UC Merced Undergraduate Research Journal

Background and Aim Health literacy and public awareness about common health problems are critical for individual and public health. The San Joaquin Valley (SJV) of California, home to four million people, is a medically underserved region with a lack of access to health resources, contributing to the region’s high prevalence of health concerns. In response to health education challenges in this region, our intervention aims to evaluate the effectiveness and feasibility of animated medical education videos in improving health literacy behavior by equipping high school students with medical knowledge to empower them to uplift their communities through informative outreach.

Methods The intervention will involve the use of five-minute animated videos regarding relevant fundamental medical problems through the provision of age-appropriate health information given to all participating high school students (n=400) in Merced, CA. Relevant medical problems include health conditions endemic to the SJV, such as diabetes, asthma, and oral health. These conditions were selected based on public health data and interviews with public health experts in the region. The intervention will take place from January to March of 2024. The animated medical videos will be created based on information from federal government health agencies and will be peer-reviewed by physicians or health experts with relevant experience. The animated videos are based on the Health Belief Model, aiming to enhance perceived susceptibility, the severity of consequences, and the benefits of taking preventive actions. Effectiveness measures will include knowledge gained from the intervention and intention to engage in specific health behaviors. Feasibility measures will include accessibility of the materials, measured by perceived difficulty in understanding the video content.  To assess effectiveness and feasibility, we will employ a pre-and post-test design, where participants will be given a baseline questionnaire to assess their knowledge, attitude, perception, and behavior relevant to the medical topic. Students will then be presented with the video intervention, after which a post-test is administered using the same questions to assess post-intervention changes. Generalized mixed models will be used to analyze survey data.

Results and Implications Results are expected in March. The findings will provide insights to educators and policymakers regarding the use of age-appropriate medical education resources and their potential benefits in medically underserved communities. We aspire to contribute valuable insights that may pave the way for innovative approaches to health education, ultimately empowering individuals in underrepresented communities with the knowledge needed to make informed health-related decisions.