Healthy Steps for Families pilot program: Reducing chronic disease risk factors among caregivers in Head Start and family literacy programs in Tucson

The Healthy Steps for Families project unites diverse partners to target the reduction of chronic disease risk factors in low-income parents of small children through improved nutrition and physical activity. Partners include The University of Arizona's Zuckerman College of Public Health Prevention Research Center, Canyon Ranch Institute, Child Parent Centers, Inc. and Arizona Family Literacy programs in Pima and Cochise counties. The project uses a modified version of Pasos Adelante, a Spanish curriculum targeting chronic disease prevention. The curriculum was expanded to include a focus on parental role modeling and to increase the awareness of the impact of unhealthy behaviors on children. The educational curriculum included ten to twelve, 1.5-2.5 hour sessions that included physical activity, sharing recipes, presentation of health information, interactive demonstrations, discussions and walking groups outside of class. The program was integrated into existing family literacy program classes (n=2) or offered as separate parent groups at Head Start locations (n=4). The pilot project was a within-participants design with assessments at baseline and after the 11-12 week program (post-test). Data collection included measures of cholesterol and fasting blood glucose, anthropometric measures and a self-report interview to collect demographic, nutrition and physical activity data and other health and family context information for respondents and their youngest child. Preliminary results on 40 participants indicate significant reduction in BMI (p=0.003), waist circumference (p≤0.0001) and hip circumference (p≤=0.001). Challenges and successes in implementation and future steps will be discussed