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Browsing by Author "Hosig, Kathy L."

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Developing a Master Food Volunteer Continuing Education Program: A Model for Volunteer Capacity Building
    Jiles, Kristina A.; Chase, Melissa W.; Hosig, Kathy L.; Wenzel, Sophie; Schlenker, Eleanor; Rafie, Carlin (2019-04-30)
    We developed a master food volunteer (MFV) continuing education program (CEP) for MFVs assisting Extension agents with a diabetes self-management program. Our development process included two phases of pilot testing. First, seasoned MFVs tested and provided formative feedback on the first iteration of the MFV CEP modules. After revising the modules in response to their feedback, we evaluated program effectiveness by comparing pretraining/posttraining score change between MFVs who had completed the training (intervention group) and those who had not (comparison group). All test scores increased for intervention group members, whereas half declined for comparison group members. Our process of developing enhanced education to address program-specific volunteer capacity building has broad applicability.
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    Evaluation of a mindfulness-based stress management and nutrition education program for mothers
    Kennedy, Lauren E.; Hosig, Kathy L.; Ju, Young; Serrano, Elena L. (Cogent, 2019-10-31)
    Background: Maternal stress is implicated in obesity and obesity-related chronic disease. This can have consequences for their children’s weight status and disease development. Interventions are needed that target both psychological stress and diet using evidence-based approaches. Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the perceived impact of the Slow Down intervention on participants’ self-efficacy for practicing mindfulness and the barriers and perceived benefits to adopting intervention target behaviors. The ways that knowledge was brokered and transferred provided guidance on the translation of mindfulness within dietary interventions. Design: This was a qualitative evaluation of a mixed-methods quasi-experimental pilot intervention. A focus group was conducted post-intervention and a follow-up semi-structured individual interview took place 4–6 weeks post-intervention. Results: Self-efficacy for practicing mindfulness skills was generally high or described as mixed by participants. Reported benefits from participating in the intervention included increased social support, improved sleep, and improved reaction to stressors, among others. Participants reported barriers to making changes, including family or partner buy-in. Participants cited several ways that knowledge was gained and transferred throughout the intervention that could improve the translation of mindfulness research into practice. Conclusions: With increasing evidence supporting the use of mindfulness in public health nutrition interventions, there are gaps in describing the benefits of participation in mindfulness interventions and the barriers to making health behavior changes as a result of participation. This study demonstrates the potential for nutrition interventions that include psychological health and provides guidance on how to implement mindfulness practice into public health practice settings.
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    Implementation and outcomes of the Balanced Living with Diabetes program conducted by Cooperative Extension in Rural Communities in Virginia
    Rafie, Carlin; Hosig, Kathy L.; Wenzel, Sophie; Borowski, Shelby; Jiles, Kristina A.; Schlenker, Eleanor (2021-08)
    Introduction: Adult onset diabetes is a significant health issue in rural communities that are disproportionately suffering from the health, social and financial costs of the disease. Despite this, over half of rural counties in the USA lack access to diabetes selfmanagement programs, which are effective at improving diabetes management. The Cooperative Extension System (CES) is a nationwide education network that provides research-based information and programs in nearly 3000 counties in the USA to improve the health and wellbeing of rural and urban communities. This study evaluated the implementation and outcomes of a lifestyle management program, Balanced Living with Diabetes (BLD) conducted by community-based educators who are part of the CES in rural Virginia, to address the gap in diabetes education in these communities. BLD is grounded in social cognitive theory and has shown efficacy to modify dietary and physical activity behaviors resulting in improved glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes. Methods: The study evaluated the implementation and effectiveness of BLD programs conducted by the CES in 16 rural counties over 2 years. Program adoption, reach, context, and barriers and facilitators to implementation were evaluated through program outcome data and extension educator interviews. Program outcomes included change in weight, glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C), diabetes knowledge, self-management practices, diet and physical activity behaviors, and self-efficacy from baseline to 12-week assessment. Results: Extension educators conducted 30 programs, reaching 290 residents, with a 58% mean retention rate. The program resulted in a significant increase in diabetes and food knowledge, fruit, vegetable, and whole grain intake, use of the plate method, exercise, and diabetes management self-efficacy. A1C decreased significantly in participants with diabetes (mean reduction=0.345±1.013; p=0.001). The program was conducted twice in 11 counties, and once in five counties. Barriers to program adoption in the five counties included limited community interest, competing program priorities of the extension educator, and loss of extension personnel to conduct the program. Participant communication materials and systems to enhance program sustainability were developed in response to educator feedback. Process evaluation indicated that the program was highly acceptable to extension educators and program participants. Conclusion: The CES is an effective network for implementation of diabetes lifestyle-management programs in underserved communities, and the BLD program is effective at increasing lifestyle behaviors and self-efficacy that improve glycemic control in people with type 2 diabetes. Collaboration by Virginia’s CES with a variety of community partners, including healthcare and social service providers, increases the reach and sustainability of extension diabetes programs. The CES in the USA is well positioned to fill the gap in diabetes education in rural communities as part of a chronic care model.
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    Promoting sustainable responses to the US opioid epidemic with community-academic partnerships: qualitative outcomes from a statewide program
    Driscoll, David L.; Cuellar, Alison E.; Agarwal, Vinod; Jones, Debra; Dunkenberger, Mary B.; Hosig, Kathy L. (2022-04-07)
    Background Drug overdose deaths in the United States have continued to increase at an alarming rate. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) distributed more than $7 billion between January 2016 and June 2020 to address the drug overdose crisis. The funds support evidence-based responses, including medications for opioid use disorder, and other prevention, treatment and recovery activities. Although the State Opioid Response (SOR) grants finance much-needed community level interventions, many of the services they support may not be sustainable, without ongoing assessment, evaluation and planning for continuation. Methods This paper describes a statewide effort to support local entities through SAMHSA’s SOR grants in Virginia. Community agencies across the state participated in detailed needs assessment exercises with VHEOC investigators, and developed requests for proposals (RFPs) to sustain their SOR programs. The RFPs were then distributed to prospective academic partners at the five VHEOC universities, based on the required subject matter expertise identified in the RFP. All responsive proposals were then provided to the local agencies who selected the proposal most likely to meet their needs. VHEOC investigators also conducted an inductive, three-phase content analysis approach to examine the RFPs submitted to the VHEOC to identify nominal categories of support requested of the VHEOC investigators. Results VHEOC Investigators received and coded 27 RFPs from ten community agencies representing four of five regions of the state. We identified six nominal categories of academic assistance with high inter-coder agreement. The six categories of support requested of the academic partners were program development and support, literature review and best practices, outreach and education, data analysis and interpretation, program evaluation, and grant writing assistance. Several RFPs requested up to three categories of support in a single project. Conclusions Our analysis of the requests received by the consortium identified several categories of academic support for SOR-grantees addressing the drug overdose crisis. The most common requests related to development and maintenance of supportive collaborations, which existing research has demonstrated is necessary for the long-term sustainability of SOR-funded services. In this way, the academic partners reinforced sustainable SOR-funded programs. As the state opioid response program is implemented nationally, we hope that other states will consider similar models in response to the opioid crisis.