4-H academics responded to the COVID pandemic by rapidly adapting CDC and other resources for virtual delivery. A statewide epidemiology project was taught to 48 youth with the goal of minimizing fears and confusion, increasing prevention measures, leveraging current topics for education, and bolstering the social-emotional health of youth…

A family-skills program for Latino fathers and youth was implemented to prevent youth obesity. Lessons learned focused on practices to address barriers to engagement and retention among fathers and youth within the Latino community. Program development issues included selection of organizations, facilitators, language, and delivery methods.…

As part of developing the University of Arizona Cooperative Extension 4-H Common Measures system, we created resources for communicating results to stakeholders with research-based visual tools. We outline the creation of two tools that may be useful to CE personnel to use evaluation findings to better "tell their story" to a variety of…

Super Star Chef is an experiential summer youth nutrition education and cooking program designed to enhance participants' nutrition knowledge, food preparation skills, cooking self-efficacy, and intention to eat more fruits and vegetables. In a program evaluation comprising a single-sample pretest-posttest design, participants' pretest and…

The University of California (UC) 4-H Mindfulness Retreat was developed on the basis of current research of positive youth outcomes associated with mindfulness. Curricula, resources, and programming were developed to introduce participants to mindfulness to improve overall health. The UC 4-H Mindfulness Retreat provides training and opportunities…

Clemson University Cooperative Extension Service has developed and is implementing a statewide population health management model aimed at leveraging key partnerships in South Carolina. The model delineates roles of key partners needed to operationalize statewide initiatives and drive the delivery of health extension in the state. Clemson…

Type 2 diabetes is a complex disease with several modifiable lifestyle factors. The Extension 'Live well, Eat well, be Active with Diabetes' curriculum provides four 90-minute sessions teaching individuals to live well, eat well, and be active with diabetes. Fourteen Extension educators implemented and evaluated the curriculum with 107…

The Family Leadership Training Institute (FLTI) is a program that can respond to data documenting the health of the nation. Participants engage in individual civic projects that align with social determinants of health and seek to ameliorate health inequities. They also discover and/or increase their civic engagement skills to more effectively…

Whole grain foods have been associated with health benefits, yet they are under consumed by youth compared to recommendations. This study evaluated impacts of a school-based curriculum among children in grades 3-5 to address barriers to intake (2018-2019) (n = 1,748). Surveys before and after the program indicated youth were more willing to try…

Research suggests participating in youth hands-on cooking programs, like those offered by Extension and 4-H, can improve nutrition behaviors and reduce the risk for obesity. We surveyed Georgia Extension professionals (n = 127) to explore factors (e.g., employee characteristics, resources, county demographics) related to offering youth hands-on…

The "School Pantry: Mystery Food Box Cook-Off " is a program designed to increase awareness of food insecurity among youth and teach strategies to prepare healthy foods on a budget. A pre-and-post survey showed a statistically significant difference in participants' overall knowledge, skills, and confidence level after the program…

Farmers face unique occupational and interpersonal stressors that increase risk for poor physical and mental health outcomes. To educate farmers and their families about these risks, one state's Family and Consumer Sciences faculty partnered with Agriculture and Natural Resources faculty with input from county agents to develop a series of online…

This article reports the results of an evaluation of the YA4-H! Youth Advocates for Health--Teens as Teachers program. Consistent with previous research on the impact of teen teaching, the teens participating in the program gained confidence and skill with regard to teaching younger youths. The program also affected the teens' understanding that…

Effective newsletters have theory-based content and designs tailored to their readers and offer limited-cost community-level approaches to providing helpful, relevant, and engaging information. In accordance with this, we offer an example of a newsletter intervention that supported grandfamilies' physical wellness needs. Six issues of a brief…

This article describes the adaptation of a parent-focused evidence-based childhood obesity intervention program for implementation by county-based Extension educators in coordination with school district personnel in rural Pennsylvania. The Lifestyle Positive Parenting Program was designed and evaluated in Australia in clinical settings. Several…