Development of a nutrition education program for promoting health literacy among high school students

Abstract

[Purpose] The objective of this study was to develop a nutrition education program for promoting health literacy among high school students, which focused on their health and dietary habits. The development process involved prototyping and testing teaching materials based on survey results from the target group.

[Methods] A questionnaire survey and group work on "health promotion for high school students" were conducted with 43 high school students. Based on the results, a prototype of nutrition education materials using card games was created. A trial class was conducted with 21 high school students to confirm feasibility. Process evaluation was carried out based on feedback from participants and teachers.

[Results] The questionnaire survey revealed that 69.8% to 100% of participants considered 10 lifestyle habits as "important" or "very important." However, a high percentage of participants felt burdensome across the 9 health behaviors, such as "habitually measuring body weight" and "considering the balance of nutrition and cooking combinations." Group work discussions highlighted the importance of releasing emotions in addition to the health behaviors. Considering these findings, we developed a card game, covering the three domains of "health," "symptoms," and "knowledge." The trial results showed that over 90% of participants provided positive responses to all five evaluation criteria (enjoyment, clarity, learning, utility in class, and recommendation to others). Feedback included statements like "easy to understand" and "can learn various symptoms."

[Conclusion] Positive feedback was obtained for the educational material, suggesting its potential applicability in educational settings. As a next step, we plan to implement further refinement of the nutrition education program and validation through intervention trials.