healthy people 2020 - Society for Public Health Education

✯ Conference Abstracts ✯
saturday | november 6
tion insecurity include a lack of access to healthy foods, access to only
processed foods, built environments that prevent such access, policies
that subsidize commodity crops, and the decline of nutrients in American
crops. These results suggest that appropriate interventions include
changes at the policy level (specifically in the farm bill) and a change
in policy to allow the use of public lands for a local food economy
that would increase community access to healthy foods. In addition,
interventions should engage communities to build critical consciousness
regarding the food environment. Such interventions may include
community garden programs, which include education around the role
of place and work to model appropriate garden techniques and nutrition.
Interventions should address the current food environment and
move away from placing the responsibility of nutrition on the individual.
Policy level interventions aimed at the conventional American Agriculture
industry are necessary to ensure quality nutrition and sufficient
variety of foods needed for human health.
practice and policy implications: In the development of programs
aimed at the issues of food insecurity, obesity and nutrition it is
important to address the causes of these issues at the community and
policy levels. Also important is to acknowledge that these issues are interconnected
and work to collaborate between levels of front line practice
and policy advocacy. Finally, effective policies will address the overarching
issue of nutrition security by demanding structural change and removing
the burden of food access and nutrition education from the individual.
Georgia Stroke & Heart Attack.
Marylen Rimando, MPH, CHES, University of Georgia
Department of Health Promotion and Behavior; Stephanie Mathews,
MPH, CHES, University of Georgia College of Public Health
background: Hypertension control is an important issue for public
health practice and clinical practice. Hypertension, known as the silent
killer and often asymptomatic, affects more than 73 million Americans or
approximately 1 in 3 adults in their lifetime. The Georgia Stroke and Heart
Attack Prevention Program (SHAPP) is an ongoing hypertension management
program for mostly low-income, uninsured patients in Georgia.
theoretical framework: Phenomenology, which seeks to gain
an in-depth understanding of the lived experiences of SHAPP patients
diagnosed with hypertension. Methods: SHAPP clinic staff conducted
participant recruitment in a Georgia city. SHAPP patients included whites
and African Americans, but the majority were African American women. I
conducted 17 in-depth qualitative semi-structured interviews with SHAPP
patients at a SHAPP clinic in Georgia. I transcribed interviews verbatim
and analyzed for emergent themes to create a representative account of
patients diagnosed with hypertension at a SHAPP clinic in Georgia.
results: Participants reported accounts of controlled and uncontrolled
hypertension. Emergent themes included patients’ compliance
with medications, adherence to nurse instructions, and high patient
satisfaction with the low cost and quality of medical care in the SHAPP
program. Participants offered suggestions such as a walking program at a
shopping mall, consultations with with a dietician and personal trainer,
and more nutritious options in the vending machines. Perceived barriers
to hypertension control included having no motivation to exercise, no
transportation to the clinic, no positive social support, and no money to
pay for medical care.
conclusion: These results tremendously benefit nurses and staff at this
clinic site, local health district, and other SHAPP clinic staff throughout
the state. The knowledge of these results can assist this clinic’s staff in
improving patient care and nurse-patient communication in the future.
Health educators can collaborate with nurses, dieticians, and exercise
trainers to apply the themes to create a culturally competent survey and
intervention designed to teach healthy eating habits, exercise, and stress
management to patients enrolled in the SHAPP program.
implications for practice: Overall, these results can contribute
to the improvement of hypertension control and management among
this clinic’s patients and other SHAPP clinics in the state. In conclusion,
this study can assist in improving patient-provider communication and
eliminating health disparities between African Americans and white.
concurrent sessions d5
Room: Colorado G-H
innovative approaches to health communication:
a look at photovoice and digital storytelling
Photovoice: From Image to Community and Policy Action.
J. Elaine Borton, MPH, Sage Health Consulting, LLC.
Creative ways are needed to engage community residents and political
leaders in developing policy and environmental solutions to public
health issues. Photovoice is a grassroots approach blending photography
with social action and serves as a tool to assess community needs, identify
policy solutions and advance socio-ecological approaches to community
change. This session will compare and contrast processes and results of
Photovoice projects facilitated in an urban neighborhood (Park Hill, Denver),
a suburban city (Commerce City, Colorado) and a rural, Nicaraguan
community in Boaco. Each community’s Photovoice project focused on
specific issues, then engaged policymakers and community members to
identify policy priorities from themes reflected in images. Park Hill Thriving
Communities focused on health disparities, healthy eating and active
living. Priorities were lack of access to healthy and affordable food; unsafe
street crossings and sidewalks and crime, drug and gang activity. Partnerships
for Healthy Communities focused on community health, safety
and image. Priorities were economic development; lack of safe, healthy
places; unsafe street crossings and environmental threats. AMOS Health
and Hope focused on community health. Priorities were poor hygiene,
lack of childcare, abandoned elderly women and achieving dreams despite
poverty and access issues. Multiple evaluation measures are integrated
into the Photovoice process, assessing community desires, establishing
policy priorities and monitoring implementation of policy priorities. The
session will present: specific community and policy changes resulting from
Photovoice, practical advice and recommendations to engage community
members in policy and environmental change and strategies to assess
community readiness for Photovoice.
Promoting and Evaluating Community Change using
Photovoice: Lessons Learned from Kaiser Permanente’s
Community Health Initiative.
Pamela Schwartz, MPH, Kaiser Permanente
Creative methods are needed to engage both community residents and
political leaders in policy and environmental solutions to public health
issues. We examined the impact of a Photovoice project on policy change
related to obesity prevention. Photovoice is a community-based approach
to documentary photography that provides people with training
on photography, ethics, critical discussion, and policy advocacy. A Photovoice
project was implemented as part of the Colorado Community
Health Initiative - a community-based obesity prevention effort sponsored
by Kaiser Permanente. Photovoice themes that related to healthy
eating and active living included a lack of access to healthy food choices
sophe conference ✯ november 4-6, 2010 37