Competency+2

=**Develop intervention strategies to correct nutrition problems in target populations (CEPH).**= ===**This is my Community Nutrition project. It is a school-based, family-centered educational tool promoting healthy habits for families. This lesson is an early wellness intervention for young, school-aged children (5-7) to prevent pediatric obesity**. The lesson plan is part of the Nutritional Educational Project but is attached separately.===

1. How does this piece/sample relate to the competency?
 * This project is a lifestyle education tool for early school-aged children, promoting healthy behaviors to prevent obesity. I researched pediatric obesity rates in the Indianapolis area (Marion County), and found that they were higher than elsewhere in the state (Competency 1). I developed an appropriate wellness lesson, after researching effective interventions for delivering health messages to this age group. I also developed a brochure to be taken home to reinforce the healthy behaviors and involve the families.

2. What are the strengths and weaknesses of this piece/sample?
 * This project pairs the recommended preventative messages with colorful graphics to enhance learning. I feel that the design is a strength.
 * Weaknesses: I had to redesign the program goals and specific lesson process objectives so that they were relevant to the health messages and could be evaluated with testing. Next I developed a test based on the objectives and the pilot lesson content. I tried to design a test with similar subjects except one answer is healthier, but I do not have experience with designing tests for this age group, so I am unsure how valid it is. Additionally, because the lesson is very interactive, the educational outcomes are also dependent on the teacher.

3. What did I learn from reviewing and reflecting on this piece/sample?
 * Designing a health intervention involves many steps and much labor, even for a relatively simple intervention. There are no short cuts, and constant reevaluation and redesiging are necessary.

4. What do I need to work on in the future to more fully meet this competency?
 * Vigorous testing is required to determine whether an intervention is effective. This tool was designed for children in kindergarten and first grade, and the pilot lesson was done in a kindergarten population at one school. Testing should be done for both grades across a wider variety of settings (i.e. more schools or afterchool sites). It would also be interesting to see if this is effective for 2nd graders.
 * I plan to develop a poster for display, based on the health brochure, and bookmarks based on the different messages and colorful characters. These tools will continue to reinforce the wellness messages and promote healthy behaviors beyond the lesson.