Mindfulness messages on napkins: The efficacy of dining hall napkins as a messaging channel

Abstract

Objective

To assess the efficacy of utilizing dining hall napkins as a novel health messaging strategy to promote mindfulness.

Participants

Undergraduate students at a large Midwestern university.

Methods: Utilizing a place-based promotional strategy, mindfulness messages were printed on over 8-million napkins at dining halls. Surveys (N = 573) were used to measure message viewership, and attitudes toward mindfulness.

Results

While only a few small significant effects for students who read the messaging were found (e.g., increases in self-efficacy for keeping ones phone out of sight while speaking with someone), napkins appeared to be a successful channel for reaching students. About 97% of students who dined in-person indicated they saw the napkin messaging. Additionally, students were more likely to read the napkin messaging when dining in-person rather than when they took their food “to-go.”

Conclusion

Future research should continue to test napkins’ efficacy as a messaging channel for health messaging for college students.

Keywords:

• Campus dining channels
• mindfulness
• napkins

Conflict of interest disclosure

The authors have no conflicts of interest to report. The authors confirm that the research presented in this article met the ethical guidelines, including adherence to the legal requirements of the United States, and received approval from the Institutional Review Board of Purdue University.

Additional information

Funding

This work was partially funded by Purdue University’s dining and culinary services, and a grant from the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration: Division of Mental Health and Addiction.