Self-assessment as a resource for health education: results of 7-day continuous data collection of 10-11–year old children’s health habits

Marjorita Sormunen (1) , Julie Pironom (2) , Carine Simar (2) , Jukka Sormunen , Didier Jourdan (2) , Kerttu Tossavainen (1)

1 Department of Nursing Science
2 ACTé - Activité, Connaissance, Transmission, éducation

Self-assessment as a resource for health education: results of 7-day continuous data collection of 10- 11 –year old children’s health habits Objectives: Children are digital natives; they live in a world shaped by technology. The use of personal data collected by smartphones may raise ethical issues, but also can be viewed as a powerful tool for education, enabling working with children. This study examines how health routines are realized among 10-11 -year old schoolchildren and what ethical issues may occur in taking part of this kind of an educational research process. Methods: Twenty children participated in the study. Data were collected via smartphones or tablets through health game application during seven consecutive days. Each day the children answered to 12-14 questions concerning their daily health routines. The process and data analysis were made in order to understand 1) the relationship the children have to such apps, 2) the potential of mobile apps in health education, and 3) the possible trends in children’s daily health routines. The ethical questions actualized in several phases of the study. Results: Children used the application easily. According to preliminary findings, children’s behaviours can be divided at least in three categories. First group of children, for example, washed their teeth twice a day, ate healthy, and had a sufficient amount of sleep at night. Second group generally had healthy habits, but they did not follow certain routines daily. Third group of children had daily habits that may become health threats, if they are not specifically addressed. The potential use of these personal data in school health education will be discussed in the presentation. Conclusions: Monitoring children’s health behaviours during a short period brings potentially valuable insights into their health habits. It can be used as a resource for health education if it takes into account the fact that children’s health and well-being are influenced by a complex interplay of biological, environmental, cultural, and social factors.

Mots clés: health education; habits; children; self-assessment

Domaines: Education

Marjorita Sormunen, Julie Pironom, Carine Simar, Jukka Sormunen, Didier Jourdan, et al.. Self-assessment as a resource for health education: results of 7-day continuous data collection of 10-11–year old children’s health habits. 8th Nordic Health Promotion Research Conference “20 years of Health Promotion Research in the Nordic countries: health, wellbeing and physical activity”, Jun 2016, Jyväskylä, Finland. ⟨hal-01333352⟩