July 28, 2023
NEW
The Center for Excellence in Public Health (CEPH) at the University of New England was represented by two presenters at the annual International Society for Nutrition Education and Behavior conference which took place in Washington D.C. July 20-23, 2023. Michele Polacsek, Ph.D., M.H.S, Professor, Public Health and Director, CEPH, and Lori Kaley, M.S., RDN, M.S.B., Program Manager, Maine SNAP-Ed, attended the meeting and presented posters. The conference theme was Empowering Food Citizens: Together for Nutrition and Food Systems Transformation. Re-connect, Re-nourish, Re-inspire.
- Polacsek, M, Meuser, T, Gamble, M, DeSilva MB. “A university-low-income-housing partnership to support food security, healthy shopping, eating, health and wellness among seniors in rural Maine: Preliminary findings.”
Seniors experienced far-reaching impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic—including on nutrition, critical for healthful independent aging. We delivered an evidence-based nutrition education series in partnership with a health science university in a COVID responsive manner. The program improved nutrition, diet and other outcomes for low-income seniors. The project is being funded by the Administration for Community Living Department of Health and Human Services.
- Hofer, B, Wolford, B, Walker, B, Fantacone, J, Vasold, K, Dushuttle, P, Kaley, L. “Process to develop a shared measurement system for Maine State Nutrition Action Council (SNAC).” Maintaining a shared measurement system allows for the systematic compilation of data from multiple partners to demonstrate progress toward achieving mutual goals and highlighting collective impact.
Maine SNAP-Ed, implemented by UNE through a contract with Maine’s Office for Family Independence, addresses nutrition security and wellness in low-resource settings across the state. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (U.S.D.A.) and is granted to over 160 agencies throughout the nation. Implementing agencies include universities, nonprofits, state health and agriculture departments, and Tribal entities.
UPDATE to a previous highlight for Maine AHEC at: https://sites.une.edu/research/center-for-excellence-in-public-health-highlights-week-of-5-30-23/
Fajar and the Maine AHEC team won third place in the judged poster competition at the National AHEC Organization’s Bi-Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah held June 27-30. Judges included AHEC staff from around the country and representatives from HRSA’s Bureau of Health Workforce. Kira Rodriguez accepted the award on the team’s behalf at the meeting. Kathryn Norgang, Micaela Maynard, (from the Maine AHEC Program Office at UNE) and Jolene Luce (from the Western Regional AHEC Center at Franklin Memorial Hospital) also attended the conference on behalf of Maine AHEC.
