Pulaski County CES

Title:

Wellness & Healthy Communities-NEW

MAP:

Health and Wellness

Agents Involved:

Adkins, Wilson, Spurgeon, Lovett, Roy

MAJOR PROGRAM 1:

Active Living and Health Promotions General

MAJOR PROGRAM 2:

Health & Wellbeing

MAJOR PROGRAM 3:

Horticulture, Consumer and Home

MAJOR PROGRAM 4:

Substance Use Recovery - ANR

Situation:

With the increased trend of chronic disease and obesity in Kentucky, individuals, families and communities need tools and environments that support healthy and active lifestyle choices.  CES Agents are encouraged to reach diverse audience 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.

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.

Home gardeners face a myriad of products and internet information that can confuse even a knowledgeable person. It's easy to find an answer on the many pages of the web, especially those websites promoting a product.

Those planting for their enjoyment at home have a number of choices in what to grow in their landscapes. Getting plants established and caring for them correctly is the next hurdle.

With the right information from Extension, home gardeners can be better stewards of their little patch of earth. Many gardeners feel overwhelmed with pesticide and fertilizer choices, plant choices, and most are not well-versed in soil fertility and which pesticides are the safest and are the most efficacious

Long-Term Outcomes:

• 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.
• Fewer chronic diseases
• Reduced fatalities
• 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 
• Home gardeners will be successful in their home gardening projects, add value to their homes, and be good stewards of natural resources.

Intermediate Outcomes:

• Increased adoption and mastery of healthy behaviors that lead to a healthy lifestyle
• 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 
• Home gardeners will feel empowered to complete horticulture projects on their own and be examples to their neighbors of using sound horticultural practices. Participants will respond to pest problems and landscape problems in a judicious way.  

 

Initial Outcomes:

• Increase awareness about lifestyle choices and chronic disease, such as tobacco use, poor nutrition, and lack of physical activity 
• Increase confidence in ability to employ healthy practices.  Improve food and nutrition related skills with as preparation techniques and safe food handling.  Increase motivation to be active and increase awareness of accessible safe place for activity.
• 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
• Participants in Extension home horticulture classes will come away with improved knowledge on horticultural topics covered by the different classes.

Evaluation:

Initial Outcome: Nutrition knowledge and dietary intake.

Indicator:  Number of individuals who reported eating 4 to 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 and post implementing curricula or program

Intermediate 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 physical activity levels.

Method: Self report survey

Timeline: Ongoing

Long-term Outcome:  Chronic Disease Prevention

Indicator:  Number of individuals who reported; participants who had one or more health indicators,  such as cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index, blood glucose improved.

Timeline:  On going

4-H

Initial Outcome: Promote optimal physical, social and emotional health habits 

Indicator: More youth participate in activities that improve physical, social and emotional habits 

Method: Common Measures

• Number of youth who indicated they learned about healthy food choices through 4-H
• Method of Evaluation
• Number of youth who were educated on health and well-being through 4-H programs? (KOSA)
• Number of youth who indicated they made healthy lifestyle choices as are result of what they learned through 4-H programming? (PRACTICE)
• Number of youth who indicated they increased their daily number of servings of fruits and vegetables eaten as a result of 4-H programs? (PRACTICE) Number of youth who indicated “yes or usually” to the Common Measures Experience Survey Question #6 “Is 4-H A place where you get to figure out things for yourself?” (SEEC)
• Number of youth who indicated “yes or usually” to the Common Measures Experience Survey Question #13 “Is 4-H a place where you have a chance to be a leader?” (SEEC)

Timeline: School Year, September - May

Intermediate Outcome: Improved perceived stress and ability to cope

Indicator: Youth will use coping skills to destress and will improve mental health

Method: Common Measures (Same as above).

Timeline: On-Going, Sept. - May

Long-Term: Decrease in chronic diseases in youth, decrease risk in youth for physical and emotional abuse

Indicator: Youth will have an overall higher quality of and more positive outlook on their life.

Method: Common Measures Survey (Same as above), Observation

Horticulture

Initial Outcome: Improved knowledge or new learned skills pertaining to home horticulture 

Indicator: Increased knowledge

Method: evaluations

Timeline: all year

Learning Opportunities:

Audience:  Pulaski Community

Project or Activity: Policy, Systems and Environmental Approaches 

Content or Curriculum: Health Coalitions, Diabetes Coalition

Inputs: Volunteers, community partners, key state holders, elected officials, Health Coalitions, SNAP Ed Toolkit

Date: On going

 

Audience:  Families and Individuals

Project or Activity: Chronic Disease Prevention

Content or Curriculum: Publications, health bulletins, Fit Blue, Dining with Diabetes, Plate It Up, Kentucky Proud Resources, Keys to Embracing Aging

Inputs: Programmatic materials, community partners, health coalitions, Health Department SNAP, Schools, Homemakers

Date: On Going

 

Audience:  KEHA

Content or Curriculum:  Monthly Lessons

Inputs: FCS Agents, community partners

Date:  On going

 

Audience: Youth- Cloverbuds

Project Activity: Mental Health

Content or Curriculum: Mindful Me

Inputs: 4-H volunteers, teen volunteers, agent

Date: Club meetings Sept-May

 

Audience: Youth in schools

Project Activity: fruit tasting- try a new fruit/vegetable each month

Content or Curriculum: Plan, Eat, Move

Inputs: Agents, teachers, SNAP-Ed assistant 

Date: school year

 

Audience: Middle & High School Youth

Project Activity: Addiction Prevention

Content Curriculum: Health Rocks!

Inputs: 4-H Agent, trainings, specialists, volunteers

Date: Sept-May

 

Audience: Home gardeners

Project or Activity: various classes on home gardening topics

Content or Curriculum: powerpoints, Extension publications

Inputs: Specialists, other Hort agents, Extension publications

Date: throughout year 

 

Audience: Home gardeners

Project or Activity: Horticulture newsletter

Content or Curriculum: unique articles, Extension publications

Inputs: Specialists, other Hort agents, Extension publications

Date: throughout year 

 

Audience: all citizens of Pulaski Co

Project or Activity: Newspaper articles

Content or Curriculum: timely updates on home landscape issues, Extension publications, KY Pest News

Inputs: Extension publications, Specialists social media posts or emails, KY Pest News

Date: throughout year 

 

Audience: all citizens

Project or Activity: social media updates

Content or Curriculum: timely information, interesting information as related to horticulture, environment, or sustainability

Inputs: Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Hootsuite app

Date: throughout year 

 

Success Stories