A Comparison of Knowledges, Attitudes, and Behaviors before and after Major Revisions in a University Health Promotion Course

Abstract

The effects of a university health-promotion course were evaluated before and after major course revision. Knowledges, attitudes, and behaviors were assessed at the beginning and end of the class for all students taking the original course during 1987–88 (n=195) and the revised course during 1988–89 (n=250). The content areas addressed were exercise, nutrition, substance abuse, stress management, safety, cancer, and cardiovascular disease (CVD). Course revisions involved altering content emphases, adding a series of quizzes, expanding the assigned readings, incorporating nutrition and substance abuse self-evaluations, and providing detailed lecture outlines for students and instructors. Within-group analyses showed that both courses produced significant (P<.05) improvements in various knowledges and attitudes, whereas fewer behavioral modifications were realized. Between-group comparisons revealed that the revised course yielded enhanced benefits in terms of increased knowledges in the areas of stress management and cancer (P<.01), improved attitudes in the areas of stress and CVD (P<.05), and healthier behaviors in the area of CVD (P<. 01). The most important and interesting finding was that the revised course surpassed the original course in modifying overall health behaviors (P<.01). These results demonstrate that even a well designed and successful course can benefit significantly from a systematic course evaluation and revision.