Suzanne Stluka

Utilizing Talking Circles as a Means of Gathering American Indian Stories for Developing a Nutrition and Physical Activity Curriculum

This qualitative study used a focus group approach (talking circles) to elicit tribal elder insight on important concepts for the purpose of creating a curriculum to teach tribal youth in South Dakota about nutrition and physical activity in culturally appropriate ways. The focus groups were part of a larger project that is exploring mechanisms for creating culturally relevant nutrition and physical activity education for American Indian youth. A series of “Eat Smart, Play Hard” posters, created by South Dakota State University Extension, served as the starting point for talking circle conversations with tribal elders about teaching nutrition and physical activity to children. Data from the talking circles were analyzed using qualitative content analysis for themes in elder dialogs. In open-ended conversations, elders discussed barriers and success in achieving good nutrition and physical activity, important aspects of the Siouan food culture, and historical relationships with food. They shared insights on food ingredients and methods of obtaining and preparing food that were and are currently important to their communities. These data were used to better understand the Native cultural perspectives on nutrition and physical activity and to create effective educational material for Native youth that could be used to teach them in culturally relevant ways.

Photovoice: Engaging School Communities in Wellness Efforts

Children spend the majority of weekday waking hours at school. Schools provide students with food and opportunities for physical activity, and serve as a key environment to facilitate healthy behaviors.1,2 In 2004, the US Federal Government passed the Child Nutrition and Women, Infants and Children (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children) Reauthorization Act, mandating all schools participating in the National School Lunch Program to develop and implement a school wellness policy by the 2006–2007 school year.3 The Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act4 and the Final Rule of 20165 added requirements to support school wellness efforts. During the 2010–2011 school year, 55% of students were enrolled in a school district whose wellness policy did not meet all federal requirements.6 Two barriers to writing and implementing effective wellness policies noted by school board members, school wellness advocates, and state public health nutrition directors were the need to educate and gain support from non-staff stakeholders and the lack of adequate tools to assist schools in their wellness efforts.2 PhotoVoice was a participatory research methodology that used photography to document and showcase strengths and weaknesses to advocate for change.7,8 PhotoVoice was used to advocate for neighborhood safety, rural childhood obesity prevention, and smoking policies.8-11 This GEM focuses on the PhotoVoice: School Wellness curriculum,12 which was developed to raise awareness of and engagement in school wellness efforts.

The Impact of a Fruit and Vegetable Intervention on Children and Caregivers

Background: Fruit and vegetable consumption is important; however, intake remains low among children. Simple, effective classroom-based interventions are needed. Purpose: To assess the impact of South Dakota Harvest of the Month (SD HOM) on child fruit and vegetable knowledge and consumption and to determine caregiver reach. Methods: Educators delivered 8 classroom-based nutrition education lessons, which included produce taste-testing. Cross-sectional assessment data were collected pre- and postintervention in over 1200 children and postintervention in caregivers (N = 142). Results: Program awareness and fruit and vegetable knowledge increased among children. Postintervention, children were less likely to be in the low fruit and vegetable consumption groups and more likely to be in the high consumption groups. Over 80% of caregivers who responded indicated they were aware of HOM and many (55%) used the handouts brought home. Caregivers indicated that children asked for more fruits and vegetables (72.7%) and seemed more willing to taste or eat them (83.5%). Discussion: Utilizing fewer components than other successful fruit and vegetable interventions, SD HOM positively influenced childrens fruit and vegetable consumption and knowledge and reached their caregivers. Translation to Health Education Practice: Health educators are encouraged to access freely available SD HOM materials and implement the program as appropriate.

Daily Dietary Intake Patterns Improve after Visiting a Food Pantry among Food-Insecure Rural Midwestern Adults

Emergency food pantries provide food at no cost to low-resource populations. The purpose of this study was to evaluate single-day dietary intake patterns before and after visiting a food pantry among food-secure and food-insecure pantry clients. This observational cohort study comprised a paired, before-and-after design with a pantry visit as the intervention. Participants (n = 455) completed a demographic and food security assessment, and two 24-h dietary recalls. Adult food security was measured using the U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module. Dietary intake patterns were assessed using Automated Self-Administered 24-h Recall data and classified by Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2010) scores, dietary variety, number of eating occasions, and energy intake. Paired t-tests and Wilcoxon signed-rank tests compared outcomes before and after a pantry visit. Mean dietary variety increased after the pantry visit among both food-secure (p = 0.02) and food-insecure (p < 0.0001) pantry clients. Mean energy intake (p = 0.0003), number of eating occasions (p = 0.004), and HEI-2010 component scores for total fruit (p < 0.001) and whole fruit (p < 0.0003) increased among food-insecure pantry clients only. A pantry visit may improve dietary intake patterns, especially among food-insecure pantry clients.

South Dakota Team Nutrition: Building Upon a Successful Harvest of the Month Program to Create Smarter School Lunchrooms and Farm to Table Day Camps

Objective: To give SD children 2-18 years of age, the knowledge, skills, andmotivation tomake healthful eating choices. Description: Implement research-based strategies and best practices by creating smarter lunchroom environments that foster healthy food choices; providing interactive nutrition education with a focus onMyPlate, knowing where food comes from, and farm to table best practices; and promoting increased fruit and vegetable consumption through the Harvest of the Month program. Evaluation: A variety of evaluation methods will be utilized. Conclusions and Implications: Team Nutrition grants canmake a profound difference in reducing the chances of youth in SD from becoming overweight and obese. This work builds upon existing successes, collaboration at state and local levels, identified needs, and adds additional infrastructure to support sustainability. Funding: USDA Grant #CNTN-14-SD.

Innovation and Collaboration: Creating a Transdisciplinary Childhood Obesity Prevention Graduate Certificate Program

Preparing future professionals to work in transdisciplinary settings with a skill set to effectively foster collaborations and sustainable change requires a thoughtful and concerted interprofessional education approach. Through an interuniversity partnership in 2010 with South Dakota State University (SDSU), Brookings, SD, and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL), Lincoln, NE, a group of faculty convened to propose the Transdisciplinary Obesity Prevention (TOP) graduate certificate program. With funding supported by a United States (US) Department of Agriculture (USDA) National Institute of Food and Agriculture grant in 2011, a team of faculty from SDSU and UNL representing various disciplines (exercise science, nutrition, dietetics, health promotion, public health, nursing, early childhood education, family and consumer sciences, biology, biostatistics, and counseling) began developing the TOP graduate certificate program which is currently in its 5th year. The primary goal of this report is to outline the overall framework and components of the TOP graduate certificate program, providing information, strategies, and considerations other institutions can apply in developing effective and sustainable transdisciplinary, interprofessional education to their existing graduate programs. Received: 11/28/2016 Accepted: 01/11/2017