, to modify/shape behaviour and reward the desired behaviour with a ‘token’ which can be exchanged for something that person values, such as food or a TV programme.

Question 30

Fox et al. (1987) - Worksites with a focus on health/safety

Aim

Answer 30

To investigate whether token economies are an effective long-term way of reducing accidents and injuries in 2 USA mines.

Question 31

Fox et al. (1987) - Worksites with a focus on health/safety

How many groups were miners split into?

Answer 31

• Group 1
• Group 2
• Group 3
• Group 4

Question 32

Fox et al. (1987) - Worksites with a focus on health/safety

How were the different groups/conditions organised?

Answer 32

Group 1 = least hazardous jobs, ranging to Group 4 = most hazardous jobs.

Question 33

Fox et al. (1987) - Worksites with a focus on health/safety

What did employees earn stamps for?

Answer 33

• Working without lost-time injuries.
• Being in work groups in which no other workers had lost-time injuries.
• Making adopted safety suggestions.
• Unusual behaviour which prevented accident/injury.

Question 34

Fox et al. (1987) - Worksites with a focus on health/safety

What did employees lose stamps for?

Answer 34

If they or other workers in their group were…
* Injured.
* Caused equipment to fall.
* Failed to report accidents/injury.

Question 35

Fox et al. (1987) - Worksites with a focus on health/safety

What were the secondary and primary reinforcers?

Answer 35

• Secondary reinforcers = trading stamps (had no value on their own but could be exchanged).
• Primary reinforcers = Valuable items the stamps could be exchanged for (in this case, items from the shops on site).

Question 36

Fox et al. (1987) - Worksites with a focus on health/safety

What was calculated after the study?

Answer 36

A cost-benefit analysis, to see the cost of money spent on trading stamps, compared to the money saved as a result of the token economy.

Question 37

Fox et al. (1987) - Worksites with a focus on health/safety

Results

Answer 37

Both mines showed substantial decreases in the no. of days lost during the first 5 years of the token economy programme.

Question 38

Fox et al. (1987) - Worksites with a focus on health/safety

Conclusion

Answer 38

Token economies are a cost-effective way of reducing work-related injuries in mining.

Question 39

Fox et al. (1987) - Worksites with a focus on health/safety

Strengths

Answer 39

• Ecological validity = carried out using real workers in real mines.
• Longitudinal = tracked long-term changes.

Question 40

Fox et al. (1987) - Worksites with a focus on health/safety

Criticisms

Answer 40

• Generalisability = only used 2 mining companies in the USA.