Four AHS Department Members Present at the National Health Outreach Conference

Four members of the AHS department recently presented at the 2022 National Health Outreach Conference, which was held in Kansas City, MO.  Kim Eshleman, Dr. Autumn Guin and Dr. Lindsey Haynes Maslow both presented research during conference sessions while Jayne McBurney presented during the poster session.

Kim Eshleman presented “Emergency Food During COVID-19: Lessons Learned from a 5 State Study of Families and Food” featuring the research of Dr. Annie Hardison-Moody. This project aimed to understand how poor and working class families have navigated pandemic food assistance, in particular emergency food programs. This research takes an ecological approach to understanding food insecurity, putting families’ lived experiences at the center of the narrative to understand how to better support and advocate for those who experience food insecurity. The team drew on interviews conducted with 128 poor and working class families in two waves as part of an NSF-funded study, Food Insecurity: Responses, Solutions, and Transformations During Covid-19 (FIRST).

Dr. Lindsey Haynes Maslow presented “A Systems Based Approach between Federal Health Agencies and Extension to Promote Vaccinations” – which highlighted her work with EXCITE. The Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, the United States Department of Agriculture’s National Institute for Food & Agriculture, and the Extension Foundation used a systems-based approach to promote adult vaccinations through the Extension Collaboration on Immunization Teaching and Engagement (EXCITE). Seventy-two land grant universities (including NC State University) received funding for EXCITE.

Jayne McBurney presented a poster: “Ensuring Food Security in Limited-Resource Populations” which highlighted The Nuts and Bolts of a Healthy Food Pantry Toolkit from the Steps to Health program. The toolkit is one of  the  policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) intervention guides developed by North Carolina State University’s SNAP-Ed program Steps to Health. This toolkit equips partners to share best practices with partnering food pantries. The components of the toolkit includes a resource guide, baseline and follow-up assessments to explore opportunities for PSE, training modules for food pantry staff and volunteers, action planning tools for sustaining PSE changes, and promotional materials such as signage and nudge cards to influence healthy choices.

Autumn Guin presented a workshop with Amy Chilcote on Harnessing Stakeholders and Strategies to Implement Health Education Across Any Community. Health education across different community partners, including agencies, volunteers, youth, and caregivers can be tricky to navigate. Within this session, we will discuss a way to capture a snapshot of the stakeholders in your community, develop strategies to connect with each, and schedule contact to ensure your efforts have a broad reach within your community. Additionally, this session will explore ideas for integrating health education into delivery modes and avenues not traditionally classified as health-related education. Finally, we will explore the use of family and community-based youth-adult partnerships to advance your goals of community ownership of public health, as well as a discussion of how to know when you’ve found a successful model for your community.

Congratulations everyone and great job representing NC State and CALS!