2005 Annual Report 1.What major problem or issue is being resolved and how are you resolving it (summarize project aims and objectives)? How serious is the problem? What does it matter? The Lower Mississippi Delta (LMD) area of Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi is characterized by high rates of poverty, low education attainment, and food insecurity. There is a high prevalence of hypertension, diabetes, obesity, anemia, and heart disease, all of which are influenced by nutrition. We are attempting to resolve these problems through the efforts of the Lower Mississippi Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Initiative (Delta NIRI). The Delta NIRI Consortium consists of the original partners: scientists from Alcorn State University, Alcorn State, MS (ASU); Arkansas Children's Hospital Research Institute, Little Rock, AR (ACHRI); Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, LA (PBRC); Southern University and A&M College, Baton Rouge, LA (SU); The University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, Pine Bluff, AR (UAPB); The University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS (USM); and the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) of USDA, Little Rock, AR. The Delta NIRI Consortium also now includes representatives from the Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi Cooperative Extension Service; the College of Public Health of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Little Rock, AR; a private researcher, Jackson, MS; and members from the Delta communities of Marvell, AR; Hollandale, MS; and Franklin Parish, LA. The ARS has initiated agreements with other scientists with needed expertise for specific research requirements. For example, the Children's Nutrition Research Center (CNRC) in Houston is collaborating with a Baylor College of Medicine scientist that has nutrition epidemiology skills, and the Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University in Boston is providing expertise on the development of an original adult food frequency questionnaire. These scientists, Extension, and community members participate fully in the Delta NIRI Consortium. The Consortium is diverse in its composition: including minorities, many research disciplines (nutrition, food science, family economics, sociology, medicine, community development, community grass root, agriculture, etc.), and a variety of professionals (nutritionists, pediatricians, nurses, food scientists, sociologists, agriculture economists, etc.). This diversity is necessary because of the complexity of the food concerns, poverty, isolation, and low educational attainment in parts of the Delta region. The Delta NIRI Consortium is evaluating the nutritional health in the LMD, to identify nutritionally responsive problems, and to design and evaluate interventions using a community participatory research model. Use of this model will promote capacity-building and sustainability at the community level. Lessons learned about successful intervention approaches will be disseminated in order to facilitate implementation on a larger scale in similar areas of the United States. Rates of rural poverty and nutrition-related chronic diseases in the LMD are among the Nation's highest. Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana traditionally rank at or near the bottom in health rankings of the United States and continue to worsen compared with other states. Food insecurity, adult and child obesity, and high blood pressure and diabetes among adults are higher in each of these states than for the national average. The area is underserved by food and nutrition and other health professionals, thus the burden of food-related health problems is carried by minority, low-income, and educationally disadvantaged individuals and families in the Delta communities. The presence of these problems severely limits the quality of life, productivity, and the future of this rural, at-risk population, while propelling them into the high-user category for nutrition assistance programs and high-cost health care and treatment of nutrition-related disease. The Lower Mississippi Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Initiative falls under the National Program 107 - Human Nutrition, and addresses established performance goals through developing and transferring effective nutrition intervention strategies. 2.List the milestones (indicators of progress) from your Project Plan. Year 2005 Develop nutrition interventions in the Hollandale Community, through community-based participatory research (CBPR): 1) Establish Community Groups and Research Teams. 2) Identify community-specific nutritional problems/concerns. 3) Identify community resources/environmental conditions. Year 2006 Design the nutrition intervention research for the Hollandale Community, using Comprehensive Participatory Planning and Evaluation (CPPE): 1) Evaluate proposed intervention strategies. 2) Develop community-specific research plans/protocols. 3) Modify and develop new data collection instruments. Year 2007 Initiate the implementation and evaluation of nutrition intervention strategies in the Hollandale Community: 1) Complete training on data collection/intervention strategies. 2) Pre-test data collection instruments/procedures. 3) Complete operational plan/research protocol. 4) Implement community-specific nutrition interventions. Year 2008 Implement and evaluate nutrition intervention strategies in the Hollandale Community: 1) Complete training on data collection/intervention strategies. 2) Pre-test data collection instruments/procedures. 3) Complete operational plan/research protocol. 4) Implement community-specific nutrition interventions. Year 2009 Initiate the process of adapting the successful nutrition intervention strategies to other Lower Mississippi Delta communities. 1) Evaluate interventions for adaptability 2) Identify potential communities for additional research 3) Prepare manuscripts and develop symposia 4a.What was the single most significant accomplishment this past year? Walking and Nutrition Education Intervention: Through Community-Based Collaborative Research, the Hollandale, Mississippi NIRI identified that an increase in physical activity and nutritional knowledge is needed and that interventions should be designed to address these concerns. Researchers from Alcorn State University, with collaboration from the University of Southern Mississippi, Mississippi State Cooperative Extension, and USDA-ARS, have completed the data collection component of a physical activity and nutrition intervention that addresses these concerns. Hollandale community members were trained in data collection techniques such as: confidentiality, interview/survey instruments, anthropometric measurements, biological measurements and data recording. This accomplishment indicates that community residents, through training, can serve as a viable component in performing future data collections and other research protocols. 4b.List other significant accomplishments, if any. HOLLANDALE NIRI OFFICE RELOCATED A more optimal location for the Hollandale NIRI office was needed in the community. The Hollandale NIRI team of individuals composed of residents from Hollandale, an independent researcher, employees from the Mississippi State Cooperative Extension, and researchers from Alcorn State University, University of Southern Mississippi, and the USDA-ARS successfully coordinated the relocation of the Hollandale NIRI office to a separate building along the main street. This effort was initiated by a participation of all parties in discovering the most optimal location that meets the various components of the wide range of activities planned for the Hollandale NIRI. This new location provides an increase in community visibility, thus encourages greater participation, and is accessible by persons of all physical abilities. 4c.List any significant activities that support special target populations. None 5.Describe the major accomplishments over the life of the project, including their predicted or actual impact. Alcorn State University (ASU), University of Southern Mississippi (USM), Mississippi State Cooperative Extension, and the USDA, ARS continue to actively collaborate with the city of Hollandale, MS. In 2003, through Community Based Participatory Research, the Hollandale NIRI identified problems in the community that interventions could be designed to address. Two of these were lack of physical activity and lack of nutrition knowledge. We began a physical activity and nutrition intervention in April 2005. Community members were trained in data collection techniques such as: confidentiality, interview/survey instruments, anthropometric measurements, biological measurements and data recording. The 3-month data collection was recently completed. The outcome of this intervention is expected improvements in the physical and psychological well-being of participants as well as an increase in their knowledge of nutrition. In addition, the capacity of Hollandale residents to perform future data collections, using both survey instruments and biological/anthropometrical measurements, will be increased. The Delta NIRI project continues to build capacity in the community as evidenced through the training of community members in data collection techniques. This additional capacity will result in sustained capability by the community to perform similar data collections in future interventions. The primary objectives of the Youth Summer Work Program are to provide an opportunity for high school students to work with Delta NIRI staff and the Hollandale NIRI to develop and implement nutrition intervention research in the local community. Eight youth ranging from ages 15 to 19 were selected to participate. Students worked 20 hours a week for 5 weeks, which included 20 hours of nutrition education. The students toured the USDA/ARS facility in Stoneville, MS. The students also had to write an essay entitled "What does good nutrition mean to me and my family?" 1st, 2nd and 3rd place winners were awarded. Summer Nutrition Camp was a collaborative effort between Hollandale NIRI and MS State Cooperative Extension. The camp consisted of one session a day for a week. The main focus was the Food Guide Pyramid explaining in detail about vegetables, fruit, meat, breads and dairy products. There were 20 children ranging from ages 8 to 11. The children learned various kitchen safety techniques and how to prepare healthy food recipes. The Valedictorian/Salutatorian Internship program was a summer employment program through the Lower Mississippi Delta NIRI. These positions were reserved for the Valedictorian and Salutatorian from Simmons High School. The minority female students were stationed in the Hollandale NIRI office to assist with nutrition, physical activity and baseline data collection. They attended nutrition enrichment seminars, assisted with summer camp, and attended various meetings. The students collected data for two projects funded through the Lower Mississippi Delta NIRI: Willingness to Try New Foods and the Food Store Survey. Completed research entitled 'Song, Music and Nutrition Education in Pre-School Children' that assessed the effectiveness of music and song in increasing nutrition knowledge in children. Data analysis is ongoing. This was a collaborative effort with students and faculty in the Dept. of Fine Arts and the Dept. of Human Sciences at ASU. All accomplishments made under this project are fully consistent with relevant milestones listed in the Project Plan, and with the relevant research components as defined in the National Program 107 Action Plans performance goals through developing and transferring effective nutrition intervention strategies. Accomplishments under this project contribute to the achievement of ARS Strategic Plan Goal 4, Objective 1, Performance Measure 1, in that project accomplishments contribute substantially to attainment of the Agency FY 2007 target of executing and reporting nutritional interventions. 6.What science and/or technologies have been transferred and to whom? When is the science and/or technology likely to become available to the end-user (industry, farmer, other scientists)? What are the constraints, if known, to the adoption and durability of the technology products? Nutritional and physical activity information has been transferred to the residents of Hollandale, MS. 7.List your most important publications in the popular press and presentations to organizations and articles written about your work. (NOTE: List your peer reviewed publications below). Nonoyama, A., Stokes, C.S., Simpson, P., Gossett, J., Santell, R. 2005. Maternal Employment in Early Childhood and the Risk of Overweight in Adolescence. Population Association of America Annual Meeting, April 2005, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (poster) Nonoyama, A., Stokes, C.S., Simpson, P., Gossett, J., Santell, R. 2005. Effects of Mother's Employment in Infancy on the Risk of Obesity in Adolescence: Regional Comparisons. Rural Sociological Society Annual Meeting, August, 2005, Tampa Bay, Florida. Lucan, G., Avis, A., Lofton, K., Vassel, K., Strickland, E., Perkins, H. 2005. Using Service Learning to Encourage Nutrition and Physical Activity Among High School Students Participating in a Summer Work Program. Delta NIRI All Delta Conference, "Collaborating Communities: Creating a Healthy Climate for Change," June 6-8, 2005. Robinsonville, Mississippi. Fungwe, T. 2005. Healthy Body Mass Index. Hollandale NIRI Nutrition Education Session, July 19, 2005, Hollandale, Mississippi.