Process evaluation of ace for health pilot study: A community-academic partnership promoting fruit and vegetable intake among low-income, minority populations
Abstract
ACE for Health is a community-academic partnership promoting fruit and vegetable (FV) intake among low-income, minority populations by providing continuous access to FV and nutrition education to children and parents through school-based distributions. The program was pilot tested among 3rd grade families in Houston, Texas from 2012-2013. ACE aimed to provide at least 50 servings of FV and at least 2 educational materials to parents each week of the 16-week intervention. Nutrition education consisted of classroom curriculum for students, and bilingual, culturally tailored pamphlets, recipe cards, and on-site recipe demonstrations and food tastings for parents. The specific aims were to describe the dose, fidelity, and feasibility of ACE for Health program component delivery and to evaluate program reach and acceptability. This project analyzed a portion of the process data collected as part of the parent study. Data were collected from observation records of weekly distributions and a survey completed by participating parents administered after 8 weeks and 16 weeks (n=57 parent-child dyads). On average, 61 servings of FV were provided weekly, with average cost $4.31 per family. More than 2 educational materials were provided at each distribution. ACE experienced >96% average participation each week. Over 95% of parents reported using more than half all FV provided, and over 80% of parents reported the educational materials as effective in influencing their family's FV intake. ACE for Health delivered the intended dose of fresh produce and nutrition education, and had a feasible produce cost. High participation and favorable self-reported acceptability of program components demonstrate this model is a viable solution for channeling fresh produce into underserved communities through partnerships with food banks. Additionally, the positive findings of the ACE pilot show engaging community partners with the target population through a multi-level intervention is possible. Future studies should be conducted to determine effectiveness of the program in changing FV intake.
Subject Area
Nutrition|Public health
Recommended Citation
Albus, Katherine, "Process evaluation of ace for health pilot study: A community-academic partnership promoting fruit and vegetable intake among low-income, minority populations" (2014). Texas Medical Center Dissertations (via ProQuest). AAI1566296.
https://digitalcommons.library.tmc.edu/dissertations/AAI1566296