Extension
It Starts With Us
Healthy Lifestyle and Life Skill Education
Healthy Living and Life Skill Development
Hixson, Hettmansperger, Comley
Health 4-H Core Curriculum
Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)
Food Preparation
Embracing Life as We Age (general)
All of the issues facing today's individuals and families require that they have basic life skills to make the best, most informed decisions which will effect their future, the future of their families, and the future of their community.
The County Health Rankings and Road-maps program ranks Garrard County 51st of 120 counties. This ranking helps to understand overall health of Garrard County residents. According to 2013 County Health Rankings of adults, 12.1% have diabetes, 33.4% are obese, 36.1% are inactive, and 46% report having high blood pressure. Garrard County also has a high rate of deaths by all types of cancers. As the data suggests, increasing opportunities for physical activity, promotion of healthier lifestyle choices, selecting healthy food choices and preparing healthy foods are important to the adult and youth of Garrard County.
Garrard County Extension Council(CEC), other program councils and a local survey of community issues and needs supports the need for healthy lifestyle choices programming. The CEC and the survey also recognized the needs in areas such as financial planning, addressing drug abuse issues among teens and adults, and teaching basic life skills in areas such as, cooking, sewing, financial education, food preservation, needlearts and home environment.
Participants will reduce their risk for weight related or preventable diseases through healthier lifestyle choices resulting in decreased medical and mental health costs. Families will increase physical stamina, increase participation in physical activities and change the local culture to accept and promote active lifestyles among residents in Garrard County. There will be a reduction in 30 day use of substances among youth. Reduced rate of chronic disease and obesity through intake of nutritious foods, use of healthy cooking methods and home food preservation. Persons will become more proficient in basic life skills such as, increasing their emergency savings funds and be more financially secure, perform basic food preparation skills in preparing healthy meals, and be able to make healthy lifestyle decisions.
Participants will decrease use of salt, fat and sugar in diet. Participants will increase consumption of fruits and vegetables from locally produced foods . Data will indicate a decrease in number of youth involved in substance abuse practices. Persons will engage in more daily physical activity, create more physical activity opportunities in Garrard County, and participate in healthy lifestyle choices as it relates to mental health and stress reducing activities.
Increase knowledge of basic food preparation skills, food preservation skills, and safe food handling procedures. Increased fruit and vegetable consumption. Youth and adults will increase their knowledge of the legal, emotional, health and financial consequences of substance abuse. Gain knowledge about the relationship between disease and weight. Gain knowledge, attitudes, skills,and aspirations to increase physical activity. Gain knowledge about financial security and methods for financial planning.
Initial Outcome: Increase knowledge of basic food preparation skills
Indicator: persons reporting food preparation at home using healthy choices
Method: survey of participants
Timeline: year-long as programs are conducted
Intermediate Outcome: More persons will choose to prepare healthy meals at home.
Indicator: people attending programs report more cooking at home
Method: surveys, personal interviews
Timeline: year long
Long-term Outcome: Decrease in chronic diseases related to lack of physical activity and poor food choices.
Indicator: decrease in number of reported cases of diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity as these relate to increased chronic disease. Mortality rates as related to chronic diseases.
Method: Health rankings surveys, health screening results, Extension program evaluations and personal interviews
Timeline: year long
Audience: adults
Project or Activity: financial education integrated into other Extension programs
Content or Curriculum: Managing in tough times "Bits and Tips"
Inputs: FCS agent
Date: year round
Audience: adults
Project or Activity: eight session program/small groups
Content or Curriculum: Matter of Balance
Inputs: FCS Agent
Date: winter '18-19
Audience: adults
Project or Activity: Extension Food/Cooking programs
Content or Curriculum: Recipes/SNAP-Ed Calendar/USDA recipes/Plate It Up recipes and curriculum
Inputs: FCS Agent
Date: Year long
Audience: adults & youth
Project or Activity: Nutrition Education Program (NEP)
Content or Curriculum: NEP curriculum
Inputs: FCS Agent & NEP Program assistant
Date: year round
Audience: adults/youth
Project or Activity: life skills programming
Content or Curriculum: FCS curriculums/Sewing/quilting/needlearts
Inputs: FCS Agent
Date: year round
Audience: Youth
Project or Activity: hiking, canoeing, kayaking to establish baseline appreciation for the outdoors and healthy alternatives to a more commonplace sedentary lifestyle
Content or Curriculum: Hiking Trails Curriculum
Inputs: Local Resource Funding, Grant Funding, 4-H Agent, volunteers
Date: spring, summer, fall
Audience: adult
Project or Activity: hiking at local parks and nature preserves to start a healthy initiative in our adult population
Content or Curriculum: Hiking Trails, First Aid in Action, Choosing Health
Inputs: 4-H Agent, Volunteers, Preserves and Parks, grant funding, transportation
Date: spring, summer, and fall
Audience: Youth
Project or Activity: Teaching youth to prepare food properly and look at the ingredients of each food item to determine health and taste. Also, prepare items for entry in county and state fair
Content or Curriculum: 4-H Cooking 101, What's on Your Plate?
Inputs: 4-H Agent, NEP Assistant, FCS Agent, kitchen supplies, local funding
Date: year round
Author: Mary Hixson
Major Program: Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)
According to the Cabinet for Health and Family Services, the Kentucky Diabetes Report, the prevalence of diabetes has more than tripled since 1995. Diabetes is a common, serious and costly disease for Kentuckians. However diabetes is controllable if the disease is diagnosed early and managed well by a health care team and the individual. According to Kentucky Health Facts 18% of Garrard County adults have been diagnosed with diabetes. Without a Diabetes Educator for several yea
Author: Mary Hixson
Major Program: Accessing Nutritious Foods (general)
The Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent has been conducting Cooking Classes for the past six years to reach clientele to teach about the skills of food resource management, food safety, and food preparation in order for participants to learn about affordable, healthy, nutritious food and make healthy choices when purchasing, preparing and consuming foods. Participants in Cooking Classes both day and evening recently filled out surveys to learn their level of healthy eating, safely handl
Author: Eric Comley
Major Program: Family and Consumer Sciences 4-H Core Curriculum
The importance of financial education is self-evident. Exposing young people, as early as possible, to a healthy understanding of the most basic framework of financial decision-making, budgeting, record-keeping, and establishing personal values when it comes to money. According to an article by Elizabeth Johnson and Margaret Sherraden in Journal of Sociology and Social Welfare, Overall, education, as viewed through the capabilities lens, is important not only because it permits a person to flour
Author: Mary Hixson
Major Program: Taking Ownership of Your Diabetes Program (Curriculum)
According to State and County health data, Garrard County adult population over 20 is 35% obese, with the American Diabetes Association estimating 15.3% of adult population in Garrard County has been diagnosed with diabetes. Diabetes costs Kentucky approximately 5.2 billion each year. the Garrard County Cooperative Extension Service partnered with the Garrard County Library to present Dining with Diabetes to adults with diabetes and/or family members responsible for meal planning and preparation
Author: Mary Hixson
Major Program: Kentucky Extension Homemaker Association
Two point five is the average number of persons living in a household in Kentucky. Over the last twenty years the number of persons living in a one or two person household has increased from 56% to 62% of households in the US. As the number of persons in a household affect how much food is needed to be prepared, it is only logical that when regular recipes and pan sizes are used to prepare food, the consumers find it easy to over consume and also have large portions of food discarded when not co
Author: Mary Hixson
Major Program: Master Clothing Volunteer
Many studies have shown that sewing is not only a productive life skill and hobby, but that it can be a stress reliever and can increase a person’s feeling of self worth. A study found that spending 45 minutes making art or being creative helps boost someone’s confidence and ability to complete tasks. (Drexel University, Drexel News Blog, 9/16/16) Sewing is a skill that can be creative and more than a hobby. The Woodford County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent and the Garrard
