Department News

DFPM-RED’s Dr. Leanne Whiteside-Mansell, Dr. Daniel A. Knight, LaTunja Sockwell, and Cindy Crone have been awarded funding from Gilead Investigator Sponsored Research.

This project will implement HIV education within Pulaski County Drug Court (PCDC) one of 43 Arkansas Adult Drug Courts (ADC). The training was developed in collaboration with the Arkansas Department of Health but will be modified to include clinical preventive options such as oral Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) and risk of Hep C. The training, titled Embracing Healthy Love (EHL), has been piloted and continues in two northwest Arkansas drug courts by RED including Isis Martel.

$248,543; 18 months of funding – community health work to be hired, part time RA and trainer.

DFPM-RED’s LaTunja Sockwell applied and was awarded a very competitive travel award from AIDSWatch!  She is one of 50 nationally awarded!

AIDSWatch is the largest annual national constituent-based advocacy event focused on HIV policy in the United States. The event draws hundreds of people living with HIV (PLHIV) and their allies to Washington, DC for two days to educate Members of Congress and their staff about HIV. Participants will receive training on legislative priorities, relevant research that supports them, and how to conduct effective meetings with their elected representatives.

https://www.aidsunited.org/Policy-0024-Advocacy/AIDSWatch.aspx

DFPM RED team members attended Tuesday’s Health Fair at Pike View Early Childhood Center in North Little Rock. We represented RED’s WISE program with Windy WISE the Owl bringing fruits and vegetable food choices for kids and parents.  We also were there on behalf of RED’s HIV/STD prevention efforts!

A recent paper (Published online: 22 Jun 2017) from DFPM RED researchers brings new statistics into the world of community-based evaluation.  The study used non-inferiority testing to examine the relationship between obesity and food security in children aged 3 to 5 years.

While traditionally used in pharmacology, this approach has found a niche in measuring equality between groups to conclude children suffering from food insecurity experience rates of obesity equivalent to or above food secure peers.  Having answered the relationship between obesity and food security, studies can move forward in the areas of food quality and other reasons underlying the high rates of obesity among starving youth.

ARTICLE: Application of Noninferiority Tests to Examine the Food Insecurity–Obesity Relationship in Children

Taren Swindle, Shalese Fitzgerald, Lorraine M. McKelvey & Leanne Whiteside-Mansell
Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition

DFPM RED Faculty member Nikki Edge, Ph.D., (Associate Professor, Department of Family and Preventative Medicine) was recently added to the UAMS College of Medicine’s Research Council.  The members of the new Research Council were recently announced by Richard P. Morrison, Ph.D. – Executive Associate Dean for Research | UAMS | College of Medicine.

DFPM RED has recently participated in Arkansas’ 5th Annual Conference on Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Disorders held on Thursday, September 14, 2017. On Wednesday, September 6, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson declared the month of September to be FASD Awareness Month in Arkansas. The official proclamation was presented to DFPM RED Research Associate Angela Kyzer and Outreach Coordinator Annemarie McGahagan. The proclamation was presented by None for Nine task force Vice President, Carol Rangel. Kyzer was also recognized for her work on the Taskforce, of which she is a member. Awards were also given to DFPM RED team members Mark Currey and Alicia Hamilton for work connected to None for Nine.

A recently published DFPM RED study examines the Effects of Maternal Depression Symptoms and Alcohol Use Problems

 on Child Internalizing and Externalizing Behavior Problems. The study, which included DFPM RED faculty Nikki Edge, Ph.D. and Lorraine McKelvey, Ph.D., examined the impact of maternal depression and alcohol use problems on children’s behavior problems over a period of five years. The study included 1,874 Head Start eligible families. The study highlights the importance of understanding and treating various kinds of behavioral health concerns in mothers of young children.

Read the full, published article.

A recent paper from DFPM RED published in the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior looks at studies on factors associated with nutrition practices in early care and education settings. The article suggests that these studies often focus on sociodemographic and programmatic characteristics. This qualitative study adapted and applied Dr. Jay Belsky’s determinants of parenting model to inform a broader exploration of Early Care and Education Teachers (ECETs) practices.  The RED study finds that the influence of ECET developmental histories and their related beliefs can be addressed through professional development and ongoing support. Future study should quantify model constructs in a larger sample and study their relationships over time.

Swindle, T., Patterson, Z., Boden, C. A Qualitative Application of the Belsky Model to Explore Early Care and Education Teachers’ Mealtime History, Beliefs, and Interactions. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior