Interventions
WV CARDIAC Project Interventions
With the alarming statistics of the health of our citizens in West Virginia, in addition to the ongoing surveillance of our children, the WV CARDIAC Project realizes the critical need to assist in providing interventional strategies to promote change in health knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of our children and their families.
Our goal is to help provide, through collaboration with others, interventions that will facilitate knowledge, positive attitudes, and desired behaviors in children related to health risk factors - particularly physical activity and nutrition.
Some of our interventions, like Active Academics, were developed and implemented by members of the WV CARDIAC Project team. Others are a direct result of partnerships with well-established programs in the community, such as our collaboration with the WVU Extension Service. We hope that ALL of the intervention programs - whether developed firsthand or as a result of a collaborative effort - will foster a statewide environment that motivates children, families, and communities to take their own steps toward a healthy lifestyle.
Highlighted Interventions:
WV Healthy Kids
WV Healthy Kids is an online instructional lesson for teachers and other leaders of health instruction for youth to implement as part of their classroom health lessons. WV Healthy Kids focuses primarily on physical activity, nutrition, and overall health. In addition to the lesson content, the lesson also includes survey questions related to nutritional intake, physical activity levels, usage of technology for fun, and survey questions related to healthy goal setting. The lesson is designed for use with 5th-8th graders in a variety of settings: academic, health program, or community-based program. The lesson can be done in the classroom or at home.
WV Healthy Kids was created and piloted in May 2021. Teachers that used the lesson during the pilot indicated that WV Healthy Kids is very useful, clearly formatted and simple to navigate, developmentally and age-appropriate, and a resource they would be interested in using again in the future.
Go to www.wvhealthykids.com to visit the lesson. The page also includes instructions for use, lesson objectives, and a preview of the WV Healthy Kids lesson. Preview found here: https://wvhealthykids.com/webapp/static/img/WV-Healthy-Kids-Education-Module-Instructions-expanded-audience-(5th-8th)-9-17-2021.pdf.
Once students enter the site, no personal information will be collected, and only the name of the county and the student's school will be identified.
WVU Extension Family Nutrition Program (FNP)
The WVU Extension Family Nutrition Program (FNP) is comprised of various nutrition, food, and physical activity projects designed to help families, youths, and adults improve their health. FNP targets risk factors associated with obesity, cardiovascular disease, diabetes, hypertension, and other chronic diseases.
FNP encourages healthy lifestyle behaviors by teaching nutrition education using the USDA's MyPlate and Dietary Guidelines; providing food demonstrations; improving access and availability to local community resources; helping participants to stretch their food dollars, plan menus, and read food labels; and encourages participants to devote more time to being physically active.
For more information on the WV FNP and available programs, please visit: https://extension.wvu.edu/food-health/nutrition/fnp.
WV Physical Activity Plan
WV CARDIAC Project team members led the development and dissemination of the statewide WV Physical Activity Plan (WVPAP) in 2012, with a 2nd edition released in January 2016 (Elliott, Jones, Bulger, 2014).
The aim of the plan is to create a statewide culture that facilitates physically active lifestyles in every societal sector and in every region of West Virginia.
More information about ActiveWV: 2020: The West Virginia Physical Activity Plan can be found here: https://wvphysicalactivity.org/.
Active Academics
Active Academics® is a resource for classroom teachers to provide practice physical activity ideas that can be integrated into regular classroom content areas. WVU Extension Health Educators promote Active Academics® by distributing promotional materials to teachers and administrators that highlight how Active Academics can help them meet state mandated policies regarding physical activity. Active Academics® offers a variety of activities for Pre K – 8th grade learners including active lesson ideas to enhance the learning content in math, reading/language arts, health, physical education, science, and social studies; classroom energizers that give students a "moving break" from classroom activities; Recess and lunchtime break activities appropriate for large groups; and physical education enhancement activities for the classroom teacher. Visit www.activeacademics.org for more information.
Active Academics® Professional Development Training Module
Members of the Center for ActiveWV and the College of Applied Human Sciences at West Virginia University have launched a new online professional development resource for teachers, administrators, program coordinators, parents, and others with an interest in promoting physical activity among youth.
This free Active Academics® Training was created to help reach members of our educational communities with a resource to learn about physical activity recommendations and benefits, as well as tips for integrating physical activity in the classroom and throughout the day.The training was developed in response to a changing climate, as more and more learning opportunities are now being offered through virtual platforms.
The development team envisioned this resource as an innovative way to reach individuals nationwide who can use the knowledge and tools to become physical activity advocates in their schools, programs, and communities.
Request access to the training here: Active Academics® Training Request Form.
For more information about the Active Academics® Professional Development training module, please visit: http://activeacademics.org/?pid=64