Abstract
Latinos in the United States account for 21.9% of adult recipients in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a federally-funded government program that provides financial assistance for supplemental food purchases to limited-income populations. In Utah, Latinos represent (14.8%) of the total population and they participate in the SNAP program in equal proportion. Besides assisting with food purchases, SNAP also provides nutrition education (SNAP-Ed) to help participants improve or incorporate new healthy eating and physical activity habits in their lives. Utah State University Extension (USU Extension) implements SNAP-Ed through its Create Better Health (CBH) program. To reach Spanish-speaking Latinos, CBH developed “Mejore su salud”, a four-lesson curriculum that was linguistically and culturally adapted for the Spanish-speaking Latino audience. To evaluate learning and behavioral intent outcomes, the lessons were pilot tested involving a cohort participating in the Community Health Worker State Certificate provided by USU Extension in collaboration with the Utah Department of Health and Human Services and the Utah Community Health Worker Association. This cohort included participants with extensive community expertise in Latin America, health prevention and the Spanish language. We highlight the cultural adaptations of the CBH curriculum and successes of virtual delivery of nutrition education using Zoom and WhatsApp. We outline methodologies for participant recruitment, engagement and follow-up, and the use of tools for program evaluation. We also present findings regarding learning and behavioral intent outcomes and reflect on future program implications.
Presenters
Celina WilleExtension Associate Professor, Applied Sciences, Technology and Education, Utah State University, Utah, United States Maria Jose Velasco Burgos
Assistant Professor, Home and Community , Utah State University, Utah, United States
Details
Presentation Type
Paper Presentation in a Themed Session
Theme
Health Promotion and Education
KEYWORDS
NUTRITION EDUCATION, SPANISH-SPEAKING LATINOS, COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS
