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Promoting healthy behaviors to prevent chronic disease in panama and trinidad & tobago: results of the women as agents of change project

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Abstract

In order to address the growing burden of chronic diseases in the Americas, the Pan American Health Organization implemented the Women as Agents of Change project in Panama and Trinidad & Tobago. The project focused on low income, middle aged women and promoted increased physical activity, intake of 5 servings of fruits and vegetables daily, and yearly screening for cervical cancer. One hundred women per country participated in the 6 week program which consisted of weekly meetings and participation in a behavior change curriculum. Gollwitzer’s theory of implementation intentions and the theory of social support provided the methodology for the design of the curriculum. At baseline, end of project, and at 6 months, participants completed physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption surveys. Results show an increase in consumption in Panama between the pre and post-tests, though the increase was not maintained at the 6 month period. Physical activity decreased in both countries over the intervention period, likely due to misreporting on the pretest. Notably, most participants reported on the 6 month follow up survey that they had continued or intensified the behavior changes they undertook during the project. The paper describes barriers identified by the participants as well as strategies they devised to overcome them.

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Acknowledgments

This project was supported by the Pan American Health Organization, in collaboration with Ministries of Health of Panama and Trinidad & Tobago. The authors wish to thank Dr. Sylvia Robles, Dr. Gina Watson, and the public clinic health staff in our project sites for their invaluable contributions to the project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pan American Health Organization, 525 23rd St, NW, Washington, DC, 20037, USA

    Sarah C. White MA (is a Technical Officer at the Pan American Health Organization in Washington, DC), Irene Agurto PhD (is an Independent Consultant in Santiago, Chile) & Nuria Araguas MA (is an Independent Consultant in Panama City, Panama)

Authors
  1. Sarah C. White MA
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  2. Irene Agurto PhD
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  3. Nuria Araguas MA
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Correspondence to Sarah C. White MA.

Additional information

Sarah C. White, MA is a Technical Officer at the Pan American Health Organization in Washington, DC; Irene Agurto, PhD is an Independent Consultant in Santiago, Chile; and Nuria Araguas, MA is an Independent Consultant in Panama City, Panama.

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White, S.C., Agurto, I. & Araguas, N. Promoting healthy behaviors to prevent chronic disease in panama and trinidad & tobago: results of the women as agents of change project. J Community Health 31, 413–429 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-006-9022-8

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