Engaging the community to improve nutrition and physical activity among houses of worship

Healthy helpers: using culinary lessons to improve children's culinary literacy and self-efficacy to cook

Background

Children do not eat the recommended amounts of vegetables, and school-based nutrition education has not been found to impact this behavior. Cooking education is associated with improved children's culinary literacy (CL) and eating behaviors. This study investigated the impact of a culinary literacy (CL) curriculum on children's acceptance of vegetable-added (mushrooms) recipes, CL, self-efficacy to cook (SE), and willingness to try vegetables (WV).

Methods

A convenience sample of 39 fourth and fifth graders were exposed to a six-lesson virtual CL curriculum that taught basic cooking skills and how to prepare six recipes, including three traditional recipes and the same recipes with added vegetables.

Results

Children who participated in the CL curriculum accepted vegetables added to pizza pockets, but vegetables added to macaroni and cheese and fajitas negatively affected the acceptance of recipes. Children improved their CL and SE but did not show a significant change in their WV.

Conclusion

Findings suggest that CL programs focusing on vegetables may drive factors associated with dietary behavior change, SE, and acceptance of vegetables. Future studies should consider CL as a potential method to improve vegetable intake in children in tandem with nutrition education or as a sole intervention. The study was limited by its small sample size, the virtual setting, and the use of mushrooms as the primary vegetable source. Future studies should be conducted with a larger sample size, in a traditional classroom setting, use a variety of vegetables, and collect qualitative data on the sensory characteristics affecting children's WV.

Community-Society Equilibrium: Religious Organizations in the Service of a Secular State

Religious enclaves have a long history of relying on internal organizations to care for the vulnerable. Yet very occasionally they avail themselves of the services of those who are not community members. Police agencies working in these enclaves also often rely on community organizations to disseminate information, assist in maintaining public order, and increase police legitimacy. Using the framework of community-society and social control, this study identifies a shift of religious organizations toward greater integration into the public sphere. Under certain social conditions, religious organizations serve as agents of socialization for the enclave community and allow members of the community to participate in public actions, resulting inevitably in higher integration. This study suggests that the boundaries between community and society are flexible and may adjust under certain circumstances, even as religious constraints may pose obstacles for advancing community cooperation with such state organizations as the police.

Screening for Depression in African-American Churches

INTRODUCTION

Substantial racial/ethnic disparities exist in the identification and management of major depression. Faith-Based Health Promotion interventions reduce disparities in health screenings for numerous medical conditions. However, the feasibility of systematically screening for depression in faith-based settings has not been investigated. The purpose of this study was to assess the feasibility of using a validated instrument to screen for depression in African-American churches.

METHODS

Participants were recruited between October and November 2012 at three predominantly African-American churches in New York City. A participatory research approach was used to determine screening days. The Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9) was administered to 122 participants. Positive depression screen was defined as a PHQ-9 score ≥10. Descriptive statistics were used to report sample characteristics, prevalence of participants who screened positive, and history of help seeking. Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the association of positive depression screen and sociodemographic characteristics. Initial analyses were conducted in 2013, with additional analyses in 2014.

RESULTS

The prevalence estimate for positive depression screen was 19.7%. More men (22.5%) screened positive than women (17.7%). Total household income was inversely related to positive depression screen. A similar percentage of respondents had previously sought help from primary care providers as from clergy.

CONCLUSIONS

It was feasible to screen for depression with the PHQ-9 in African-American churches. The prevalence of positive depression screen was high, especially among black men. Churches may be an important setting in which to identify depressive symptoms in this underserved population.