Students Present Work to CDC Representative

Three WIU marketing students were among a group of University professors and professionals who gave presentations in August to Diane Thompson of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on students' health knowledge and how Western is addressing health messaging to its students.

Thompson, who is the CDC project officer for the Coronary Artery Risk Disease in Young Adults (CARDIA) program, had requested the presentation on the students' research, which she had received from Judy Yeast MS '81, associate director of Campus Recreation.

In Fall 2006, the Illinois Department of Public Health, working in conjunction with the CDC, selected Western as one of three statewide participants in the CARDIA program. The CDC provides small grants to cover expenses, Yeast explained.

“In Spring 2007, the CDC asked us to determine how and where individuals between the ages of 18 and 20 at WIU attain health information; that's when I asked Marketing Professor and Department Chair John Drea to get his students involved,” Yeast said.

Seniors Jill Erling (LeClaire, Iowa) and Gwen Smith (Orland Park), along with Spring 2007 graduate Tara Beckman (Bloomington)—part of a five-member research team from Drea's marketing research class, presented their research data and analysis to Thompson. Team members Nathan Koster (Lewistown), who graduated with bachelor of business degrees in May and senior Doug Herring (Bloomington) were unable to attend.

The team targeted six categories: diet, nutrition, obesity, high cholesterol, hypertension and physical activity.

Among the survey results was the students' claim that television would be a good source for health information, but it actually rated very low for the knowledge scale.

“Statistically, we found that using posters was actually most useful,” Beckman said.

“The health industry is totally missing this generation,” Yeast said. “There's not even a good website for college-age students to go to for information.”

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