Growing Healthy Children and Families in Rural Arkansas

The goal of this study is to develop, adapt, and implement a healthy eating program for rural communities by working with churches. The project is divided into three phases: the first phase consists of developing and adapting a healthy eating program. This will be done by conducting five focus groups with Spanish- and English-speaking mothers living in Arkansas. The purpose of these focus groups is to obtain feedback on the seven healthy eating modules that will be included in the healthy eating program. The seven healthy eating modules include 1) introduction to healthy eating and the benefits of healthy eating, 2) importance of hydration, 3) physical activity, 4) recommended meal portions and meal planning, 5) sugar smart, 6) ultra-processed foods, and 7) fruits and vegetables. We will use the ecological validity model to guide the adaptation process. The goal of phase two is to train 10 lay community health workers or congregants of 8 churches for 40 hours on the seven eating modules. In Phase 3, the community health workers will deliver the healthy eating program to mothers with at least one child between the ages of 7 to 12 years old in the home setting every two weeks for 14 weeks. In addition, participants will be asked to participate in two cooking/tasting demonstrations in the church setting. A control group of mothers with a child will receive bi-weekly messaging videos in Spanish or English via Facebook/WhatsApp for 14 weeks. Topics will include: 1) mental health issues in adults, 2) asthma in children, 3) menopause, 4) cord blood banking, 5) common childhood diseases, 6) dental care for adults and children, and 7) common behavioral problems in children. Individual and collective goal setting will be encouraged for participants who participate in the healthy eating program. To measure outcomes in the control and intervention group, we will collect data using the following instruments: height and weight, veggie meter, food frequency questionnaire, physical activity screener, healthy cooking questionnaire, and a self-efficacy questionnaire. Project Number: 5P20GM109096-10 | Fiscal Year: 2025 | NIH Institute/Center: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) | Principal Investigator: Martha Rojo | Institution: ARKANSAS CHILDREN'S HOSPITAL RES INST, LITTLE ROCK, AR | Award Amount: $132,469 | Activity Code: P20 | Study Section: ZGM1-RCB-W(C2) View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11471779