The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #55793

Blythe M Henderson, MPH and Arnell J. Hinkle, MPH, RD. California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program, 2140 Shattuck Ave., Suite 610, Berkeley, CA 94704, (510) 644-1533, blythe@canfit.org

Although rates of childhood obesity are generally not as high among API populations as in other ethnic communities, certain API groups (e.g. Filipinos, Pacific Islanders) face a disproportionate burden of overweight. APIs are rarely targeted with chronic disease prevention programs, so few quality resources for parents and service providers exist that speak to their cultural and linguistic needs. Within the API community, nutrition-related diseases are not considered a significant concern. Parents often discourage physical activity, preferring that their children excel in academics. Most after-school programs serving API youth focus on homework and tutoring, rather than other enrichment activities. Consequently, many API youth lack the skills and opportunities to effectively engage in physical activity. In an effort to increase physical activity among API adolescents, the California Adolescent Nutrition and Fitness Program conducted a campaign with community-based after-school programs serving API youth in the San Francisco Bay Area. Youth from participating programs created "digital stories" about physical activity and healthy eating in their communities. Integrating aspects of oral history, creative writing, filmmaking, and digital media manipulation, digital storytelling is a grassroots media phenomenon in which communities create short, three- to five-minute digital stories from photographs, letters, news clippings, and other materials from their own lives. The digital storytelling process raised awareness among the youth and served as the foundation for physical activity promotion projects implemented by participating programs. Strategies from those projects were assembled into a guidebook for youth providers. This presentation will discuss the development and implementation of CANFit's campaign.

Learning Objectives:

• Identify key issues in promoting physical activity among Asian/Pacific Islander youth in community-based after-school settings.
• Describe the digital storytelling process and its application to health promotion.
• Apply elements of CANFit's campaign to develop similar programs in other communities.

Keywords: Adolescents, Physical Activity

Related Web page: www.canfit.org/api

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.