Community-Driven Health Campaign to Increase Water and Reduce Sugary Drink Intake in Young Children

This is an ongoing project.

Faculty Researcher: Elizabeth Towner

Contact Details

Elizabeth Towner
ekuhl@med.wayne.edu
313-577-1080

Description

The Family Pediatrician Partnership Community Action Council (FPP-CAC) was established in 2018 to develop community-driven solutions for how families, pediatricians, and the community can work together to promote healthy lifestyles and weight for preschoolers. The FPP-CAC identified decreasing sugary drink intake by increasing water intake as a top priority for preventing obesity in young children and in partnership with experts and graphic designers developed a health campaign to take action on this priority and improve health for children and families in Detroit. The FPP-CAB is currently partnering with Wayne Pediatrics to share the main product of their campaign (a water drinking toolkit) with families. We are also partnering with families who received toolkits to gather information about whether the information in the toolkit increased their knowledge about and habits for what and how much water, juice, and sugary drinks young children should have each day.

Qualifications

1) Minimum of 3.0 cumulative GPA
2) B or better in at least 3 social, behavioral, public health, or health sciences courses
3) Commit to at least two half days per week
4) Reliable and punctual
5) Can work both independently and as a team
6) Excellent communication skills
7) Has reliable transportation to travel to our partnering pediatric clinic, located near WSU campus, and/or to health fairs in the Detroit and Metro Detroit area.

Project Timeline

We are pushing to finalize our campaign over the summer of 2024. Data analysis and preparation of information for/dissemination of findings will occur in fall of 2024-spring of 2025.

Duties

Students will hand out toolkits to interested and eligible families during well-child visits. Training is provided. Students are asked to attend at least 2 in-person days at the clinic, with shifts either in the morning (8/8:30-12) or afternoon (12-5) pending patient availability. Students will also be asked to health fairs-these may occur on week days or weekends and will range in length in terms of hours. Finally, students will be involved with data collection, analysis, and dissemination of findings both in academic and community settings.

Project-related Tags

Last Updated

June 10, 2024