Performing Department
Nutritional Science & Wellness
Non Technical Summary
i. Summary: SALUDABLES answers the urgent need to develop an educational pipeline to train diverse nutrition and dietetics professionals for the community, and aligns with all four of the USDA HSI Priority Need Areas. By connecting with students early to support their attainment of an Associates, Bachelor's and master's degree, and earn stacking credentials in health coaching (NBHWC) and dietetics (NDTR/RDN), we will address two challenges in the border region of the desert southwest: (1) Overall health and health literacy of those residing in Yuma and Imperial Counties continue to be low. Many roles traditionally held by dietetics professionals in the community remain vacant or are filled by paraprofessionals due to the challenges of recruiting and retaining healthcare professionals in rural areas. 2) Low bachelor's degree attainment in STEM fields. Additionally, we address the lack of diversity in dietetics, by employing culturally responsive approaches to teaching, mentoring, and training. The grant objectives are: 1) Recruit and support 20 undergraduate students from AWC to transfer into UArizona's Nutrition B.S. program. 2) Promote careers in FANH to a minimum of 1200 students in K-12 area schools 3) Recruit, Support and Train 10 graduate students to become RDNs in our accredited Professional Science Master's Applied Nutrition-Dietetics program 4) Create a group of at least 20 Food and Nutrition Stakeholders (FANS) including faculty, students and staff from AWC and UArizona NSC Dept, community professionals.
Animal Health Component
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Research Effort Categories
Basic
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Applied
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Developmental
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Goals / Objectives
Project Justification: SALUDABLES addresses the pressing need for a robust and sustainable outreach, recruitment and retention apparatus that is culturally responsive and inclusive of the predominantly Hispanic student population attending AWC and UArizona. The goal is to train diverse and culturally competent food, nutrition and health professionals at the bachelors and master's level; attributes which are currently lacking from dietetics and other health professionals. According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, primary prevention through local community-based programming is the most effective and affordable method to prevent chronic disease.15 Dietary interventions positively impact health outcomes across lifespans and RDN's play a critical role in combating chronic disease. Diet affects diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancer, the three major causes of death in the greater Yuma and Imperial Valley regions. SALUDABLES will increase the number of bachelor's and master's level nutritional scientists in the region, improving the overall population's health.Innovation Part 1 (GOAL 1). Increase K-14 Outreach, Recruitment, Support and University TransferObjective 1A. Promote careers in food, nutrition and health professions in K-12 and community colleges through K-12 community outreach including summer school programs, high school collaborative events, and community events.Objective 1B. Increase university transfer into Nutritional Sciences-Dietetic Bachelors program by recruiting and supporting 20 undergraduate students from community college.Objective 1C. Community College Curriculum Enhancement and Professional Development.Innovation Part 2 (GOAL 2) Development of Regional Graduate Program, Recruit, Support, and Training of Graduate Students.Objective 2A. Extend graduate program to Yuma Distance Campus.Objective 2B. Recruit, prepare, and support graduate students through professional development events.Innovation Part 3 (GOAL 3) Establish a Food & Nutrition Stakeholders (FANS) Program to support and mentor Nutritional Sciences students and regional academic programs.Objective 3A. FANS will provide support and mentorship to Nutritional Sciences students throughout the pipeline ending at the licensed dietetics credential.Objective 3B. FANS will act as an advisory board to the regional academic programs.Objective 3C. FANS advisory board will be part of the communication strategy.
Project Methods
c. Plan of Operation and Methodology: SALUDABLES is an educational pipeline program that builds on the strong and well-established relationship between AWC and UArizona, and collaboration between academic professionals in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at UArizona and our K-12 partners. We use a systems approach, founded in partnership, equity, student leadership development, community servingness, mentoring, and experiential learning, building the educational infrastructure to continuously train a skilled workforce of culturally diverse and responsive nutrition and health professionals in Yuma, County, with specific knowledge and skills to contribute to improved health outcomes for Hispanic, rural, and low-income populations.Innovation Part 1- K-14 Outreach, Recruitment, Support and University Transfer.Initiative 1A. Promote careers in food, nutrition and health professions in K-12 and community colleges through K-12 community outreach including summer school programs, high school collaborative events, and community events. Initiative 1B. Increase university transfer into Nutritional Sciences-Dietetic Bachelors program by recruiting and supporting 20 undergraduate students from community college. Students who declare the major during their first year at AWC will be provided with stipends, mentoring, leadership development, and real-world skills while they pursue an A.A. in Exercise, Nutrition and Wellness, and successfully transfer into UArizona. Initiative 1C. Community College Curriculum Enhancement and Professional Development. A Health Coach Certificate and Honors class will be developed to increase credentials providing students with an entry level job which decreases the barrier of finances and increases career opportunity awareness in the area of exercise, nutrition, and health and the educational pathways leading to these careers. Stackable credentials achieved during associates, bachelors, and graduate education increase the return on the investment in students' college education and improves their opportunities in the workforce with each educational milestone they achieve. The shared curriculum co-developed between AWC and UArizona includes 3 new courses which will prepare students to become a National Board Certified-Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC), a 1-unit career exploration course, and 2-unit foundations in nutrition course. All these courses provide undergraduate recruitment opportunities at AWC and contribute to students' career readiness. The required experiential learning components of the health coaching classes will also drive undergraduates from AWC into the community where they will practice their new health promotion skills in K-12 outreach settings, alongside the graduate students. It should be noted that during SALUDABLES, we will focus on enhancing training at the Associates and Graduate level only, because our SOPA grant is highly focused on enhancing training and credentialing at the bachelor's degree level.Professional development of college students includes mentoring, leadership events, and a summer institute. All three initiatives position graduate students as role models, mentors, teachers, and in some instances, supervisors as they help lead and coordinate individual and group mentoring meetings, recruitment and outreach events, and professional networking opportunities at the K-14 level. Graduate dietetics students are required to complete 1200 competency-based supervised experiential learning (SEL) hours during their graduate program, and their work assisting with recruitment, peer mentoring and outreach, will help them strengthen dietetics competencies related to professionalism, cultural competence, communication, leadership, and teamwork. Graduate students will also assist with organizing and hosting Summer Institutes for undergraduates to prepare them for a successful transfer from the community colleges to UArizona- Yuma and their readiness to apply to graduate school and dietetics training programs. To support student retention and success and to keep stage 2 of the pipeline "flowing," A.A. students will participate in over 3 semesters (Spring, Fall, Spring) and 2 summers in a vertical mentoring program and 2-part Summer Leadership Institute, both delivered in large-part by Nutrition graduate students. In addition, they will attend workshops on applying to UArizona.Innovation Part 2 Development of Regional Graduate Program, Recruit, Support, and Training of Graduate Students. Initiative 2A. Extend graduate program to Yuma Distance Campus. Initiative 2B. Recruit, prepare, and support graduate students through professional development events, RDN bootcamp, mentoring, and stipends. Engaging graduate students to deliver the mentoring and leadership activities of A.A. students is strategic for many reasons: 1) They are relatable to students in the A.A. program, which is conducive to the development of meaningful relationships; 2) Through the proposed activities, the graduate students will complete experiential learning hours and develop/demonstrate leadership and management skills, all of which are required as part of their RDN training in the graduate program; and 3) Graduate students provide staffing to keep the earlier pipeline activities in operation. In this 4th stage of the pipeline program, graduate students will receive significant support to promote their engagement and success including stipends, mentoring, and professional development. The ongoing training and mentoring provided to graduate students from faculty, PDs, and program staff will prepare them to engage in recruiting and mentoring undergraduate students and delivering K-12 outreach education and will also support their academic and non-academic success in alignment to support and train 10 dietetics graduate students. The synergy of this model contributes to the long-term sustainability and scalability.Innovation Part 3 Establish a Food & Nutrition Stakeholders (FANS) Program to support and mentor Nutritional Sciences students and regional academic programs. Initiative 3A. FANS will provide support and mentorship to Nutritional Sciences students throughout the pipeline ending at the licensed dietetics credential. FANS will provide a two-way stream of communication and opportunity between our HSI institutions and workforce partners to continuously evaluate and improve student training to meet workforce demands and connect students with professional mentors and experiences to prepare them for careers in nutrition and health. Dietetics is a historically white and female profession, and this lack of diversity has been a longstanding concern for the field.3 The SALUDABLES Pipeline will alleviate concern by training URM nutrition professionals who will inspire up-and-coming generations of students to pursue high-demand careers in food, nutrition, and health professions. Initiative 3B. FANS will act as an advisory board to the regional academic programs (K-12, associates, bachelors, graduate) to include regional workforce demands and skills, community partnerships, enhanced training for nutrition and health professions, and formalize a group of educators and student support staff from AWC, IVC and UArizona Dept. of Nutritional Sciences and professionals from diverse industries and organizations across Yuma and Imperial Counties. Initiative 3C. FANS advisory board will be part of the communication strategy including newsletter highlighting activities, students, and alumni as well as a student opportunity portal where stakeholders can post internship, jobs, and other opportunities.