Development of EFNEP and SNAP-Ed Core Competencies in the Land-Grant University System.

This report describes the development and revision of core competencies for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education program leaders, supervisors, and paraprofessional educators across the land-grant university system. The developing curriculum methodologies were used to engage panels of exemplary employees and an advisory panel of program leaders. A crosswalk examined key documents, and a gap analysis explored the competencies of similar professions. The resulting job duties and tasks reflect cultural, environmental, and educational trends. The core competencies are critical for writing job descriptions, guiding hiring, evaluating performance, and providing initial and ongoing training for the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program-Education.

Best Practices in Curricula Revisions: Using the Evidence-Based Eating Smart • Being Active as an Exemplar.

This article describes the processes employed to revise the widely used curriculum, Eating Smart • Being Active. Because of its popularity among nutrition education programs serving the low-income population, the curriculum developers felt it was important to share the revision process after the release of the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. Extensive feedback during formative evaluation, updated content from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, and a modern look resulted in a fully revised curriculum released in 2017. Program leaders should have confidence that their educators will be able to implement this evidence-based curriculum with fidelity. An outcome evaluation of the revised Eating Smart • Being Active curriculum is recommended.

Breastfeeding Peer Support Program Increases Breastfeeding Duration Rates Among Middle- to High-Income Women.

BACKGROUND: Research has shown that women with low socioeconomic status and lack of breastfeeding support often breastfeed for shorter durations. Little research has been done on the effects of a breastfeeding peer support program for women from middle- to high-socioeconomic status. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this project was to determine whether a breastfeeding peer support program would increase breastfeeding duration rates among middle- to high-socioeconomic status women. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred thirteen women were recruited from local OB/GYN offices to participate in a breastfeeding peer support program that included prenatal visits, phone calls, and anticipatory breastfeeding guidance throughout the infants' first year of life. RESULTS: Factors associated with a significant increase (p < 0.05) in breastfeeding duration included marital status, mother's ethnicity, mother's medical history, and delivery type. Mothers who remained enrolled in the study had the following breastfeeding duration rates: 85% at 6 months and 65% at 12 months. These are all higher than current national goals and statewide rates. CONCLUSION: Results indicate that consistent breastfeeding support during the infants' first year of life may increase breastfeeding duration rates for women of higher socioeconomic status.

Confirming the Reliability and Validity of Others' Evaluation Tools Before Adopting for Your Programs.

OBJECTIVE: To confirm the reliability and validity of a previously validated evaluation instrument in a new context. METHODS: In a cross-sectional study, the processes and results of testing Cooking Matters' (CM) use of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program's Behavior Checklist as a retrospective pretest/posttest were described. The researchers determined reliability, face and content validity, and response-shift bias with 95 CM participants. RESULTS: Most items had acceptable face validity and moderate reliability; other items lacked reliability, or face or content validity (were unrelated to the CM curriculum). CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: Proper match between evaluation tools and curricula is needed for appropriate program assessment without which outcome data can be misleading or potentially invalid. Confirmation of validity is essential when adopting others' evaluation tools in new contexts, particularly for programs with widespread use such as federally funded programs and national nonprofit organizations.

Outcome effectiveness of the widely adopted EFNEP curriculum Eating Smart-Being Active.

OBJECTIVE: To determine the effectiveness of the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) curriculum Eating Smart-Being Active (ESBA). DESIGN AND SETTING: A quantitative, multi-state, nonequivalent comparison group pretest-posttest design was used to compare nutrition-related behavior changes in participants. ESBA was compared to previously used curricula for 3 different time periods in 5 states using the EFNEP evaluation tool. PARTICIPANTS: Adults enrolled in EFNEP who completed their entry and exit paperwork during any of the 3 time points. INTERVENTION: An 8-lesson adult curriculum based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate. ANALYSIS: Analysis of variance and covariance (with pretests scores and demographic variables as covariates) were used to analyze data with significance at P ≤ .05. RESULTS: ESBA elicited a mean positive behavior change for food resource management (P < .01), food safety (P ≤ .001), nutrition (P < .001), and physical activity level in participating states (P ≤ .01). Compared with previous curricula, ESBA produced better mean outcomes in food resource management, nutrition, physical activity, and intakes of fruit and vegetables. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: ESBA is effective at eliciting positive nutrition-related behavior change. The results of this multi-state, practice-based approach suggest that ESBA is effective in multiple settings and has external validity for use in EFNEP and other community nutrition programs.