Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and offerings to somali children: The FAV-S pilot study

Mary O. Hearst; Rebecca Kehm; Shelley Sherman; Kate E. Lechner

doi:10.1177/2150131913513269

Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and offerings to somali children: The FAV-S pilot study

Mary O. Hearst
, Rebecca Kehm
, Shelley Sherman
, Kate E. Lechner

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

9 Scopus citations

Abstract

Objective: To determine the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of a parent-centered intervention to increase fruit and vegetable servings and consumption among Somali children living in the United States. Design: Pilot intervention that included Somali community health workers who organized groups of 3 or 4 women to participate in 2 initial educational sessions, including topics of health and nutrition, serving size, and label reading. A third session taught interactive cooking to increase skills in preparing fruits and vegetables and increasing the numbers of vegetables included in traditional Somali dishes. The final session was a trip to the grocery store to identify fruits and vegetables, determine ripeness, and explore frozen and canned fruits and vegetables for halal, low-sodium, and low-sugar products. Surveys were completed pre- and post-intervention. Setting: Study participants were recruited from a large housing complex in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a high population of Somali immigrants. Participants: Somali women (N = 25) with children aged 3 to 10 years. Results: The intervention was feasible and well accepted. In comparing pre- and post-intervention surveys, mothers reported providing their children significantly more frequent servings of fruits and vegetables at dinner, lunch, snack, and breakfast (vegetable only). There was a statistically significant increase in parent-reported intake of fruits and vegetables for themselves and their children. Conclusion: The FAV-S study was feasible and acceptable, and it demonstrated potential for increasing fruit and vegetable servings and consumption among Somali children. A larger-scale randomized trial is needed to assess the impact of this intervention.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	139-143
Number of pages	5
Journal	Journal of Primary Care and Community Health
Volume	5
Issue number	2
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1177/2150131913513269
State	Published - Apr 2014
Externally published	Yes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The results from this pilot study suggest promise in a culturally tailored intervention among Somali immigrants. Further research is required using a randomized trial and longer-term outcome assessment. We thank the participants of this study and the community health workers who implemented the intervention. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Funding for this study was provided by the Obesity Consortium at the University of Minnesota. The Obesity Consortium links 3 obesity centers at the University of Minnesota, including the Obesity Prevention Center (established through the Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives Presidential Initiative), the Minnesota Obesity Center (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases funded), and the Center for Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (National Cancer Institute funded). The Obesity Consortium had no role in the design, analysis, or writing of this article. M. H. conceived of the study, was principal investigator of the pilot, and led the analysis and writing. R.K. completed data entry and analysis and contributed to the writing. S.S. contributed to curriculum design and manuscript editing. K.L. coordinated the study implementation, managed the community health workers, and contributed to and edited the manuscript.

Keywords

Children
Community
Nutrition
Pilot intervention
Somali

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10.1177/2150131913513269

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@article{73efbfbbf8dd4c69bfb8764c2f476604,

title = "Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and offerings to somali children: The FAV-S pilot study",

abstract = "Objective: To determine the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of a parent-centered intervention to increase fruit and vegetable servings and consumption among Somali children living in the United States. Design: Pilot intervention that included Somali community health workers who organized groups of 3 or 4 women to participate in 2 initial educational sessions, including topics of health and nutrition, serving size, and label reading. A third session taught interactive cooking to increase skills in preparing fruits and vegetables and increasing the numbers of vegetables included in traditional Somali dishes. The final session was a trip to the grocery store to identify fruits and vegetables, determine ripeness, and explore frozen and canned fruits and vegetables for halal, low-sodium, and low-sugar products. Surveys were completed pre- and post-intervention. Setting: Study participants were recruited from a large housing complex in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a high population of Somali immigrants. Participants: Somali women (N = 25) with children aged 3 to 10 years. Results: The intervention was feasible and well accepted. In comparing pre- and post-intervention surveys, mothers reported providing their children significantly more frequent servings of fruits and vegetables at dinner, lunch, snack, and breakfast (vegetable only). There was a statistically significant increase in parent-reported intake of fruits and vegetables for themselves and their children. Conclusion: The FAV-S study was feasible and acceptable, and it demonstrated potential for increasing fruit and vegetable servings and consumption among Somali children. A larger-scale randomized trial is needed to assess the impact of this intervention.",

keywords = "Children, Community, Nutrition, Pilot intervention, Somali",

author = "Hearst, \{Mary O.\} and Rebecca Kehm and Shelley Sherman and Lechner, \{Kate E.\}",

note = "Funding Information: The results from this pilot study suggest promise in a culturally tailored intervention among Somali immigrants. Further research is required using a randomized trial and longer-term outcome assessment. We thank the participants of this study and the community health workers who implemented the intervention. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Funding for this study was provided by the Obesity Consortium at the University of Minnesota. The Obesity Consortium links 3 obesity centers at the University of Minnesota, including the Obesity Prevention Center (established through the Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives Presidential Initiative), the Minnesota Obesity Center (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases funded), and the Center for Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (National Cancer Institute funded). The Obesity Consortium had no role in the design, analysis, or writing of this article. M. H. conceived of the study, was principal investigator of the pilot, and led the analysis and writing. R.K. completed data entry and analysis and contributed to the writing. S.S. contributed to curriculum design and manuscript editing. K.L. coordinated the study implementation, managed the community health workers, and contributed to and edited the manuscript. ",

year = "2014",

month = apr,

doi = "10.1177/2150131913513269",

language = "English (US)",

volume = "5",

pages = "139--143",

journal = "Journal of Primary Care and Community Health",

issn = "2150-1319",

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T1 - Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and offerings to somali children

T2 - The FAV-S pilot study

AU - Hearst, Mary O.

AU - Kehm, Rebecca

AU - Sherman, Shelley

AU - Lechner, Kate E.

N1 - Funding Information: The results from this pilot study suggest promise in a culturally tailored intervention among Somali immigrants. Further research is required using a randomized trial and longer-term outcome assessment. We thank the participants of this study and the community health workers who implemented the intervention. Declaration of Conflicting Interests The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. Funding The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: Funding for this study was provided by the Obesity Consortium at the University of Minnesota. The Obesity Consortium links 3 obesity centers at the University of Minnesota, including the Obesity Prevention Center (established through the Healthy Foods, Healthy Lives Presidential Initiative), the Minnesota Obesity Center (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases funded), and the Center for Transdisciplinary Research on Energetics and Cancer (National Cancer Institute funded). The Obesity Consortium had no role in the design, analysis, or writing of this article. M. H. conceived of the study, was principal investigator of the pilot, and led the analysis and writing. R.K. completed data entry and analysis and contributed to the writing. S.S. contributed to curriculum design and manuscript editing. K.L. coordinated the study implementation, managed the community health workers, and contributed to and edited the manuscript.

PY - 2014/4

Y1 - 2014/4

N2 - Objective: To determine the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of a parent-centered intervention to increase fruit and vegetable servings and consumption among Somali children living in the United States. Design: Pilot intervention that included Somali community health workers who organized groups of 3 or 4 women to participate in 2 initial educational sessions, including topics of health and nutrition, serving size, and label reading. A third session taught interactive cooking to increase skills in preparing fruits and vegetables and increasing the numbers of vegetables included in traditional Somali dishes. The final session was a trip to the grocery store to identify fruits and vegetables, determine ripeness, and explore frozen and canned fruits and vegetables for halal, low-sodium, and low-sugar products. Surveys were completed pre- and post-intervention. Setting: Study participants were recruited from a large housing complex in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a high population of Somali immigrants. Participants: Somali women (N = 25) with children aged 3 to 10 years. Results: The intervention was feasible and well accepted. In comparing pre- and post-intervention surveys, mothers reported providing their children significantly more frequent servings of fruits and vegetables at dinner, lunch, snack, and breakfast (vegetable only). There was a statistically significant increase in parent-reported intake of fruits and vegetables for themselves and their children. Conclusion: The FAV-S study was feasible and acceptable, and it demonstrated potential for increasing fruit and vegetable servings and consumption among Somali children. A larger-scale randomized trial is needed to assess the impact of this intervention.

AB - Objective: To determine the feasibility, acceptability, and impact of a parent-centered intervention to increase fruit and vegetable servings and consumption among Somali children living in the United States. Design: Pilot intervention that included Somali community health workers who organized groups of 3 or 4 women to participate in 2 initial educational sessions, including topics of health and nutrition, serving size, and label reading. A third session taught interactive cooking to increase skills in preparing fruits and vegetables and increasing the numbers of vegetables included in traditional Somali dishes. The final session was a trip to the grocery store to identify fruits and vegetables, determine ripeness, and explore frozen and canned fruits and vegetables for halal, low-sodium, and low-sugar products. Surveys were completed pre- and post-intervention. Setting: Study participants were recruited from a large housing complex in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with a high population of Somali immigrants. Participants: Somali women (N = 25) with children aged 3 to 10 years. Results: The intervention was feasible and well accepted. In comparing pre- and post-intervention surveys, mothers reported providing their children significantly more frequent servings of fruits and vegetables at dinner, lunch, snack, and breakfast (vegetable only). There was a statistically significant increase in parent-reported intake of fruits and vegetables for themselves and their children. Conclusion: The FAV-S study was feasible and acceptable, and it demonstrated potential for increasing fruit and vegetable servings and consumption among Somali children. A larger-scale randomized trial is needed to assess the impact of this intervention.

KW - Children

KW - Community

KW - Nutrition

KW - Pilot intervention

KW - Somali

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Increasing fruit and vegetable consumption and offerings to somali children: The FAV-S pilot study

Abstract

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