Good Nutrition = Good Health : Nutrition Education in a Clinical Setting Makes a Connection Between Eating and Health

The University of Illinois at Chicago's Food Stamp Nutrition Education program, The Chicago Partnership for Health Promotion (CPHP), represents a network of partnerships organized to support community based interventions to improve nutrition and reduce disparities in outcomes associated with nutritional diseases including obesity and malnutrition in low income Chicagoans. CPHP utilizes specially trained community nutrition peer educators (NPEs) and nutrition specialists (typically Registered Dietitians) to provide nutrition education and services in a variety of community-based venues across the city of Chicago. In partnership with Access Community Health Network, CPHP provides a unique and dynamic nutrition education program to 15 federally qualified health centers. Through educating people in a clinical setting a connection is made between food and health. CPHP staff visits each clinic twice per month to educate patients and staff in the waiting areas about nutrition and nutrition-related issues. CPHP uses a peer educator model to reach the community. The NPEs interact with patients in the waiting rooms by using hands on interactive tools, conducts demonstrations and provides educational handouts. ACCESS clinic staff members are also trained in nutrition through CPHP's Train the Trainer program so that staff members may further promote nutrition and healthy lifestyles. Topics presented by the NPEs include: “Are you Label Able?”; “Healthy for the Holidays”; “Food Safety”; and “Snacking Sensibly & Limiting Liquid Calories”. The “Teachable Moment” method of presenting nutrition in the waiting room has led to a positive response from patients and staff members. In addition to the waiting area nutrition education, a series of classes taught by CPHP Nutrition Specialists completes the multi-disciplinary team approach to linking nutrition education to health promotion. The 10-week series of nutrition classes provides the opportunity for the clinic health providers to “prescribe” education as a preventive tool as part of the holistic approach in preventing and treating nutrition-related illnesses such as diabetes, hyper-tension, and heart disease. Because of the uniqueness of this partnership the patients are provided health promotion and prevention services which are not usually made available to community based health clinics providing service in the most needy and underserved areas of urban Chicago.