The study, supported by funding from the Ohio State Center for Clinical and Translational Science (CCTS) and published in PRISM: A Journal of Regional Engagement was built around a 30-day \u201cchallenge\u201d which utilized academic-community partnerships to identify health needs and promote positive health through community-led interventions in Appalachia.<\/p>\n \u201cAn estimated 24.8 million people live in Appalachia, and this population often has the highest concentrations of chronic illnesses like diabetes and obesity,\u201d said Laureen Smith, PhD, RN, study investigator and assistant professor in the College of Nursing. \u201cIt\u2019s our hope that early intervention will help prevent disease in Appalachia and we can reapply what we learn here to populations outside of Appalachia.\u201d<\/p>\n Through an integrated model that utilized surveys, focus groups and community health advocates, Smith noticed a recurring theme throughout both communities: there was a growing concern regarding teens\u2019 consumption of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs). From there, a pilot project was born. Dubbed \u201cSodabriety,\u201d the project challenged high school students to give up or significantly reduce their consumption of SSBs for 30 days.<\/p>\n Smith, along with co-investigator, Mary Ellen Wewers, PhD, MPH, professor and associate dean for research in the College of Public Health, worked closely with the Pike Healthy Lifestyle Initiative, academic partners and community residents and stakeholders to spearhead the project that would explore teenage consumption of SSBs while determining the effectiveness of community-based intervention in both urban and rural Appalachia.<\/p>\n The 30-day challenge required a pre-test\/post-test design to enable the tracking of long-term impact. Along with a social marketing campaign, a commercial and a \u201ckick off kit,\u201d students were given surveys and asked to maintain a daily beverage log. At the close of the challenge, students saw a significant reduction in their SSB consumption and an increase in their water consumption.<\/p>\n \u201cI think the kids really engaged with the program because they were able to have a voice in the way the information was shared<\/strong>. They motivated each other in ways that showed a sense of ownership and pride<\/strong>,\u201d says Smith.<\/p>\n The study was conducted using a Community Based Participatory Research (CBPR) approach which engages the community in each step of research, something that Smith says was key to the program\u2019s success.<\/p>\n \u201cUsing CBPR we were able to gather accurate, comprehensive and dependable data about the community\u2019s health while showcasing the successful impact this method can have when establishing effective and trusting relationships between researchers and the community,\u201d said Smith. \u201cMost notably, the community-based approached empowered Appalachian residents to cultivate and deliver a viable health program that will impact the health and wellness of residents in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n In response to the success of \u201cSodabriety,\u201d Smith secured funding to implement similar interventions in three additional Pike County schools.<\/p>\n The study is part of the Administrative Supplement project, \u201cEngaging Urban and Rural Appalachian Communities in Clinical Research.\u201d As part of the Appalachian Translational Research Network, CCTS is committed to furthering the research and understanding of Appalachian culture through projects that focus on religiosity, health outlooks and research perceptions of the Appalachian community.<\/p>\n The project described was supported by Award Number UL1RR025755 from the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" From the Ohio State University Center for Clinical and Translational Science press release via Newswise: By participating in a peer- and community-driven education program, a new study offers evidence supporting… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10,9],"tags":[70,208,37,207,214],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3471"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3471"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3471\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3477,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3471\/revisions\/3477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3471"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3471"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3471"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![\"\"](\"http:\/\/therapytoronto.ca\/images\/blogpics\/Soda.jpg\" "\\"soda\\"")
By participating in a peer- and community-driven education program, a new study offers evidence supporting community-based intervention as a successful vehicle to encourage high school students in Appalachia to reduce their intake of sugared drinks<\/strong>.<\/p>\n