Assessing the Effectiveness of an Extender Model Partnership in Implementing a Multicomponent, School-Based Nutrition Intervention

Abstract

Childhood obesity continues to be a problem of national concern; school-based obesity prevention programs that incorporate nutrition education are among the efforts to address this issue. Implementation of these programs is often conducted through partner agencies like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed). As educators within these agencies have limited time and many schools qualify for programming, developing programs that extend reach by partnering with classroom teachers to deliver nutrition education is critical. The purpose of this article is to evaluate the effectiveness of a teacher extender model compared with direct nutrition education from trained staff using the research-tested, evidence-based Shaping Healthy Choices Program. Data collected as part of this evaluation in intervention and control groups included nutrition knowledge, body mass index percentile, and vegetable identification in youth; lesson fidelity observations and feasibility from teachers; and demographics from parents. Overall, unequal within variances did not allow for the statistical power to detect change. Generally, teachers enjoyed the program but found it too time-consuming to implement. While results were unclear, important lessons were learned regarding the implementation of extender programs warranting further research. Overall, this study aligns with others in the literature that indicate time is a major barrier to implementing nutrition education in the classroom. This study underscores the need for policy mandating nutrition education in schools.

Measuring Skin Carotenoids Using Reflection Spectroscopy in a Low-Income School Setting

“…Consistent with previous SHCP implementation, nutrition knowledge increased over the course of the study [20,[35][36][37]. This demonstrates alignment of the current implementation with previously published SHCP research, allowing inferences to be made about the ability of the Veggie Meter ® to detect changes in behavior.…”

“…The context for this study was to assess the aforementioned goal using the Shaping Healthy Choices Program (SHCP) as a backdrop. This program has been consistently implemented since 2012 and has resulted in improvements to health and diet-related outcomes [20,[31][32][33][34][35][36][37]. By piloting the Veggie Meter ® within a well-established program with consistently positive outcomes, the protocol could be refined for use in schools.…”

Principals' intentions and anticipated challenges in implementing nutrition education

“…Preventing communicable illnesses in children and improving their academic performance entails enhancing their nutrition knowledge and developing optimal nutritional intake behaviour (Bauer et al, 2014;Mozaffarian, 2016). In this regard, as McCaughtry et al (2012) and Scherr et al (2020) point out, actual classroom learning needs to integrate nutrition knowledge and skills to address children's dietary behaviours. Such knowledge could be imparted through nutrition education (NE).…”

“…In this regard, as McCaughtry et al. (2012) and Scherr et al. (2020) point out, actual classroom learning needs to integrate nutrition knowledge and skills to address children's dietary behaviours.…”

Connecting Undergraduates and Adolescents through Food Literacy: Development of a Cross-age Teaching, Service-Learning Internship

“…Current strategies to mitigate the escalation of childhood obesity are focused on the delivery of multicomponent interventions designed to influence dietary pattern and physical activity (Hayes, et al, 2018;Hoelscher et al, 2013;Scherr et al, 2013). These multi-component interventions are typically school-based, time intensive, and require a myriad of staff to support (Hayes, et al, 2018;Scherr et al, 2020). Multi-component programs are predominantly supported through state and federally funded organizations, such as local health departments, the Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP), and the CalFresh Healthy Living, University of California (UC) (Formerly the CalFresh Nutrition Education Program, UC) (Radtke et al, submitted;Scherr et al, 2013Scherr et al, , 2020.…”