Walking school bus

Our walking school bus posters (thank you TM!)

Evaluating health communication

As usual, this week's class was great. We learned about evaluating health campaigns and the cycle of evaluation-- Very simple...Will this campaign work? Is it working? and did it Work? We learned about ROI and Dr. Engelberg touched on the fact that although most public health specialists work to "make the world a better place," we shouldn't be afraid to admit we want to make money. My thoughts exactly! My goal--- help others by preventing obesity but make a ton of money doing it :)
Dr. Engelberg also discussed employment opportunities after graduation. There are so many possibilities that I am interested in. Working in a hospital-- promoting and shaping hospital based hp programs, working for County Health Services, and working for ad agencies with health accounts are all careers that I'd love to have. I never ever thought I'd say it, but even continuing to work in research is appealing!! (Oh how SDSU has changed me!) Next lecture is our very last class. Tear.

Mini project #2

This week we presented our second mini project. I was very impressed by everyone's work and thoroughly enjoyed all the presentations. For this project, we were instructed to design messages for our campaign, test the messages among our target audience, and then change the messages based on the feedback we received. My group, the Walking School Bus, created posters that were way too corny and "babyish" for our target audience of 6th-8th grade students. However, the honest feedback we received helped us to create much more age appropriate and interesting posters and flyers. Regarding all the other groups--- The vaccination group had professionally made ads that definitely inspired me to try and improve the Walking School Bus flyers and posters even more. The food stamp group used personal testimonies and an eligibility chart for families to see if they qualified for food stamps. The global warming group did a nice job of using wrong reason to promote use of the trolley (riding the trolley not only to help the environment, but also to save money and study for exams-- reasons which might be more influential on students). Last but not least, the Shakti Rising group (a shelter for women) did a great job of emphasizing the support women provide one another at the shelter. Class went by super fast this week, and I am very excited for the final presentations and our class potluck.

It's the end of Module 4- Methods and Channels - and I think I learned the most about messages, methods, and channels while working on the second mini project. My favorite topic of the module was Pop Culture & Entertainment, and my top three learnings were the importance of the source of the message (e.g. Oorah: Binge Drinking- a video we watched designed to decrease binge drinking among US Marines), the use of entertainment to promote health, and the powerful role the internet can play in health education.

Ah, I can't believe the semester is almost over!

Pop culture & entertainment

Popular Culture and Entertainment was the topic of last week's lecture. I loved it!-- Almost more than the health literacy lecture. We learned about Entertainment Education and pretty much focused on how entertainment can work to promote health. We watched clips of Hollywood movies, including As Good as it Gets and Spongebob Squarepants, that have incorporated health messages into their storyline. We also discussed communication contracts, and I learned that one of the reasons I do no enjoy movies such as the Matrix and Star Wars is because I break the entertainment contract by not suspending belief. I also learned the importance of the source of messages. In order to influence behavior, whether using entertainment or not, you must match the appropriate source to your target audience. For example, one student mentioned receiving information about flossing from her dentist and from a doctor on Oprah. Although her dentist has told her to floss a million times, it wasn't until she heard the same information from a doctor on Oprah that she started flossing. Anyways, I think entertainment is a great, effective way to promote health and modify behavior.

Doodling

OH so glad to be back to school and work and normal life! This week's class was.... sad to say it, but... pretty not enjoyable. We had a guess lecturer.... a very, very intense one. A PR veteran whose been in the business for 30 something years. I usually love guest lecturers, but this one had me doodling flowers on my paper 1/2 way through her lecture. She definitely knew what she was talking about, and was definitely quite passionate about it, I just wasn't that interested in the topics she chose to discuss (e.g. how to write queries and then follow up on them by either "email and snail mail or email and phone calls approximately 2-4 days later, leaving no more than 2 voicemail messages"). I don't know, maybe I am just not that interested in journalism, advertising, and PR stuff. Although a little bored by her lecture, I was happy to hear her mention how hungry the news is for health promotion and disease prevention. She also mentioned two prominent issues in public health-- sensitivity and privacy. These are two very important issues to consider when dealing with public health and behavior modification. She told us to be "media hounds" and shamed us for not being totally caught up on all the news and everything that is happening around us. Does she remember what it's like to be in school and work?? I'd love to be more aware of the worldly news and all that’s happening around me, but I have classes and work and a thesis that takes up most of my free time. Most of the time my head is stuck in a HP book or journal article. Maybe I'll try and squeeze a little news time into my schedule, but I don't think I'll ever be the hound she would like me to be. Anyways, although I wasn't that interested in the lecture, I did learn the basics of PR and what it entails. It also made me realize how much I enjoy our class discussions and Dr. Engelberg's lectures --which are always very interesting and also very funny!

Sad

Such a depressing week. No school, no work. Smoky air and horrible stories of families who lost everything in the wildfires. My heart goes out to everyone who lost their home. Although I was not personally affected by the fires, I have many classmates who were evacuated and work with many families whose homes were destroyed. It's been a horrible experience, but it's great to see how much the community has come together to help those in need. There have been more volunteers than volunteer opportunities and the blood bank vans have been overwhelmed with people wanting to donate blood. Can't wait for this to be over with.

Walking schoolbus!

This week we presented our first "Mini Project." I love my project and the idea behind "Walking School Bus," but my group has had a very difficulty time reaching members of our target audience. We are trying to meet with the parents of students who attend Montgomery Middle School in Linda Vista, a low income area known for its ethnic, racial, socio-economic, and religious diversity. The goal of "Walking School Bus" is to get students to walk to school together in groups, in order to increase daily physical activity and safety. The few parents we have interviewed have said safety is a major concern and determinant in allowing their children to walk to school. Most of the parents also said that they would allow their children to walk if they had adult supervision. Although we have not yet interviewed any students, I think the idea of adult supervision is going to be somewhat of a conflict. I highly doubt that the students (especially 8th graders) will be excited about the thought of walking to school with one of their parents supervising. But, we'll see. We finally received information about meetings and events that will be taking place at the school and throughout the community, so I am hoping we will have better luck reaching parents. I was very surprised to learn that this school does not have a busing system--- which definitely helps our campaign-- and how unsafe Linda Vista is viewed by its community members. We received results from a Safe Passage Student Survey taken in March of 2007, and about 50% of all students at Montgomery Middle School feel unsafe walking to and from school. Sixth through eighth grade students reported being harassed by gang members, engaging in physical fights, and being threatened with a weapon. Others reported witnessing shootings, stabbings, and drug transactions. When I first arrived at Montgomery Middle, it wasn't nearly was "scary" as I had imagined. I saw children playing in the neighborhood and students walking to school. However, as I was driving home after the PTSO meeting, I passed by the elementary school and stopped at a four way intersection. The car to my right totally ignored the stop sign and almost ran over a teeny tiny little elementary school boy walking to school (alone). I felt so bad for the little boy... until he turned around and gave the speeding car the finger!