Preventing Heart Disease Among American Indian and Alaska Native Youth: A School-Based Curriculum

University of Washington: Health Promotion Research Center

Topics:
Cardiovascular Health | Nutrition & Physical Activity for Youth | School Health

The rate of premature deaths from heart disease among American Indians and Alaska Natives under age 65 is higher than that of African Americans and non-Hispanic white Americans. However, most conventional heart disease prevention efforts urging this population’s youth to abstain from tobacco use, improve nutrition, and increase physical activity have not been effective. Project collaborators are designing and evaluating a school-based health education curriculum for students in 7th through 12th grade. The intervention uses several instructional strategies to help American Indian and Alaska Native youth promote health and recognize and avoid unhealthy behaviors. The teaching methods and materials are adapted to learning styles common among American Indian and Alaska Native students—that is, the curriculum is visual, experiential, holistic, and collaborative. Students will explore the role of media in promoting unhealthy behaviors and view videos showing American Indian and Alaska Native actors who support healthy lifestyles. They will learn and practice skills to resist peer pressure, and work together to plan and carry out projects that support at least one individual and one environmental change (such as improving individual eating habits and working with school administrators to provide more nutritious cafeteria meals.) In discussions, students learn how health issues are relevant to them and how the group can support attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that promote healthy lifestyles. The intervention will be evaluated at three sites where American Indian and Native Alaska students live: a large metropolitan area, a small town located near several reservations, and a reservation. The project team is training teachers at middle and high schools in these areas how to effectively use the curriculum and integrate it into their classes. Evaluators will compare before and after measures of students’ knowledge of and attitudes toward heart disease, their body mass index, dietary habits, and physical activity levels. If effective, center staff will develop a dissemination plan to share the curriculum with interested schools.

 

Back to Research Projects