CHECKERBOARD CARDIOVASCULAR CURRICULUM

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This proposal describes a multidisciplinary research project designed to identify effective methods to promote lifestyles and health behaviors conductive to cardiovascular health among rural Southwestern Indian school children, their families and their communities. It is based on the need to recognize and respect the traditions and culture of the people whom it serves, using epidemiologic data from this discrete population and employing approaches specific for the culture and geographic characteristics of that population. It is designed to: l) produce positive changes in the health behaviors of the target population, and 2) provide a model of program development and implementation applicable to other discrete populations. There are three components to the project: First is the development of a school-based curriculum, its implementation and evaluations: the experimental design includes comparison of a control and two experimental conditions, one of which includes peer-assisted teaching. Curricular content includes exercise, nutrition and obesity, the radiovascular system and tobacco use. In addition to school-based education, the project employs outreach activities, including family involvement, community health days, and peer and intergenerational modeling designed to reinforce the children's learning and encourage diffusion of the material to families and communities. Outcome measures will include changes in knowledge and attitudes and especially changes in health behaviors--nutritional habits, tobacco use and exercise. The second component is the collection of demographic and personal- social data which can serve as predictor variables of cardiovascular risk behaviors. Thirdly, this project will collect normative data for this population on known physiologic, anthropometric and psychosocial cardiovascular risk factors. Both of these latter components offer previously unavailable data on a population whose cardiovascular morbidity and mortality are likely to increase as they adopt prevailing social characteristics and behaviors.