Pet Awareness With Students (P.A.W.S.): The development of age appropriate materials for teaching public health education to children.

摘要

The purpose of this study was to determine if the animal bite prevention and zoonotic disease program in Pet Awareness With Students (P.A.W.S.) is an effective educational program for younger elementary children.;An educational program was delivered and student learning was determined through a pretest and post-test. This program utilized the Classroom Performance System (CPS) to collect responses from first grade students. Responses were collected and compared to the second grade participants who used paper methodology. It was determined that these age groups had little knowledge of animal bites and zoonotic disease. Gender was not related to either pretest or post-test scores. The effect of bite history or having pets at home was also examined. It was determined via test scores that first and second graders have the capacity to learn the information provided. Stakeholder evaluation was positive and provided further impetus for future studies.