title: Pilot evaluation of a school-based health education intervention in the UK: Facts4Life.
abstract: This study assessed short-term changes in children's health and illness attitudes and health status following Facts4Life, a school-based health education intervention.
  
  
  
  Children aged 7-11 years (School Years 3-6) recruited from 10 schools in the UK participated in this study. A quasi-experimental design was utilized with 187 children participating in the intervention, and 108 forming a control condition. Children in both conditions completed measures of health and illness attitudes and health status at baseline and at immediate follow-up. Intervention effects were examined using mixed between-within subjects analysis of variance.
  
  
  
  Analysis revealed significant baseline to follow-up improvements in intervention group responses to 'When I feel unwell I need to take medicine to feel better' (Years 3 and 4: P = 0.05, η2p = 0.02; Years 5 and 6: P = 0.004, η2p = 0.07). For intervention group children in Years 5 and 6 there was an improvement in response to 'When I am ill, I always need to see a doctor' (P = 0.01, η2p = 0.07). There was no evidence that Facts4Life had an impact upon health status.
  
  
  
  This study identified some positive intervention effects and results suggest that Facts4Life has potential as a school-based health education intervention.
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of the West of England, BristolBS16 1QY, UK.
authors.forename: Emma L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Bird
authors.affiliation: Department of Health and Social Sciences, University of the West of England, BristolBS16 1QY, UK.
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Oliver
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D002648:Child; D000067576:Child Health; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055118:Medication Adherence; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012572:School Health Services; D012574:Schools; D006113:United Kingdom
keywords: children; educational settings; health promotion