%0 Journal Article
%T Bridging the Gaps Through Nurse
%A Beatriz Bautista
%A David Salazar
%A Doreen Garza
%A Lilia Azeneth Fuentes
%A Linda S. Eanes
%J Hispanic Health Care International
%@ 1938-8993
%D 2019
%R 10.1177/1540415319830762
%X Although children residing in impoverished rural communities located along the Texas-Mexico border are at disproportionately high risk of unhealthy eating, limited resources may prevent devoting sufficient attention to school-based nutrition education. The purpose of this quasi-experimental study was to examine the teaching effectiveness of graduate nursing students on fourth-grade student learning about healthy eating. Purposive sampling was used to select 213 predominately Hispanic fourth-grade students enrolled in one of three low-socioeconomic status underserved elementary schools located in rural South Texas. Ten graduate nursing students implemented the Creating Healthy Eating Choices for Kids Nutrition Curriculum to approximately 40 fourth-graders per group who attended weekly 45- to 50-minute sessions for 6 weeks. The MyPlate standardized tests were administered before and following the intervention. Results showed a significant improvement in learning on all program modules for fourth-graders from each school (p = .000). Results support the value of creating a strategic partnership between a university school of nursing and key community leaders as a feasible method of providing nutrition education for fourth-graders enrolled in schools with limited resources
%K school-based nutrition education
%K healthy eating
%K underserved elementary schools
%K health promotion
%U https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1540415319830762