Pilot Study of a Cross-Sector Partnership to Integrate Inner-City Community College Students into a School Based Health Promotion Program

Abstract

While overweight and obesity continue to be significant public health problems in the United States, especially among minority and disadvantaged youth, there are also many initiatives in the school environment that aim to combat these concerns. The effectiveness of these interventions is of course a major point of interest. This paper describes issues raised in an early-stage cross-sector partnership between a community-based organization (CBO) and an urban community college for tackling obesity in public school children. Seven college students worked as paid interns in the CBO�s New York City Public School-based health promotion program located in the Bronx. As part of the program, college students paired with chefs to educate schoolchildren about healthy eating. This study examines the successes, challenges and lessons learned from the themes that arose in the college students� pre and post surveys and logs, faculty journal entries and notes from a debriefing session with CBO staff. The college students reported multiple successes such as applying their nutrition knowledge, an interest in working in their community and positive changes in some of the schoolchildren�s and college students� eating behaviors. Challenges included a short and chaotic lunch period, which discouraged healthy eating, and a lack of buy-in from the school staff and parents. This study highlights the issue of cultural relatability and the effectiveness of role models originating in the community. When this factor is taken into account, crosssector partnerships, which develop programming to expose individuals to healthy, affordable food, may have a long-term impact on the participants and the community in which they live.