19th Annual Student Research Conference
Human Potential and Performance
Meningitis Prevention Project
Tiffany L. Marchbanks
Prof. Jennifer Eldridge, Faculty Mentor
Bacterial meningitis is a serious and often fatal disease typically affecting college students living in dormitories. Due to the high risk in this target group, new laws are being adopted to prevent outbreaks. Since vaccination is still not required, other tactics are necessary to persuade students to receive this immunization. This study combines social marketing and the health belief model to create a newsletter targeted to first year students with the purpose of informing them of their risks while at the same time persuading them to take action. The sampling method consisted of the experimental group (n=274), first year students living in Centennial hall, and the control group (n=237), first year students living in Ryle Hall. The experimental group received the newsletter in their campus mailbox and both groups were surveyed using an online questionnaire. Significant differences were not found between the groups, but were found within the experimental group.
Keywords: Meningitis, Vaccine, Social Marketing, Health Belief Model, Immunization
Topic(s):Health Science
Presentation Type: Oral Paper
Session: 34-2
Location: VH 1000
Time: 1:30