title: Increasing healthy behaviors in adolescents of Mexican heritage in rural emerging Latino communities: results from a school-based health intervention pilot study.
abstract: The rapid Latino population growth in emerging Latino communities (EmLCs) presents a challenge to health care providers as most current health interventions and health promotion programs intended for Latinas/os are based on characteristics of established Latino communities (EsLCs). This study addresses the gap in the literature by modifying and testing the beginning efficacy of a school-based health intervention for adolescents of Mexican heritage in a rural EmLC. Seventy adolescents of Mexican heritage attending a rural middle school participated in the intervention. Paired samples t-tests were performed to determine differences between healthy behaviors at post-intervention compared to pre-intervention. Significant improvements in participants' physical activity and healthy eating were observed between pre-intervention and post-intervention. A school-based health intervention designed to increase healthy behaviors of adolescents of Mexican heritage in a rural EmLC was successful.
authors.affiliation: Department of Counseling and Educational Development, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, 221 Curry, Greensboro, NC 27402, USA. javillal@uncg.edu
authors.forename: José A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Villalba
authors.forename: Karen
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Amirehsani
authors.forename: Todd F
authors.initials: TF
authors.lastname: Lewis
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D057189:Checklist; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006630:Hispanic or Latino; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D009657:North Carolina; D010865:Pilot Projects; D015397:Program Evaluation; D040242:Risk Reduction Behavior; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools
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