Author: Western Group MCH Nutrition Trainees

Oregon Health and Science University (Western Partner) Trainee Becky Johnson

Becky Johnson is an MCH trainee from Oregon Health & Science University in Portland, Oregon. She is a second-year graduate student in the combined Masters of Science in Human Nutrition and Dietetic Internship program. Becky received her undergraduate degree in Dietetics from the University of Northern Colorado and spent August 2017 working with the Lao American Nutrition Institute in Vientiane, Lao PDR (as pictured below) — a collaboration between OHSU, the Lao Government and the U.S. Government to improve the state of nutrition of Lao, especially addressing high rates of stunting and malnutrition. In this blog post, she discusses her work with an early childhood health screening event on the Oregon coast.

A Focus on Family-Centered Care: Tillamook County’s Early Childhood Screening Fair

In April, I joined health professions trainees from both the MCH Nutrition training program and our sister program, Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental and Related Disabilities (LEND), for an early childhood health screening fair at the Tillamook County Fairgrounds. While Tillamook is likely most famous for its cheese and ice cream production, it’s also a rural county with an estimated 26,000 people located on the northwest Oregon coast.

For three days every spring parents of pre-school aged children can bring their kids to the fairgrounds to receive physical, nutrition, hearing, vision, child development, behavior, dental, speech and lead screenings at no charge. I was fortunate to be able to volunteer with the nutrition screening program for two days this year.

We saw about 40 kids, mostly between the ages of 3-5 years old, during the two-day period. At the nutrition screening, we had a representative from the Tillamook County WIC program, as most families who attend the screening event are low-income and previously or currently eligible for WIC. Oregon State University Cooperative Extension was also on hand to lead children in making their own trail mix and handing out budget-friendly recipes that can also be found on their excellent Food Hero website.

Families were asked to fill out 24-hour diet records for each child prior to the event, and as nutrition trainees our primary role was reviewing the diet records, anthropometric data, and results from iron finger prick tests with the parents and to answer any nutrition-related questions. We were able to work with Spanish-speaking families through an interpreter, and help to address nutrition-related concerns on maximizing SNAP benefits and the special concerns of children with Down syndrome and type 1 diabetes.

We also led children in an activity using laminated food cards, asking them to put together a meal using a re-creation of MyPlate. Our biggest lesson learned in working with pre-schoolers on nutrition education is their tendency to separate foods by color rather than food group, but we ended up with some fairly balanced meals nonetheless.

Overall, this was a great experience to add to our training year and I especially enjoyed being able to interact with so many families in such a short amount of time.

-Becky Johnson, MCH Nutrition Trainee, Oregon Health & Science University

OHSU (Western Partner) Trainee Spotlight: Natalie Damen

Natalie Damen is an MCH trainee from Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Oregon. She is a second-year graduate student in the combined Masters of Science in Human Nutrition and Dietetic Internship program. Natalie received her undergraduate degree in Nutrition from California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.  In this blog post, she features her thesis research.

 

Eating For Two: Dietary Intake During Pregnancy and Infant Body Composition

The question of should pregnant women really be “eating for two” has been in the media, textbooks, and even passed down through families and generations for years. The developmental origins of health and disease hypothesis have helped shape what we now know about the prenatal environment and risk of chronic disease later in life. Recent evidence has also specifically linked infant body composition at birth to an increased risk of adult chronic disease. The goal of my research is to investigate the association between maternal dietary fat intake during pregnancy and infant body composition at birth.

My research includes 79 healthy pregnant women with a singleton gestation who were enrolled at 12 to 16 weeks gestation. The 2005 Block Food Frequency questionnaire was used to assess dietary intake at 12-16 weeks, 24-28 weeks, and 37 weeks gestation. Infant anthropometry and flank skinfold measurements were taken within 24 hours of birth, and then the Catalano equation was used to calculate infant fat mass.

After analyzing preliminary results, I submitted an abstract to present at the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) Nutrition 2018 conference. My abstract was just recently accepted for a poster presentation, and I will be traveling to Boston, MA this June to share my research with other nutrition scientists. I am excited for this opportunity to network with other nutrition professionals and learn more about cutting-edge nutrition research.

Specific dietary recommendations for pregnant women for quantity and quality of dietary fat intake are lacking. I am hopeful that my results expand our current knowledge of maternal dietary intake and infant body composition, and will help inform the optimal maternal diet for beneficial birth outcomes. I am looking forward to seeing how the USDA Dietary Guidelines for Americans develop over the next few years to possibly see pregnant women included for the first time in the 2020-2025 guidelines.

-Natalie Damen, MCH Nutrition Trainee, Oregon Health and Science University

CSU (Western Partner) Trainee Spotlight: Cameron Herritt

Cameron is an MCH Nutrition trainee at Colorado State University.  He is currently completing his Masters of Public Health in Physical Activity and Healthy Lifestyles with a focus on adolescent nutrition.  This post entails the research that he conducts on the National School Lunch Program and the associated food waste. 

Improving NSLP Programs Through Food Waste Data Collection and Food Systems Education

The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is one of the most influential food delivery programs for adolescent and child health in the United States.  Providing food for approximately 30 million children every day around the country is no small feat.  To help support that program, the USDA, along with many other organizations, conduct research to improve program efficiency, child food acceptance, and nutritional standards.  The research I have had the privilege to work with throughout my master’s program involves the selection, consumption, and waste of foods provided in the school meal program.  Improving what goes on the plate is the first critical step to improving nutrition in schools; however, the next significant step is improving student consumption of those foods.

The goal of the research project I work with, Healthy Planet Healthy Youth, is to investigate, implement and evaluate strategies for food waste reduction and food recovery in Northern Colorado public schools while concomitantly improving student diet quality.  I have had the opportunity to interview kitchen managers, nutrition services directors and other team members with influence on the management of the NSLP at the local level.  We have conducted observations in schools to assess waste levels and to determine opportunities for improvement as well as sharing techniques and best practices that decrease food waste in schools.  We are also conducting a student educational intervention to see if food systems education will influence student diet quality and/or waste volume in middle schools lunchrooms. Lastly, we are also investigating the use of share tables as a means to reduce landfill disposal of food and address child food insecurity.

Working on this research project has provided me with many skills that I plan to use in my career, including creating opportunities for community collaboration in data collection and research.  We recognize that the populations we work with are the actual experts and that first-hand opinions and experiences with the problems are critical for making effective programs and enacting positive change.  I look forward to utilizing these skills and the knowledge gained in this research to improve programs for our most vulnerable populations, most specifically, of course, our MCH populations.

-Cameron Herritt, MCH Nutrition Trainee, Colorado State University