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Evaluating the Wellness School Assessment Tool for Use in Public Health Practice to Improve School Nutrition and Physical Education Policies in New York
Author(s) -
Brissette Ian,
Wales Kathleen,
O'Connell Meghan
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
journal of school health
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.851
H-Index - 86
eISSN - 1746-1561
pISSN - 0022-4391
DOI - 10.1111/josh.12091
Subject(s) - public health , medical education , psychology , physical education , health education , health promotion , test (biology) , environmental health , medicine , gerontology , nursing , paleontology , biology
ABSTRACT BACKGROUND Addressing the limitations of existing Local Wellness Policies ( LWPs ) and promoting their implementation remain priorities for health and education agencies. One gap has been the absence of a standard assessment to support LWP revision. During planning for an initiative to improve school nutrition and physical education policy, the Wellness School Assessment Tool ( WellSAT ) was evaluated. METHODS Five public health practitioners used WellSAT to assess 50 LWPs . A randomized, counterbalanced design ensured each LWP was coded twice by separate raters. Models evaluated the extent to which WellSAT ratings reflected differences in the LWPs and order, familiarity and rater effects. During field testing, 18 public health practitioners used WellSAT as part of a statewide public health initiative. RESULTS In pilot testing the majority of the variability in WellSAT scores (median = 88%; range = 76% to 100%) was attributable to differences between policies. Correlations between independent raters' strength and comprehensiveness scores were strong, r = .88 and r = .77, respectively. During field testing, WellSAT was well accepted by public health practitioners and members of the school community. CONCLUSIONS WellSAT represents a reliable and feasible tool for health and education agencies to use in improving LWPs and aligning them with recognized standards.