Extension
It Starts With Us
Healthy Adults and Youth
Improve Physical and Mental Health
Carter, Denniston, Tackett, Arthur
Health
Substance Use Prevention and Recovery General
Active Living and Health Promotions General
Nutrition and Food Systems General
Healthy living is one of three 4-H mission mandates and encompasses: physical activity, personal safety, mental health, addiction prevention, and diversity and inclusion. In Kentucky 37% of youth 10-17 are overweight or obese, and 51% report not exercising regularly. 25% of youth report some form of emotional or behavioral condition and suicide rates are at record high (KY suicides per 100,000 people: 15.3, 10th highest in nation). Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health disease can affect anyone, with 1,160 reported opioid-involved deaths (a rate of 27.9 deaths per 100,000 persons) in Kentucky and Vaping nearly doubled among middle and high school students — with 27% of high school seniors reporting they had tried the product in 2018.
The recent statewide needs assessment identified substance use prevention and recovery as the most urgent priority for Cooperative Extension. In this assessment Bourbon County identified "availability of substance use prevention programs" as an urgency following only, affordable health care insurance and chronic health diseases. Taken together, youth KIP survey data and data from the CES needs assessment demonstrate the need to address substance use prevention, recovery, stigma and impact on families and communities.
A foundation of nutrition knowledge, skills and competencies in topics such as food safety, handling and preparation, cooking methods and techniques, feeding practices, food science, and food systems are essential to changing dietary behaviors. With the increased trend of chronic disease and obesity in Kentucky, individuals, families, and communities need tools and environments that support healthful dietary decisions. CES agents are encouraged to reach diverse audiences to help combat chronic disease and obesity in Kentucky communities. Focusing on a foundation of overall direct health education to increase health literacy and ability to make healthy lifestyle choices. Including, creating spaces or opportunities for active living and health behaviors.
- Reduced fatalities
- Reduced number of children in foster care
- Reduced incarceration
- Increased number of youth maintaining positive health habits;
- Increased number of youth at a lower risk for serious disease and illness;
- Increased number of youth at a lower risk for physical and emotional distress
- Reduce the number of youth reporting drug, alcohol, and tobacco use
- Reduction of substance use and its related consequences
- Routinely meeting physical activity and dietary recommendations that promote health and wellness
- Community environment promotes healthy behaviors where people live, learn, work and play
- Reduce the rate of chronic disease and obesity
- Routinely employ healthy dietary practices that promote health and wellness (e.g. consume recommended daily fruits and vegetables and improve food management skills)
- Increased adoption and mastery of healthy behaviors that lead to a healthy lifestyle
- New coalitions developed to address SUC and MH
- Improved access and utilization of resources
- Improved perceived stress and ability to cope
- Youth will contribute to their communities
- Youth will practice refusal skills,
- Youth will intervene to prevent use/abuse
- All agents trained in YMHFA
- Reduced stigma from local community members
- Increased Opioid Stewardship (less Rx'ing by doctors, appropriate Rd disposal, drug take-backs, etc.
- Generate positive attitudes toward changing lifestyle choices to be more healthy
- Increase intake of fruits, vegetables, and other nutrient-dense foods
- Improve self-efficacy in physical activity, movement, and active routes to destinations
- Decrease tobacco/ substance use
- Generate positive attitudes toward changing dietary decisions to be more healthful.
- Increase intake of fruits, vegetables, and other nutrient-dense foods
- Decrease intake of solid fats, added sugars, and sodium
- Employ healthful cooking methods, feeding practices, and food preservation techniques
- Increased access to healthy food via local farmers markets, food retailers, and/or home gardens
- Improved in awareness of health concerns for youth
- Improved education about SUD and MH disease
- Improved education about diversity and Inclusion
- Reduced stigma of individuals with SUD and MH disease
- Improved understanding of the consequences of risk behaviors
- Promote optimal physical, social and emotional health habits
- Increased knowledge of substance use prevention, addiction, and recovery
- Increased ability to identify and use destigmatized language
- Improved social skills and/or self-efficacy in youth
- Increase awareness about lifestyle choices and chronic disease (e.g. tobacco use, poor nutrition, & lack of physical activity)
- Increase confidence in ability to employ healthy practices
- Improve food and nutrition-related skills (e.g. preparation techniques, safe food handling)
- Increase motivation to be active
- Increase awareness of accessible safe places for activity
- Increase awareness about relationships between food and nutrition practices and chronic disease.
- Improve food and nutrition-related skills (e.g. gardening, preparation and preservation techniques, safe food handling, food resource management)
- Increase confidence in ability to employ healthy eating practices
- Increase motivation to access and prepare healthier foods
Outcome: Increased knowledge of substance use
Indicator : Number of individuals attending programs
Method: Retroactive pre-post
Timeline: Following every Substance Abuse Education/Prevention program
Outcome: Increased ability to identify and use destigmatized language
Indicator: Number of individuals plan to make effort to change behavior
Method: Retroactive pre-post
Timeline: Following any program that includes language training
Outcome: Improved social skills and/or self-efficacy in Bourbon County youth
Indicator: Number of students participating in programming
Method: Retroactive pre-post
Timeline: Following programming
Outcome: Nutrition knowledge and dietary intake
Indicator: Number of individuals who reported: eating 4-6 servings of fruits and/or vegetables daily; utilize the food label to make healthy food choices; choosing smaller portions
Method: Self-report surveys
Timeline: Pre-post implementing curricula or program
Outcome: Physical Activity knowledge, skills, and competencies
Indicator: Number of individuals who reported: knowledge and skills gained about the benefits of physical activity; adoption of physical activity practices; increase in physical activity levels
Method: Self-report survey
Timeline: Pre-post implementing curricula or program
Outcome: Chronic Disease Prevention
Indicator: Number of individuals who reported: participants who had one or more health indicator (cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index, blood glucose) improved.
Method: Self-report survey
Timeline: Pre-post implementing curricula or program
Outcome: Availability / Access to healthy lifestyle choices
Indicator: Number of communities, health coalitions, or organizations who reported: implemented policy, system, and/or environmental changes to promote healthy eating and active living
Method: Self-report survey
Timeline: Pre-post implementing curricula or program
Outcome: Nutrition knowledge, skills, and competencies
Indicator: Number of individuals who reported: use knowledge and skills to improve food-shopping management; utilize the food label to make healthy food choices; choosing smaller portions; increased food preservation knowledge; demonstrated recommended food preservation practices
Method: Self-report surveys; specific curricula or program evaluations
Timeline: Pre-post implementing curricula or program
Outcome: Preparing and preserving food
Indicator: Number of individuals who reported: preparing more home-cooked meals; modifying ingredients and/or preparation techniques to improve nutrition
Method: Self-report survey; specific curricula or program evaluations
Timeline: Pre-post implementing curricula or program
Outcome: Dietary intake
Indicator: Number of individuals who reported: eating 4-6 servings of fruits and/or vegetables daily
Method: Self-report surveys about fruit and vegetable intake or other dietary improvements; specific curricula or program evaluations
Timeline: Pre-post implementing curricula or program
Outcome: Availability and access to healthy food
Indicator: Number of individuals who reported: utilizing delivery systems/access points (e.g., farmers’ markets, CSAs, WIC, food pantries) that offer healthy foods; supplementing diets with healthy foods grown or preserved (e.g., community or backyard gardens, fishing, hunting, farmers markets); dollar value of vendor-reported sales or EBT, WIC, or Senior benefits redeemed at farmers’ markets; number of pints of foods preserved through water bath canning, pressure canning, freezing, or drying.
Method: Self-report survey
Timeline: Pre-post implementing curricula or program
Audience: High School Age Youth
Project or Activity: Truth and Consequences Drug Education Program
Content or Curriculum: State Curriculum" T&C: The Choice is Yours"
Inputs: Agents, Community Agencies, Local School Systems
Date: 2023 - 2024
Audience: 4th and 5th Grade Students
Activity: Healthy Snack Choices School Enrichment
Content or Curriculum: Nutrition Curriculum
Inputs: agents
Date: March 2024
Audience: 4th & 5th Grade Students
Activity:4-H Foods Workshops
Content or Curriculum: 4-H Core Curriculum
Inputs: agents
Date: year round
Audience: 4th Grade Students
Activity: County Wide 4th grade Safety Day
Content or Curriculum: various safety presentations
Date: April 2024
Audience: Bourbon Youth
Project or Activity: Life Skills - Decision Making
Content or Curriculum: Life Skills
Inputs: Bourbon Juvenile Court
Date: September - December
Audience: Families Impacted By Addiction
Project or Activity: Substance Use/Prevention
Content or Curriculum: Addiction 101
Inputs: Local School FRYSC directors; Outreach Bourbon County
Date: January 2024
Audience: 5th grade students
Project or Activity: Recipe for Life
Content or Curriculum: Recipe for Life
Inputs: Snap Ed Assistant, Agents, FRYSC directors, Bourbon County Extension Homemakers
Date: August 2023
Audience: Recovery Centers
Project or Activity: Recovery Gardening
Content or Curriculum: Recovery Garden
Inputs: Snap Ed Assistant, Director of Shane Wallin House, Outreach Bourbon County
Date: May 2024
Audience: Communities
Project or Activity: Policy, Systems, and Environmental Approaches
Content or Curriculum: Health Coalitions, Story Walk, ,
Inputs: Volunteers, community partners, key stakeholders, elected officials, Health Coalitions, Employee Health and Wellness, SNAP-Ed Toolkit
Date:Spring-Summer 2023-2024
Audience: Families and Individuals
Project or Activity: Chronic Disease Prevention
Content or Curriculum: Publications, Health Bulletins, Cook Together Eat Together, Dining with Diabetes, Fit Blue, Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud Resources, Health Partners, Keys to Embracing Aging
Inputs: Programmatic materials, paid staff, community partners, health coalitions, Healthcare Providers, Health Department, Non-profits, Schools, Company Health & Wellness, Homemakers, Community Centers, etc.
Date: Ongoing projects throughout the year
Project or Activity: Physical Activity
Content or Curriculum: Publications, Story Walk, Health Coalitions, Be More, Fit Blue, WIN, Health Partners, Keys to Embracing Aging
Inputs: Paid staff, volunteers, facilities, health coalitions, Healthcare Providers, Health Department, Non-profits, Schools, Company Health & Wellness, FBOs, Homemakers, Community Centers
Date: Periodically each year
Audience: Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association/Volunteers
Project or Activity: Promoting Healthy Lifestyle Choices
Content or Curriculum:Health Bulletins, Monthly Leader Lessons
Inputs: Volunteers, paid staff, community partners
Date: Monthly
Audience: Communities
Project or Activity: Farmers Market Outreach
Content or Curriculum: Cooking programs, marketing, increased access (e.g. location, hours, EBT), Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud resources, Farmers Market Toolkit
Inputs: Nutrition Education Program (NEP), paid staff, facilities, Kentucky Department of Agriculture
Date: April – May-October 2024
Audience: Families and Individuals
Project or Activity: Food Preparation for Better Health
Content or Curriculum: Cook Together Eat Together, Dining with Diabetes, Super Star Chef,Plate It Up! Kentucky Proud Resources
Inputs: Programmatic materials, paid staff, community partners, faith-based organizations, health coalitions
Date: Ongoing projects throughout the year
Project or Activity: Food Preservation
Content or Curriculum: Publications, Trainings, Home-Based Micro-Processing Training
Inputs: Paid staff, volunteers, facilities, programmatic materials, NEP
Date: July – September for adults and youth 2024
Audience: Kentucky Extension Homemakers Association/Volunteers
Project or Activity: Promoting Nutrition with Volunteers
Content or Curriculum: Food preservation workshops, Monthly Leader Lessons
Inputs: Volunteers, paid staff, community partners
Author: Lindsay Arthur
Major Program: Community Vitality and Leadership - ANR
In the middle of National Heart Health Month, amidst the bustling atmosphere of an annual farm machinery auction at the fairgrounds, a unique initiative took place aiming to improve the wellbeing of farmers. Cardiovascular disease is a group of health conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in 3 deaths that happen in the U.S. every year is due to cardiovascular disease—that's one cardiovascular-re
Author: Karen Denniston
Major Program: Active Living and Health Promotions General
Farmer Heart 2 Heart: Cultivating Healthy Hearts in Our Farming CommunityIn the middle of National Heart Health Month, amidst the bustling atmosphere of an annual farm machinery auction at the fairgrounds, a unique initiative took place aiming to improve the wellbeing of farmers. Cardiovascular disease is a group of health conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about 1 in 3 deaths that happen in the U.S. every yea
Author: Karen Denniston
Major Program: Active Living and Health Promotions General
“Agriculture ranks among the most hazardous industries. Farmers are at very high risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries; and farming is one of the few industries in which family members who often share the work and live on the premises, are also at risk for fatal and nonfatal injuries. According to CDC statistics, over 100 children are killed on farms each year in the United States. The Bourbon County Extension Office including the Agriculture and Natural Resources, 4-H Youth Development, Ho
