The Food Doctors: A pilot study to connect urban children and medical students using nutrition education

Abstract

Background: Children in the USA face increasing nutrition-related health risks, including obesity rates of 16.9% – a figure that has more than tripled over the past four decades. Nutrition education is beneficial to improve children’s health through obesity prevention and the promotion of healthy habits, and the elementary school years are a key time to implement health education interventions. Objective: To develop a medical student created and operated nutrition education intervention for urban underserved elementary school students. Design: The Food Doctors (TFD) programme is a hands-on, interactive, in-class nutrition education pilot initiative for elementary school students and adheres to the established tenets of effective in-class nutrition education whenever possible: (1) interactive hands-on curriculum, (2) use of culturally relevant topics and (3) the inclusion of effective evaluation techniques. Setting: Urban elementary school classrooms in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. Method: A literature review and feedback from partner schools’ needs informed curriculum development. Institutional review board approval was sought and study materials prepared. The pilot programme was carried out at partner schools during class time. Results: A total of 83 students participated in the pilot study: 46 third-grade students and 37 fourth graders. Evaluation focused on assessing student baseline knowledge and exploring post-programme nutrition knowledge gains. Conclusion: TFD pilot programme demonstrated gaps in baseline nutrition knowledge among elementary school students and showed improved post-programme ability to correctly answer basic nutrition knowledge questions.

Food Literacy Interventions in Elementary Schools: A Systematic Scoping Review*

“…Other interventions integrated a component of discussion and information sharing within their didactic classroom lessons. For example, “The Food Doctors program” included a “discussion about a popular food estimated to be familiar to all participants” in their curriculum 49 . Several studies reported using game‐based food and nutrition education, which required students to play and compete with each other 50‐55 .…”

“…For example, ''The Food Doctors program'' included a ''discussion about a popular food estimated to be familiar to all participants'' in their curriculum. 49 Several studies reported using gamebased food and nutrition education, which required students to play and compete with each other. [50][51][52][53][54][55] Furthermore, intervention descriptions of peer-topeer or teacher-to-student role-modeling of healthy eating behaviors were evidence of nonverbal communication of FL messages.…”

A Student‐Driven Community Engagement Model for School Nutrition Education Programs

“…All student and parent surveys were anonymous and included no personal identifiers. To learn more about the TFD program, please refer to Johnston et al 9 …”

“…Feedback from students participating in the Food Doctors (TFD) was the basis for this study. TFD is an elementary school nutrition education program administered by medical students at the Medical College of Wisconsin and serves low socioeconomic and underserved communities in Milwaukee, WI 9 . TFD delivers a 3‐lesson curriculum to third‐grade classes at two elementary schools – St. Marcus Lutheran School (SML) and Milwaukee Academy of Science (MAS).…”

Incorporating Community Engagement in Primary Care Research Training: Eleven-Year Outcomes

“…In one instance, a fellowship graduate (DA) who joined the MCW faculty mentored a medical student through development of a school-based nutrition education project entitled Food Doctors. 24 He served as the student's advisor through his family medicine residency, while engaging subsequent cohorts of student leaders to sustain the Food Doctors project. The student ultimately joined the department's faculty and they are now colleagues.…”