This study evaluated the effectiveness of a classroom intervention aimed at increasing students' knowledge of head safety and positive attitudes towards bicycle helmet use. 74 students ages 11-15 participated. They completed pre-and post-tests on safety knowledge and questionnaires on helmet use attitudes. Before the intervention, most students only wore helmets when forced by parents and few saw them as safety devices. After viewing presentations on head injuries, more students reported being likely to wear helmets. The study concluded the intervention successfully increased safety knowledge and positive helmet attitudes as intended.

1. Article Critiques Sample Essay
The American Journal of Public Health published a research titled “An
Evaluation of a Classroom Science, Intervention Designed to Extend the
Bicycle Helmet Safety Message” in order to create awareness regarding
the helmet safety. This study seeks to present the results of an
evaluation of the knowledge of students with regard to the head safety
and their attitude towards helmet use after the delivery of the Wizards
of Motion Head Safety Intervention module that was introduced to
grade seven science classrooms.The research question seeks to find out
“what is the relationship between student head safety knowledge and
their attitude towards helmet use after they were exposed to the
delivery of the Wizards of Motion Head Safety Intervention module?”
The World Health Organization reveals that most of the hospitalized
children suffering from head injuries that came as a result of bicycle
accidents. The population sample for this study was 74 (35 males and
39 females) while two instruments were employed in data collection,
and they comprised of a knowledge based test to record student’s
knowledge on head safety and biomechanical concepts, as well as the
questionnaires to collect information on the student’s present and
prospective helmet use.The hypothesis of the study was to find out
whether wearing a bicycle helmet was directly connected to the
attitudes of these young children.
There is widespread use of bicycles by young children aged between 11
and 15 in varied daily activities, including visiting friends, adventure or
for fun activities. From the 74 respondents who were involved in this
study, it was reported that 84 percent rode bicycles on a daily basis
while only 88 percent of these actually owned a helmet. Despite this,
only 32 percent of those who owned the helmets, were reported to be
wearing them when riding a bicycle even though the law requires that
each child ought to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle. The fact that

2. these children ride bicycles without their parent’s watch, makes them
even more susceptible to unintentional accidents. The study reveals
that approximately 700,000 children aged 14 and below died
succumbed to their injuries in 2002 following such accidents. According
to the information collected before the intervention and awareness
campaign, most children only wore helmet after being forced by their
parents to do so and very few actually regarded bicycle helmet as a
safety measure. Even though there was a slight difference following the
post campaign test, an increase in the number of children wearing
bicycle helmets was registered.
Furthermore, findings of the study also revealed that some of the
children wore helmets to fulfill legal requirements. Most of the children
gave reasons for not wearing helmets based on a negative attitude. For
instance, some stated that they failed to wear the helmets because of
peer pressure, the age of helmet and how bicycle helmets look old
fashioned. Nonetheless, the researchers invited the children to view
people who suffered severe head injuries because of bicycle accidents
and this helped to change their mindsets. There is need to place
emphasis with regard to bicycle helmet safety both at home and at
school as a means of preventing future injuries. Finally, the hypothesis
of the report was also right because it showed the main reason children
failed to wear bicycle helmets was because of their attitude.
On the other hand, Blanton et al (2013) carried out a survey on how
feasible physical activities for urban children. The main aim of the study
was to find out the perceptions and opinions of a nature-based physical
activity intervention that is specifically tailored for low income urban
adolescents. The study has two research questions: what are the
adolescent’s perceptions of engaging in PA in nature-based settings and
what intervention is suitable for the prospective nature-based youth
program within a positive youth development framework? The study
was qualitative in nature and the data was collected through four focus

3. groups.The study population was a group of twenty adolescents
including seven males and thirteen females. The instruments used for
the study included two sets of interview schedule that recorded
information concerning their fears and perceptions from the four focus
groups of adolescents, and 5 individuals who were interviewed. Before
the interview, urban teenagers were reported to have possessed rigid
attitudes towards nature based activities and preferred staying indoors
playing video games. The study also covered the comprehension of
youths regarding the words respect and responsibility.As such, the
study sought to identify the opinions of teenagers concerning physical
activities and sensitizing them on the essence of working out and
exercise.
The results of the study revealed three categories of results which were
grouped into natural thoughts, active interests, and implementing
recommendations. The participants were to respond in two ways
including what they like or dislike despite the fact that some questions
were open ended. According to Blanton et al (2013) the natural
thoughts of the adolescents with regard to the outdoor physical
activities would be engaging in activities such as sitting outside in the
fresh air and admiring the environment. Most of the participants
disliked going out during the winter season as they believed that people
were expected to remain indoors during cold seasons. The second
category of the response revealed that outdoor activities, such as bike
riding, camping, and playing ball games tended to interested the youths
more. Majority of these youths were skeptical about workouts and
activities that enhanced their body metabolism. The final category of
implementing the recommendations, the respondents were of the
opinion that they liked outdoor activities and would engage in them in
order to implement what they had learnt. For example, they preferred
cooperate activities that helped them to bond more with their friends.
The research also delved into the comprehension of the adolescents
with regard to respecting people and also defining their responsibilities.

4. The participants viewed respect as treating individuals in the same way
they expected to be treated in return while according to them,
responsibility was what they were expected to do.
It is clear from the survey that most of the youths are not actively
involved in outdoor activities for health purposes, but for sheer fun.
Blanton et al (2013) also found out that the youths only got involved in
physical activities during the summer but not on a regular basis. The
findings revealed that they would prefer to interact with the mass
media instead of being engaged in physical activities. With regard to
this, health is not a priority for these youths when they get involved in
outdoor activities, and as such health education practice ought to
create more awareness to the adolescents regarding this subject.
It is only from us at Premium Essays that you can always be assured of
obtaining professional help with academic research papers. With us,
you are always guaranteed original papers of the best quality.

5. References
Blanton, J., Oregon, E., and Flett, R. (2013). The feasibility of using
nature-based settings for physical activity programming: views from
urban youth and program providers. American journal of health
education. 44 (1932) 324-334
Mcpherson, M. (2009). An evaluation of a classroom science
intervention designed to extend the bicycle helmet safety message.
American journal of health education. 40(2). 71-79
- See more at: http://www.premiumessays.net/articles/article-
critiques-sample-essay/#sthash.H9G3ijH8.dpuf