Strategy 1 Nutrition Education and Motivational Interviewing 

Strategy 2 University of Minnesota Extension program

Strategy 3 Social Cognitive Theory

Strategy 4. Social Media

Strategy #1

 

Below is an outline of some of the science theories I will use in my program. They have been my influence to design a program that will be effective for teens to help them change behaviors. Adolescent years are formative years. Social Cognitive theory is very effective for teenagers and behavior change. (Bagherniya, et. al., 2018) In addition, I think SCT is the best tool for increasing self-efficacy of teens. Healthy teens is a program that uses self-efficacy at the core of its program and therefore the use of SCT, social learning from peers and role models on social media is the best and most effective way to enhance behavior change in a positive way.

Summary of Theories and Strategies 

Activity: Motivational Interviewing

Strategy: Find out current needs and attitudes towards change. Strategy – Motivational Interviews

We will recruit 30 teenagers from Mercer Island High Schools ages 15-19. They will be made up of 50% girls and 50% boys. We will conduct Motivational Interviews with each teenager in a confidential setting. Our staff will be trained on proper guidelines and how to conduct a motivational interview. We will have paper questionnaires and teenagers can write in answers or have you record if they prefer. Dose delivered will be 30 participants. Dose received is 30 participants.  Reach is 30 participants.

Questions will include:

• What are your health goals?
• Do you exercise and if so, how often?
• Do you eat breakfast and how many days a week?
• Do you feel breakfast is important?
• Do you skip meals – if so, which ones regularly
• Do you eat fast food? How often
• Do you drink soda? How often
• Are you interested in learning about becoming healthier and stronger?

Impact:

As mentioned above, Motivational interviewing is person centered and will allow me to “explore” my teens health issues and eating habits and design a need-based approach. MI allows teenagers to “explore and resolve ambivalence associated with behavior change (Rubak et. al., 2005). The impact is the ability to resolve ambivalence with MI.

Strategy #2

Minnesota Extension Program

According to the search institute (2017) literature, eight elements of best practices from the University of Minnesota Extension that are proven to work for youth development will be included in my program. They are:

• Youth feel physically and emotionally safe
• Youth experience belonging and ownership
• Youth develop self-worth
• Youth discover self
• Youth develop quality relationships with peers and adults
• Youth discuss conflicting values and form their own
• Youth feel the pride and accountability that comes with mastery 

Strategy: Social Cognitive Theory: Strategy #3

SCT

My team of 20 volunteers will work with teenagers who attended the workshop. We will send out worksheets to track fast food and soda intake for 4 weeks after workshop. We will also track dieting behavior. We will create data to figure out post workshop impact of study.

Dose up to 1500 teens

Reach up to 1500 teens

 

Impact : Bandura’s SCT is a main component of addiction quitting (Heydari et. al., 2014). The teens in my workshop will keep records of their fast food and soda intake for one month. The boys will gain control over their behavior and learn self-regulation and self-control that will have a large influence on the impact of my study (McKenzi et. al.,2017, p. 177). The impact is behavior change.

 

Strategy #4

Activity: Social Media Campaign

Why is social media important?  In my three years at American University, I have studied cases of teenagers and the influence social media has on their behavior. I have done several presentations on body image and teenagers and know that social media and role models are very useful in helping change negative behaviors. My goal is to develop a social media campaign aimed at reducing fast food and sugar intake using a celebrity athlete as a role model. I previously designed this infographic that will be distributed to teens.

Strategy: Use Social Media campaign for one month in conjunction with zoom workshops to change awareness and behavior. Strategy

Social Media / Zoom Workshop

I will conduct a series of three, one hour workshops myself on zoom. I will have two assistants to help me gather questions and set up the zoom workshop. I will also have my assistants make sure an invitation to the workshop is accepted by participants. The workshop will be open to all teens on Mercer Island ages 15-19 years old. Dose is one workshop. Dose delivered is 3 times one 60-minute workshop. Reach is approximately 1500 teens at Mercer Island High School.

 

Social Media Impact: As mentioned above, since teenagers are very active on Social Media, I know this is an effective way to connect and communicate with this age group. The advantage of social networking is that they can easily invite friends, I can reach a lot of people, I can update and post information quickly and there is unlimited space (McKenzi et. al., 2017, p. 214). Social media has some unique qualities such as it is user generated, it is low cost, information can be revised quickly and it can reach more people (McKenzi et. al., 2017, p. 199). The impact will be gaining knowledge of healthy eating and dieting concerns to health in the teenager population.

 

Activity:Tracking soda and fast food during and after study

Strategy: Change through awareness of current behaviors.

Questionnaire

My team of 20 volunteers will work with teenagers who attended the workshop. We will send out worksheets to track fast food and soda intake. We will also track dieting behavior. We will create data to figure out how pre-workshop eating and dietary behavior. Dose and reach up to 1500 participants.

 

 

 

Step 3-5

 

Target of Question	Process- Evaluation Question	Method of Assessment for Question	Resources Required
Recruitment	Were teens aware of the program?	*Did our pre-diagnostic questions help us find the appropriate data?	*Did we have enough volunteers?
Reach	Did we have enough resources to reach 1500 teenagers?	Did we sign up 60% teenagers for our workshop?	*Did we overextend our volunteers?
Fidelity	Did our logic model fit the program adequately?	Did this age group participate in the survey?	*Did our volunteers learn how to conduct Motivational Interviews properly?
Context	Did social media platform fit the program?	Did social media work as a way to deliver our workshop?	Did we have a clean workshop on Zoom ?
Dose Delivered	Did we have enough Motivational Interviews?	Did we deliver all of the questionnaires ?	Did we have a lot of participants?
Dose Received	Did we get back enough questionnaires before and after the workshop?	*Was our self-assessment and data returned after the workshop ?	Did it seem to be well received by participants ?

 

 

Step 6

I think the most important questions are:

did we have enough volunteers, or did we overextend them?

did they learn how to interview using the process of motivational interviewing. My reason these are most important is because motivational interviewing takes a skill set and when performed improperly may not provide the needed information. In addition, I feel it is important to credibility and long-term use of our programs to do the program properly and to make sure we are not short staffed to get the program done well.

 

 

 

 

Reference:

CDC’S GUIDE TO. (2020). Retrieved from

https://www.cdc.gov/socialmedia/tools/guidelines/pdf/guidetowritingforsocialmedia.pdf

 

Healthy Eating During Adolescence. (2020). Retrieved April 1, 2021, from

 https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/healthy-eating-

 during-adolescence

 

Heydari, A., Dashtgard, A., & Moghadam, Z. E. (2014, January). The effect of Bandura’s social

cognitive theory implementation on addiction quitting of clients referred to addiction

quitting clinics. Retrieved from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3917180/

 

McDow, K., Nguyen, D., Herrick, K. & Akinbami, L (2019) Attempts to Lose Weight Among

Adolescents Aged 16–19 in the United States, 2013-2016, Retrieved from

       https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db340-h.pdf

 

McKenzie, J., Neiger, B., & Thackeray, R. (2016). Planning, implementing, and evaluating health

promotion programs (7th ed.). Pearson.

 

Rubak, S., Sandbæk, A., Lauritzen, T., & Christensen, B. (2005, April 01). Motivational interviewing: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Retrieved from https://bjgp.org/content/55/513/305

 

 

Vliet, J. S., Gustafsson, P. A., & Nelson, N. (2016). Feeling ‘too fat’ rather than being ‘too fat’

increases unhealthy eating habits among adolescents – even in boys. Food & Nutrition      

Research,60(1), 29530. doi:10.3402/fnr.v60.29530

We will recruit volunteers in the community. I will design an motivational interview for the teens which volunteers will learn how to conduct to teens who participate in the program. We will get feedback on eating habits of 30 + teens and design a workshop to fit the needs of the teen community. Workshops will be one hour in length and conducted via zoom.

Content

1. About Me and My program
2. Program Rationale
3. Program Mission Statement, Goals and Objectives
4. Logic Model
5. Description of Program
6. Methods and Measures
7. Interventions and Strategies
8. Blog Post
9. Reflections
10. Statistics and Media
11. Articles
12. References

 

INPUTS	ACTIVITIES	OUTPUTS	S-T OUTCOMES	I-T OUTCOMES	L-T OUTCOMES
Program team develop motivational interview questions	Roll out motivational interview to teens at Mercer Island High School. Set up schedule with program team to conduct 30 interviews	Full participation from teens	Team in engaged in program	Teens receive motivational interview and start to process information on their own eating habits	Awareness will bring change to teens
Program team develops training program for teens	Program team implements training for volunteers on program	Volunteers successfully complete training on workshop for teens	Increase in knowledge of volunteers	Increase in number of teens educated	Control of teen eating habits
Put on workshop for teens on healthy eating habits	Workshop is presented to the teen community	30 teens participating in workshop are surveyed for items they learned	Change in knowledge and beliefs	Increase in future workshops	Healthier teens

Mission Statement:   Healthy Teens on Mercer Island is a program designed to provide knowledge of eating habits to enhance the health of teenagers on Mercer Island

 

 

Goals Healthy Teens will help adolescents learn healthy eating habits Healthy Teens will help adolescents understand the consequences of skipping breakfast Healthy Teens on Mercer Island will help adolescents understand how fast food and sugar can lead to poor grades Healthy Teens will help adolescents become more aware of their own individual eating habits and pitfalls

 

Objectives

Complete 30 teen motivational interviews and 3/1 hour workshops over zoom with teenagers on Mercer Island in a one month time frame

Improve awareness and positive attitude around healthy eating

Teenagers will participate in healthy eating habits suggestions i.e., no fast food, no soda for one month after program by tracking on a tracker daily

Teens will try not to skip breakfast for one month after the program

Teenagers will develop the skills to say no to unhealthy choices using Social Cognitive theory of changing behavior that is led by trained volunteers

 

Please view this Youtube video to better understand my goals

 

“A Rationale for a Workshop for Teens on Mercer Island on Healthy Eating Habits”

Lauren Feuerman. Leahy

American University Master of Nutrition Education

 

 

The Problem

 

Studies have shown that adolescence is a period which healthy or unhealthy eating habits develop. From the research Van Vilet et. al., (2016) presented in a cross-sectional study with written questionaires and physical measurements, “dieting to lose weight and skipping breakfast were more common among adolescents than younger boys and girls.” From this research it seems clear that the strongest factor to dieting in both boys and girls was a perception of being overweight and skipping breakfast was associated with a more negative body image (Van Vliet et. al., 2016). Another key determinant was a higher BMI in boys leads to skipping breakfast (Van Vliet, et. al., 2016). Findings from a NHANES sample indicate that from 2013 – 2016, 37% of adolescents tried to lose weight. Some ways in which adolescents tried to lose weight were skipping meals which made up 16% of the total adolescents polled (McDow, Nguyen, Herrick, & Akinbami, 2019). According to GAIN health or the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, “The overall findings are worrying. Across the globe, adolescents do not eat enough fruits and vegetables and consume too much soda and fast food (Beal, 2019). Unhealthy diets among adolescents, along with low physical activity, are contributing to the coexistence of undernutrition, overweight or obesity and noncommunicable diseases, which can harm adolescents now and in later life as well as the next generation”

 

 

 

 

The Population- Narrowing the Problem

My audience will be made up of 40 Mercer Island High School adolescents from age 15-19 with an emphasis on boys. Mercer Island is a small town approximately 10 minutes from Seattle, Washington. We have one high school that has 1500 students. Mercer Island is a highly educated community with many professionals and adults with higher education. Most teenagers are concerned about their ability to perform in school with 95% graduating in four years (Washington office of the Superintendent, 2020). Kids are also very concerned about self-image which I have observed in my twenty years of living in the area and raising two teenagers.

I will have motivational interviews with each child and understand their current eating habits. Some questions I will ask will be related to if they skip breakfast, how often they eat fast food or do they drink soda.

 

The Solution

My proposed program will be called Nutrition Education Workshops for Teenagers on Mercer Island. The program will consist of 1) a motivational interview to discover needs of teenagers and find out eating habits 2) a series of zoom calls which I will educate teenagers on a healthy diet and the pros of eating breakfast daily 3) a follow up program to track food intake and fast food/soda intake 4) guest speakers to role model healthy eating and success in business and sports 5) social media ads to encourage eating breakfast and skipping fast foods and sodas.  In addition, I will look at barriers to action. I will keep the lesson plan fun and age appropriate.  I will integrate CBT and Social Cognitive Theory to establish self-efficacy in making good decision. 4) The methodology I will use is from University of Minnesota Extension programs in Nutrition. The program I researched works with teens to build self-efficacy. My plan is to have a fun and engaging program to help them learn to love breakfast and make smart choices. In addition, according to the search institute (2017) literature, eight elements of best practices from the University of Minnesota Extension that are proven to work for youth development will be included in my program. They are:

Youth feel physically and emotionally safe

Youth experience belonging and ownership

Youth develop self-worth

Youth discover self

Youth develop quality relationships with peers and adults

Youth discuss conflicting values and form their own

Youth feel the pride and accountability that comes with mastery 

 

The Opportunity – What is in it for Mercer Island

I decided to use Social Media and Zoom calls in my program due to the fact that teenagers are using social media and computers. A study from the Pew Research Center found that “more than 50 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds go online several times a day. This quickly increases during the teenage years to over 70 minutes per day, with teenage girls having the highest usage at just over 140 minutes per day. It is important to recognize that non-school related use of the internet and social media is often beheld by teenagers as important for developing their self-esteem, their acceptance among peers and their mental health in general” (Coppes, 2019).

Mercer Island High School has approximately 1500 children enrolled. I have lived on Mercer Island for twenty-two years. We have a an active and engaged student body and PTA with a program called Parent Edge where we bring in speakers in all areas to the community.  I will have a 45-minute teenage nutrition education series for the children of Mercer Island High School. The people who benefit the most are teens, parents and teachers. It would be an important addition to our school to embrace how to help teens with health and better performance in school and life.

 

The Promise and Gain to Mercer Island

According to Carroll (2014), “The push for school nutrition initiatives traditionally has focused on health outcomes. While these certainly are important, it’s time to shift the conversation to include the academic implications of dietary choices. It’s clear that nutrition behaviors such as eating breakfast impact learning outcomes. Other behaviors, such as adequate fruit and vegetable intake, better diet quality, and lower consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, are supported by a growing body of evidence for their role in academic performance.”

 

Mercer Island High School students will have better overall grades and attendance due to improvements in nutrition. What can be gained is a lifetime of healthy eating habits and cost savings to our medical systems with a good preventative plan to nutrition. Mercer Island will be an example to other high schools that are trying to help kids increase awareness of healthy eating.

 

Reason to Invest in this Program and Why Will it Be Successful

Mercer Island prides itself on its education. As stated above, 95% of children graduate high school on Mercer Island and 55% of our teachers have a Master’s degree (Office of Superintendent, 2020). Adolescents at this school strive to be the best at everything as we can see by our level of higher degrees and problems can lead to more chronic issues such as poor grades, lack of vitamins and poor performance in activities. If Mercer Island strives to be the best, it needs to educate its teens on healthy habits.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

 

Adolescent and young adult health. (2021). Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-

    room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescents-health-risks-and-solutions

 

Beal, T., Morris, S. S., & Tumilowicz, A. (2019). Global Patterns of Adolescent Fruit,

Vegetable, Carbonated Soft Drink, and Fast-Food Consumption: A Meta-Analysis of Global

School-Based Student Health Surveys. Food and Nutrition Bulletin,40(4), 444-459.

doi:10.1177/0379572119848287

 

Carroll, (2014) Better Academic Performance – Is Nutrition the Missing Link? (2014). Retrieved

April 7, 2021,from https://www.todaysdietitian.com/newarchives/100614p64.shtml

 

 

Contento, I. R. (2016). Nutrition education: Linking research, theory, and practice. Burlington,

MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning.

 

Coppes (2019) Teens and social media: When is it too much? Retrieved from

https://med.unr.edu/news/archive/2019/coppes-teens-and-social-media

 

McKenzie, J. F., Neiger, B. L., & Thackeray, R. (2017). Planning, implementing, and evaluating

    health promotion programs: A primer. San Francisco: Pearson/Benjamin Cummings.

 

Over a Lifetime, Childhood Obesity Costs $19,000 Per Child. (2020). Retrieved from

      https://globalhealth.duke.edu/news/over-lifetime-childhood-obesity-costs-19000-child

 

Unhealthy adolescent diets: UNICEF report a wakeup call. (2018). Retrieved from

         https://www.gainhealth.org/media/news/unhealthy-adolescent-diets-unicef-report-wake-  

         call

 

Vliet, J. S., Gustafsson, P. A., & Nelson, N. (2016). Feeling ‘too fat’ rather than being ‘too fat’

increases unhealthy eating habits among adolescents – even in boys. Food & Nutrition

       Research,60(1), 29530. doi:10.3402/fnr.v60.29530

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

Rubak, S., Sandbæk, A., Lauritzen, T., & Christensen, B. (2005, April 01). Motivational interviewing: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Retrieved from https://bjgp.org/content/55/513/305

 

 

 

McDow, K., Nguyen, D., Herrick, K. & Akinbami, L (2109) Attempts to Lose Weight Among

Adolescents Aged 16–19 in the United States, 2013-2016, Retrieved from

 https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db340-h.pdf

 

Preliminary Research

Studies have shown that adolescence is a period which healthy or unhealthy eating habits develop. A cross sectional study I read showed how physical measurements and body perception related to eating habits, dieting to lose weight and skipping breakfast. The strongest risk factor to dieting was the perception of being overweight (Van Vliet et. al., 2016). Another key determinant was BMI in boys (Van Vliet et. al., 2016). Findings from a NHANES sample indicate that from 2013 – 2016, 37% of adolescents tried to lose weight. Boys made up 30.1% of that statistic (McDow et. al., 2019). Some ways in which adolescents tried to lose weight were skipping meals which made up 16% of the total adolescents polled (McDow et. al.,, 2019). According to GAIN health or the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition, “The overall findings are worrying. Across the globe, adolescents do not eat enough fruits and vegetables and consume too much soda and fast food. The specific dietary challenges vary somewhat by region, income and type of food system, requiring specific attention by subgroup.

Unhealthy diets among adolescents, along with low physical activity, are contributing to the coexistence of undernutrition, overweight or obesity and noncommunicable diseases, which can harm adolescents now and in later life as well as the next generation” (gainhealth.org/media/news/unhealthy-adolescent-diets-unicef-report-wake-call, 2019)

Key Data Points: NHANES STUDY http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/products/databriefs/db340.htm

• The percentage of adolescents who tried to lose weight in the NHANES study between 2013-2016 increased by year
• There was no significant difference in percentages of boys and girls who tried to lose weight who were considered obese.
• Almost ½ of adolescent girls and 1/3 of adolescent boys are trying to lose weight according to the same study
• Among adolescents who tried to lose weight, most common methods were exercising and drinking a lot of water however 16% skipped meals to lose weight.
• According to GAIN, findings are worrying because “across the globe, adolescents do not eat enough fruits and vegetables and consume too much fast food and soda.”

 

The challenge of changing adolescent behavior should not be underestimated. It is a time in most people’s lives where the flow is against their better judgement. The issue with obesity and teenage weight insecurity is real. We are struggling to help them love their bodies and fill themselves with the healthiest foods in the face of poor self-esteem and a lot of fast-food options. We have learned that self-efficacy is critical in change. Feeling empowered and good about oneself and one’s decisions is critical for this age group. My workshops over zoom and motivational counseling will help them put the pieces together and build a plan that they can believe in and have social support for their journey toward a healthier way of life.

 

References

Rubak, S., Sandbæk, A., Lauritzen, T., & Christensen, B. (2005, April 01). Motivational

interviewing: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Retrieved from

https://bjgp.org/content/55/513/305