Objectives Food insecurity (FI), a social determinant of health, disproportionally affects U.S. racial/ethnic minority households. Reducing FI can lower health inequities, especially in San Diego County, CA where 42% of Hispanic/Latinx households experience FI. Capacity-oriented approaches may reduce FI and improve diet and health in low-resource settings, but local data are needed to develop these approaches. The overarching goal of this study was to identify multi-level sources of existing capital (assets) in San Diego County to inform an integrated approach to reducing FI. Methods Framed by the Socioecological Model, we conducted one-on-one semi-structured interviews with key informants at stakeholder agencies (n = 10) providing food and nutrition services to low-income households across San Diego County. Data collection is ongoing. Interview audio recordings were transcribed, checked, and discussed among the team (primary investigator and student researchers). The student researchers iteratively coded transcripts. The team discussed coding in biweekly meetings. As part of the analytical process, the team referenced the literature to identify theories or frameworks that helped explain what they were observing. Analyses were conducted in NVivo 12. Results Preliminary findings demonstrated that across-agency partnerships may be influential sources of existing capital for addressing FI. The Parent and Harvey model was identified as a framework to better understand agency partnerships, as it outlined partnership attributes in the context of partnership outputs. In San Diego County, across-agency partnership attributes that appeared to make partnerships successful included communication (e.g., regular communication, information sharing), coordination (e.g., referrals), trust, and mutuality (e.g., common vision/mission). For example, partnerships enabled a centralized referral process for clients needing access to a variety of services across multiple agencies. Conclusions In San Diego County, across-agency partnerships may be uniquely influential to addressing FI. Future research should consider how to continue to leverage these partnership capacities to reduce FI. Funding Sources NIH-NHLBI; SDSU ENS Thom Mackenzie Student Research Grant; SDSU Student Undergraduate Research Program.
Previous epidemiological studies and experimental data from rodent models have reported a non‐linear relationship between consumption of alcohol and cardiovascular disease risk and colorectal health. These studies indicate that light‐to‐moderate alcohol consumption, in contrast to excessive alcohol use, may provide cardiovascular health benefits as well as a protective effects on risk for colorectal cancer. Although prior studies have examined the effects of moderate ethanol consumption primarily in young adult animals, it is unknown if the results can be extrapolated to older adults or if these effects may be more pronounced in aging animals due to declining indices of health.. This study examined the effects of moderate ethanol consumption on lipid profile and colonic gene expression in older rats. Twenty‐four non deprived middle aged (420 days old) Wistar rats (n=12/group) were allowed to voluntarily consume a 20% v/v ethanol solution on alternate days for 13 weeks or were given access to water as their sole source of fluid (non‐ethanol exposed control). Moderate ethanol consumption significantly increased HDL cholesterol levels (P = 0.016) and ApoA1 (P = 0.048) compared to control. There were no differences in serum triglyceride, total cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, oxidized LDL and glucose between the groups. Blood C‐reactive protein (CRP) was decreased significantly (P = 0.034) in ethanol‐exposed animals. Blood high‐mobility group protein 1 (HMGB1) showed a decreased trend in the ethanol group (P = 0.083). In colon, gene expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase (Aldh) displayed an increased trend in ethanol‐exposed rats (P = 0.073). Colonic superoxide dismutase (Sod) was upregulated with ethanol intervention (P = 0.050). Colonic gene expression of cyclooxygenase 2 (Cox‐2), RelA, b‐catenin, CD68, and Pparr were not different between the groups. These results suggest that moderate consumption of ethanol in older rats may potentially contribute to improved cardiovascular and colorectal cancer risk by improving blood cholesterol, decreasing blood markers of inflammation in and increasing antioxidant enzyme expression in colon. Support or Funding Information NIH AA023291
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