UofL nursing student helping to increase healthy food access in Perry County
Paige Newquist, a UofL Faculty of Nursing graduate scholar, is on a mission to boost accessibility to wholesome foods in Perry County, Kentucky.
Newquist and Nikki Enlow, a graphic style and design university student at Hazard Neighborhood University, have released a general public health and fitness facts marketing campaign as element of the Healthiest Cities & Counties Challenge. The job is overseen by UofL Professor Frances Hardin-Fanning and is sponsored by Aetna Foundation, the American Public Health Association and the National Affiliation of Counties.
Newquist, a study scholar, also works at UofL Medical center as a bodily therapy technician and has been an lively member of the UofL COVID vaccination workforce. She will graduate in May possibly 2022 with plans to perform in orthopedic nursing in Louisville. She makes use of her skills from her undergraduate exploration classes to evaluation scientific evidence about the overall health influence of food items, which is guiding her work with the Perry County application.
As element of the instructional marketing campaign, Newquist shares highlight data on various fruits and greens every single week on the Perry County Fb website page for case in point, “Garlic can be designed into an extract and it has been powerful in reducing blood strain in people today with uncontrolled hypertension … Garlic can support make improvements to our artery’s flexibility, which outcomes in decreased blood stress, enhanced coronary heart health, improved aerobic health and a lowered chance for cardiovascular sickness.”
The Healthiest Metropolitan areas & Counties Challenge is a grant-funded task aimed at rising entry to food items that guidance wholesome feeding on designs. Perry County, found in Jap Kentucky, has an grownup obesity fee of 47% – 12 proportion points larger than the 35% average for Kentucky. Seventy-four % of grown ups who reside in Perry County are obese, and just 10% get their proposed fruit and vegetable intake. The Aetna Foundation issued the grant to Perry County in July 2020.
UofL’s School of Nursing also leads the Food & Faith Coalition, a partnership with either other businesses. In addition to raising accessibility, the coalition aims to enhance foods security screenings, increase retailers’ donations to nonprofit food stuff systems and increase the interconnected get the job done of 16 county corporations that give food items to local community customers.
Read more about Newquist’s work with this task on the UofL School of Nursing web page below.