Impact of a Field Trip to a Health Museum on Children's Health-Related Behaviors and Perceived Control over Illness

Abstract

A field-trip program was developed at the Hall of Health (HOH), a museum in Berkeley, CA, to show children how they can take control of their own health. Pre- and postvisit surveys collected from 1,170 students in fourth through sixth grades indicated that 2 weeks after attending the HOH program, students reported brushing their teeth more often. They also reported a greater sense of control over whether they would get heart disease, bladder infections, lung cancer, skin cancer, and intestinal cancer. Interviews with 34 randomly selected students revealed that all of them could state specific things they learned about the relationship between behavior and health. Students in the comparison group reported wearing a safety belt more often when riding in a car and stated more often that it is never okay to drink alcohol in high school. Students in both the experimental and comparison groups reported more often eating fruits and vegetables, using sunscreen, washing their hands, and wearing a helmet when riding a bicycle, and having an increased sense of control over whether they would have broken bones, colds, flu, and stomachaches.