Developing the Feast for the Future Program through a Community Visioning Process.

Background: Three tribal communities in the Southwestern United States have a long-standing partnership with the Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health (JHCIH).

Objectives: In response to community concerns about obesity, three tribal communities and Johns Hopkins Center for Indigenous Health partnered to develop culturally relevant plans for a new program.

Methods: Using a "community visioning" process, a community advisory board (CAB) from each community identified opportunities, challenges, goals, and visions for their communities.

A Qualitative Evaluation of a Community Based, Culturally Relevant Intervention to Promote Healthy Food Access in American Indian Communities.

In response to a need for healthy, affordable food, Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health and three rural indigenous communities launched the "Feast for the Future," (FFF) to promote access to healthy foods and the transfer of traditional food-based knowledge from farmers/elders to youth. To assess program impact, 43 in-depth interviews were conducted with participating farmers, elders, and Community Advisory Board members. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed in Atlas.

Cultural Connectedness as Obesity Prevention: Indigenous Youth Perspectives on Feast for the Future.

Objective: To describe a community-based obesity-prevention initiative that promoted cultural connectedness and traditional food revitalization and gained insight into youth participants' perspectives on the program through a photovoice methodology.

Methods: Photovoice methods were used with fourth- and fifth-grade youths (aged 9-11 years) in the US Southwest who had participated in the Feast for the Future program. A total of 44 youths from 3 communities met for 8-9 sessions; they took photos of current food environments and traditional food systems, and discussed them as well as Feast for the Future and hopes for the future, and then prepared a final presentation.

Increasing Healthy Food Availability, Purchasing, and Consumption: Lessons Learned from Implementing a Mobile Grocery.

Background: A mobile grocery (MoGro) was developed through a partnership with community stakeholders, community advisory boards (CABs), Rick and Beth Schnieders, and the Johns Hopkins Center for American Indian Health (JHCAIH). MoGro provided access to subsidized healthy foods, with complementary events, including fitness activities and cooking classes.

Objectives: MoGro is an innovative approach to promoting food security.

Food insecurity and household eating patterns among vulnerable American-Indian families: associations with caregiver and food consumption characteristics.

Objective: To identify factors associated with food insecurity and household eating patterns among American-Indian families with young children.

Design: Cross-sectional survey among households with young children that were receiving emergency food services. We collected information on food insecurity levels, household eating patterns, experiences with commercial and community food sources and demographics, and used multivariate regression techniques to examine associations among these variables.

The potential of local farming on the Navajo Nation to improve fruit and vegetable intake: barriers and opportunities.

American Indian populations have low produce intake compared to other ethnic groups and higher rates of diet-related chronic diseases. Programs linking farmers to their community (Farm-to-Table) are an innovative way to alter the food environment. We interviewed Navajo farmers (n = 20), storeowners (n = 7), and non-governmental organization representatives (n = 4) to better understand local farming practices and the potential of a Farm-to-Table program to increase produce intake.

Linking farmers to community stores to increase consumption of local produce: a case study of the Navajo Nation.

Objective: To understand the barriers to farmer participation in Farm-to-Table (F2T) programmes and to identify possible solutions to these obstacles.

Design: Cross-sectional analysis of farmer perspectives on F2T programmes.

Setting: Three service units on the Navajo Nation (Chinle, Tuba City and Fort Defiance).

Randomized controlled trial of a paraprofessional-delivered in-home intervention for young reservation-based American Indian mothers.

Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of a paraprofessional-delivered, home-visiting intervention among young, reservation-based American Indian (AI) mothers on parenting knowledge, involvement, and maternal and infant outcomes.

Method: From 2002 to 2004, expectant AI women aged 12 to 22 years (n = 167) were randomized (1:1) to one of two paraprofessional-delivered, home-visiting interventions: the 25-visit "Family Spirit" intervention addressing prenatal and newborn care and maternal life skills (treatment) or a 23-visit breast-feeding/nutrition education intervention (active control). The interventions began during pregnancy and continued to 6 months postpartum.

Depressive symptoms among reservation-based pregnant American Indian adolescents.

Objectives: To examine rates and correlates of depressive symptoms among pregnant reservation-based American Indian (AI) adolescents from the Southwestern United States (N = 53).

Methods: Data were derived from a study evaluating a home-visiting program designed to promote positive parenting among young families. Participants included a volunteer, convenience sample of expectant mothers who completed behavioral and mental health self-report questionnaires.

Home-visiting intervention to improve child care among American Indian adolescent mothers: a randomized trial.

Objective: To assess the impact of a paraprofessional-delivered home-visiting intervention to promote child care knowledge, skills, and involvement among pregnant American Indian adolescents.

Design: Randomized controlled trial comparing a family-strengthening intervention with a breastfeeding education program.

Setting: One Apache and 3 Navajo communities.