Enhancing Nutrition Education for a Diverse Limited resource asian Pacific Islander Population Through Community Collaboration

Abstract

LEARNING OUTCOME: To identify steps taken to develop a community collaboration designed to enhance nutrition education for limited resource Asian Pacific Islander women and childrenExtension's Guam Nutrition Initiative (GNI) collaborated with Guam Public Health's Supplemental Food Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC) to create more effective and culturally appropriate nutrition education materials and methodologies. The WIC population on Guam is predominately Micronesian (69%), including Chamorro, and Asian (23%), including Filipino. The two agencies cooperated on needs assessment, planning, materials review, development of a space sharing arrangement, and staff training. WIC provided teaching space, scheduling for clients, materials review, and overall program evaluation. GNI formed an advisory council, specially trained paraprofessional educators, developed and translated materials, provided program coordination, additional data on nutritional risk factors, and cross-cultural communication training for WIC and GNI staff. This staff training was evaluated quantitatively and qualitatively using Likert scales and questionnaires. The joint training of staff from both agencies improved rapport between staff and clients as evidenced by qualitative data collected from clients. The cooperation between the collaborating agencies has served as a model for other multi-agency partnerships on Guam. This project was supported by the Extension Service, U.S. Department of Agriculture, under special formula funds