Jorja Wegryn-Jones
Pronouns: she/her
Research Mentor(s): Dennis Archambault
Research Mentor School/College/Department: / NonUM
Program: UROP
Session: Session 7 (4:40pm – 5:30pm)
Authors: Jorja Wegryn-Jones, Harolyn Nimmo, MPH, Dennis Archambault
Abstract
Many populations struggle with access to nutritious food, the effects of the pandemic and climate change. The MOTION Coalition, convened by Authority Health, is dedicated to promoting healthy eating and active living, specifically in relation to how some of them lead to childhood obesity and disproportionately high rates of health issues later in life for these populations. One of the research goals of this community-based project is to keep up to date on strategies practiced in other communities to mitigate these problems. This involves the regular review, analysis, and summary of recent research articles relevant to methods that may be implemented in a community like Detroit. The implications of these results are used to guide the goals and actions of the MOTION Coalition in promoting active living and healthy eating through community education and policy formation. Some of the results thus far suggest that community gardens, expanded food stamps, nutritional education, and household gardening may be effective in curbing childhood obesity. The other goal of this project is to evaluate and improve the quality of the Schweitzer Fellowship Program, which is a research fellowship awarded to graduate students interested in conducting community-based research and improvement projects. This is going to be done through surveying and interviewing past fellows about their experience in the program and as alumni. An additional survey was conducted to determine influences that cause candidates not to submit applications to the Fellowship.
