ABSTRACT
OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness of the 8-week, community health worker (CHW)-led La Vida Buena childhood obesity program among Latino children 5 to 8 years old in a rural county along the U.S.-Mexico border. METHODS: This quasi-experimental study used a community-based participatory research approach to compare the effectiveness of the La Vida Buena (The Good Life) curriculum as compared with a single educational session. We took anthropomorphic measures and administered parent-reported nutrition and physical activity surveys at baseline, 3 months, and 6 months. The study took place between 2017 and 2020 in Santa Cruz County, Arizona. RESULTS: Change in body mass index (BMI) z-score was negligible for both groups. The parent-reported behavior indicated a shift toward healthier family behaviors and environment in the intervention group. IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE: This study adds to the growing literature of CHW-led childhood obesity interventions. The engagement of the CHWs in all aspects of the intervention helped to facilitate important behavior changes. Future interventions should emphasize health and wellness rather than BMI z-score and include community, socioeconomic, and systems-level interventions to promote healthy environments.
Subject(s)
Pediatric Obesity , Humans , Child , Child, Preschool , Pediatric Obesity/prevention & control , Community Health Workers , Mexico , Parents/education , Hispanic or Latino , Health Promotion/methodsABSTRACT
A common practice among clinical psychologists and other health professionals is the use of school-based sexual health promotion programs as a means for preventing sexually transmitted infections. A fundamental criterion for the designing and adaptation of these programs is the age of their target populations because limited education and language are the most relevant factors that limit the efficacy of these programs. The contribution of this paper consists of assessing both the readability of the written materials that accompany the contents of a Spanish-written school-based sexual health promotion program used in Colombia, as well as the words co-occurrence network structure of its contents. The readability of the evaluated program corresponded to its intended target population aged between 14 and 19, with the schooling of 9-13 years of education. The resulting words co-occurrence network structure of the COMPAS program also mirrored its theoretical content. These results all together are deemed as empirical evidence of the adequacy of the program.
ABSTRACT
Foi realizada revisão da literatura com intuito de sistematizar o conhecimento produzido no campo da promoção da saúde em relação ao tema sustentabilidade. As bases de dados consultadas foram Lilacs, SciELO e Web of Science, no período entre 1989 e 2014. O corpus contou com 35 artigos, sendo analisados conceito de sustentabilidade, metodologia e resultados dos estudos. Verificou-se que os estudos têm se dedicado a encontrar fatores que influenciam a sustentabilidade de intervenções de saúde, no entanto, não há evidências sobre que fatores são suficientes para a sustentabilidade. Conclui-se que há pouca literatura sobre o tema em questão no âmbito nacional e se recomenda novas investigações.
Scientific review was performed aiming to systematize the knowledge produced in the field of health promotion, regarding sustainability. Databases consulted were Lilacs, SciELO and Web of Science, in the period between 1989 and 2014. The corpus included 35 papers being analyzed the concept of sustainability, methodology and studies results. It was found that the studies have been devoted to finding factors that influence the sustainability of health interventions, however, there is no scientific evidence about which factors are sufficient for the sustainability. It was concluded that there is little literature on the subject in question at the national level and further investigations are recommended.