Evaluation of Health Education Events With a Peer-to-Peer Component in Public High Schools.

Abstract

Despite many improvements in childhood health outcomes, many children experience chronic health conditions and engage in unhealthy behaviors that can negatively affect the rest of their lives. School-based health education is one strategy to promote healthier lifestyles among children. Although health education is very prevalent in the United States, the methods used for this education are not well studied. Health education events such as voluntary tabling events (booths) were held by peer student educators and adult allies from the LA Trust for Children's Health. This program evaluation studied the effects of voluntary peer-to-peer health education tabling events and a more traditional mandatory school-based health presentation. We analyzed survey responses from 343 high school students who attended 19 health education events at 8 public high schools in Los Angeles County. The results showed that health education tabling events at schools were viewed positively by students, allowing the vast majority to report learning useful information. The impact of the tabling events varied somewhat between grade levels and health topics. These findings can assist schools, health organizations, and health care providers in tailoring their programming to better disseminate health education materials and information, as well as understanding which health topics are interesting to students.