Publications/Projects

Move Across Washington Social Media Tool Kit

Move Across Washington promotes ways for all adults to stay active outdoors, such as biking, gardening, walking, and other activities that use local trails, parks, and other spaces conducive to a variety of movement and activity. The social media tool kit focuses on theory-based messaging for SNAP-Ed providers. Use social media posts to reinforce your community work (e.g., direct ed classrooms or PSE strategies). For this campaign, that may include the following: reinforcing Walk with Ease goals, encouraging use of local trails and parks, and promoting physical activity as a means of transportation to SNAP-Ed sites.

EXCITE: “Getting to the Heart and Mind of the Matter”

Integrated Model of Sustainable Health Decision-Making argues that social drivers of health can help inform health professionals through three core assumptions. First, through priority populations, health professionals should stregthen their relationship to build trust and momentum for healthy behavior changes, while sharing motivating, trustworthy, and informative content that engages in a top-down analytical processing including on formats easily accessible by these populations such as social media. Through health professionals communication activities, they can integrat media literacy skills, neuromarketing-optimized science education, and motivated interviews to become trusted partners in their communities.
Integrated Model of Sustainable Health Decision-Making

Washington State University’s EXCITE (Extension Collaborative on Immunization Teaching and Engagement) team is working and empowering Extension professionals with the tools they need to drive vaccine and health education initiatives in their communities. Our resources are designed with a comprehensive three-pronged approach to ensure maximum impact through the Getting to the Heart and Mind of the Matter Toolkit. The toolkit applies an integrated approach using Motivational Interviewing (MI), Science Media Literacy (SML), and Neuromarketing (NM). The toolkit begins with MI, which lays the groundwork for effective communication, helping individuals and groups feel understood, confident, and capable of making informed decisions. Next, we delve into SML to enhance our ability to access, analyze, evaluate, create, and use media effectively, boosting our confidence and skills in navigating the complex media landscape. The third chapter explores NM, offering insights into the human mind and providing strategies for crafting brain-friendly messages that resonate and persuade. We showcase the powerful synergy of combining MI, SML, and NM, offering practical tools, resources, videos, workshops, and strategies for seamless integration and success measurement. By adopting this holistic approach, we aim to transform vaccine education and health communication, ensuring our communities are well-informed and empowered.

For more information about The Integrated Model of Sustainable Health Decision-Making, click here.

Click Here to access the ToolKit

FoodMania: Kids & Food In A Marketing-Driven World

FoodMania was a media literacy program designed to improve family conversations and skills related to food marketing and nutrition. Most media-related educational programs aimed at school-age youth aim to convince families to use less media, with limited success. FoodMania empowers parents and youth to critically analyze marketing messages about food, helps them find accurate information and guides them to use tools such as food labels. FoodMania included six (6) units delivered by trained WSU Extension personnel, each unit lasting about 2 ½ hours.

FoodMania’s Curriculum included:

  • Efficacy: Parents’ confidence in their ability to manage media and change the nutrition environment.
  • Parental Mediation: Skills to actively encourage and discuss critical thinking regarding media messages.
  • Critical Thinking: Strategic use of media sources to acquire accurate and useful nutrition information.

For more information about the research conducted through the FoodMania Program, click here.