Appalachians Together Restoring the Eating Environment (APPAL-TREE)

描述（由申请人提供）：肯塔基州的阿巴拉契亚县被NIMHD确定为关键优先人口，其肥胖和超重率是全国最高的，农产品消费量最低，过早死亡率和饮食相关疾病（如糖尿病、心脏病和各种癌症）的发病率也很高。主要合作伙伴是三个社区组织——社区农场联盟（一个旨在改善粮食生产系统的社区发展组织）。“信仰移山”（一个以社区为基础的研究团队，拥有十年的文化干预经验）和“大桑迪地区开发区”（一个备受尊敬的网络，负责规划、促进和协调阿巴拉契亚地区的区域经济、卫生和社会发展项目）——以及社区咨询委员会（CAB）、信仰合作伙伴和合作推广机构的广泛投入，这一社区-学术伙伴关系建议解决这些主要发病和死亡原因中最可改变的风险因素：次优饮食。在这项为期三年的规划补助金中，社区学术合作计划将推行三项具体目标和相关活动。在目标1中，项目团队将进行社区需求评估和资产盘点，举办社区论坛以介绍这些信息，并定期与社区合作伙伴和社区咨询委员会会面。营养和农业经济联合调查人员将与社区研究小组合作，使用创新和既定的方法，包括地理信息系统制图、焦点小组以及营养和经济评估技术。在目标2中，社区论坛、CAB会议和项目合作伙伴之间的协作参与会议将促进选择和启动以证据为基础的试点干预措施，以促进改善营养，强调食物获取，特别是水果和蔬菜。在目标3中，社区学术合作将实施和评估这一试点干预措施，跟踪营养结果、参与者满意度和成本，并向阿巴拉契亚社区成员报告结果。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): identified as a key priority population by the NIMHD, the Appalachian counties of Kentucky suffer from some of the nation's highest rates of obesity and overweight, lowest rates of produce consumption, and high rates of premature mortality and diet-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and various cancers. With the main partnership of three community-based organizations - the Community Farm Alliance (a community development organization designed to improve food production systems). Faith Moves Mountains (a community-based research team with ten years of culturally-based intervention experience), and the Big Sandy Area Development District (a well-respected network that plans, promotes, and coordinates programs for regional economic, health, and social development of Appalachia) - and with extensive input from the Community Advisory Board (CAB), faith partners, and Cooperative Extension, this community-academic partnership proposes to address the most modifiable risk factor for these main causes of morbidity and mortality: suboptimal diet. In this three-year planning grant, the community-academic collaboration will undertake three specific aims and associated activities. In Aim 1, the project team will conduct a community needs assessment and assets inventory, hold community forums to present this information, and meet regularly with the community partners and CAB. The nutrition and agricultural economic co-investigators will partner with the community research team to use innovative and established methods, including GIS mapping, focus groups, and nutritional and economic assessment techniques. In Aim 2, community forums, CAB meetings, and collaborative engagement sessions among project partners will facilitate the selection and initiation of an evidence-based pilot intervention to promote better nutrition, emphasizing food access, particularly fruits and vegetables. In Aim 3, the community-academic collaborative will implement and evaluate this pilot intervention, tracking nutritional outcomes, participant satisfaction, and costs and reporting results to Appalachian community members. RELEVANCE: By addressing one of the nation's leading public health challenges - poor diet leading to overweight/obesity and subsequent health impacts - in a region (Appalachian Kentucky) suffering extreme disparities in diet and diet-related disease, this project will develop implement, and evaluate a comprehensive approach to dietary change by increasing access to healthy foods.