Implementation of the Heart Healthy Kids Toolkit by elementary school teachers in Thunder Bay and the factors that affect its use in the classroom

Abstract

The Heart Healthy Kids Toolkit (HHKT) is a health and physical education resource that elementary school teachers may use to help teach their students about the importance of being physically active, eating healthy, and living a smoke-free lifestyle (subsequently referred to as a heart healthy lifestyle). The focus of this study was to determine the level o f awareness and use of the HHKT amongst elementary school teachers in Thunder Bay, and to identify factors that may be associated with its implementation in the classroom. Five hundred and twenty-nine elementary school teachers selected from 34 of the 50 public and separate elementary schools in Thunder Bay were asked to complete a seven-page survey. The survey answered the following research questions: 1. How many teachers are aware of the HHKT and how many of them used it during the 2001/02002 school year and to what extent and at what level? 2. How does the relative advantage, complexity, compatibility and observability of the HHKT affect its implementation in the classroom? 3. How does the current organizational and political climate, and the teachers training, educational background, HHKT implementation self-efficacy, self efficacy about teaching physically active health and physical education classes affect HHKT implementation? The overall response rate was 20% (n=107). Of the 107 total respondents, 30 identified that they were aware of the HHKT (i.e. 28%). Sixteen of the 30 (53%) respondents who were aware o f the HHKT indicated that they have used it during the 2001/02 school year. The factors that are most closely associated with its use were the respondents implementation self efficacy, the HHKT's perceived complexity, their awareness and concern for the health and physical education discipline and the perceived relative advantage of the HHKT over existing health and physical education resources.