PHC 6534 Grant Proposal: Teach a Teen to Fish - A Trauma-Informed Approach for Lifetime Fitness

Teach a Teen to Fish is a program designed to limit the impact of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) on youth who are at risk for obesity and adult poverty. The program aims to assess and identify students at risk and teach them skills to improve their chances of employment and a healthy lifestyle. Upon completion of the program, students will be able to sit for the physical trainer certification exam, lead group physical activity, and conduct healthy routines in their own life. This program will be taught by trauma-informed school staff at two different schools selected from the Alachua County School District. With the success of accomplished goals, the program will be adopted by other schools around the county and become adopted by the community.

TRAUMA-INFORMED PRINCIPLES

Due to the nature of this trauma-informed program, several trauma-informed principles will be implemented (SAMHSA, 2014). It is of the utmost importance that this program incorporates the principle of safety into the intervention (SAMHSA, 2014). The program aims to promote a physically and mentally safe and welcoming atmosphere to build a strong base for incorporating other trauma-informed principles. The program will be held at school in a space familiar to participants. There will be a zero-tolerance for bullying between participants and, if necessary, school psychologists will be asked to intervene. Instructors will be school staff whom participants are comfortable with. To build trustworthiness, clear goals and benchmarks will be discussed and handed out to all students to ensure transparency and an understanding of the purpose of the program and its benefits for the participants (SAMHSA, 2014). Peer support will be encouraged between adolescents who share similar experiences and backgrounds to develop a community of comfort and support. Peer support and collaboration will be implemented within the class as students help each other practice the curriculum. The principle of collaboration will be particularly important as students develop their style of fitness (SAMHSA, 2014). The program will encourage students to try techniques and teaching styles with others as well as try ideas together. By allowing students to develop their teaching skills and focus on their mindfulness, the program will utilize the principle of empowerment, voice, and choice teaching adolescents that there is no one correct way of leading a class or one true way to exercise. Students will discover they have the choice to choose which workouts are effective for them or which would be effective for their future clients. Teaching mindfulness skills like anxiety control, public speaking, confidence, and decision-making will make students more confident and feel more empowered in working in front of large groups of the community.

LEVEL(S) OF THE SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL MODEL

          Three of the CDC’s Social-Ecological Model levels will be utilized in this intervention program: individual, relationship, and community (CDC, 2022). Students will develop their style of fitness, class structure, and teaching while memorizing a basic set of lifting forms and stretches. This intervention program aims to target the improvement of adolescent skills and knowledge to increase future income. At the individual level, students will become more prepared to enter the workforce and advocate for themselves by involving themselves in a class that teaches a marketable and specialized set of skills. The mindfulness portion will attempt to improve intrapersonal skills such as confidence, decision making, stress/anxiety management, public speaking, and self-promotion that are necessary for any future career. At the relationship level, classes will promote peer support by creating an environment where adolescents share similar experiences and backgrounds in a judgment-free zone to promote comfort and morale. Students will then be able to lead classes with confidence for their classmates, school gym classes, and the community by the time of course completion. By allowing students to teach a school gym class or other community groups, students will not only gain experience and practice time but integrate themselves into a broader part of the community. This outreach into the community will also allow the program to integrate itself and hopefully promote community adoption of the program and further integration of the program by community members.

PUBLIC HEALTH FRAMEWORK

          Advocating for public health policies requires thinking ahead to prevent adverse health outcomes. There are three levels in the stage of prevention (Feuer-Edwards et. Al., 2016). The primary stage works to better the environment and societal norms. The second stage aims to reduce disease and illness. The third stage focuses on conditions and symptoms to improve quality of life.

In this framework, we target the second level of prevention (Feuer-Edwards et. Al., 2016). By identifying which children have experienced the most ACEs and are most at risk for adult poverty, we can intervene to teach positive lifestyles and employable skills. As previously stated, children who are identified will participate in a course about physical and mental health which will prepare them for participating in the workforce and providing for themselves. As a secondary benefit, these children will avoid poverty and thus raise children to experience fewer ACEs than themselves. Hopefully, with this framework, a positive feedback loop will occur where the current generation will experience fewer adverse health outcomes while the following generation will experience more than the previous. We can intervene in the second stage of prevention to improve the future quality of life for these children while attempting to lower ACEs and their associated risks for the current generation and future ones as well.

References:

1. Felitti, V. J., Anda, R. F., Nordenberg, D., Williamson, D. F., Spitz, A. M., Edwards, V., & Marks, J. S. (1998). Relationship of childhood abuse and household dysfunction to many of the leading causes of death in adults: The Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACE) Study. American journal of preventive medicine, 14(4), 245-258.
2. Sacks V, Murphey D, Moore K. Adverse Childhood Experiences: National and State-Level Prevalence.; 2014. https://childtrends-ciw49tixgw...xperiences_FINAL.pdf.

1. Bureau of Community Health Assessment. (n.d.). County Chronic Disease Profile - 2020. County chronic disease profile. https://www.flhealthcharts.gov...hronicDiseaseProfile
2. Feuer-Edwards A, O’Brien C, O’Connor S. Trauma-Informed Philanthropy. The Scattergood Foundation. https://www.scattergoodfoundat...23&previous=1320. Published 2016.
3. The social-ecological model: A framework for prevention |violence prevention|injury Center|CDC. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/violencepr...ecologicalmodel.html. Published January 18, 2022.
4. SAMHSA’s concept of trauma and guidance for a trauma-informed approach. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. https://ncsacw.acf.hhs.gov/use...es/SAMHSA_Trauma.pdf. Published July 2014.