New home intervention aimed at improving the health of children of immigrants from South Asia -
More than a third of the inhabitants of the Bronx were born outside the United States. Often separated from the family, challenged by language barriers, unfamiliar with the health resources, and poverty-stricken, they are at high risk for health problems. And risks extend to their children.
Now, researchers at Albert Einstein college of Medicine and Montefiore received a $ 3.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to test a new intervention to improve health outcomes of children of South Asian immigrants. South Asians are the fastest growing immigrant community in the US State and recent arrivals often lack access to medical care.
community health workers, who are also the women in South Asia, will visit nearly 400 mothers with newborns in the Bronx and greater New York area to help them learn healthy eating practices and improving the oral health of their children.
"We found that many new mothers bottle more frequently and the delay weaning at an older age that is best for their children," said Alison Karasz, Ph.D., associate professor of family medicine and social Einstein and lead researcher on the project. "This can result in overcrowded homes, where mothers feel the pressure to keep their children quiet, or concerns about the children get something to eat. Based on our pilot program, we expect that when mothers are given the resources and the support of someone they consider their peers, feeding practices will improve -. and so will the health of children "
The home intervention is entitled Child Health Action in Lower Oral health risk and obesity, or CHALO!, meaning" Come! "in Hindi . It will target the bottle excessive and prolonged use of bottles and "sippy" cups. - the two most important risk factors for childhood obesity and cavities
"We know that behavior health and eating habits in the first few months of life can have an oversized impact on long-term health, "said Dr. Karasz. "Obesity and dental caries or tooth decay, are the two most common childhood diseases in the United States and impose a significant burden for life."
community health workers will visit 377 mothers of South Asian children between 4 and 5 months and their families six times a year and will come complete with telephone support. They will work with mothers and their families to make concrete changes, such as:
- Listening and responding to children's signals when they are hungry and when they are full
- Make and keeping dental visits
- to end the current practice of using food to soothe children
to assess the effectiveness of the intervention, health workers assess oral health and the height and weight of children at 6, 12 and 18 months of age. They use new devices and techniques, including inter-oral camera to capture images of the teeth. These images will be sent to the University of Rochester School for dental examination. They will also use an iPad program for assessing feeding practices and the oral health of children, in collaboration with Columbia University dental researchers.
EmoticonEmoticon