Running head: MY PLATE PROGRAM EVALUATION REPORT

My Plate Program Evaluation Report

Sharfaa Ahmad, Angela Ayres-Hudson, Jessica Durkee, Joanina Gazcon, Johnny Munoz

Department of Health Science and Human Ecology

California State University San Bernardino

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Table of Contents

Executive summary Error! Bookmark not defined.

Mission Statement 3

SMART Goals and Objectives 3

Target Population 4

Program Purpose and Rationale 5

Program Evaluation 5

Recommendations 6

Reflection 8
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My Plate Program Evaluation Report

Executive summary

The program that was evaluated pertained to teaching college students specifically those

who attend California State University, San Bernardino. This PSA consisted of explaining each

of the categories of MyPlate which included fruits, vegetables, grains, proteins and dairy. Each

category was explained by describing the necessary serving sizes and what food fall under each

category.

This evaluation was done so by watching the PSA and looking for key components.

These key components of the evaluation included: Topic, Executive summary, target population,

goals and objectives, mission statement, and the actual message that was being portrayed. It was

observed that the Freshman 15 target population mentioned in the PSA were college students.

The goals and objectives were to include an all-inclusive explanation on each of the portions

that the MyPlate PSA illustrated. Also, the take home message of the PSA was how it is

important to fuel the body with correct foods in order to stay healthy and prevent weight-gain.

What really worked well for the PSA was that it included great and relevant information.

The information was all inclusive as it differentiated the dietary needs for males and females and

also included options for individuals who may be vegetarian. In terms of what needs to be

improved, it would be helpful to slow down the video. This PSA mentioned great information

and it is important that the audience be given enough time to hear it, process it and retain it.

Finally, when showing the DEN as a resource on the PSA, perhaps showing it a little longer

would allow people to see the information as a great resource.

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Mission Statement

The MyPlate PSA’s mission statement could be defined as “college students at risk of

being in the Freshman 15 group should utilize MyPlate diet tips as a solution to prevent serious

weight gain from occurring.” MyPlate is a basic set of guidelines that provide a variety of

nutritional recommendations for individuals to follow in order to meet nutrition needs and to

reduce serious health concerns. The PSA seeks to raise awareness on the benefits of MyPlate to

not only first-year college students, but college students as a whole in order to prevent them from

being apart of the Freshman 15 group. The MyPlate PSA hopes to have effective program

outcomes by raising awareness on how eating a variety of grains, protein, vegetables, fruits, and

dairy are the solution to solving the Freshman 15 dilemma among college students.

SMART Goals and Objectives

While no detailed SMART goals for the program were listed, the overall goal of the

MyPlate PSA is to reduce the amount of college students at risk of being in the Freshman 15

group. This is a long-term goal that does not break up the program’s vision into smaller

attainable objectives. However, the program plans on achieving this goal by providing several

nutritional recommendations to students. The program suggests that consuming proper amounts

of water, fruits, vegetables, protein, whole grains, and low fat and fat-free dairy intake, is the

solution that can prevent the Freshman 15 issue among college students. The goals of the

program may be difficult to understand at the 5th grade reading level, and should keep in mind

that not all individuals or participants will be educated on the Freshman 15 topic. Having a

clearer message and defining Freshman 15 can prevent these issues from occurring.
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Target Population

The target population of this intervention are the students of California State University,

San Bernardino (CSUSB). CSUSB is a very diverse college campus. According to CSUSB’s

Quick fact guide, in 2018 there were 12,200 women and 7,773 men enrolled at the University.

CSUSB is also a commuter school. Many students drive to and from school on a daily basis.

When you spend a lot of time in your car and on the go sometimes fast food is the easiest option.

For college students in general, eating properly can oftentimes be difficult. Making healthy food

choices can be hard at times due to financial constraints or because there is a lack of knowledge.

There is a common saying that individuals who enter college usually gain fifteen pounds,

aka the “Freshman 15”, during their first year at school. According to CSUSB’s Office of

Institutional Research, 21% of CSUSB students are freshmen. Therefore, 21% of individual’s at

CSUSB are at risk for gaining their Freshman 15. The Freshman 15 does not just affect

Freshmen students, it can affect any student at any time. Depending on one’s diet, food choices

are a key factor on whether individuals will gain or lose weight. For these reasons, 100% of the

student population at CSUSB can be affected by weight gain. MyPlate offers dietary guidelines

for individuals to follow in order to keep those pounds off in a healthy way.

Students may be gaining unintentional weight because of food insecurities. It can be

expensive and time consuming to purchase healthy foods, and driving through fast food places

are much more convenient for the traveling student. College is expensive to attend so students

may not always have the money to purchase healthy foods or any food at all. CSUSB has a food

pantry available on campus for students to obtain fresh fruits, vegetables and other food supplies.
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Program Purpose and Rationale

This PSA is designed to promote healthier eating to college students, specifically, “new”

college students, but not limited to “new “college students. This PSA promotes the use of

MyPlate to provide new or currently nutritionally-uneducated college students with a positive

resource to counter the “Freshman 15”. Moving away from home to attend college often results

in a lack of nutritional education. Many younger college students have never been on their own

and have had meals cooked for them by their parents. College students, who are normally on a

budget, often choose to eat at cheap fast food establishments, and if they do go to the grocery

store, they are not buying nutrient dense foods.

The MyPlate information is a simple visual tool that helps with portion sizes and includes

examples of types of grains, dairy, protein, vegetables and daily recommended amounts. The

visual of making your plate half full of fruits and vegetables and the other half full of grains and

proteins is easy to understand. Obesity is prevalent in the United States, and just as prevalent in

San Bernardino County. In fact, according to San Bernardino County’s government website, in

2014, 38.0% of San Bernardino County adults were considered overweight and 34.0% obese. A

little more than one-quarter (27.0%) had a healthy body weight. (“Overweight and Obesity”,

2015) Due to the high rates of overweight and obese individuals, addressing this issue with the

MyPlate PSA is an effective avenue of intervention for college students to make healthier

choices before weight gain leads to chronic health conditions as they get older.

Program Evaluation

The evaluation type used to evaluate the MyPlate PSA was formative evaluation. Since

the MyPlate PSA is still in the process of improving their program before it can be implemented,

formative evaluation was the method chosen to conduct an assessment. According to Mshigeni
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(2019), formative evaluation is conducted at the beginning of a program in order to improve

overall quality before the program ends. By using formative evaluation, constructive criticism

can be given to the MyPlate PSA to enhance their program components before and during

implementation such as observing individual’s reactions about the intervention (Mshigeni, 2019).

This PSA is geared towards impact evaluation because it seeks to determine whether

there were any immediate observable effects. Impact evaluation “measures long term changes in

behavioral impact or changes in attitudes, knowledge, and awareness (Mshigeni, 2019).” Green

and Lewis (1986) stated how impact evaluation focuses on the “immediate observable effects of

a program, leading to the intended outcomes of a program; intermediate outcomes (as cited in

McKenzie, Neiger, & Thackeray, 2013).” By providing well-balanced diet tips, the MyPlate PSA

is able to quickly reach college students by raising awareness that certain behaviors must change

to reduce the growing numbers of Freshman 15 students. While impact evaluation is commonly

linked to immediate or long term behavioral changes, no timeline was given in the PSA as to

when the program plans on accomplishing their goals and objectives.

Recommendations

The MyPlate PSA was a short, sweet and jam-packed full of useful information. One of

the great things about this PSA is how it informed the audience that the Freshman 15 is not just

limited to freshmen. Freshmen are more susceptible to gaining weight, but most college students

across the board gain weight due to stress and adjusting to the new lifestyle. The way the

information was presented was also very useful. Everything in the presentation was detailed step

by step, and it made it seem that eating healthy is an easy fix.

The second thing that stood out was how informative and detailed this presentation was.

Explaining all the different food groups on the plate was great, but the important thing was how
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serving size was suggested. People generally know they need to eat fruits and vegetables but

very few know how much they are suppose to eat. Even fewer are aware that grains are

necessary in a healthy diet. Including the portion size of each food group needed to have a

healthy well-balanced diet was a great thing to add. The amount of detail when it came to what

constitutes a grain and constitutes dairy and even including vegan and lactose-free options was

great.

Lastly, it was very useful to provide information as to why each food group is an

important part of having a healthy diet. Another important piece of information mentioned in the

PSA was how vegetables reduce cholesterol and are low in calories. One can take the

information mentioned in the MyPlate PSA to be able to and apply it in way that best meets

their diet needs.

There are some improvements that can be made in this PSA as well. One thing is that

there are a lot more resources that are available on campus that could have been mentioned. Cal-

Fresh is available to students that offer healthy and fresh food for students who qualify. For

example, there is nutrition counseling on the second floor of the physical sciences building that is

maybe more convenient for some students and was worth a mention. Secondly, although the

information was great and useful it would have been beneficial to have a quick one or two

recipes at the end. Since the information in this presentation was so heavy and dense, providing a

quick and easy recipe would have shown students that it indeed can be easy to eat healthy. A

simple salad combining some of the food groups or a yogurt parfait that combines the fruit and

dairy component of MyPlate. The only other thing that could have been improved upon was the

speed of the voiceover. It was a little too fast which made it almost stressful to listen to. Not

everything on the slides necessarily needed to be voiced over if timing was an issue, for
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example; listing the types of grains and not speaking about each one would have been

acceptable. Overall, this was a great PSA and would be useful to students who are struggling

with the basics of nutrition.

Reflection

While many individuals in the field of public health have strong desires to create

programs that raise awareness or reduce health behaviors, programs must be critically evaluated

to ensure positive outcomes. Evaluation is necessary for the success of any program because its

purpose is to assess and improve quality to determine program effectiveness (Mshigeni, 2019).

The goal of this report was to critically view the MyPlate PSA and conduct an external

evaluation.

Throughout HSCI 615: Health Education Planning & Evaluation, the entire quarter

consisted of teamwork during class and outside of class. Although group work can be

challenging due to different ideas and ways of thinking, I believe it is an important aspect in the

field of public health. To evaluate the PSA, my team, the IPV group worked well together

throughout the quarter by communicating with each other through the use of email and google

docs. Everyone in the group was well aware of the evaluation sections they were appointed and

responsible for completing.

During this class, we did not learn any new practical skills or tools in software that could

be applied to our evaluation. However, we did utilize google docs and PowerPoint in order to

distribute the workload and create presentations. In regards to learning new theories, I did not

learn anything new but instead re-learned all these theories that I thought I knew. I believe

through classroom activities and identifying theories in other groups PSA’s helped in renovating

these concepts. I also learned a lot about SMART goals and how to create effective ones that
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have clear goals and objectives. Learning about SMART goals and how to apply them was an

important component in identifying the goals and objectives of the MyPlate PSA. Another

important concept that we learned in class was how to conduct an evaluation. This taught us how

to identify different methods of evaluation such as process, formative, summative, impact, and

outcome. In conclusion, group work, a reiteration of previously learned skills, and learning new

concepts has made the class experience enjoyable and will benefit our entire group’s future

careers in public health.

Reference

McKenzie, J. F., Neiger, B. L., & Thackeray, R. (2013). Planning, implementing, and evaluating

health promotion programs: A primer. Boston: Pearson.

HSCI 615 Week 6 Lecture Notes by Mshigeni (2019)

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Overweight and Obesity. (2015). Retrieved from

http://wp.sbcounty.gov/indicators/health/obesity/

“Welcome | CSUSB.” Accessed March 12, 2019. https://www.csusb.edu/institutional-research.

Appendix

PSA Link: https://www.powtoon.com/online-presentation/cOBPC1iclUE/?mode=movie

HSCI 613 PSA Feedback:

Evaluation Report of HSCI 613 PSAs

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Topic My Plate

Help educate students on healthy eating habits, MyPlate guidelines and

Executive Summary resources available at CSUSB

College Students (CSUSB)

Target Population

Educate individuals on MyPlate guidelines and how to use it

Goals/Objectives

Mission Statement Understanding of My Plate

Educate college students on My Plate guidelines

Actual Message

Positive Feedback 1 Great Graphics

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2 Clear Message

3 Great info

Constructive Feedback 1 Slow the slides down, too fast

2 Hard to read due to speed

3 Talk about the DEN in the voiceover, don’t just show the graphic

General

Recommendations Extend and add a theory to create a program for college students

Evaluators Jessica Durkee

Name/Contact 004890336@coyote.csusb.edu

Evaluation Report of HSCI 613 PSAs

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Topic

MyPlate

Help to educate students on healthy eating choices and MyPlate

Executive Summary guidelines.

College students

Target Population

Educate college students to make healthy choices and eat

Goals/Objectives balanced meals

Mission Statement Use campus resources and utilize MyPlate guidelines

Actual Message Make healthy eating choices using MyPlate guidelines

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Positive Feedback 1 Clear descriptions

2 Clear examples

3 Good tips

Constructive Feedback 1 Fast PSA hard to read

2 Good info, but images and words were hard to follow

3 Talk about Den more

General

Recommendations Extend it and slow it down and add a theory

Evaluators

Name/Contact Angela Ayres-Hudson 005732541@coyote.csusb.edu

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Evaluation Report of HSCI 613 PSAs

Topic

MyPlate

Executive Summary Help guide students to eat healthy

Freshman 15?

Target Population

Educate students to eat a variety of grains, proteins, vegetables,

Goals/Objectives fruits, and dairy

Utilize MyPlate diet tips as a solution to prevent serious weight

Mission Statement gain from occurring

Actual Message Raise awareness on complete sources of food

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Positive Feedback 1 Listed male/female food group recommendations

2 Easy PSA to follow

3 Labeled each food group

Constructive Feedback 1 Who is Freshman 15

2 College or high school population?

3 Narration was too fast

Identify Freshman 15

Clearer message

General

Recommendations Slower Narration

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Evaluators

Name/Contact Johnny Munoz 005256338@coyote.csusb.edu

Evaluation Report of HSCI 613 PSAs

Topic

MyPlate

Executive Summary Help students make healthier choices

College students

Target Population

Goals/Objectives How to not gain freshman 15

Mission Statement Get students to use MyPlate

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Actual Message College students need more attention when it comes to nutrition

Positive Feedback 1 Complete guide

2 Liked that dairy potion included kale and dairy free

3 Easy to follow

Constructive Feedback 1 Add quick recipe

2 Good info, slow down voice over

3 Mention Calfresh and nutrition counseling in PS building

General

Recommendations Very useful and easy to follow

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Evaluators Sharfaa Ahmad

Name/Contact 004887489@coyote.csusb.edu

Evaluation Report of HSCI 613 PSAs

Topic My Plate

Executive Summary My plate PSA was evaluated to see the mission

Target Population College students

Goals/Objectives Explain the portions of MyPlate to college students

Mission Statement Create an understanding of MyPlate

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Explain the MyPlate method

Actual Message

Positive Feedback 1 great information

2loved the inclusion of vegetarians

3 great comparison of male and female needs

Constructive Feedback 1 slow down voice over

2 slow down transitions

3 provide another resource like cal fresh

General
Recommendations Tie it closer to the resources available

Evaluators
Name/Contact Joanina Gazcon 004961082@coyote.csusb.edu
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Group emails:
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