Promoting Linguistic and Cultural Identity through Bilingual Children's Stories to Address Nutrition and Health in Indigenous Communities

项目摘要 来自美国印第安人和阿拉斯加原住民（AI/AN）背景的儿童在美国的经历 不成比例的健康差距，包括糖尿病、肥胖和龋齿的高发病率， 所有其他团体。从传统饮食到现代饮食的历史性营养转变， 饱和脂肪、胆固醇和钠是导致老年人健康状况较低的一个独特因素。 这些社区。然而，土著青年不仅面临重大的健康挑战，而且 在学校和社区环境中面临社会文化障碍，这些障碍削弱了土著民族的重要性。 身份越来越多的研究表明，通过土著语言和文化赋予青年权力 身份发展和社区确认土著知识体系，可以改善 健康成果。 使用社区参与框架，该项目将开发一个平台，用于创建，分发和 土著家庭使用土著人编写的有关健康、营养和 传统食品。其结果将是一个充满活力的图书馆，双语儿童电子书在美洲土著语言 及英语，并辅以互动活动，促进亲子对话及共读。我们将 * 与土著社区组织合作，建立定制的执行工具包，并评估 在一个多月的混合方法试点研究中使用这些资源的有效性。为配合 新出现的证据表明，语言和文化参与与改善健康有关，我们将 评估参与书籍和活动的程度将与（1） 增加与语言和文化身份的联系;（2）提高对健康的积极态度 饮食;（3）更频繁的亲健康行为，如选择更健康的食物。

PROJECT SUMMARY Children from American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) backgrounds in the United States experience disproportionate health disparities, including high rates of diabetes, obesity, and dental caries, when compared to all other groups. The historial nutrition transition from a traditional diet to a more contemporary diet that is high in saturated fats, cholesterol, and sodium presents a unique factor that has contributed to the lower health status of these communities. However, not only do indigenous youth experience significant health challenges, but they also face socio-cultural barriers in school and community settings that undermine the importance of their Native identity. A growing body of research suggests that youth empowerment through Native language and culture identity development, and community validation of the indigenous knowledge system, can result in improved health outcomes. Using a community engagement framework, this project will develop a platform for the creation, distribution, and consumption of Native-authored, bilingual resources for indigenous families related to health, nutrition, and traditional foods. The result will be a library of dynamic, bilingual children’s ebooks in Native American languages and English, with accompanying interactive activities to promote parent-child dialog and co-reading. We will work with indigenous community-based organizations to build customized implementation toolkits and evaluate the effectiveness of using these resources over a multi-month mixed-methods pilot study. In line with the emerging evidence positing that linguistic and cultural engagement is associated with improved health, we will evaluate the extent to which the level of engagement with the books and activities will be associated with (1) increased connection to one’s linguistic and cultural identity; (2) elevated positive attitudes toward healthy eating; and (3) higher frequency of pro-health behaviors such as making healthier food choices.