Developing a Culture of Health: Combining Research and Education to Develop Sustainable and Scalable Wellness Programs for Head Start Educators

The goals of this study are to design, implement, and evaluate an integrated workplace wellness randomized controlled trial (RCT) at diverse Head Start centers to improve the health and wellness of Head Start educators (HSE); and provide experiential education in research methods for MS and PhD nutrition students. Conduct a national needs survey and identify the factors that influence HSE's wellness behaviors and engagement in worksite wellness and health promotion services. Design, implement, and evaluate the RCT at diverse Head Start centers, in collaboration with graduate-level trainees. Evaluate the effectiveness of the workplace wellness intervention on HSE's cardiometabolic risk factors, and model the potential cost savings associated with changes in absenteeism and diet-related chronic disease conditions. Develop, deliver, and evaluate an ongoing innovative, graduate-level (MS and PhD) community-engaged research methods course, with an experiential learning component. The national needs survey (expected N = 2300) data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics. Findings will be presented at the aggregate and subgroup levels. Process and outcome evaluations will be conducted to assess the implementation and impact of the intervention. Evaluation will include measures such as biometrics, economics, and challenges to implementation. These data will be gathered through in-person assessments, interviews, surveys and administrative records. Evaluation of the graduate level course will be ongoing and subject matter refined based on contemporary pedagogy. Findings from the study will provide insights on strategies to improve HSE health while realizing economic benefits such as improved productivity and reduced disability claims. These results have implications for policy makers and upstream and system-level change. Mentored-training of MS and PhD students will demonstrate that applied learning can facilitate the development, implementation, and evaluation of an applied nutrition intervention, thereby expanding best practice nutrition higher-education and diversifying the pool of practitioners. 2022-68015-36282 This work is supported by the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture.