The impact of parent participation on the effectiveness of a heart health curriculum

Abstract

This paper presents the findings of a 1982-83 study testing a) the impact of the Chicago Heart Health Curriculum on the behaviors and attitudes toward cardiovascular disease prevention of 647 sixth-grade students in northeast Ohio, and b) the impact of including a Parental Participation Component (N = 322) in conjunction with the Chicago health curriculum program. Using a pre-test/post-test four-group experimental design, data were gathered with a Student Health Questionnaire testing self-reported attitudes and behaviors regarding cardiovascular disease factors prior to and immediately after the implementation of the curriculum. A parental pre- and post-test survey evaluated parental levels of knowledge and current behavior regarding cardiovascular risk factors. Using a one-between-one-within ANOVA model, treatment effects were revealed for three outcome variables: 1) Health Knowledge with higher scores indicating greater heart-health information (F = 34.15, df = 3/590, p less than 0.00005); 2) Attitude Toward Nutrition with higher scores indicating a positive attitude toward one's nutritional intake (F = 4.44, df = 3/517, p less than 0.004); and 3) Shopping Behavior with higher scores indicating healthier food choices (F = 4.27, df = 3/590, p less than 0.005). Results of the Parent Participation Component on student performance revealed that parental involvement had no effect on student knowledge or behavior with regard to cardiovascular disease prevention.