Performing Department
(N/A)
Non Technical Summary
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the number one killer nationally and in Alabama. It has been reported that an estimated 17.9 million people have died from some form of the disease. At the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, 928,741 people died. In Alabama, the number one CVD killer is heart disease (15,173 deaths). Alabama falls far behind nationally in addressing CVD and risk factors (CVRF) such as obesity (39.9%), diabetes (15.1%), high blood pressure (42.7%), high cholesterol (40.1%), physical inactivity (31.5%), unhealthy diet (4.8%), and smoking (17.2%). The proposed Cardiovascular Health, Aerobic, Management and Prevention Initiative Optimizing Nutrition (CHAMPION) will provide a phenomena and innovative opportunity to certify and train Extension educators, student and community volunteers on nutrition and physical activity concepts and digital health technologies. In addition, the target audience (adults 18+) will be engaged in an experiential-based learning environment, using visual, auditory and kinesthetic learning styles to motivate healthy living through nutrition (heart healthy diets, mapping), physical activity (exergaming and traditional), and use of digital health technologies (apps, wearable devices, telehealth, social media, videos, blog posts, podcasts). The project delivery will be three mobilized training rooms mimicking real-life experiences in a doctor's office, kitchen, and gym. Participants will complete 50 hours of training to receive a certificate of completion. It has be reported 50 hours of education effects behavioral habit changes. Equipping Alabama adults to combat CVD and CVRF, could have a significant impact on the youth's obesity epidemic and prevent the continuous rise of adulthood chronic diseases.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
(N/A)
Developmental
(N/A)
Goals / Objectives
1) Build and strengthen Alabama Extension at AAMU community program delivery through experiential-based themed training rooms focused on cardiovascular health, nutrition, physical activity (exergaming and traditional), digital technologies and Tower Gardens®. (Extension Specialists- Nutrition, Horticulture, and Technology; UREAs; Graduate Assistant, and Student and Community Volunteers)2) Increase adults' health, nutrition and physical activity knowledge. (Nutrition Extension Specialist and UREAs)3) Create behavioral change in adults' eating and physical activity habits. (Nutrition Extension Specialist and UREAs)4) Increase student and community volunteers' involvement in Extension outreach programs. (Nutrition Extension Specialist, UREAs and Graduate Assistant)5) Develop a framework based on recommendations from the project (Extension Specialists- Nutrition, Horticulture, and Technology).
Project Methods
Stakeholders, with expertise in various disciplines, have committed to serve on the advisory committee for this program. The committee will meet as needed during the program development and implementation phases and quarterly thereafter for inputs and updates. Recruit participants for focus groups. Purchase materials and supplies for program implementation and trainings. Hire a Graduate Assistant (GA) to work on development of the project modules, social media sites, trainings, program implementation, data collection and analysis, and present at meetings, workshops and/or conferences. Technology Specialist will train UREAs, GA, Health and Nutrition and Horticulture Specialists on technologies. Nutrition and Horticulture Specialists and GA will develop the CHAMPION curriculum and activities and train UREAs. Recruit students and volunteers and train on program implementation. Implement the training sessions with program participants. Update website and social media sites with Cardiovascular information and provided educational trainings on the sites.The project will be evaluation based on each objective. The social media sites contacts will be used to track the number of individuals following the project. Adults' perception of the trainings, pre and post knowledge, post-delayed (3 to 6 months after implementation), and exergaming/physical activity will be evaluated through Tower Gardens, Qualtrics, clicker systems, exergames and digital health technologies. The data will be saved to an Excel database and transferred to SPSS for analysis. Qualtrics will be used to track the number of volunteers that will sign-up to participate with program implementation and volunteers hours. The data will be analyzed by the GA. Focus groups discussions will be recorded for project usage.