Effectiveness of a health literacy program on fruit and vegetable consumption among Grade 9 students, Sawankhalok District, Sukhothai Province

Abstract

     This research is a quasi-experimental study with two groups to assess the effectiveness of the program to promote health literacy regarding fruit and vegetable consumption. The sample group consisted of 70 Grade
9 students (The third year of secondary school), divided into an experimental group and a control group, with 35 students each. The experimental group received the program consisting of seven activities over 12 weeks, while the control group received regular teaching. The research instruments included were the Social Cognitive Learning Program, a self-efficacy questionnaire, a health literacy on fruit and vegetable consumption, and a fruit and vegetable consumption behavior questionnaire. The reliability of the tools was assessed using Cronbach's alpha, obtaining values of 0.86, 0.95, and 0.88, respectively. Data were analyzed using percentage, mean, standard deviation, independent sample t-test, and paired sample t-test, with the statistical significance level set
at 0.05.
     The results of this study revealed that, after the experiment, the experimental group had a significantly higher average score in self-efficacy, health literacy regarding fruit and vegetable consumption, and fruit and vegetable consumption behavior compared to their scores before the experiment (p-value < 0.05). Additionally, the experimental group had significantly higher scores than the control group (p-value < 0.05). Therefore, relevant agencies should consider organizing promotional activities using social cognitive learning theory to help students recognize their abilities, enhance health literacy related to fruit and vegetable consumption, and improve their diet in other student groups.