142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

Annual Meeting Recordings are now available for purchase

302553
Impact of a Community-Based Nutrition Intervention Focused on Older Latinas

142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition (November 15 - November 19, 2014): http://www.apha.org/events-and-meetings/annual
Tuesday, November 18, 2014 : 3:30 PM - 3:50 PM

Patricia Galvez, MSc , Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL
Liliana Aguayo , Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL
Pablo Torres-Aguilar, MS , Department of Human and Comunity development, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
Julie Bobbit , Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL
Yvette Castaneda , Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL
Mali Sati , Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign, Champaign, IL
Andiara Schwingel, Assistant Prof , Department of Kinesiology and Community Health, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL
Introduction: Latinos in the U.S. face challenges that negatively impact their health by increasing their vulnerability to develop sedentary behaviors, inadequate nutritional patterns and the resulting chronic diseases.  These challenges are especially prevalent among older females. The purpose of this study was to improve the quality of diet in older Latinas through a community-based intervention called Abuelas en Acción (Grandmothers in Action).

Methods: Latinas aged 50 and older were recruited from a Roman Catholic parish located in Chicago, Illinois.  Abuelas en Accíón consisted of a face-to-face interview to set individual nutrition and physical activity goals, 6 monthly educational workshops, and follow-up phone calls.  Activities were led by trained volunteers (promotoras) recruited from the community. Participants (n=19) completed standardized food frequency questionnaires and 24 hour-food recalls before and after the intervention. Activities were conducted in Spanish.

Results: Changes in eating patterns were observed including an increase in the number of participants that had breakfast, lunch and dinner every day (X2<0.05), and a significant increase in the weekly vegetable consumption (p <0.05). No significant differences were found in the intake of calories or other nutrients, but a small reduction was observed in calories, fat, and sugar intake.

Discussion: The program resulted in improvements in eating patterns, demonstrating that a community-based intervention, delivered by trained community volunteers has the potential to have a positive impact on health outcomes. Furthermore, by targeting grandmothers, many of whom serve in a caregiving capacity, the program can extend benefits to other family members, particularly grandchildren.

Learning Areas:

Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education

Learning Objectives:
Describe a community-base intervention partnered with a faith-base organization. Evaluate the efficacy of a Community-base intervention in changing eating behaviors.

Keyword(s): Latinos, Nutrition

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am an experience researcher who participated in the data collection, and the data analysis of the Abuelas en Accion program. As co-author of the abstract, I actively participated in the process that lead to the final version.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.