Premium
Anthropology in the design of preventive behavioral health programs for children and families living in disadvantaged neighborhoods
Author(s) -
AZEVEDO KATHRYN J.,
ROBINSON THOMAS N.
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
annals of anthropological practice
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.22
H-Index - 14
eISSN - 2153-9588
pISSN - 2153-957X
DOI - 10.1111/napa.12078
Subject(s) - disadvantaged , psychological intervention , participant observation , community based participatory research , ethnography , public health , intervention (counseling) , psychology , sociology , medical education , gerontology , medicine , public relations , nursing , participatory action research , political science , social science , anthropology , law
Applied anthropologists working with public health researchers and clinicians have the opportunity to make tangible impacts on illness and disease in children and families living in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Stanford ECHALE was a randomized controlled trial of an experimental intervention to prevent obesity among low‐income seven‐ to 11‐year‐old Latina girls and their families. The two‐year school‐ and home‐based experimental intervention included (1) an after‐school folkloric dance program, and (2) a screen‐time reduction curriculum. An active placebo comparison intervention involved health education. Moreover, an ethnographic study complemented the clinical trial. The novel challenges of conducting ethnographic and clinical research projects in seven public elementary schools demanded that the research team engage with community stakeholders and multiple collaborating agencies to address many conceptual, logistical, and ethical concerns. Overall, field‐based participant observation, consideration of political economic structures, along with ethnography and narrative analysis, contributed to culturally competent program design, high participant retention rates, and procedures to protect children engaged in the research. Anthropologists can also play an integral role in guiding the strengthening of social networks needed to enhance social capital and increase community involvement allowing for portions of the interventions to be sustained after the research funding ends. [obesity prevention, culturally tailored health interventions, girls, Latino health, applied anthropology]