The aim of the project is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptance of a teaching kitchen program as a worksite wellness program at Emory University
The teaching kitchen model is an innovative, multidisciplinary approach for motivating and establishing healthful habits and behaviors. The self-care program combines didactic information with experiential learning in nutrition, culinary arts, exercise, yoga, and mindfulness. The aim of the project is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptance of teaching kitchen program as a worksite wellness program at Emory University. Changes in biomarkers and self-reported behaviors will be evaluated up to one year.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
PREVENTION
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
41
The teaching kitchen program will include five 4-hour Saturday classes every other weekend over the course of 10 weeks (5 sessions totaling 20 hours of instruction). It will be taught by subject matter experts from the Emory University faculty and staff as well as potentially from the community. The classes will include the scientific rationale, practical applications, and recommendations for implementing self-care components into participants' daily lives. Experiential learning will include hands-on cooking demonstrations, mindfulness-based lunches, a yoga session, and a group exercise session. Rather than being prescriptive, the lectures and demonstrations are geared to inspire self-designed and personalized alterations in dietary patterns and behaviors that will match participants' culture, preferences, and health conditions. Biometrics and survey instruments will be assessed at 4 times: at baseline, after the 10-week program, and at 6 and 12 months after the program.
Emory Clinic
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Percent of enrolled participants attending 2-week visit
Program attendance will be assessed by calculating percent of enrolled participants completing the program visits
Time frame: 2-week visit
Percent of enrolled participants attending 4-week visit
Program attendance will be assessed by calculating percent of enrolled participants completing the program visits
Time frame: 4-week visit
Percent of enrolled participants attending 6-week visit
Program attendance will be assessed by calculating percent of enrolled participants completing the program visits
Time frame: 6-week visits
Percent of enrolled participants attending 8-week visit
Program attendance will be assessed by calculating percent of enrolled participants completing the program visits
Time frame: 8-week visit
Percent of participants completing the program
Program completion will be assessed by calculating percent of participants completing the program
Time frame: 10-week visit
Change in RAND Health 36-Item scale score
RAND Health 36-Item scale is used to evaluate global health, quality of life, and presenteeism. All items are scored so that a high score defines a more favorable health state. In addition, each item is scored on a 0 to 100 range so that the lowest and highest possible scores are 0 and 100, respectively. Scores represent the percentage of total possible score achieved.
Time frame: Baseline, 10-week, and 6 and 12 months after the program
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Change in frequency of absence from work
A single question will be asked about the frequency of absence from work
Time frame: Baseline, 10-week, and 6 and 12 months after the program
Change in percent body fat
Body composition will be measured by seca medical Body Composition Analyzer (mBCA) 515. This device utilizes 8-point Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis to assess percent body fat. This is a non-invasive technique, taking about two minutes, that requires standing on a scale.
Time frame: Baseline, 10-week, and 6 and 12 months after the program
Change in BMI
Body Mass Index (BMI) is a person's weight in kilograms divided by the square of height in meters.
Time frame: Baseline, 10-week, and 6 and 12 months after the program
Change in systolic blood pressure
Blood pressure will be measured using blood pressure monitor
Time frame: Baseline, 10-week, and 6 and 12 months after the program
Change in diastolic blood pressure
Blood pressure will be measured using blood pressure monitor
Time frame: Baseline, 10-week, and 6 and 12 months after the program
Change in Dietary Intake score
Dietary Intake will be assessed using the 8-item Starting The Conversation brief dietary assessment and intervention tool for health professionals. Response options for the survey items are organized into three columns: the left column indicates the most healthful dietary practices (scored 0); the center column indicates less healthful practices (scored 1); and the right column indicates the least healthful practices (scored 2). Item scores are added to create a summary score (range 0-16), with lower summary scores reflecting a more healthful diet and higher scores reflecting the greatest room for improvement.
Time frame: Baseline, 10-week, and 6 and 12 months after the program
Change in Cooking Habits score
Cooking Frequency and Confidence questionnaire - items 1,2, 8- will be used to assess change in habits pre to post intervention.Responses range on a scale of 1-6. Higher score reflects more favorable state and lower score reflects the greatest room for improvement.
Time frame: Baseline, 10-week, and 6 and 12 months after the program
Change in Cooking Confidence score
Cooking Frequency and Confidence questionnaire will be used to assess confidence to prepare new recipes from basic ingredients. Items 3-7 (assessing cooking confidence) are scored on a scale of 0-10 in a summative fashion. Higher summary score reflects more favorable state and lower summary score reflects the greatest room for improvement.
Time frame: Baseline, 10-week, and 6 and 12 months after the program
Change in Physical Activity questionnaire score
The brief Physical Activity "Vital Sign" (PAVS) will be used to determine if participants achieve the recommended amount of physical activity, with an additional question to assess use of yoga.Two questions are self-reported: 1) "How many days during the past week have you performed physical activity where your heart beats faster and your breathing is harder than normal for 30 minutes or more?" and 2) "How many days in a typical week do you perform activity such as this?" The responses are reported as days during the past week over days in a typical week, with scores ranging from 0 to 7 for each question. PAVS requires less than 30 seconds to administer and score
Time frame: Baseline, 10-week, and 6 and 12 months after the program
Change in Perceived Stress Scale score
The PSS-10 is a self-report instrument consisting of 10 items purported to assess "how unpredictable, uncontrollable, and overloaded respondents find their lives". Each of the items on the PSS-10 are rated on a 5-point Likert scale, ranging from 0 (never) to 4 (very often). The PSS-10 consisted of 6 positively (items 1, 2, 3, 6, 9 and 10: Positive factor) and 4 negatively (items 4, 5, 7 and 8: Negative factor) worded items. Negative worded items were re-coded during analysis. Total scores range from 0 to 40, with higher scores indicating higher levels of perceived stress
Time frame: Baseline, 10-week, and 6 and 12 months after the program
Change in Mindfulness and Mindful Eating Scale score
Mindful eating practices will be assessed using this Mindfulness and Mindful Eating tool. Domains of the 28-item questionnaire are: Disinhibition, Awareness, External Cues, Emotional Response, and Distraction. For all items, response options are "Never/Rarely," "Sometimes," "Often," and "Usually/Always". Each item is scored from 1 to 4, where higher scores signified more mindful eating. Each subscale score is calculated as the mean of items. The summary score is the mean of the 5 subscales.
Time frame: Baseline, 10-week, and 6 and 12 months after the program