Promoting Healthy Sleep Routines among Undergraduate College Students (Ages 18-24)

Create a website about Promoting Healthy Sleep Routines among Undergraduate College Students (Ages 18-24) that would be helpful or informative to the target audience.
Can Use Tools Like: Adobe Sparks, Weebly, Wix, Google Sites

Key elements:
1. The project must be in a medium that was, could, or will be distributed to the public.

2. The information presented in the project must come from evidence-based research (i.e., research articles, NOT news articles) and be cited in APA format.

The website must have the following:
• Campaign message is clear and overall concept was clearly expressed.
• Very clear who target audience is.
• Campaign connected well with target audience and was convincing.
• Visual design of the campaign exceeded expectations in terms of visual design and consistency.
• Campaign is composed of original, creative designs using appropriate media to reach target audience.

ANSWER

Introduction

About 60% of college students have sleep issues, according to research. About 30% of university students suffered insomnia during their studies. Up to 70% of college students did not get the recommended seven to nine hours of sleep every night, according to polls (Dinis & Bragança, 2018). These findings showed how common sleep-related difficulties are among students and how important they are to their health and academic success. Undergraduate college students have poor sleep quality and sleep disruptions. This problem greatly affects their health and academic performance. Sleep difficulties can severely impact mental health and education, making this issue urgent. To help 18–24-year-old college students sleep better, a tailored health program is offered. This program employs evidence-based methods to provide a user-friendly website with complete sleeping habits information and strategies. The curriculum recognizes the need of healthy sleep for student mental and physical health and academic success. This program encourages healthy sleep habits in undergraduate college students by using accessible information and research-supported treatments, improving their well-being and academic performance.

Conceptual Framework

According to Jones et al. (2015), the Health Belief Model (HBM) is essential and underpins the campaign. The HBM studies factors such as students’ perceived vulnerability, severity, and difficulty changing their sleeping habits. The HBM conducted this study. This study examines student views on sleep quality, disorders, vulnerability, and barriers to adequate sleep. This technique can reveal how students view and value quality sleep. It illuminates the many factors that affect student sleep habits and suggests ways to enhance them. Accepting the HBM into the campaign ensures a holistic strategy to change student attitudes and support healthy sleeping practices to increase well-being. This technique promotes students’ mental and physical health.

Health Communication Campaign

Project’s Message

The marketing uses catchy Health Belief Model slogans. These slogans include “Sleep Your Way to Success” and “Sleep smarter, not harder.” These intriguing catchphrases express a straightforward idea: sleep quality matters more than quantity. The main goal is to remove barriers to kids receiving enough sleep and highlight its many benefits. These slogans were carefully designed to resonate with college students to change their sleep beliefs, encourage behavioral changes, and emphasize the importance of quality sleep for health and academic success.

Communication Strategies

College students’ diverse preferences and technological expertise inform the campaign’s strategy. It uses multiple avenues to communicate with these people. According to Jones et al. (2015), this strategy addresses the limitations of the Health Belief Model (HBM) and emphasizes the importance of healthy sleeping habits for students. University health centers, peer educators, social media platforms, podcasts, and posters are used by the campaign to accommodate students’ different interests and technical abilities. This strategy fills holes in conventional health models to increase reach, connection, and resonance with the target audience. To promote healthy sleeping habits, a range of forms and channels that match college students’ likes and routines in today’s digital environment will be used.

Communication Channels

The program strategically uses university health centers, peer educators, social media, podcasts, and banners to spread essential information. According to Shershner and Chervin (2014) and Mbous et al. (2022), the organization uses these channels to undertake a twin strategy to provide specialized help through interpersonal communication and raise awareness through mass media. This program relies on interpersonal communication to help people understand, adopt, and maintain healthy sleeping patterns. This unique approach ensures students receive individualized help and support to solve their sleep quality issues. However, mass media activities boost awareness and engage a wider audience, improving students’ understanding of the importance of quality sleep. The two tactics are combined to fulfill each person’s needs and boost the campaign’s impact.

Campaign Materials

The campaign incorporates videos, infographics, digital content, and seminars based on students’ digital media preferences. According to DuPré and Overton (2020), these resources were deliberately chosen to teach and trigger emotions. This keeps them relevant, clear, and accessible. Films and infographics help students understand and enjoy complex sleep information. Digital information and seminars are aimed to impart knowledge, foster empathy, and change behavior, which leads to an understanding of the need for adequate sleep. Each piece of content aims to efficiently communicate sleep information while appealing to college students’ learning styles and making it intelligible and relevant to their daily lives. These tools help children understand the importance of healthy sleep.

Campaign Objectives (SMART objectives)

1. By the campaign’s conclusion, 80% of the targeted students will demonstrate heightened awareness of the significance of quality sleep.
2. Within six months, 70% of students will successfully adopt at least one healthy sleep habit.
3. Over a year, a 20% improvement in academic performance among students adhering to improved sleep habits will be observed.

Conclusion

This extensive campaign emphasizes sleep to influence first-year college students’ sleep habits. The campaign raises awareness, changes perspectives, and changes students’ sleeping patterns using the Health Belief Model (HBM) and several channels. The ultimate goal is to foster healthy student sleep patterns for academic performance and well-being. This strategy promotes a sleep-focused culture that helps students prioritize their health and academic performance. Program materials and procedures are affordable and accessible to targeted students to suit the campaign’s practical needs. First-year college students should adopt healthy sleep habits.

References

Dinis, J., & Bragança, M. (2018). Quality of sleep and depression in college students: A systematic review. Sleep Science, 11(4), 290–301. https://doi.org/10.5935/1984-0063.20180045

DuPré, A., & Overton, B. C. (2020). Communicating about health: Current issues and perspectives (6th ed). Oxford University Press.

Gaultney J. F. (2010). The prevalence of sleep disorders in college students: impact on academic performance. Journal of American College Health, 59(2), 91–97. https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2010.483708

Hershner, S. D., & Chervin, R. D. (2014). Causes and consequences of sleepiness among college students. Nature and Science of Sleep, 6(73–84). https://doi: 10.2147/NSS.S62907

Jones, C. L., Jensen, J. D., Scherr, C. L., Brown, N. R., Christy, K., & Weaver, J. (2015). The health belief model as an explanatory framework in communication research: Exploring Parallel, serial, and moderated mediation. Health communication. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4530978/

Mbous, Y. P. V., Nili, M., Mohamed, R., & Dwibedi, N. (2022). Psychosocial correlates of insomnia among college students. Preventing Chronic Disease, 19 (E35). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://doi.org/http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd19.220060

Originally posted 2023-11-30 09:16:17.