142nd APHA Annual Meeting and Exposition

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SMART CAFÉ: Guiding malnourished students in New Orleans to make healthy eating choices

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

Katherine Howe , School of Medicine, School of Public Health, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
Lauren Hamilton , School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, River Ridge, LA
Jaden Kifer , School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
Amir Shahien, MS , School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
Martha Cuccia, MPH, MCHES , School of Public Health, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
Donna Lisa Williams, MS, MPH, DrPH , School of Public Health, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
Joseph Delcarpio, PhD , School of Medicine, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA
Precursors of hypertension and atherosclerosis begin in children as young as age five.  However, practicing a healthy lifestyle in childhood can mitigate adult risk factors for cardiovascular disease and metabolic syndrome.  In New Orleans, even with extended-day school programs that provide three meals a day to children, one fifth of the population experiences food insecurity and one half of all children are on food stamps.

In line with the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity (NCCOR) goal to implement sustainable interventions, SMART CAFÉ is an interprofessional group of health sciences students who visit local elementary school cafeterias to teach basic nutrition and encourage K -2nd graders to try unfamiliar but nutritious foods.  Of the children serviced, 95% are eligible for free and reduced lunch and 97% are African American. Volunteers model healthy eating and use rhymes and visual aids to bring curriculum-guided lesson plans to life.

By observation, extrinsic motivation with encouraging words and small rewards is the most successful element of our intervention. Interprofessional cooperation has enhanced implementation and problem solving. Three other local schools have requested SMART CAFÉ, indicating the program is suitable and pertinent.

Pre-intervention data on nutrition knowledge and types and quantity of food consumed at lunch has been collected. Chi-square and regression analyses will be done using pre-, monthly, and post-intervention data to determine if there was a significant increase in healthy food consumption and to guide curriculum modification. Symposia and Parents Nights will educate future clinicians and food purchasers, respectively, motivating future preventive practices.

Learning Areas:

Chronic disease management and prevention
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs

Learning Objectives:
Identify three short- and long-term pathological consequences of an unbalanced diet during childhood. Evaluate the suitability and sustainability of a proposed intervention for urban elementary schools. Describe pedagogical and interprofessional strategies for teaching nutrition to young children in a cafeteria setting.

Keyword(s): Nutrition, School-Based Health

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I have experience with classroom teaching and curriculum development, as well as two years’ experience with SMART CAFÉ as an MD/MPH student. I rewrote the program curriculum, expanded the program to a second school site, coordinated volunteers, and collaborated with health sciences faculty.
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.

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