Women Live (Private Event)

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Hosted by American Indian Health Service of Chicago

Date: 5/12/2013 - 5/18/2013

Location:
Chicago
4085 N Broadway
Chicago, IL 60613

Description: The Women Live program seeks to address the health needs of American Indian women by recruiting and training key social leaders to promote better nutrition among American Indian women living in Chicago. The program will empower Native American women to live healthier lives, and thus influence their families and communities to take steps to improve their health. The program enlists multiple strategies to meet the goal of empowering women to achieve healthier lifestyles. The first is a strategy of engaging popular opinion leaders to teach their peers about healthy lifestyle choices focusing on nutrition and physical activity. American Indian Health Service of Chicago (AIHSC) staff will recruit three to five American Indian women who are key social leaders in the community. These are women that may or may not hold official positions of power, but who are well-liked and trusted by others in the community. Women who prepare food for community events will be specifically targeted for this initiative. The women will be trained by AIHSC staff to talk to their peers about food labels and nutrition. The peer educators will host eight gatherings of American Indian women (ages 15-70) over a ten week period. The gatherings can be hosted either in the home of the peer educators or in a central community location, such as the American Indian Center. The peer educators will work with AIHSC staff to identify between six and eight women that will attend the gatherings during the ten week period. Prior to the gathering the peer educator will attend a training session at AIHSC where they will learn the skills necessary to teach their fellow community members about nutritional labels. Together the peer educators and AIHSC staff will create an agenda for the gatherings, this will ensure educational needs are met and the material maintains a cultural focus. The gathering will involve the sharing of five traditional and healthy meals. The peer educator will provide information on the nutrition labels for ingredients found in the foods being served, and this will serve as basis for further the nutrition label education lesson plan created by the peer educators and AIHSC staff. Gatherings can be team taught by an AIHSC staff member and community peer educator, or taught solely by a peer educator with AIHSC available for support. The program will be evaluated with pre and post testing on factual information discussed during gatherings. Assessment will also include pre and post questioning of participants on the importance they place on reading food labels when selecting food. The intent of the program is an increase in knowledge. All participants will receive a compilation cook book of recipes used during the gatherings. This program will give women the knowledge, skills, confidence, and support they need to make healthier lifestyle choices. By providing education of, skills in, and access to healthier eating, Women Live will empower participants to make needed changes to create healthier lifestyles and families.

This is a private event and is not open to the general public.

Fee: This is a free event

Event activity/topic: Nutrition

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Content last updated April 12, 2013.