Effective communication of school health screening information: A pilot study evaluating the effect of electronic communication of BMI screening information in Elementary schools

Author

Kara Elizabeth Carter, James Madison UniversityFollow

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.

Date of Graduation

Spring 2016

Document Type

Thesis

Department

Department of Health Sciences

Advisor(s)

Michelle Hesse

Abstract

Obesity is a growing concern surrounding today’s youth. School-based health screenings are promoted as a public health strategy to identify obese children and those at high risk for becoming obese. Despite numerous programs, data is lacking in effective school to parent communication of health related information. The purpose of this research is to determine the effect of electronic communication of health screening outcomes, including parents’ understanding of screening information, utilization of informational resources, and decision to seek physician follow-up. Screenings for body mass index, acanthosis nigricans and blood pressure were conducted during school hours among children in kindergarten and third grade. Parents received screening information via email or through conventional reporting, based on preference. A follow-up telephone survey was conducted to determine screening outcomes, successfully surveying only 35.8% of study population. There were no significant differences between communication method and screening outcomes indicated at follow-up. Parents who chose letter communication had a significantly higher chance of receiving the screening results, compared to parents who opted for e-mail communication (78.8% vs 47.1%; p=.023). Small sample size, due to difficulty in parents receiving screening letter and follow-up conduction, heavily influenced research findings.

Recommended Citation

Carter, Kara Elizabeth, "Effective communication of school health screening information: A pilot study evaluating the effect of electronic communication of BMI screening information in Elementary schools" (2016). Senior Honors Projects, 2010-2019. 215.
https://commons.lib.jmu.edu/honors201019/215