Building and Sustaining Flu Vaccine Acceptance and Trust in the Black Community through Partnerships with Churches, Salons, and Barbershops.

Despite the benefits of flu vaccines, Black adults continue to experience lower vaccination rates in the United States. Contributing factors include lack of access to health care and trusted information about vaccines. The National Minority Quality Forum's Center for Sustainable Health Care Quality and Equity collaborated with church pastors, barbers, and hair stylists to disseminate a survey to their communities to assess barriers/facilitators to flu vaccine uptake.

Evaluation of a Multidisciplinary Disease Management Program to Achieve Asthma Control in Seven Safety Net Hospitals in Louisiana.

The objective was to evaluate a multidisciplinary guideline-driven disease management program focused on achievement of asthma control among sustained patients with confirmed asthma in Louisiana and to assess factors affecting achievement of asthma control. Data were extracted from the electronic health records of 1596 adults with confirmed asthma, sustained care for >1 year in the outpatient setting, and ≥2 recorded Asthma Control Test (ACT) scores. Multivariable logistic regression modeling was used to assess the association of demographic variables, comorbidities, and process measures with the best achieved asthma control as represented by the highest ACT score.

Maternal pre-pregnancy weight status modifies the influence of PUFAs and inflammatory biomarkers in breastmilk on infant growth.

Background: Human breastmilk contains pro- and anti-inflammatory compounds and hormones that can influence infant growth. However, little is known about the specific interrelationships between these compounds and whether their effects on infant growth may be influenced by pre-pregnancy weight status.

Objective: The purpose of this novel, prospective cohort study was to assess the interrelationships between pro-inflammatory cytokines (TNF-α, IL-6), hormones (insulin, leptin) and PUFAs (n-6, n-3) in blood and breastmilk in early postpartum between women with normal BMI (Group 1, n = 18; 18.

Health beliefs associated with poor disease self-management in smokers with asthma and/or COPD: a pilot study.

: Compared to nonsmokers, smokers with chronic disease are less likely to adhere to self-management recommendations for the management of their chronic conditions. Although the literature notes poor adherence trends in smokers, actual influences of adherence in these patients require further study. This study examines the health beliefs that influence self-management behaviors in smokers with chronic lung disease.

Social marketing for a farmer's market in an underserved community: A needs assessment.

The aim of the present paper is to assess local residents' awareness of utilizing Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits to purchase fresh produce at local farmers' markets, and to determine internet use and media preferences of study participants prior to implementation of a social marketing campaign. A needs assessment was conducted to collect baseline data in an underserved neighbourhood in New Orleans (La, USA). The study was carried out August 2014-May 2015.

Farmers' Market Utilization among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Recipients in New Orleans, Louisiana: Preliminary Findings.

Objective: Farmers' markets are increasingly being promoted as a means to provide fresh produce to poor and underserved communities. However, farmers' market (FM) use remains low among low-income patrons. The purpose of our study was to examine FM awareness and use, grocery shopping behaviors, and internet use among Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients.

Integrative Family Medicine - Are Louisiana Patients Ready?

Purpose: The purpose of this preliminary study was to assess patient readiness to use a family medicine clinic that integrates complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) with conventional medicine.

Methods: A survey using the theory of planned behavior as a framework addressed patient attitudes and use of CAM. Descriptive statistics provided demographic characteristics.

Applying the Social Ecological Model to Creating Asthma-Friendly Schools in Louisiana.

Background: In 2010, the Louisiana Asthma Management and Prevention Program (LAMP) implemented the Asthma-Friendly Schools Initiative in high-risk Louisiana populations. The social ecological model (SEM) was used as a framework for an asthma program implemented in 70 state K-12 public schools over 2 years.

Methods: Activities included a needs assessment, identification of students with asthma, individualized asthma action plans (AAP), staff trainings, environmental quality improvement, and school system policy changes to address the asthma burden.

Use of asthma control indicators in measuring inhaled corticosteroid effectiveness in asthmatic smokers: a systematic review.

Objective: The objective of this review is to explore how current research measures the effectiveness of inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) in smokers with asthma.

Data Sources: PubMed, CINAHL and PsycINFO databases were searched for combinations of terms relating to asthma, tobacco use and ICS effectiveness.

Study Selections: The search was limited to articles published between 2004 and 2015, in English language.

Applying the Social Ecological Model to evaluate a demonstration colorectal cancer screening program in Louisiana.

Objective: Lack of health insurance is correlated with noncompliance in colorectal cancer screening. Louisiana ranks 48th among all states in residents with health insurance. This paper describes initial results of Louisiana's first statewide colorectal cancer screening program.

Development and evaluation of WillTry. An instrument for measuring children's willingness to try fruits and vegetables.

This paper describes the development and evaluation of the WillTry instrument, a psychometric tool designed to measure children's willingness to try fruits and vegetables. WillTry surveys were interviewer-administered to 284 children in an elementary school and summer day camps located in rural Mississippi and Arkansas (United States) communities. Factor analysis was used to determine construct dimensionality.

Participatory development and implementation of a community research workshop: experiences from a community-based participatory research partnership.

Background: Although community-based participatory research (CBPR) principles stress the importance of "equitable partnerships" and an "empowering and power-sharing process that attends to social inequalities," descriptions of actual projects often focus on the challenges confronted in academic-community partnerships. These challenges occur in the context of economic and power inequities and the frequently limited diversity of researchers. Less often does this discourse attend to the link between the principles of CBPR and their empowering potential for community members who internalize and use these principles to hold outside partners accountable to these ideals.

A nutrition and physical activity intervention promotes weight loss and enhances diet attitudes in low-income mothers of young children.

The purpose of this study was to evaluate a nutrition and physical activity program for reducing body weight and improving nutrition attitudes in mothers of young children. A convenience sample of 114 intervention mothers and 33 comparison mothers was recruited from public health clinics and community centers. Eligibility criteria included Hispanic, African American, or white ethnicity; body mass index of at least 25 kg/m(2); low income (< 200% of the federal poverty index); and youngest child aged 1 to 4 years.

Personalizing nutrigenomics research through community based participatory research and omics technologies.

Personal and public health information are often obtained from studies of large population groups. Risk factors for nutrients, toxins, genetic variation, and more recently, nutrient-gene interactions are statistical estimates of the percentage reduction in disease in the population if the risk were to be avoided or the gene variant were not present. Because individuals differ in genetic makeup, lifestyle, and dietary patterns than those individuals in the study population, these risk factors are valuable guidelines, but may not apply to individuals.

Greater nutrition knowledge is associated with lower 1-year postpartum weight retention in low-income women.

The purpose of this study was to assess nutrition knowledge during early and late postpartum in a sample of low-income and minority women, and to determine if that knowledge had any relationship to weight retention at 1-year postpartum. A questionnaire was developed and validated in a sample of 151 low-income new mothers. This instrument was then administered to a separate sample of mothers (n=140) of similar demographics to assess nutrition knowledge at 0 to 1 days and 12 months postpartum.

Low-income, overweight and obese mothers as agents of change to improve food choices, fat habits, and physical activity in their 1-to-3-year-old children.

Objective: To examine the effects of a weight loss program for mothers on the diet and activity of mothers and their 1-3 year old children.

Design: Overweight and obese mothers participated in an 8-week weight loss intervention encompassing diet, physical activity, and behavioral modification. Anthropometrics, demographic, dietary, and physical activity questionnaires were administered at weeks 0 and 8; anthropometrics were re-evaluated at week 24.

Promotion of physical activity in low-income mothers using pedometers.

Objective: This study tested the effectiveness of a pedometer program for increasing physical activity levels and reducing body weight in overweight and obese mothers of young children.

Design: Participants' motivational readiness to exercise, exercise self-efficacy, pedometer steps, pedometer kilocalories, and anthropometrics were evaluated at week 0 and week 8; anthropometrics were reassessed at week 24. Healthful-weight mothers provided comparison data at baseline.

Influence of nutrition attitudes and motivators for eating on postpartum weight status in low-income new mothers.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to identify attitudes about nutrition and their influence on weight status in low-income mothers in the first year postpartum.

Design: Nutrition attitudes were assessed at 1.5, 6, and 12 months postpartum.