Iowa Ag Connection - 'Latinos Living Well' Program Making Big Impact in Iowa

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'Latinos Living Well' Program Making Big Impact in Iowa
Iowa Ag Connection - 04/29/2016

Diabetes affects millions of people, with more being diagnosed each year. As the disease becomes more widespread, including among Iowa's rural Latino population, the need for diabetes education and prevention assistance is increasing.

Sarah Francis, a human sciences state specialist in nutrition and wellness, and associate professor at Iowa State University, saw this need and created "Latinos Living Well." ISU Extension and Outreach offers this diabetes education and prevention program for Latinos in rural areas. The four-session program is taught in Spanish and focuses on learning about diabetes, how to prevent diabetes and how to live healthier overall.

"Latinos Living Well" is an adaptation of the "Dining with Diabetes" program and focuses on rural Latino populations in Iowa. Francis received a USDA NIFA Rural Health and Safety Education grant to do a research pilot of this program to see if the adaptation would be effective. Her goal is to reach 100 Iowans with "Latinos Living Well," which has extended into a second year of its pilot.

Francis is being assisted by Barbara Fuller, Renee Sweers, Mary Krisco, Holly Van Heel and Nancy Clark, all human sciences field specialists in nutrition and wellness. They are offering the "Latinos Living Well" program throughout Iowa.

"Diabetes and prediabetes in Latino populations is pretty high," said Fuller. "To prevent diabetes, or to help those who already have it, we wanted to really focus on healthy eating and healthy living."

The need for diabetes education is high and there aren't many programs offered fully in Spanish in Iowa, said Krisco. "Latinos Living Well" is meeting that need as well as helping to improve the health of Iowans.

Each session is about two hours long and includes information on nutrition and actually cooking dishes. The session starts with a discussion of goals and a lesson and then transitions into time spent preparing and tasting healthy recipes, said Clark. All recipes are culturally relevant as well.

"'Latinos Living Well' is very much a hands on class," said Krisco. "Basically we are helping people understand how to adapt to a healthier lifestyle to prevent diabetes."

Each session also includes an activity and a bit of physical fitness to get those who are participating up and active.

"They are not just sitting around listening," said Fuller, "they are participating."

Over the course of its pilot, "Latinos Living Well" has been a great success and has proven to be effective.

"People were so excited for this program," said Van Heel. "I had five women for the first week; the second week they invited their extended families, so I had 11 adults there."

"Really anyone can benefit from participating in this program," said Sweers. "'Latinos Living Well' is for people of any age and is perfect for families."

Maria Saldana, a participant in "Latinos Living Well" held by Krisco, is an example of how this program is benefiting Iowans. Saldana saw the great value in the information being provided and applied the knowledge and skills she gained though the program to lose 60 pounds. She took this program to heart and was given the support she needed to make lifestyle changes to better herself and the life of her family, said Krisco.

"All I want to say is thank you very much for the 'Latinos Living Well' program," said Saldana. "This program helped me decide to make a big change in my life."

Saldana enjoyed every part of the "Latinos Living Well" program and encourages others to participate in this program as well.

Many other participants are starting to follow in Saldana's footsteps, making lifestyle changes to benefit themselves and their families. They are seeing that a healthy life style is something that can be achieved.

"They feel more empowered on how they can improve their health without having to take drugs and/or spend a lot of money," said Sweers. "They are seeing through healthier eating and being more active that they can greatly improve their health."

One of the big reasons "Latinos Living Well" is so successful is the connections and partnerships that are being made within these rural Iowa communities. Part of the mission at ISU Extension and Outreach is to create and build partnerships and "Latinos Living Well" has allowed a great partnership to form within the Latino community, said Clark.

Moving forward, all specialists hope to achieve the goal of reaching 100 Latinos in Iowa and look toward expanding this program statewide. There is public value in the "Latinos Living Well" program and the specialists hope to share this program with more Iowans.

"I have been getting feedback from other non-rural counties asking, 'When is that program coming here?'" said Van Heel.

Latinos in these rural areas are seeing a difference in themselves and are practicing health promoting behaviors that are improving their overall health and wellbeing, explained Clark. They also are thankful for the "Latinos Living Well" program.

"Latinos Living Well" will finish its pilot this summer and work on moving forward.

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