INFANTS, TODDLERS & CHILDREN

University of Connecticut
Department of Nutritional Sciences
The Cooperative Extension System

Hispanic Health Council, Inc.

Rafael Pérez-Escamilla, PhD (UConn)
Principal Investigator
e-mail: rperez@canr.uconn.edu

Grace Damio, MS (HHC)
Co-Principal Investigator
e-mail: grace@hispanichealth.com

Anir González, BS (HHC)
FNP-IT Program Coordinator
e-mail: anir@hispanichealth.com

School Presentations

This year PANA continued presenting the puppet shows "Dino-Glotón, Bobo-Dino y sus Panitas", which has demonstrated to be a great tool teaching children about nutrition and "Happy Heart", which concentrates on the prevention of chronic diseases through nutrition, exercise and smoking prevention. PANA successfully added two new puppet shows. These newer hits are "Let's Fight Bacteria" (food safety), and "Where Foods Comes From". From October 1999 to September 2000 PANA delivered 142 puppet shows at day-care centers, schools, health fairs and community organizations/agencies reaching a total of 8,393 target children.

Agency Presentations

PANA delivered nutrition education presentations at agencies serving low-income adults and children. Presentations concentrated on general nutrition, childhood nutrition and obesity, and food safety. Children received nutrition information through puppet shows, games and fun activities. A total of 3,301adults were reached through these presentations.

Health Fairs

PANA participated in 20 health fairs during this past fiscal year. At these events, program staff performed the puppet show and disseminated nutrition information to 2,500 target individuals.

Food Safety Awareness (Fight Bac!)

Food-borne illnesses are a major public health problem in the nation. Using formative research PANA developed, tested, and delivered a food safety puppet show based on the four steps to fight bacteria. In addition, a total of 16,558 Fight BAC stickers, 6,500 Spanish brochures, 3,843 English brochures and 29 posters were distributed to community agencies, hospitals/clinics, supermarkets, convenience stores, schools, day-care centers, health fairs and restaurants in the area of Hartford.

Lactancia Herencia y Orgullo

During this year, the Breastfeeding: Heritage and Pride breastfeeding peer counseling program continued to provide breastfeeding education, support and management services among low income women that receive services at Hartford Hospital and at WIC office. The following is a breakdown of program services and outcomes:

• 570 referrals received; 549 became clients
• 542 women had babies
• 28 women received prenatal home visits (these are women who are still pregnant)
• 489 women received both prenatal and postpartum visits(these are mothers who are now post paratum)
• Of 542 post partum women 475 initiated breastfeeding, 67 women did not breastfeed and 7 were lost to follow-up.
• A total of 2,562(including 542 women above that were previously our clients) women received in-patient, post partum breastfeeding management support during routine post partum rounds, conducted twice daily; promotional and educational activities were conducted on a regular basis at Hartford Hospital's prenatal clinic and at the WIC Program.
• 380 clients who initated breastfeeding between July 1,1999 - June 30, 2000 the median breastfeeding duration is 5.5 months. PANA delivered maternal and infant nutrition education to over 2000 families through this program.

PANA delivered maternal and infant nutrition education to over 2000 families through this program.

PANA Evaluation

Presentations at schools and community organizations were evaluated by at least one viewer. In most cases, the viewer was the group organizer or teacher. This year we conducted pre and post -tests with children, dietetic students and teachers, as well as focus groups to evaluate the effectiveness of our most recent puppet shows.

Distribution and Development of Culturally Appropriate Materials

The program, with help of community members, has developed culturally appropriate and bilingual educational materials that have been used as teaching tools at presentations.

Puerto Rican Food Guide Pyramid

Over 12,000 Puerto Rican Food Guide Pyramids developed by PANA were requested during the fiscal year by the WIC program, Universities, agencies, and Cooperative Extension Systems from different parts of the nation.

Color Coded Bilingual Food Label

Last year, a UConn graduate student, with support from FNP-IT staff, developed a user-friendly food label for low literacy audiences. The user friendly food label included color- coding, bilingual text, and a shaded Food Guide Pyramid. This food label was published in the Journal of Nutrition Education (volume 32, pages 152-160) and printed in large quantitites for release.

From The Farm To The Table (Bilingual Coloring Book)

This year PANA completed a bilingual coloring book, which complimented the food access puppet show ("Where Foods Come From"). The bilingual coloring book illustrates the agricultural cycle and food processing includes through activities such as matching concepts, maze, and of course great drawings to color. The coloring book was distributed to 1,500 target children.

Nutrition Jeopardy Game

This popular game was re-created with nutrition related categories and questions. This learning tool has proven to be successful when working with teens and adults. Due to its great acceptance, a new set of categories and questions, including Diet and Exercise, Diet and Health, Breast-feeding, and Food Groups, was created.

Staff Training

This fiscal year FNP-IT staff received trainings on computers, statistics software, general nutrition, food safety, food label and childhood nutrition including infant feeding and childhood obesity. Also, staff members attended a national diabetes workshop and other nutrition conferences. Training will remain an essential part of FNP-IT's staff development.

Holcomb Farm

FNP-IT provided nutrition education and helped to distribute produce to Latinos. This project was conducted under the leadership of a UConn undergraduate student.

Intern Students

The program facilitated internships for undergraduate, graduate and dietetic students from the University of Connecticut and Saint Joseph's College. Students participated on the development of educational materials for the program, distribution of vegetables from the Holcomb Farm to community members, and the design of a breastfeeding web-site.

Technical Support

Our program has been recognized through the technical support we have been providing to other programs throughout the years. This year, we conducted a puppet show to children with Phenylketonuria (PKU). We were able to modify one of our puppet show ("Dino-Glotón, Bobo-Dino y sus Panitas") to accommodate the dietary needs of these children. Also, we assisted the Food Service Department at Hartford Public Schools in their campaign ("Jump Start Your Day With Breakfast") to promote the daily consumption of breakfast. A puppet show was presented in eight schools to emphasize the importance of eating breakfast everyday.

Team Approach

PANA has been highly successful mainly due to the partnership between the Hispanic Health Council and the University of Connecticut. Both organizations have been able to share their expertise and resources to create this unique program, in collaboration with the USDA Food Stamp Program, the Department of Social Services, The Hartford School System, The Hartford Food System, the Connecticut Ballet, Hartford Hospital, Connecticut Children's Medical Center, and others.