An assessment of the effect of "DOC talk" on school children in rural Iowa.
The effectiveness of family physicians as health educators through a community health organization (Doctors Ought To Care/DOC) was studied. Seventh-grade students in a rural school system received a series of uniquely prepared slide presentations (DOC talks) on smoking, alcohol, drug use, and venereal disease to study the effect of such talks on knowledge gain and behavior change. The presentations were made during the semester in which the students were also taking a required health education course. A second group of seventh graders in the same school system did not receive the presentations but had the same health education course and served as the control group. Both groups showed similar gains in knowledge during their semester of health education. However, only the group which received the DOC talks showed a continuation of knowledge gains on a follow-up questionnaire. Also, only the group which saw the presentations showed positive behavior changes including decreased substance use. While aware of the study's methodologic limitations, we believe the results support the value of the community physician presenting DOC talks to supplement the usual school health curriculum.
D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D001296:Audiovisual Aids; D002648:Child; D004521:Educational Measurement; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007484:Iowa; D010821:Physicians, Family; D012424:Rural Population