Source: UNIV OF HAWAII submitted to
CHILD HEALTH ASSESSMENT IN THE PACIFIC SUMMER FELLOWSHIP (CHAP)
Sponsoring Institution
National Institute of Food and Agriculture
Project Status
NEW
Funding Source
AFRI COMPETITIVE GRANT
Reporting Frequency
Annual
Accession No.
1009138
Grant No.
2016-67032-24989
Project No.
HAW02703-G
Proposal No.
2015-09570
Multistate No.
(N/A)
Program Code
A7401
Project Start Date
Mar 15, 2016
Project End Date
Mar 14, 2019
Grant Year
2016
Project Director
NOVOTNY, R.
Recipient Organization
UNIV OF HAWAII
3190 MAILE WAY
HONOLULU,HI 96822
Performing Department
HNFAS
Non Technical Summary
The Child Health Assessment in the Pacific (CHAP) Summer Fellowship Program goal is to provide a summer training opportunity (fellowship) to 30 undergraduate students from land-grant colleges and other degree seeking institutions in Hawai'i, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Chuuk, and Guam that are enrolled in programs such as nutrition, nursing, early childhood education, public health and other related degrees.
Animal Health Component
0%
Research Effort Categories
Basic
(N/A)
Applied
75%
Developmental
25%
Classification

Knowledge Area (KA)Subject of Investigation (SOI)Field of Science (FOS)Percent
70360991010100%
Knowledge Area
703 - Nutrition Education and Behavior;

Subject Of Investigation
6099 - People and communities, general/other;

Field Of Science
1010 - Nutrition and metabolism;
Goals / Objectives
1.Build Pacific regional capacity in early childhood nutrition and health assessment training (Instruction).2.Develop and sustain the Pacific network of professionals, educators, researchers, and students working to monitor and prevent early childhood obesity and health disparities (Extension).3.Develop and evaluate a program to sustain training in early childhood nutrition and health assessment (Extension/Research).
Project Methods
The didactic phase (first half of summer) will consist of students enrolling in a distance introductory nutrition course adapted for the Pacific and a one-week intensive Pacific Child Health Assessment course. The application phase (second half of summer) will follow the didactic phase and consist of students applying the techniques they have learned in child assessment through a mini project at their home institution/jurisdiction that integrates research and extension components. Student project topics include the assessment of child growth, enhancing resources on Pacific foods, and evaluating growth monitoring in programs that serve young children. Each student will be matched with a mentor from their home institution/jurisdiction.

Progress 03/15/17 to 03/14/18

Outputs
Target Audience:Undergraduate students enrolled in child health related degrees from Chaminade University, Northern Marianas College, University of Guam, and the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Students must be enrolled in their degree program during the time of the fellowship. Changes/Problems: Nothing Reported What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two online courses, one in introductory nutrition adapted to the Pacific and another in child anthropometry and dietary assessment skills was completed by all fellows in the program. In addition, all fellows completed the Social and Behavioral Responsible Conduct of Research (RCR) Course. From June 20 - June 28, fellows participated in an intensive training at the University of Hawai'i at Manoawhere they reviewed and applied the anthropometry skills they learned in class to a 3-day standardization session with children from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa Children's Center. During this week students were exposed to the application of assessment techniques at a major medical center, at a community health center, at a community farm, and at a research facility. Fellows also completed service learning at a traditional fish pond. Fellows learned how to develop and write a proposal, which included a budget, how to create, edit and post a video, and how to write a project summary and track expenditures through virtual and face to face sessions. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A CHAP YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI5xqH6A-1bmN9DVesc7H8Q/videos) was created to disseminate all videos created by the fellows on their field experience (ten out of the ten fellows completed their video). The YouTube channel has been linked to the CHAP overview page (http://www.chl-pacific.org/chap-program-overview). The YouTube channel link has been disseminated to all CHAP partners. A poster was presented on the Field Experience component of the CHAP Undergraduate Summer Fellowship Program at the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior 2017 Conference. A poster on CHAP's online evaluation system was presented at the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education 2017. A poster on student perceptions of CHAP was presented at the American Association for Agricultural Educators 2017. A presentation was given at the Hawai'i-Pacific Evaluation Association in 2017. Another poster on student perceptions of CHAP was accepted for poster presentation at the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education 2018. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Feedback from students and mentors solicited through the evaluation system are being applied to improve the enrollment and summer fellowship experience. This includes providing more check-ins and training on excel and survey design. For the 2018 7-day training opportunity, a Resident Graduate Advisor has been hired to assist with logistics and to expose fellows to the opportunities in graduate school. Recruitment goals for summer 2018 will be similarly to 2017: Chaminade University = 1, Northern Marianas College = 3/4, University of Guam = 3/4, and the University of Hawai'i at Manoa = 1/2. All of the participating institutions have been able to generate the funds to cover this distribution of tuition costs. We expect to be able to meet these recruitment goals based on summer 2016 applications received (Chaminade University = 2, Northern Marianas College = 16, University of Guam = 3, and University of Hawai'i at Manoa = 4). We will close applications on February 15, 2018 similarly the last year. We will include the cohort of fellows from summer 2016 and 2017 to assist with disseminating information about the opportunity as well.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In summer 2017- ten students enrolled in the CHAP Undergraduate Summer Fellowship Program. The ten students were comprised of one student from Chaminade University (Honolulu), four students from Northern Marianas College (Saipan), four students from the University of Guam, and one student from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. This met our year 2 goal of enrolling 10 students during the summer. These students completed online didactic training in introductory nutrition and assessment and a 7-day intensive standardization training. All ten students passed the standardization criteria to measure weight, waist and height in children 2 - 10 years of age. Ten out of the ten students also completed a mentored field experience applying the assessment skills they learned in the didactic and/or standardization training. The online evaluation system developed in 2016 was used to solicit regular feedback (weekly and at the end of the summer) from mentors and fellows. This system allowed for timely feedback to make improvements both during the program as well as in anticipation of the next cohort during summer 2018. Fellows from the 2017 cohort are currently completing their respective degree programs. Of the 2016 fellows, two of the fellows contributed to standardizing measurers in Guam as a part of the NIH U24 grant at the University of Guam. One fellow from Northern Marianas College is completing a Family and Consumer Sciences Bachelor Degree at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. This fellow has been awarded with a scholarship from the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources. The two fellows from Chaminad University - Honolulu are completing their nursing degrees this spring. They are both serving as Nursing Aids at local hospitals. One fellow from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa is applying for the Master of Science in Nutritional Sciences at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa (Fall 2018 admissions). This student is also training to become a Lactation Consultant.

Publications

  • Type: Journal Articles Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Fialkowski, M.K., Matanane, L., Gibson, J., Yiu, E., Hollyer, J., Kolasa, K., and Novotny, R. 2016. A Pacific Food Guide: from the Childrens Healthy Living Program. Nutrition Today. 2016; 51(2): 72 - 81. doi: 10.1097/NT.0000000000000145
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Sandlin, M.R., Fialkowski, M.K., Novotny, R., Hattori-Uchima, M., Weichhaus, M., and Coleman, P. 2017. Assessing the administrative value of a weekly check-in system for the evaluation of a regional training program delivered at a distance. Association for International Agricultural Extension Education Conference, April 24  28, 2017.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Fialkowski, M.K., Sandlin, M., Novotny, R., Hattori-Uchima, M., Coleman, P., and Naeole, C. 2017. Integration of a Field Experience Component in the Child Health Assessment in the Pacific (CHAP) Undergraduate Summer Fellowship Program. J Nutr Educ Behav 2017 49(7): S63 (Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Conference [Poster Presentation] Washington DC. July 20  24, 2017).
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Fialkowski, M.K., Novotny, R., Esquivel, M.K., Eichelberger, A., Meinke, W., Ngo, H., Kahalewale, C.*, Delormier, T., and Leslie, J. 2016. The Childrens Healthy Living Summer Institute: An Opportunity for Sustained Pacific Workforce Capacity Development. North American College and Teachers of Agriculture (NACTA) Journal 2016 60(S1): 130. (NACTA [Poster Presentation] Honolulu HI. June 21  24, 2016).
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2016 Citation: Fialkowski, M.K., Sandlin, M., Hattori-Uchima, M., Weichhaus, M., Coleman, P., and Novotny, R. 2016. Child Health Assessment in the Pacific (CHAP) Summer Fellowship Program. J Nutr Educ Behav 2016 48(7): S27 (Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior Conference [Poster Presentation] San Diego CA, July 29  August 2, 2016).
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Fialkowski, M.K., Sandlin, M., Novotny, R., Hatorri-Uchima, M., Coleman, P., and Naeole, C. 2017. Integration of a Field Experience Component in the Child Health Assessment in the Pacific (CHAP) Undergraduate Summer Fellowship Program, Poster. 7/21/2017, Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior.
  • Type: Conference Papers and Presentations Status: Published Year Published: 2017 Citation: Sandlin, M., Fialkowski, M.K., Novotny, R., Hattori-Uchima, M., Weichhaus, M.,and Coleman, P. 2017. Student Perceptions of a Regional Undergraduate Training Program in Childhood Nutrition and Health Assessment, Poster. 5/18/2017, American Association for Agricultural Educators.


Progress 03/15/16 to 03/14/17

Outputs
Target Audience:Undergraduate students enrolled in child health related degrees from Chaminade University, Northern Marianas College, University of Guam, and the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. Students must be enrolled in their degree program during the time of the fellowship. Changes/Problems:The students from the Chaminade University Chuuk distance campus struggled the most with meeting the expectations for CHAP. The two students from this location did not pass both online courses with a C or better and did not meet all expectations for the field experience component of the program. Barriers for the Chuuk students included inadequate access to internet, low English proficiency, family responsibilities and the lack of a face-to-face mentor (mentoring was done virtually). These students also cost significantly more (30%) for the program because they were citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia (which is in a Compact of Free Association with the U.S.). Since we have a set budget, are unable to address the inadequate access to internet, and were not able to identify an appropriate mentor on Chuuk we will not be recruiting students from Chuuk in 2017. What opportunities for training and professional development has the project provided?Two online courses, one in introductory nutrition adapted to the Pacific and another in child anthropometry and dietary assessment skills was completed by all fellows in the program. In addition, all fellows completed two CITI Training courses online: 1) Information Privacy and Security (IPS) and 2) Non-Exempt Social & Behavioral Sciences Researchers and Key Personnel. From June 26 - July 2, fellows participated in an intensive training at the University of Hawai'i at Manoawhere they reviewed and applied the anthropometry skills they learned in class to a 3-day standardization session with children from the University of Hawai'i at Manoa Children's Center. During this week students were exposed to the application of assessment techniques in the Head Start classroom, at a community health center, at a community farm, and at a research facility. Fellows learned how to develop and write a proposal, which included a budget, how to create, edit and post a video, and how to write a project summary and track expenditures through virtual and face to face sessions. How have the results been disseminated to communities of interest?A CHAP YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCI5xqH6A-1bmN9DVesc7H8Q/videos) was created to disseminate all videos created by the fellows on their field experience (eight out of the ten fellows completed their video). The YouTube channel has been linked to the CHAP overview page (http://www.chl-pacific.org/chap-program-overview). The YouTube channel link has been disseminated to all CHAP partners. A poster was presented on the overall CHAP Undergraduate Summer Fellowship Program at the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior 2016 Conference. An abstract submitted to the Association for International Agricultural and Extension Education 2017 conference on CHAP's online evaluation system was accepted as a poster. An abstract has been submitted to the Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior 2017 conference on the value of the field experience component. What do you plan to do during the next reporting period to accomplish the goals?Feedback from students and mentors solicited through the evaluation system are being applied to improve the application, admission, enrollment, and summer fellowship experience. This includes providing further detailed information during the application, admission, and enrollment period. Further detail was also incorporated into the field experience manual component to ensure fellows are provided with adequate resources to complete their experience. The training at the University of Hawai'i at Manoa was lengthened to seven total days to ensure adequate time for group work and mentoring to occur. This will include flying one mentor from Northern Marianas College and one mentor from the University of Guam to participate in the session in addition to those mentors who live on O'ahu. The students from the Chaminade University Chuuk distance campus struggled the most with meeting the expectations for CHAP. The two students from this location did not pass both online courses with a C or better and did not meet all expectations for the field experience component of the program. Barriers for the Chuuk students included inadequate access to internet, low English proficiency, family responsibilities and the lack of a face-to-face mentor (mentoring was done virtually). These students also cost significantly more (30%) for the program because they were citizens of the Federated States of Micronesia (which is in a Compact of Free Association with the U.S.). Since we have a set budget, are unable to address the inadequate access to internet, and were not able to identify an appropriate mentor on Chuuk, we will not be recruiting students from Chuuk in 2017. This has resulted in shuffling of our recruitment goals for summer 2017: Chaminade University = 1, Northern Marianas College = 3, University of Guam = 4, and the University of Hawai'i at Manoa = 2. All of the participating institutions have been able to generate the funds to cover this distribution of tuition costs. We expect to be able to meet these recruitment goals based on summer 2016 applications received (Chaminade University = 2, Northern Marianas College = 16, University of Guam = 3, and University of Hawai'i at Manoa = 4). For this upcoming summer we will have had 2 months to allow for recruitment (the online application has been open since December 2016 and will close on February 15, 2017). This is almost twice the amount of recruitment time that we had in 2016 (due to award notification of the grant coming in mid-January). We also have a cohort of fellows from summer 2016 who are disseminating information about the opportunity as well.

Impacts
What was accomplished under these goals? In summer 2016 ten students enrolled in the CHAP Undergraduate Summer Fellowship Program. The ten students were comprised of two students each from Chaminade University (Chuuk distance campus), Chaminade University (Honolulu), Northern Marianas College, the University of Guam, and the University of Hawai'i at Manoa. This met our year 1 goal of enrolling 10 students during the summer. These students completed online didactic training in introductory nutrition and assessment and a one week intensive standardization training. All ten students passed the standardization criteria to measure weight and height in children 2 - 10 years of age. Eight out of the ten students passed the standardization criteria to measure waist circumference in children 2 - 10 years of age. Nine out of the ten students also completed a mentored field experience applying the assessment skills they learned in the didactic and/or standardization training. An online evaluation system was developed to solicit regular feedback (weekly and at the end of the summer) from mentors and fellows. This system allowed for timely feedback to make improvements both during the program as well as in anticipation of the next cohort during summer 2017. Two of the fellows are now applying their standardized anthropometry skills in the NIH U24 grant at the University of Guam. One fellow transferred from Northern Marianas College to the University of Hawai'i at Manoa to complete a bachelor's degree in Family and Consumer Sciences. Another fellow gained employment as a Nursing Aid at the Queens Medical Center, the largest private acute care medical facility in Hawai'i.

Publications