Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Assessing Feasibility And Readiness To Address Obesity Through Policy In American Indian Reservations, Valarie Blue Bird Jernigan, Gail Boe, Carolyn Noonan, Leslie Carroll, Dedra Buchwald

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

The Institute of Medicine and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have identified policy and environmental strategies as critical to the prevention and control of obesity. However such strategies are rare in American Indian communities despite significant obesity-related disparities. Tribal policymaking processes differ by tribal nation and are often poorly understood by researchers and public health practitioners, hindering the dissemination, implementation, and successful scale-up of evidence-base obesity strategies in tribal communities. To address these gaps in knowledge we surveyed 138 diverse stakeholders in two American Indian reservations to assess the feasibility of and readiness to implement CDC-recommended obesity policy …

The Complexities Of Childhood Obesity: A Qualitative Study Among Mexican American Mothers, Erica T. Sosa, E. Lisako Mckyer, Buzz Pruitt, Patricia Goodson, Linda Castillo

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Introduction: Mothers play an important role in preventing childhood obesity; however, might differ in how they define healthy weight and the associated consequences. Due to the lack of research investigating how Mexican American mothers perceive childhood obesity, the purpose of this paper is to qualitatively assess Mexican-American mothers’ perceptions regarding childhood obesity, its causes and consequences.

Methods: Three focus groups, two in Spanish and one in English, were conducted with 23 mothers in Bryan, TX. Thematic analysis was performed by three researchers independently using sentences as the unit of meaning.

Findings: Mexican American mothers believed that a …

Lessons Learned From Training Of Promotores De Salud For Obesity And Diabetes Prevention, Erica T. Sosa, Lesli Biediger-Friedman, Zenong Yin

Journal of Health Disparities Research and Practice

Background: Promotores de Salud are impactful in reducing health disparities for Hispanic communities. The purpose of this paper is to present the training process and fidelity of study protocol implementation using a promotora model for community-based diabetes prevention.

Methods: Five Hispanic bilingual promotores were recruited from a Community Health Worker program and received intensive 30-hour promotora training on how to recruit participants, lead group sessions, and support participants making behavior changes. Evaluation of the training included a survey and focus group to assess promotores’ feedback, a post-training knowledge test to assess knowledge acquired during the training and an observational assessment …

Association Of Body Mass Index, Fruit And Vegetable Intake, And Acculturation In A Sample Las Vegas Hispanic Population, Anne L. Bolstad

UNLV Theses, Dissertations, Professional Papers, and Capstones

The U.S. is experiencing a rising prevalence of overweightedness that has been identified as the second leading cause for chronic health conditions threatening public health. Overweightedness has grown disproportionately among ethnic sub-groups. In the fastest going minority population in the U.S., Hispanic Americans are observed with disparately high body mass index, placing them at heightened risk for poor health outcomes. Research suggests five servings of fruit and vegetables, in any combination, provides a sound nutritional base for healthful living and helps to maintain normal body weight.

Americans are known to have poor eating habits while foreign-born populations have well balanced …