Patrons
of Jacksonville’s Dunn Avenue Winn-Dixie store may have dropped by to
pick up a
few groceries Feb. 19, but they ended up getting a lot more than just a
loaf of
bread and a gallon of milk. They took home valuable information on
preventing
and managing diabetes and preparing healthy food — as well as a
pedometer to
encourage them to walk their way to a healthier lifestyle.
The
advice
and freebies were provided by a group of University of North Florida
students in the Brooks College of Health’s Master of Science in
Nutrition (MSH)
program who conducted two in-store diabetes health fairs as a community
outreach service to the public. The health fairs were designed to
promote
health and diabetes literacy in high-risk populations.
Shoppers
received
free diabetes screenings, body-fat analysis, diabetes risk assessment,
weight-control education and counseling, store tours and healthy-food
demonstrations and samples.
About
half
of the program’s 15 dietetic interns participated in the Dunn Avenue
location’s health fair, while half conducted a fair the next week at the
University Boulevard Winn-Dixie. Both stores were selected because their
shoppers represent multiple income levels and health risks.
Students
enrolled
in UNF’s highly competitive MSH dietetic internship program must
complete 41 credit hours of graduate-level coursework and 1,200
internship
hours in four semesters. Getting out into the community to teach people
how to
eat right and stay healthy is just one piece of the puzzle.
“It’s
critical
for students to educate the public about health-care issues and
nutrition, especially considering the public-health issues we deal
with,” said
Dr. Catherine Christie, chair of UNF’s Department of Nutrition and
Dietetics
and graduate program director. “The No. 1 killer is heart disease. If
you look
at high blood pressure, diabetes and cancer, diet is one of the major
risk
factors, so education is critical in addition to behavior change.”
The
focus
of the health fairs was educating the public about Type 2 diabetes, a
chronic disease marked by high levels of blood glucose and associated
with
heart disease, stroke, high blood pressure and other complications.
According
to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 23.6 million
Americans
suffer from the disease, which can be delayed and effectively managed
through
proper nutrition and regular exercise.
At
the
Dunn Avenue Winn-Dixie, dietetic intern Jennifer Martinez staffed a
table
with visual displays designed to attract passersby, including a yellow,
globular chunk of rubber simulating a pound of body fat. She also
demonstrated
correct food portion sizes. “A deck of playing cards equals about three
ounces
of meat,” Martinez said, “while a woman’s closed fist is the same size
as a
half cup of food.”
In
America, everything is oversized when it comes to food portions,
Martinez said.
“It’s all about super-sizing or biggie-sizing their meals. People need
to
account for the extra calories and fat that comes from adding those
extra
portions to their meals – and they need to know the health risks of
doing so.”
Students
conducted diabetes and pre-diabetes risk assessments by asking
participants a
series of questions about their weight, height, physical activity level
and
family history of high blood pressure and diabetes. Those assessed as
being
high-risk for developing diabetes were invited on an educational tour of
the
store.
“We’re
taking customers through the different departments to show there are
healthy
options in every area and they shouldn’t limit themselves to one type of
food,”
said intern Lara Clevenger. “We want to give them as much knowledge as
possible
without overwhelming them so they have something to take home with
them.”
Lauren
Lange, who plans to become a clinical dietitian when she and her cohorts
complete the program in December, said participants really enjoyed the
tours.
“We stress the importance of fiber and how it makes you feel full and
has the
added benefit of preventing spikes in your blood sugar,” she said. “We
also
discuss the difference between starchy and non-starchy vegetables,
various
fruits, identifying foods that affect blood sugar, as well as lean
meats,
portion control and other important things that help control diabetes.”
According
to
Dr. Lauri Wright, director of UNF’s MSH dietetic internship program,
conducting health fairs in grocery stores is a great way to educate
people in a
non-intimidating setting where they’re more likely to respond to
students’ efforts.
In a supermarket, students are surrounded by hundreds of food labels and
hands-on materials to engage participants – and because everyone needs
to shop
for groceries, people from all walks of life participate, including
those who
are uninsured or unaware of health risks associated with diet.
“By
going
into varied-income, high-health-risk neighborhoods, we’re able to talk
with people who don’t always have access to health-care counseling,
those with
a higher risk of developing diabetes,” Wright said. “Poverty is
associated with
obesity, which is a direct risk factor for Type 2 diabetes, so we need
to reach
all people in need.”
When
shopper Jennie James finished the store tour, she gave the UNF interns
high
marks on teaching her what she needs to know to manage her Type 2
diabetes. “I
learned about eating high-fiber bread and where to shop for food that’s
really
good for you,” she said. “The information I learned here today was
excellent.”
She especially enjoyed the treat she received at the end of the tour, a
healthy
turkey-and-apple Panini prepared by intern Rachel McCandless.
“Part
of
my job is to show people that just because the food is healthy doesn’t
mean
it doesn’t taste good,” said McCandless, adding that she couldn’t make
the
samples fast enough to keep up with the demand.
The
Winn-Dixie
health fairs were made possible by a $9,000 grant from the Aetna
Foundation, the charitable arm of Aetna Inc. The funding covered the
fairs’
costs, including educational materials, testing supplies, pedometers,
food for
demonstrations and T-shirts.
“The
Aetna
Foundation has found that the Nutrition and Dietetics Department at UNF
has been innovative in reaching out and educating the public,” said Tom
Nasby,
market head of Aetna Network Management. “We believe that by taking the
concept
of providing health fairs in local grocery stores for people in our
community
with Type 2 diabetes, the department will once again be successful in
achieving
its goals.”
Dr.
Pamela Chally, dean of the Brooks College of Health, said, “Aetna’s
support of
our Nutrition and Dietetics Department means a great deal to me, our
faculty
and our students. The opportunity for students to interact with the
community
and offer diabetes screenings falls directly in line with our mission.
These
health fairs are another example of community-based transformational
learning,
which is a hallmark of UNF.”
The
success
of the health fairs is gauged not only by the 150-plus participants’
reactions and outcomes-based responses when surveyed, but also by the
quality
of learning experience provided to students.
“One
area
of success is just having the opportunity to put our students in
non-traditional venues where people make their day-to-day decisions
about what
they’re going to eat and what they’re going to serve their families,”
Christie
said. “The whole idea of the graduate program is to develop these
students into
quality health-care professionals who are going to make a difference in
the
community, and this is one creative way to do that.”
In
hospitals,
interns provide nutrition therapy to individual patients, said
Wright. “In community programs such as this, they are able to help
entire
communities,” she said. ”This is a transformational experience to apply
their
knowledge of nutrition and food to help improve the health of entire
groups.”
The UNF
Department of Nutrition and
Dietetics is made up of eight full-time faculty and several adjuncts who
teach
215 undergraduate students and 40 graduate students. The MSH dietetic
internship program is designed for graduate students who wish to become
registered dietitians. Another five to 10 graduate students already
certified
as registered dietitians complete either thesis-based or
non-thesis-based
programs, depending on their career goals.
