CP7 - Approaches to Nutritional Health Awareness and First Aid in Students with Special Needs

Poster Type: Innovation

Category: A. T. Still University

Issue or Challenge: In response to rising rates in childhood obesity, public health has increasingly focused on childhood physical activity and nutrition-based interventions. While impactful, many existing nutrition studies have not included students with special needs in their programs or included adaptations in the workshops to include students with different developmental abilities. In addition to the overall increased health risks attributed to general childhood obesity, individuals with developmental disabilities are at increased risk for limited food preparation skills, nutrition knowledge, and opportunities to learn about healthy eating behaviors. This lack of access to skills and nutrition education risks marginalizing an already vulnerable community.

Description of Innovation: Our project addresses an identified gap in nutrition and first aid health programming. Researchers have identified four areas of need when developing interventions for children with special needs: medical, physical, learning, and social emotional needs. Our goal is to help bridge the gap in educational programming and facilitate individual empowerment by designing an interactive nutritional and first aid program for grade-school aged students with special needs.

By centering our program within the kitchen, we identified an additional space for promoting safety and health. First aid education programs have significant outcomes for increasing childhood health by teaching students to recognize and manage common injuries in themselves or their peers. In our program, we address the importance of healthy nutrition in food preparation, while also providing tools to circumvent the risks associated with cooking.

We provided an educational workshop to 13 students in the Special Needs Program of a local elementary school. The workshop lasted one full school day, from 9:30 am to 3:00 pm. The workshop consisted of a kitchen hygiene and safety station, a sugar quantity station, and a healthy smoothie station. Each station utilized interactive activities and student-guided conversations to engage the students and promote active participation.

Impact or Result: Important themes emerged from the workshop. Students of all grades understood hand hygiene, while knife safety and kitchen first aid knowledge increased with age. Students successfully identified which food had more sugar, but underestimated sugar quantity in the high-sugar item. Younger students were less likely to try the healthy smoothie due to the ingredients and color, while older students expressed excitement and a desire to make the smoothies at home.

The interactions throughout the workshop demonstrated that students were enthusiastic, able to incorporate learning with hands-on activities, and tie that knowledge into their daily lives. We found that the most impactful activities were the ones where students had visual representations and active participation. The small workshop setting also allowed facilitators to individualize learning for each student. Post-workshop, we met with the staff of the special needs department, who found the workshop interactive, educational, and voiced interest in future workshops.

Replicating this Innovation: This program can be implemented in other organizations, following discussions and needs assessments with community schools and special needs programs. Our workshop demonstrates that interactive, level-appropriate activities can successfully engage students and teach multifaceted lessons about nutrition and kitchen safety. Collaborating with staff who work closely with the students throughout the planning, implementation, and results interpretation of the workshop allows the workshop to best meet the needs of the participants. The community-oriented, interprofessional development of our workshop can be used as a framework for developing similar programs in other organizations, while activities can be tailored to reflect community needs.

Author(s):

Amy Wang, MPH, OMS-II, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, School of Osteopathic Medicine Arizona

John Berberich, OMS-II, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, School of Osteopathic Medicine Arizona

Mohammad Moizz Akhtar, OMS-II, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, School of Osteopathic Medicine Arizona

Aviv Crish, OMS-II, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, School of Osteopathic Medicine Arizona

Rahil Desai, OMS-II, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, School of Osteopathic Medicine Arizona

Trivianne Franklin, OMS-II, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, School of Osteopathic Medicine Arizona

Forest Gries, OMS-II, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, School of Osteopathic Medicine Arizona

Navedeep Kaur, OMS-II, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, School of Osteopathic Medicine Arizona

Ryan Pavelka, OMS-II, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, School of Osteopathic Medicine Arizona

Catherine Shanahan, MD, Regional Director of Medical Education, HealthSource of Ohio, A.T. Still University of Health Sciences, School of Osteopathic Medicine Arizona

Kate Whelihan, MPH, CPH, COPC and Public Health Research Specialist, Department of Public Health, A T Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine

Joy H. Lewis, DO, PhD, FACP, Professor, Medicine and Public Health Chair, SOMA Dept. of Public Health, A T Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine

Figure 1: Modified MyPlate Worksheet; Figure 2: Knife Safety Key Points; Figure 3: Healthy Smoothie Nutrition Facts; Sugar Cube Worksheet; Food Safety Adapted Book