The City of Las Cruces hosted three adult programs and two youth programs for Hearts N' Parks. In the adult programs, we mostly centered around knowledge and behavior. Since our programs are primarily in city recreation centers, we are already working on a daily basis with active adults, but realized that their behavior at the centers was not applied at home. Nutrition and attitude toward healthy eating needed to be emphasized, and education was necessary to improve cardiovascular health amongst our adult clientele. We also wanted to increase their level of physical activity. Many were already in fitness programs but were in a rut with the same old routine. We wanted to motivate them to exercise in other ways and in other places throughout their day. We also tried to focus on groups that do not normally seek information and education, such as primarily Spanish-speaking groups. Those groups seemed to appreciate the effort, and there were some increases in their knowledge and behavior, but the obstacles with the language barrier seemed to hinder some of the progress (though a good learning experience for both staff and clientele).
In our overall area of health promotion, we hosted a FunFit event and a Health Fitness Fair. Both of these events were well received, and a lot of handouts were distributed. It's always a fun day at work when you see someone grasp an idea, smile and say "Thanks, this is really helpful" or "I'm so glad you gave me this information, I have been looking for it for myself or a loved one."
Program Information
Name of program
Healthy Hearts Grow Stronger 1
Healthy Hearts Grow Stronger II
Healthy Hearts at Eastside
Program start and end date
1/8/2003 to 3/18/2003
9/8/2003 to 10/17/2003
9/8/2003 to 10/17/2003
Number of times program met per week
3
2
3
Number of participants (total)
8
12
4
Number of male participants
0
3
1
Number of female participants
8
9
3
Target group
Adult
Adult
Adult
Program focus
Physical Activity
-
Heart-Healthy Eating
Blood Pressure
-
Cholesterol
-
Location of activities
Classes
-
Fitness center
-
-
-
Senior center
Other
-
-
-
Materials used
Information Handout
Lesson
-
-
Activity
Menus
-
Other
-
-
-
Public Visibility
Internal efforts to promote Hearts N' Parks programs:
Newsletter or brochure
Posters in buildings
Employee kickoff
External efforts to promote Hearts N' Parks programs:
Media Coverage:
Print
Special Event(s):
FunFit Festival, Health Fair
Number of presentations: 2
Other: N/A
Partners
Partners who contributed to adult programs:
Partner Name
Partner Contribution
There are no partners currently listed for this abstract.
Healthy Hearts at Eastside Administering the pre- and post-questionnaires was difficult because several participants did not read English. Nevertheless, participant scores showed improvement in physical activity level, physical activity attitude, high blood pressure knowledge, and SIT score.
Healthy Hearts Grow Stronger II Participant scores showed improvement in heart-healthy eating knowledge, overweight/obesity knowledge, heart-healthy eating attitude, overweight/obesity attitude, physical activity attitude, high blood pressure knowledge, cholesterol knowledge, and SIT score.
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