Building healthy minds and bodies: outcomes of a 15-week comprehensive school health program

Schools are vital environments for cultivating lifelong health behaviors. This study evaluated the outcomes associated with a 15-week comprehensive after-school health program, Healthy Kids+, on students’ health-related knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy in five public elementary schools. Using a quasi-experimental pre-post design, 228 students aged 8–11 years (grades 3–6) participated in a multi-component program that integrated nutrition, physical activity, social-emotional learning, and family engagement. Data was collected using the validated After-School Student Questionnaire (ASSQ). Descriptive statistics, paired samples t-tests, and repeated-measures ANOVA evaluated pre-/post-differences. Program participation was associated with significant improvements in health knowledge (ΔM = +17.8, p < .001, d = 1.62), attitudes (ΔM = +.66, p < .001, d = 1.54), and self-efficacy (ΔM = +.72, p < .001, d = 1.53). Interaction effects among gender, grade level, and socioeconomic status were not significant, indicating that the program had an equitable impact across all student subgroups. Hierarchical linear regression confirmed that baseline attitudes (β = 0.36, p < .001) and student age (β = 0.12, p = .008) were both significant predictors of post-test attitude scores, with the model accounting for 44% of the variance (R2 = .44, p < .001). Findings support the short-term potential of multi-component programs in enhancing elementary students’ health-related cognition and motivation. The results underscore the importance of intensive educator capacity-building and family engagement to maintain high program fidelity and achieve consistent outcomes across diverse school settings.