According to the 2020 America’s Health Rankings, Kentucky ranks 44 for overall health and 49 for nutrition and physical activity behaviors. Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) agents have long worked to fill gaps in health promotion and disease prevention programs in rural communities by delivering evidence-based health education. Yet, several barriers limit who or how many people can access programs. To further increase community access to health promotion programs and expand the reach of FCS agents, Extension Specialists Drs. Natalie Jones and Courtney Luecking worked with Dr. Lisa Washburn at the University of Tennessee to adapt the evidence-based Extension Health and Wellness Ambassador program for use in Kentucky.

The Health Ambassador program is designed to improve health in Kentucky by engaging community members to apply knowledge and provide service in ways that help others live healthier lives. The Health Ambassador program has a similar structure to other master volunteer programs in that it provides learning opportunities for volunteers interested in supporting healthier lifestyles in their community, increases the capacity of Cooperative Extension to deliver health outreach programs, and increases access to health education programs and exercise opportunities in rural communities.

In May 2021, Drs. Jones and Luecking initiated a pilot of the Extension Health and Wellness Ambassador program with 11 FCS agents. Agents completed six hours of training over a three-day period and are currently marketing the Health Ambassador program and recruiting individuals to begin training in Fall of 2021. Health Ambassadors will receive 40 hours of training on a range of health issues, lifestyle behaviors, and foundational knowledge for supporting health behavior change. Health Ambassadors will work with their local FCS agent to assess local needs and resources, plan, and then implement projects to improve health in their community. In the first year, Health Ambassadors will provide a minimum of 40 hours of service. In subsequent years, Health Ambassadors will provide a minimum of 20 hours of service and 10 hours of continuing education.

The Health Ambassador program offers FCS agents structure for managing volunteers and flexibility to address needs and barriers of their community. Health Ambassadors may choose to work on a range of health topics - from nutrition and physical activity to mental health and substance use. Their efforts may address previous barriers such as bringing programming to new or different groups or physical locations in the community, increasing access to healthy food and physical activity options, or working to shift cultural and social norms around health behaviors. Engaging community members in a structured, health-focused volunteer program will provide a sustainable mechanism for tailoring health promotion efforts to local needs and to improve the health of Kentucky. Extension Specialists will support FCS agents during this pilot of the Extension Health and Wellness Ambassador program and work with agents to continue to adapt the program before scaling up implementation to more counties across the Commonwealth.