Impact of a low-intensity pedagogical model for integrating MedlinePlus exercises into middle school nutrition lessons

Objective: The research developed and pilot-tested MedlinePlus exercises in a diet-related chronic disease prevention (DCDP) middle school lesson unit called "Live." Methods: MedlinePlus exercises were jointly developed by two middle school family and consumer sciences (FCS) teachers and integrated into the "Live" DCDP lesson unit. FCS classes (n = 4) who had participated in a prior "Live" study were chosen to pilot-test the MedlinePlus-supplemented exercises. Evaluation measures included student satisfaction (assessed using an 8-item pre- and posttest questionnaire), knowledge gained, and attitudinal changes (assessed with an abridged version of a previously developed "Live" questionnaire). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS. Results: Of 62 total study participants, 56 (92.3%) said that they were either "somewhat" or "clearly": (a) more likely to use MedlinePlus as a future source for answering questions about their personal health and (b) more knowledgeable about how eating habits can help prevent disease. Selected parameters were improved for nutrition knowledge (P < 0.01) and attitudes (P < 0.01) related to healthy eating. Conclusions: MedlinePlus has good potential for efficiently communicating trustworthy diet-related disease-prevention behaviors to adolescents in an existing classroom curriculum.