Creating Tables From DFEND Data

Author: Swetha Sirigineedi | Major: Biology

My name is Swetha Sirigineedi. I am majoring in Biology in the Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. I have been doing honors research under the mentorship of Dr. Jamie Baum in the Food Science Department. I have been awarded a grant for the Fall 2021 term. My future plans include completing writing my honors thesis and defending my honors thesis next spring.

My research project is about how participation in a health educational program affects health outcomes and reaching health related goals. The health educational program was the DFEND (Diet, Food, Exercise, and Nutrition During Social Distancing) program. DFEND is a 20-week health educational program to examine how health education affects behavioral change. Some aspects of the educational program were online lectures, social media, and virtual coaches. The objective of the study is to test whether participants are able to improve their sleep quality and meet their sleep related goals after participating in a health educational program.

During spring and summer, I participated in research by attending the DFEND Zoom sessions and creating content for the program. I made fast fact sheets on different topics regarding sleep hygiene, nutrition, and behavior change.

This past semester, I worked with the data mostly. Participants in the study filled out a pre-survey, mid-survey, and post-survey for the duration of the program. The data was compiled in an excel file. I worked with Dr. Jamie Baum and Dr. Erin Howie Hickey while analyzing data. I compiled the data into tables which are currently under review.

I created a table with population demographic information that included gender, race, age, ethnicity, and pre-existing conditions. I also created tables for Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index Scores from pre-survey, mid-survey, and post survey data. The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index is a questionnaire that assesses the sleep quality of an individual. I am interested in how sleep quality improved over time during the duration of this program. From the tables I have created, I am able to compare the mean scores of those who completed the pre-survey and mid-survey, and those who completed all three surveys (pre-survey, mid-survey, and post-survey). According to the table with data of participants who completed all three surveys, the mean PSQI score decreased with each consecutive survey. A PSQI score of five or higher indicates poor sleep quality. The lower the score indicates better sleep quality.

Another aspect of the DFEND data is depression, anxiety, and stress. Participants filled out the The Depression, Anxiety and Stress Scale – 21 Items (DASS-21). It is a self report questionnaire that assesses participant’s emotional states of depression, anxiety, and stress. I created tables comparing pre-survey, mid-survey, and post-survey DASS-21 data. Analyzing this data will determine if participation in a health educational program also has an effect on mental health which is an important aspect of overall health.

Next semester, I plan on understanding the data more and learning more about the statistical significance of the data. I will write my honors thesis about the results from this study.