Progress 07/01/10 to 02/28/11
Outputs
OUTPUTS: The primary objective of this Phase I project was the development of a HIP-HOP/Soul MUSIC program that communicates nutrition literacy, physical activity promotion and other obesity prevention concepts to adolescent African Americans youths and their families. This objective was achieved through the production of the Groovy Pyramid "Conversation B" (Nutrition Literacy, Physical Activity Promotion and Obesity Prevention Music Program). Another important objective of the project was the reporting on the potential feasibility of applying a music-based messaging methodology to nutrition education targeted toward African American youths and their families. To that end, the project sought to expose the "Conversation B" content to stakeholder segments and collect feedback regarding their opinions, likeability and intended usage of the program. The dissemination evaluation and qualitative feedback elements accomplished through this project were: 1. Elementary School Wellness Presentations 2. Student Pre and Post Program Evaluation Surveys 3. Teacher Pre-Implementation and Post Program Evaluation Surveys 4. Target Community Music-Based Nutrition Literacy Presentations 5. Child and Adult/Parent Pre and Post Program Evaluation Surveys and Focus Group 6. Nutrition and Health Communications Experts Program Evaluation Survey and Focus Group 7. Project Advisory Group Evaluation Survey PARTICIPANTS: This project benefited by the insightful review and qualitative evaluation of the Conversation B program by the Advisory Group Panel. Collectively the Advisory Group members have performed important work in public health and their health communications expertise and research experience is distinguished. Accordingly the fact that they assigned high ratings to the Conversation B in both content and messaging metrics is affirming and noteworthy. Their suggestions led to several adjustments to the project during its development and implementation stages. Other ideas and recommendations from the Advisory Group Panel either led to no program modifications or are under consideration for the Phase II implementation of this project. The members of the Advisory Group Panel were: Ora Strickland, Ph.D, D.Sc. (Hon.), F.A.A.N. Dr. Strickland is Professor in the NELL HODGSON WOODRUFF SCHOOL OF NURSING at EMORY UNIVERSITY in Atlanta, Georgia. She has focused her research on women's health, vulnerable populations, and measurement/instrumentation. Dr. Strickland is frequently called upon as a consultant on women's health, research design and nursing education programs, particularly Ph.D. program design and evaluation. Dee Baldwin, PhD, RN, FAAN is Associate Dean and Director of the School of Nursing at University of NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE. Dr. Baldwin is an experienced nurse educator and researcher. She has taught undergraduate and graduate nursing education for more than 25 years and has also conducted multiple funded demonstration projects and research studies that have focused on minority populations and students from disadvantaged backgrounds. Dr. Marcia Holstad, DSN, RN,C, FNP is an Assistant Professor at the NELL HODGSON WOODRUFF SCHOOL OF NURSING at Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia. She is the principal of the Music Project, a study to develop and pilot test the efficacy of an audio music program designed to educate and motivate HIV+ persons to adhere to their antiretroviral medications and self-manage medication related symptoms and side-effects. Lorrene Davis Ritchie, PhD, RD, is an Associate Researcher at the U.C. BERKELEY CENTER FOR WEIGHT AND HEALTH. Dr. Ritchie obtained her doctorate in Nutrition at U.C. Berkeley and is also a Registered Dietitian. Her research interests are to identify promising target behaviors for the prevention of obesity and its co-morbidities. She manages a research project to identify and track eating patterns and determine their relation to obesity in a large cohort of Black and White females followed from preadolescence through young adulthood. She also works in the school arena to facilitate the implementation of nutrition programs and policies to promote health and prevent overweight among school children. Sheree R. Poitier, MD is Program Director of the Public Health Physicians Program and Area Medical Director in the Los Angeles County Public Health Department. As a Medical Director, Dr. Poitier understands first hand the importance of effective patient communications and the role health education and messaging plays in disease prevention and treatment adherence. TARGET AUDIENCES: The primary objective of this Phase I project was the development of a HIP-HOP/Soul MUSIC program that communicates nutrition literacy, physical activity promotion and other obesity prevention concepts to adolescent African Americans youths ages 8 to 14 and their families. Although there has been some indication that childhood obesity is not increasing at the rate it did in the past, today over 16 percent of children (over 9 million) 6-19 years old remain overweight or obese and another 15 percent are considered at risk of becoming overweight . According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the childhood obesity rate has more than doubled for adolescents aged 12-19 years in the past three decades, and has more than tripled for children aged 6-11 years. NHANES . The data also indicates some disparities among racial/ethnic groups - especially African American girls who are nearly 60 percent more likely to be overweight than white girls. Overweight adolescents have a 70 percent chance of becoming overweight or obese adults, and that figure grows to 80 percent if the child has one or more parent who is overweight or obese . The fact that children born in the United States have a 30 to 40 percent chance of being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes at some point in their lives is related to obesity. Obesity may also be a factor in the increase of other chronic disease risk factors (cholesterol, triglycerides, insulin, and blood pressure). Furthermore, obesity-associated hospital costs for children and youth have tripled over the past two decades exceeding $125 million annually. Nearly one-third of American children aged 4 to 19 eat fast food every day, resulting in approximately six extra pounds per year, per child. This level of fast food consumption among children represents a 500 percent increase since 1970 . Experts also agree that inactivity and poor eating habits contribute to obesity PROJECT MODIFICATIONS: Nothing significant to report during this reporting period.
Impacts
Since very little information is known about the effectiveness of music-based nutrition literacy and obesity prevention messaging, this project represents an important first step in understanding this communications methodology. The data generated through this research should help health communicators take advantage of the popularity of music amongst African American youths in general, by utilizing music to specifically communicate obesity prevention concepts. One of the project goals was to confirm that the program produced through this grant conformed to music format preferences of the target audience of African American youths ages 8 to 14. This project goal was achieved since 86% of the students preferred the Rap/Hip-Hop music format, and 95% of students placed the Conversation B CD program in this genre category. A second goal of the project was to document the potential effectiveness of the project's wellness content. The average rating assigned by the teachers across all of these factors expressed broad approval of both the music program and the Introductory Assemblies implemented through this project. It was also interesting to learn that the overwhelming majority of the students (86.5%), utilized a CD player and only (4.3%) used MP3 players such as IPOD's. Thus in the near term, it may be more important to provide future music-based content in a CD format in addition to the digital or web-based channels. Another goal was to produce a program that was likeable by a target audience of inner-city students. Given that the students assigned an average rating of (8.83) to the School Assemblies, and a (8.74) average rating to the music program, this goal was also achieved. Two of the most important metrics derived from the surveys are related to the reach potential of music-based messaging programs. The students reported that they listened to the music program on average approximately thirteen times. Almost seventy percent (68.6%) of the student planned to listen to the music program in the future. This is documentation of multiple on-demand content consumption events which is a significant advantage of music-based content. In addition, (94.1%) of the students shared the music with others (including around (60%) with friends, (44%) with siblings and (41.1%) with their mothers). This message sharing phenomenon of music is in effect a reach multiplier and could prove to be a critical benefit of music-based obesity prevention programs. As expected, recognition of three of the program's messaging slogan increased after the implementation as well. While it is not asserted that the results herein have statistical significance, it is asserted that the data collected during this research does document the feasibility and potential positive effectiveness of implementing a music-based messaging program in school and community environments. The implementation of the project and the results demonstrate that music and melody may enhance nutritional knowledge, promote physical activity and increase motivation for healthy dietary behavior change in African American youths.
Publications
- No publications reported this period
|