Rationale and design for a community-engaged intervention addressing the intergenerational transmission of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs): a hybrid implementation-effectiveness study protocol.

Background: Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are traumatic experiences (e.g., abuse) that can have a profound negative effect on a child's developing brain and body with lasting deleterious impacts on a person's mental health and chronic disease risk throughout the lifespan.

A Pilot and Feasibility Study on a Mindfulness-Based Intervention Adapted for LGBTQ+ Adolescents.

(1) Background: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and other gender and sexual minority-identified (LGBTQ+) adolescents face mental and physical health disparities compared to their heterosexual and cisgender counterparts. Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) may be a potential method to intervene upon health disparities in this population. This pilot study explores the initial acceptability and feasibility, along with the descriptive health changes of an online MBI, Learning to Breathe-Queer (L2B-Q), which was adapted to meet the needs of LGBTQ+ adolescents.

Relationship Between Chronic Health Conditions and Occupational Burnout in the Early Care and Education Workforce.

Objective: The early care and education (ECE) workforce experiences high rates of poor mental and physical health outcomes, which impact staff well-being and burnout. This study aimed to assess the relationship between chronic health conditions and occupational burnout in ECE Head Start staff working in low-resourced locations.

Methods: This study administered an 89-item cross-sectional survey to 332 ECE staff employed in 42 Head Start centers in the United States.

Investigation of key domains associated with worker well-being and burnout and turnover in the early care and education workforce.

Purpose: The early care and education (ECE) workforce provides care for children aged zero to five. This critical segment of the workforce experiences significant burnout and turnover rates resulting from extensive demands, including job stress and poor overall well-being. Factors associated with well-being in these settings and the resulting impacts on burnout and turnover are understudied.

Outcomes of a Multi-Component School-Based Nutrition Program.

Background: This paper presents the effectiveness of a multi-component elementary school-based nutrition education program, the Integrated Nutrition Education Program (INEP), which has been in existence for over 25 years. INEP includes components to address multiple layers of influence: hands-on nutrition education lessons in the classroom (student-level), parent education, and outreach (home-level), and facilitation of a planning process to implement policy, system, and environmental (PSE) school changes (school-level).

Methods: Three evaluation tools assessed the effectiveness of the program: (1) classroom plate waste measurement in intervention (N = 149 students) and demographically-matched comparison schools (N = 131 students), (2) pre/post classroom surveys completed by students who participated in INEP (N = 204), and (3) PSE change data from participating schools (N = 47 schools).

Self-Reported and Diagnosed Depression in Rural Colorado: Findings from the San Luis Valley Community Health Survey.

Purpose: To gain a better understanding of depression in a rural community, survey results were used to compare differences in self-reported depressive symptoms and medical professional diagnosed depression among demographic groups.

Methods: A chi-square test of independence was performed to examine relationships among the depression-related variables. Logistic regression analyses were also performed to ascertain the effects of demographic characteristics and social support on depression.

The SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework: Nationwide Uptake and Implications for Nutrition Education Practice, Policy, and Research.

Objective: Provide the first baseline census of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-Ed) state implementing agencies' (SIAs) intent to use and evaluate 51 indicators described in the SNAP-Ed Evaluation Framework.

Methods: A cross-sectional study design was used to administer electronic surveys to 124 SIAs who received SNAP-Ed funding in 2017. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the results.

Assess, Identify, Make it Happen (AIM) for Preschools: A Tool to Decrease Early Childhood Obesity.

Early childhood obesity is at epidemic proportions and is a major risk factor for the development of chronic diseases in adulthood. Since the majority of preschoolers are placed in center-based care, best practice policy, system, and environment (PSE) changes in early child care settings plays an important role in defining early development of obesogenic behaviors. However, implementation of best practice PSE changes is often a challenge in low resource settings due to staff turnover, time constraints, cultural beliefs, and lack of health-related knowledge.

Enhancing Periconceptional Health by Targeting Postpartum Mothers at Rural WIC Clinics.

The overall goal of this pilot quality improvement (QI) intervention was to (1) assess the feasibility of making a WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) systems-level change that added measurement of maternal weight and discussion of maternal health habits into each postpartum maternal and offspring visit in rural clinics in Colorado and (2) assess the impacts of the intervention on maternal diet, physical activity, and weight status. A mixed-method evaluation approach was used involving the collection of quantitative data (HeartSmartMoms usage reports, manual WIC chart reviews [to calculate screening rates], pre-/postsurveys, and weight status [body mass index]) and qualitative data (focus groups and project team meeting minutes). It was determined it is feasible to make a short-term systems-level change; however, many barriers were encountered in doing so, and the results were not sustained.

A Community-Engaged Approach to Collecting Rural Health Surveillance Data.

Purpose: In order for communities to make health-related, data-driven decisions concerning resource allocation, needed services, and intervention priorities, they need an accurate picture of the health status of residents. While state and national health surveillance systems exist to help local communities make data-driven health decisions, rural communities face unique challenges including: (1) limited county-level data; (2) underrepresented segments of the population; and (3) a lack of survey items to address local health concerns. The purpose of this study was to take a community-engaged approach to collecting population-based health status data in a rural area in an effort to address some of these unique challenges.