We are all in full-swing data collection and entry mode, and it is keeping everyone extremely busy! It’s hard work, but it’s fun, too! And who can resist all of the beautiful smiles on the children’s faces. In addition to the data collection, we’ve had some great successes with several of our CHL scholars graduating, CHL scholars and investigators receiving recognition of their excellence at the annual EB meeting, and the CNMI team received a prestigious award from WHO. I am very proud to be a member of the CHL Team and I offer my congratulations to everyone!
Best,
Rachael Leon-Guerrero, PhD, R.D.
Guam Co-PI, Children’s Healthy Living Program
From the CHL Program
There are a lot of good things happening within the CHL program. Our top story is about us sharing our information at the Experimental Biology meeting. Then we cover progress of three of our CHL scholars . . .
The Children’s Healthy Living Program was well represented at the recent Experimental Biology (EB) Meeting, held in Boston, MA from March 28-April 1. In total, 16 CHL related presentations were given; 10 posters, 6 oral presentations, with topics ranging from comparisons of food prices obtained from the Food Cost Survey (Greenberg), data collected from the baseline CAT survey (Fialkowski, Cuz-Talbert), baseline data from the Food and Activity Logs (FALs) (Boushey, Ettienne), baseline data from the Prevalence survey and “Other Forms” (Li, Novotny, Esquivel), as well jurisdiction specific CHL programs/ efforts (Paulino, Power, Aflague) .
We would like to highlight three members of our CHL family: Dr. Monica Esquivel (CHL Trainee-Hawaii) was a finalist at the American Society for Nutrition (ASN) Emerging Leaders in Nutrition Science Poster competition for graduate students in the Nutritional Epidemiology Research Interest Section (RIS). There were 15 different RIS categories and two winners for each (post-doc/fellow or graduate) category. 25 poster entries were selected for the competition. Another ASN member, Dr. Marie Fialkowski, was selected as one of five finalists for the ASN Young Minority Investigator Oral Competition. Elise Dela Cruz-Talbert, CHL Graduate Student, was a recipient of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB) Maximizing Access to Research Careers (MARC) travel award, meant to promote the entry of students, and scientists from underrepresented groups into the mainstream of the basic science, as well as encourage participation at EB. We extend congratulations to these three ladies as well as all CHL EB presenters. The CHL EB 2015 presentations will be made available at the CHL Annual Meeting to be held in Honolulu this June 2015.
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Dr. Monica Esquivel’s experience in the CHL program. I have been so fortunate to be in the Nutrition PhD program at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa as a CHL trainee. During my time as a CHL trainee I have been able to participate in a variety of CHL activities, in addition to my dissertation research which also supported the CHL intervention. In the past three years I have traveled to the neighbor islands to collect individual child data and conduct community assessments, participated in the intervention in Hawai‘i with activities like sharing fruit infused water samples at events like Farmers Markets and Ohana work days as well as met with various community organizations to support child health promotion. It is exciting to have contributed to sharing of the data collected by CHL that I assisted in collecting at baseline, with different community members. The program also provided me an opportunity to learn more about communities and culture in other Pacific Islands and foster relationships with the other CHL trainees, who I am sure I will continue to partner with in the future.I recently successfully defended my dissertation at the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa. It was a great experience. In addition to my committee members, my fellow classmates and faculty from the College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources (CTAHR) and some of our CHL community partners were in attendance. It was great to have their support as I shared my research.
Looking forward I am excited to submit chapters of my dissertation to scientific journals for publication, as well as continuing to work here in Hawai‘i. I have applied for some various grants, including a USDA post-doctoral grant, to continue some of my work in Head Start preschools. I also wanted to take this time to mention how lucky I have been to have the support of not only the Head Start community here on Oahu, but also my husband, family, and friends for their encouragement and confidence in me throughout this process.
Dr. Tanisha Aflague’s experience in the CHL program. Representing one of two CHL Trainees for the Guam jurisdiction has been an honor and a privilege, especially returning to the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (UHM) to continue my education. The CHL program and the UHM allowed me to embrace my culture and background, as well as, explore novel approaches to Pacific research and foster my passion for helping people. As a CHL trainee, I have had the opportunity to observe or be included in several aspects of the CHL program to include planning, training, implementing, evaluating, and disseminating in Guam and Hawaiʻi. Although away from my home jurisdiction, my dissertation and CHL project took place in Guam, my home jurisdiction, over the summers. For this reason, my educational experience as a CHL trainee was unique, as well as, enhanced. Additionally, having advisors in Guam, Hawaiʻi, and abroad provided me with exceptional support near and far that helped me to defend my dissertation in three years. Moreover, the opportunity to conduct research in Guam demonstrated one of the CHL missions to fill the research gap in Pacific island communities and build capacity. As I near graduation, I am pursuing career opportunities that I would not have had without CHL.
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Lenora Matane’s, MS, experience in the CHL program. The past three years have been a blessing of many sorts, thanks to the CHL Training Program and its many affiliates. In this time, I have acquired many skills both as a student and as a professional in the field of nutrition and dietetics. My graduate coursework has expanded my knowledge base, and has given me the background to develop questions for my thesis research. With the focus of my research being on Guam, I have been able to go out into the community and collect data with the help of the CHL Guam team, as well as participate in data entry for Guam at baseline, specifically with the Food and Activity Logs. In addition, I have been able to collect geographic coordinate data of community food stores and participants on Guam to conduct ArcGIS mapping analyses. This has been a unique opportunity for me and my research, as it has allowed me to delve into a relatively new realm of nutrition research that required interdisciplinary collaboration.
Earlier this year, I successfully defended my thesis at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa. This was a great accomplishment for me, as I had been building up my presentation confidence in preparation for my defense. And to validate my excitement about the incorporation of ArcGIS mapping in my research, questions and comments from attendees pointed out potential interest and possibilities with using ArcGIS in future research in our CHL jurisdictions.
Aside from my thesis research, I have been fortunate enough to spearhead a project under Dr. Marie Kainoa Fialkowski titled, “The Pacific Food Guide: the Children’s Healthy Living Program Resource for Nutrition”. With this project, I have been able to work with various members and affiliates of CHL throughout our region. As the Pacific Food Guide continues to grow and evolve, I will be happy to contribute in some capacity and also be happy just knowing that I played a key role in its initial development.
Lastly, I am grateful for the continuous support of CHL to pursue my goal of becoming a Registered Dietitian and go home with all these skills and giant network of professionals throughout our Pacific Region. Surely, this has been a rewarding experience that does not only benefit me directly, but that hopefully benefits my home community in Guam through my work and service in the years to come.
Alaska
CHL Team Alaska
The CHL Alaska team kicked off intervention activities in the Mat-Su Community by coalition building. In March, key stakeholders were invited to a working lunch sponsored by CHL and Mat-Su CCS Early Learning to talk about needs and priorities surrounding young child health in the community. Representatives from Cooperative Extension, Mat-Su Services for Children and Adults, Public Health, thread, the State Farm to School Program, and the Food Bank were in attendance. As a group, we identified existing programs in the community related to healthy living, potential partners, and ways to expand on these established efforts. We brainstormed a new and sustainable campaign slogan for upcoming CHL efforts: “Mat-Su STRONG, Growing healthy families.” We hope to work with each organization in different capacities to promote the CHL message throughout the community.
In April, CHL attended the Mat-Su Family Festival in Palmer sponsored by the Early Childhood Partnership of Mat-Su. The event was attended by several hundred community members. To promote water consumption, the CHL team offered free tastes of flavored water and gave away water bottles to all passersby. The team also set-up a sugar-shocker display showing how many teaspoons of sugar different popular sweetened drinks contain. To promote physical activity, the CHL team gave away beach balls and activity spinners displaying the Mat-Su STRONG slogan. We are now working to identify partners who can sustain such efforts throughout the summer and beyond.
American Samoa
CHL Team American Samoa
Since early January, the CHL team in American Samoa has had a demanding, yet very eventful measurement schedule. Prior to measurements beginning in early March, the CHL team shared baseline preliminary data reports and completed readiness assessments with both optimized communities. Measurements are nearing completion in both of its optimized villages and the team is rapidly approaching the finish line in both temporal communities. To date, more than 74% of measurements have been completed in Tafuna village, which is one of two temporal communities. Measurements in Pava‘ia‘i village, which is the other temporal community, will begin during the first week of May with a goal of finishing by the second week of May. Furthermore, measurements have begun in one of the intervention communities (Utusia – Faga’itua) and the team expects to wrap things up by May 19th in that community before moving to the second and final intervention community of Leloaloa/Aua.
The team gives all thanks and glory to God who reigns in heaven. As the psalmist wrote in Psalm 115:1a,
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us,
But to Your name give glory,
The glory and thanks is ascribed to God for He has provided team American Samoa with the strength and health to continue working even through the midst of losing several team members. Even though the workload during measurements has remained unchanged since baseline, the team thanks God for answering daily prayers for increased faith, strength, and endurance to press on until measurements are complete in American Samoa.
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
CHL Team Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands
DATA, DATA, DATA! In preparation for the 24-month measurements, the CNMI CHL Team partnered up with Marianas Health Service to conduct follow-up measurements. Marianas Health Service was tasked with conducting the actual measurements while the CNMI CHL Team was responsible for recruitment. This relationship proved to be extremely beneficial as it allowed CHL staff to concentrate on the intervention piece of the study along with data inputting. [Oh, and we also picked up a prestigious award from WHO, check out that story here.]
The measurement team was IRB certified prior to attending the standardization training with Drs. Rachel Novotny and Marie Fialkowski. Through the standardization training, we were able to develop 4 teams of measurers and recorders. Establishing 4 measurement teams made it easier to conduct multiple measurement sessions at various locations. We were able to enroll parents quickly during scheduled parent orientation in the school setting.
From Mid-January to the end of April we were able to consent 795 kids throughout our temporal and non-temporal communities.
| Communities | Consent forms | FALs | Acticals |
| Koblerville | 166 | 150 | 136 |
| Oleai | 91 | 87 | 85 |
| Kagman | 96 | 84 | 92 |
| TASA | 112 | 111 | 105 |
| Garapan | 144 | N/A | N/A |
| Tinian & Rota | 186 | N/A | N/A |
| TOTALS | 795 | 432 | 418 |
Because of flight schedules our measurement teams had to spend 4 days each on the remote islands of Tinian and Rota. But the undertaking was well worth it. We were able to meet our quota of 180 and a few extra.
Unfortunately an unexpected tropical storm in March along with a few other unforeseen glitches in our partner schools schedules will require us to return to some of our communities for further measurements.
In addition to our partnership with Marianas Health, we were able to partner with the NMC CREES 4H Program to provide activities for the children while parents completed all the necessary documents. The kids enjoyed the activities. And the parents enjoyed the calmness of the environment.
We are pleased to report 795 kids have been measured. With the help of our partners and role models, we hope to finish the 24-month measurement by mid-June. GO DATA, GO DATA, YAY DATA!!
Freely Associated States of Micronesia
CHL Team Freely Associated States
The FAS team joined forces with a local Chuuk team assembled by Moria Shomour (CHL Outreach Assistant) to conduct the Chuuk prevalence survey. Kimo Castro and Lillian Billimon, Chuuk CHL trainees, joined the team visited Islands within the lagoon traveling by boat, pickup truck and by foot through the mangrove swamps. The Chuuk people graciously welcomed the team to Tol, Tonoas, Uman, and Weno.
Guam
CHL Team Guam
The Guam CHL team is back in full swing during the 24-month data collection phase of the project. Our goal is to measure 180 children from the ages of 2 to 10 in the villages of Yigo, Yona/Talofofo, Agat/Santa Rita, Agana Heights/Sinajana, and Dededo.
In order for the team to accomplish this task, multiple meetings have taken place with our community partners such as the village mayors and their staff, school administrators, nurses, teachers, storeowners, and priests in the villages. Our community partners have been instrumental in providing the venues to conduct the measurements, as well as disseminating flyers in the community to recruit participants. As a result, the team has been able to measure numerous children in different areas in the communities such as the Agana Heights Senior Citizen Center, Harry S. Truman Elementary School, Pagachao Community Center, Sagan Bisita, Santa Rita Senior Citizen Center, and Sinajana Community Center. The Guam CHL team would like to express our appreciation to all our community partners and members that continue to support and participate in the CHL program.
Hawai‘i
CHL Team Hawai‘i
The Hawai‘i Recruitment and Measurement teams are back on the road again! Since January 2015 they have been going to community events and classrooms collecting 24 month measurements. It is hard to believe that 24 months have gone by so quickly! It seems like yesterday that we were loading up the equipment, measuring keiki and placing Acticals. We have conducted measurements in various settings both indoors and out. From Head Start classrooms to baseball fields, the CHL team is ready to go and can adapt to many settings! We would like to thank the CHL staff who makes the measurement process fun for the keiki! Lead by Mira Sharma (measurement team coordinator) and Al Tachibana (recruitment team coordinator) the CHL team is positive and upbeat. We are glad to have Jim Donahue and Kathryn Roberts back on the team and would like to welcome the following new members to the measurement team. From Hilo: Valzey Freitas, Kanoenanni Ishibashi, and Dayna Jones. From Wailuku: Camille Haili Mariam. From Oahu: Sheryll Bonilla, Suzanne Downey, Ruth Faioso Le‘au, Robbie Peyton, and Suresh Tamang. The recruitment team would also like to welcome Kathy Giffard (Nanakuli/Maili) and Kaulana Finai (Wailuku). Both women are active members in their communities and a welcome addition to the team. The team is working hard to complete the measures by summer. Again, we would like to send out big MAHALO to our community partners that have been so helpful in recruiting keiki and their parents to participate in our program!
