scholarly journals Increasing Capacity for Farm to Early Care and Education in Maryland and Washington: Study Protocol

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_2) ◽  
pp. 267-267
Author(s):  
Caroline Rains ◽  
Alyssa Auvinen ◽  
Lacy Stephens ◽  
Sara Benjamin-Neelon
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Child Nutrition ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Early Care And Education ◽  
Early Care ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Train The Trainer ◽  
Individual Site

Abstract Objectives Farm to early care and education (farm to ECE) incorporates local food purchasing; on-site gardens; and food, nutrition, and agriculture education into ECE settings to advance child health and well-being, engage families and communities, and enhance ECE quality. This project aims to advance capacity for farm to ECE training and implementation in Maryland and Washington by (1) measuring uptake and sustainability of farm to ECE activities at two demonstration sites; and (2) testing the feasibility of a train-the-trainer model, which includes training professionals who offer technical assistance to ECE providers to incorporate farm to ECE into existing training models. Methods For this demonstration study, researchers will work in partnership with each site to determine interests, needs, and capacity and develop a plan for integrating farm to ECE activities. Evaluation will consist of process and outcome components, including: (1) Semi-structured interviews with site administrators and educators to determine site needs and priorities (pre), progress and on-going needs (mid) and feedback on process, challenges, successes, and program sustainability (post); and (2) pre and post implementation assessment of ECE program quality (e.g., child nutrition, family engagement, learning environment). For the train-the-trainer model, researchers will utilize pre, post, and follow up surveys to assess changes in knowledge, attitudes, and self-efficacy regarding delivery and implementation of farm to ECE activities and participant uptake and implementation of training content. Results N/A. Conclusions Farm to ECE has the potential to promote healthier ECE environments and healthier community food systems. This project aims to examine impacts of expanding farm to ECE through state training and individual site level activities, with the goal of identifying best practices to support expansion of sustained and comprehensive farm to ECE initiatives. Funding Sources Bloomberg American Health Initiative Collaboration Awards; Lerner Center for Public Health Promotion, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

scholarly journals Effectiveness in adapting the implementation of the Early Care and Education Learning Collaboratives Project (ECELC) using real-world conditions

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa M Garvin ◽  
Alethea Chiappone ◽  
Lisa Weissenburger-Moser Boyd ◽  
Julie Shuell ◽  
Catherine Plumlee ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Best Practices ◽  
Child Nutrition ◽  
Technical Assistance ◽  
Action Planning ◽  
Early Care And Education ◽  
Early Care ◽  
Policy And Practice ◽  
Self Assessment ◽  
Learning Collaboratives

Abstract The National Early Care and Education Learning Collaboratives Project (ECELC) was a multistate intervention that was highly effective in implementing best practices for healthy eating physical activity (HEPA) in early care and education (ECE) programs across the USA. The ECELC included didactic in-person learning sessions, technical assistance, and self-assessment-guided action planning. This study aimed to describe the effectiveness of adaptions to the self-assessments, learning sessions, and overall support, and also aimed to compare the effectiveness of each to the Original ECELC Model, when applicable. This study utilized a pre-poststudy design using data collected via the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care (NAP SACC) instrument for ECE programs that adapted the Original ECELC Model. Adaptations to the Original ECELC Model were found to promote best practices and policies with regard to Breastfeeding & Infant Feeding, Child Nutrition, Infant & Child Physical Activity, Outdoor Play & Learning, and/or Screen Time as demonstrated by the NAP SACC (p < .05), with some exceptions of nonstatistically significant increases. Improvements were found to be statistically similar to improvements made among participants of the Original ECELC Model. Partner-driven, scalable, and customizable policy- and practice-based interventions to promote HEPA among children in ECE settings may serve as a key strategy to work toward reducing risk for childhood obesity.

Online Opinion Leaders in the Health Promotion Digital Era

2021 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 295-309
Author(s):  
Joyce Cheah Lynn-Sze ◽  
◽  
Azlina Kamaruddin ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Social Media ◽  
Health Promotion ◽  
Health Communication ◽  
Opinion Leader ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Opinion Leaders ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Public

Health opinion leaders have widely embraced social media for health promotion and public health communication which can make a strong influence on the public decision making. However, despite the growing relevance of public health threats such as infectious diseases, pandemic influenza and natural disasters, research has paid little attention to the qualities of opinion leaders. Moreover, there is limited evidence that public health organisations use social media appropriately to engage in meaningful conversations with audiences. Thus, the aims of the study are to describe principles of communication practised by online opinion leaders to promote health issues, to discuss the strategies of social media used, to explain the opinion leaders’ influence attributes in health decision making and finally to develop a model of online opinion leader in the contemporary health promotion era. Content analysis was conducted on Facebook postings of five selected health opinion leaders. In addition, semi-structured interviews with 10 followers were conducted. The findings of the study revealed that there are three principles of communication practised by online opinion leaders, which are language, interaction and themes. There are three strategies opinion leaders use to influence the public: social connectivity, social support and social consultation. Furthermore, there are five opinion leaders’ attributes that influence the public’s decision making, namely personality, authenticity, trust/credibility, professional knowledge and social position. The model would be beneficial in educating and guiding the current public health opinion leaders in order to establish health and social well-being. Keywords: Online opinion leader, online health communication, public health, two-step flow theory, decision making.

scholarly journals Solidarity, Vulnerability and Mistrust: How Context, Information and Government Affect the Lives of Women in Times of Zika

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Rosa Linde Arias ◽  
Maria Roura ◽  
Eduardo Siqueira
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Epidemiological Surveillance ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Individual Level

Abstract Background and Objectives The public health response to Zika outbreak has mostly focused on epidemiological surveillance, vector control, and individual level preventative measures. This qualitative study employs a social-ecological framework to examine how macro (historical, legislative, political, socio-economic factors), meso (sources of information, social support, social mobilization) and micro level factors (individual actions, behavioral changes) interacted to influence the response and behavior of women with respect to Zika in different contexts. Methods A qualitative study was carried out. Women were recruited through the snowball sampling technique from various locations in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the United States. They were of different nationalities and ethnicities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The data transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Women in this study deemed the information provided as insufficient, which led them to actively reach out and access a variety of media sources. Social networks played a vital role in sharing information but also resulted in the spread of hoaxes or rumors. Participants in our research perceived socio-economic inequities but focused on how to remedy their microenvironments. They did not engage in major social activities. Lack of trust in governments placed women in vulnerable situations by preventing them to follow the guidance of health authorities. These impacts were also a result of the response tactics of health and government administrations in their failed attempts to ensure the well-being of their countries’ populations. Conclusions Our findings call for a broad spectrum of public health interventions that go beyond individual level behavioral change campaigns, to more comprehensively address the broader meso and macro level factors that influence womens’ willingness and possibility to protect themselves.

scholarly journals Financial Literacy Education with an Aboriginal Community: Identifying Critical Moments for Enabling Praxis

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 12
Author(s):  
Levon Blue
Keyword(s):  
Financial Literacy ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Literacy Education ◽  
Wealth Accumulation ◽  
Individual Choice ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Aboriginal Community ◽  
Financial Decisions ◽  
Train The Trainer ◽  
Critical Moments

Conventional financial literacy education (FLE) practices promote individual choice and responsibility for financial circumstances. The untruth connected to conventional FLE is that achieving financial well-being is possible after acquiring financial skills and knowledge and choosing to make effective financial decisions. In this article, I share an exploration of FLE practices with an Aboriginal community that unfolded after a conventional train-the-trainer financial literacy workshop failed to gain traction. Nineteen semi-structured interviews took place with community members to understand their experiences, interest and perceived relevance of FLE. The importance of site-specific FLE was revealed as the tension between individual wealth accumulation practices promoted in conventional FLE collided with Indigenous ways of being, knowing and doing. Identified are critical moments for reflection that may enable praxis in FLE. By enabling praxis an educator moves away from conventional one-size-fits-all approaches to FLE, where participants’ needs are assumed, and towards more tailored approaches.

Food Insecurity and Public Health

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly Knowles ◽  
Joanna Simmons ◽  
Mariana Chilton
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
United States ◽  
Food Insecurity ◽  
Child Nutrition ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Public Health Issue ◽  
Assistance Program ◽  
Nutrition Assistance ◽  
The Right

Food insecurity—lack of access to enough food for an active and healthy life—is a major public health issue, affecting the health and well-being of one in seven people in the United States. Food insecurity is related to economic, social, and political conditions, and is beyond the control of a single household. Structural inequalities and discrimination against people of color, LGBTQ people, immigrants, people with disabilities, and women drives disparities in food insecurity. Major policy interventions include raising wages, improving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, various programs of the Child Nutrition Reauthorization, and the Elder Nutrition Program, but these programs are not sufficient to address food insecurity fully. A human rights approach, which recognizes the right to food and promotes increasing civic participation among people from all sectors, offers new possibilities in addressing food insecurity in the United States.

scholarly journals Solidarity, Vulnerability and Mistrust: How Context, Information and Government Affect the Lives of Women in Times of Zika

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Rosa Linde Linde Arias ◽  
Maria Roura ◽  
Eduardo Siqueira
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Qualitative Study ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The United States ◽  
Epidemiological Surveillance ◽  
Sources Of Information ◽  
Snowball Sampling ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Public Health Response ◽  
Individual Level

Abstract Background The public health response to Zika outbreak has mostly focused on epidemiological surveillance, vector control, and individual level preventative measures. This qualitative study employs a social-ecological framework to examine how macro (historical, legislative, political, socio-economic factors), meso (sources of information, social support, social mobilization) and micro level factors ( i ndividual actions, behavioral changes) interacted to influence the response and behavior of women with respect to Zika in different contexts. Methods A qualitative study was carried out. Women were recruited through the snowball sampling technique from various locations in Brazil, Puerto Rico, and the United States. They were of different nationalities and ethnicities. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The data transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Women in this study deemed the information provided as insufficient, which led them to actively reach out and access a variety of media sources. Social networks played a vital role in sharing information but also resulted in the spread of hoaxes or rumors. Participants in our research perceived socio-economic inequities but focused on how to remedy their microenvironments. They did not engage in major social activities. Lack of trust in governments placed women in vulnerable situations by preventing them to follow the guidance of health authorities. These impacts were also a result of the response tactics of health and government administrations in their failed attempts to ensure the well-being of their countries’ populations. Conclusions Our findings call for a broad spectrum of public health interventions that go beyond individual level behavioral change campaigns, to more comprehensively address the broader meso and macro level factors that influence womens’ willingness and possibility to protect themselves. Key words : Zika, women, social determinants, information, public health, maternal and child health

City Health Departments

Urban Health ◽  
2019 ◽  
pp. 377-385
Author(s):  
Daniel Kass ◽  
Thomas Matte ◽  
Adam Karpati
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Civil Society ◽  
Food Systems ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Built Environments ◽  
Political Capacity ◽  
Local Public Health ◽  
The Social ◽  
Public Health Governance ◽  
National Governments

In cities, opportunities exist to influence advances in healthcare, food systems, housing, transport, and the social, physical, and built environments to promote equity, well-being, and health. For cities to accommodate population increases and ameliorate existing conditions, they must seek greater local authority to act and regulate, decentralize power and revenue control from state and national governments, build stronger relationships among governmental sectors and civil society, and build technical and political capacity. This chapter addresses a critical mechanism by which public health as a sector must engage with these changes: local public health governance. It identifies challenges and constraints and offer recommendations for going forward.

Early Care and Education Teacher’s Role in Obesity Prevention and Healthy Development of Young American Indian Children

2018 ◽  
Vol 30 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chelsea L. Kracht ◽  
Susan B. Sisson ◽  
Devon Walker ◽  
Kelly Kerr ◽  
Lancer Stephens ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care ◽  
American Indian ◽  
Health Care Providers ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Early Care And Education ◽  
Children's Health ◽  
Children’S Health ◽  
Care Providers ◽  
Early Care ◽  
Indian Children

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to develop an understanding of how stakeholders, specifically early care and education (ECE) teachers, perceive their role in the development of young American Indian children, and envision working with health care providers and parents in order to enhance children’s health. Methodology: Twenty tribally affiliated ECE teachers from Oklahoma participated in interviews. Thematic analysis was conducted, and three main themes, each with two to three subthemes, emerged. Results: Teachers felt that nutrition and physical activity were important to children’s health. Teachers had little professional interaction with health care providers but desired more. Parental empowerment was conveyed as essential to actualize positive changes in their child’s behavior. Discussion: Teachers of tribally affiliated ECE centers are important stakeholders in promoting the health and well-being of young American Indian children. Additional efforts are needed to more effectively integrate teachers and nurses in order to create effective interventions. We propose a stakeholder partnership to guide the development of future interventions.

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