Community Outreach: Addressing Community Needs and Providing Practical and Applied Research Experiences

Yanely Alonso, Misha Chishty, Jennifer C. Cleveland, BA, Iris Machuca, BS, Yasmine Marquez, Jessica S. Robinson, BS, Cheryl Woolf, BA, Daphne C. Hernandez, PhD

Department of Health & Human Performance Texas Obesity Research Center

Background

UH Mission: As a knowledge resource to the public, the University of Houston builds partnerships with other community organizations to improve and advance communities.

Division of Research Community Advancement and Education Mission: To conduct research, service and scholarly activities associated with improving and advancing communities.

Results

Create & Implement

Recipes: Detailed protocols were developed to ensure quality, uniformity, and clarity within the recipe database.

Recipes were adapted or created based on the pantry’s food inventory, encouraging product turnover while keeping the culture and preferences of the target community in mind.

TORC’s Community Advisory Board (CAB) provided feedback during the development process.

Spanish translations were made available.

Recipe Icons:

TORC’s CAB informed the creation of icons to allow for the quick identification of recipes meeting specific dietary needs (Figure 2).

Nutrition status of the target population, as informed by stakeholders, served as the basis for the creation of icons.

Original artwork was created and subject to several review processes.

Usage of icons adhere to health claim guidelines from the FDA, the American Heart Association, and the American Diabetes Association.

Workshops/Food Demonstrations:

Nutrition workshops were designed to educate the community through the use of lectures, brochures, interactive models, and cooking demonstrations.

The brochures were distributed during the workshop to serve as a tool to provide basic nutrition and health knowledge.

Because of the specific needs of the community, the workshops focused on reducing fat, sugar and sodium from one’s diet.

Conclusions

Acknowledgement

Methods

Through the use of the community outreach model, the community and the prospective health professionals benefited.

The community’s need for access to nutritional and health behavior education was met through the implementation of workshops and distribution of educational materials.

Prospective health professionals applied research skills, interacted with a future client population, and gained interpersonal skills.

Our next step is to evaluate the efficacy of the workshops by developing pre and post intervention.

Purpose

The ADDIE instructional design model (Figure 1) was adapted as a community outreach model to promote a healthy lifestyle among an underserved population.

Figure 2. Recipe Icons

One serving of this recipe is a good source of calcium, providing at least 10% of the recommended dietary allowance.

One serving of this recipe is a good source of fiber, providing at least 10% of adequate intake levels.

One serving of this recipe is a good source of iron, providing at least 10% of the recommended dietary allowance.

One serving of this recipe is a good source of vitamin D, providing at least 10% of the recommended dietary allowance.

This recipe is part of a heart healthy diet as recommended by the American Heart Association.

This recipe is part of a diabetes friendly diet as recommended by the American Diabetes Association.

The students met with the manager at a local community center.

The manager discussed the community’s needs which included: nutrition education, healthy recipes to distribute, brochures that encouraged behavioral change, and food demonstrations that required the use of the foods the center made available to the community.

By becoming informed and listening the students were able to develop educational materials to meet the needs of the community.

Encouraging a low sodium diet by substituting spices for salt in a whole

wheat pasta recipe.

Thank you to Neighborhood Centers staff for

assisting with recruitment.

This project was completed through the UH Texas Obesity Research Center internship

program.

Special thank you to Dana Ortega for assisting with internship and outreach efforts.

Making hummus with children to teach the importance of healthy fats.

Providing mothers and children with a sample of a carrot cake smoothie,

while explaining how to reduce sugar intake without compromising taste.

Reference Branson, R.K. (1978). The interservice procedures

for instructional systems development. Educational

Technology 18 (3), 11-14.

Be Informed

Listen

Implement Create

Evaluate

Figure 1. Community Outreach Model