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Abstract #152924

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Jan Kallio, MS, RD, LDN, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Nutrition Division, 250 Washington Street, 6th Floor, Boston, MA 02108, 617-624-6113, jan.kallio@state.ma.us

Traditionally, nutrition educators are trained to complete a nutrition assessment in a standardized, step-by-step, sequential order to identify nutrition risks and needs, and then to provide simple, fact-oriented information to address these issues. However, humans are feeling machines that think rather than thinking machines that feel. Presenting factual information in a didactic manner rarely leads to behavior change. As demonstrated in advertising and marketing science-based research, using emotion to connect with people is essential to promoting or reinforcing positive behaviors. To date, nutrition educators have not successfully tapped into this highly effective approach. The Massachusetts WIC Program's ‘Touching Hearts, Touching Minds' project has focused on utilizing new techniques to facilitate the delivery of emotion-based services. This unique, visionary approach combined with VENA, has transformed WIC nutrition services. VENA complements the approach to achieving a participant-centered environment throughout WIC clinics by being attentive and responsive to WIC participants' individual needs and interests. The competencies essential to VENA implementation , i.e., critical thinking, rapport building, etc., empower WIC staff to engage each participant more fully in her own WIC experience. These two initiatives have reshaped nutrition assessment, enhanced interactions with program participants, improved staff morale, and improved the effectiveness of WIC nutrition education, thereby motivating WIC families toward positive dietary behaviors that achieve good health.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. Identify the difference between logic-based and emotion-based nutrition services.
• 2. Identify how to integrate VENA concepts and emotion-based services in the delivery of WIC and public health nutrition services and messages.
• 3. Learn techniques and strategies to interact more effectively with families to create a participant-centered public health nutrition program.

Keywords: Nutrition, Assessments

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

• Slides (pdf) or Handout