1. Community Outreach: Addressing Community Needs and Providing
Practical and Applied Research Experiences
Yanely Alonso, Misha Chishty, Jennifer C. Cleveland, BA, Iris Machuca, BS, Yasmine Marquez,
Jessica S. Robinson, BS, Cheryl Woolf, BA, Daphne C. Hernandez, PhD
Department of Health & Human Performance
Texas Obesity Research Center
Background
UH Mission: As a knowledge resource to
the public, the University of Houston
builds partnerships with other community
organizations to improve and advance
communities.
Division of Research Community
Advancement and Education Mission:
To conduct research, service and
scholarly activities associated with
improving and advancing communities.
Results
Create & Implement
Recipes:
Detailed protocols were developed to
ensure quality, uniformity, and clarity
within the recipe database.
Recipes were adapted or created
based on the pantry’s food inventory,
encouraging product turnover while
keeping the culture and preferences of
the target community in mind.
TORC’s Community Advisory Board
(CAB) provided feedback during the
development process.
Spanish translations were made
available.
Recipe Icons:
TORC’s CAB informed the creation of
icons to allow for the quick
identification of recipes meeting
specific dietary needs (Figure 2).
Nutrition status of the target
population, as informed by
stakeholders, served as the basis for
the creation of icons.
Original artwork was created and
subject to several review processes.
Usage of icons adhere to health claim
guidelines from the FDA, the American
Heart Association, and the American
Diabetes Association.
Workshops/Food Demonstrations:
Nutrition workshops were designed to
educate the community through the
use of lectures, brochures, interactive
models, and cooking demonstrations.
The brochures were distributed during
the workshop to serve as a tool to
provide basic nutrition and health
knowledge.
Because of the specific needs of the
community, the workshops focused on
reducing fat, sugar and sodium from
one’s diet.
Conclusions
Acknowledgement
Methods
Through the use of the community
outreach model, the community and
the prospective health professionals
benefited.
The community’s need for access to
nutritional and health behavior
education was met through the
implementation of workshops and
distribution of educational materials.
Prospective health professionals
applied research skills, interacted with
a future client population, and gained
interpersonal skills.
Our next step is to evaluate the
efficacy of the workshops by
developing pre and post intervention.
Purpose
The ADDIE instructional design model
(Figure 1) was adapted as a community
outreach model to promote a healthy
lifestyle among an underserved
population.
Figure 2. Recipe Icons
One serving of this recipe is a good source of
calcium, providing at least 10% of the
recommended dietary allowance.
One serving of this recipe is a good source of
fiber, providing at least 10% of adequate intake
levels.
One serving of this recipe is a good source of
iron, providing at least 10% of the
recommended dietary allowance.
One serving of this recipe is a good source of
vitamin D, providing at least 10% of the
recommended dietary allowance.
This recipe is part of a heart healthy diet as
recommended by the American Heart
Association.
This recipe is part of a diabetes friendly diet as
recommended by the American Diabetes
Association.
The students met with the manager at a
local community center.
The manager discussed the community’s
needs which included: nutrition
education, healthy recipes to distribute,
brochures that encouraged behavioral
change, and food demonstrations that
required the use of the foods the center
made available to the community.
By becoming informed and listening the
students were able to develop
educational materials to meet the needs
of the community.
Encouraging a low sodium diet by
substituting spices for salt in a whole
wheat pasta recipe.
Thank you to Neighborhood Centers staff for
assisting with recruitment.
This project was completed through the UH
Texas Obesity Research Center internship
program.
Special thank you to Dana Ortega for assisting
with internship and outreach efforts.
Making hummus with children to
teach the importance of healthy fats.
Providing mothers and children with a
sample of a carrot cake smoothie,
while explaining how to reduce sugar
intake without compromising taste.
Reference
Branson, R.K. (1978). The interservice procedures
for instructional systems development. Educational
Technology 18 (3), 11-14.
Be
Informed
Listen
Implement Create
Evaluate
Figure 1. Community Outreach Model