Abriendo Caminos 2: Clearing the Path to Hispanic Health

Study Overview
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Brief Summary
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Obesity is significantly higher in specific ethnic groups and, in particular, Hispanics. There is an urgent need to implement culturally-sensitive lifestyle interventions and educational programs to decrease the burden of obesity and obesity-related metabolic diseases in Hispanic populations. Accordingly, our overreaching goal is to tailor an existing and successful community-based program, Abriendo Caminos, to leverage effectiveness in promoting healthy nutrition and life-style behaviors among low income, low literacy Hispanic-heritage families. Our multi-function integrated project proposes to (a) adapt Abriendo Caminos for 6-18 year-old children from Mexican and Puerto Rican heritage in five different locations (California, Illinois, Iowa, Puerto Rico, and Texas) and (b) Train existing professionals (in Extension and community agencies) and future professionals (Hispanic university students) to meet the specific needs of this population. Our central hypothesis is that participation in a 6-week community-based program will prevent childhood obesity/maintain healthy weight by significantly increasing: (a) healthy dietary behavior patterns and basic knowledge of nutrition; (b) physical activity levels; and (c) the organization of collective/shared family mealtimes. The implementation of this culturally sensitive, workshop-based curriculum in different regions across the country will help to train the next generation of professionals in Extension and communities to deliver programs that meet the needs of Hispanic families. The integration of Hispanic college students in program implementation via an experiential learning course will further strengthen the program, as well as increase recruitment and retention of Hispanic students, increasing the capacity of Hispanic communities to meet their own needs in the future.

Official Title
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Abriendo Caminos 2: Clearing the Path to Hispanic Health

Conditions
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Obesity, Childhood Obesity, Nutrient; Excess, Community Health Education

Intervention / Treatment
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* Behavioral: Education and Behavior


Participation Criteria
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Eligibility Criteria
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Inclusion Criteria: a family member being 6-18 years of age at least 1 parent being of Hispanic-heritage from Mexican or Puerto Rican origin Exclusion Criteria: no child in the age range of 6-18 years of age No parents being of Hispanic-heritage from Mexican or Puerto Rican origin

Ages Eligible for Study
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Minimum Age: 6 Years
Maximum Age: 18 Years

Sexes Eligible for Study
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All

Accepts Healthy Volunteers
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Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Study Plan
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How is the study designed?
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Design Details

Primary Purpose: Prevention
Allocation: Randomized
Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment
Masking: None (Open Label)


Arms and Interventions

| Participant Group/Arm | Intervention/Treatment |
| --- | --- |
| Experimental: Intervention<br>The Intervention is educational with 6 workshops for 2 hrs a week. Data/ assessments are collected, pre and post the 6 weeks intervention and 6 months post follow-up. | Behavioral: Education and Behavior<br>* Involves 6-weeks of education related to healthy behaviors, nutrition, and exercise.<br>|
| No Intervention: Control<br>One or two non-intervention related workshop talks are given; 1 hr each during the same 6 weeks as the intervention arm. Pre and post assessment/ data collection and 6 months follow-up are completed. | |

What is the study measuring?
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Primary Outcome Measures

| Outcome Measure | Measure Description | Time Frame |
| --- | --- | --- |
| BMI | Body mass index = weight per height square in metrics | Baseline | 
| BMI | Body mass index = weight per height square in metrics | 6-month post intervention |