Research Article
Inside-Out Health: An Integrative Health Education Program for Women in Substance Abuse Treatment
Brittany K. Badger, Justine J. Reel*, Anita Leopardi, Lynne Durrant and Moises Prosperov
Department of Health Promotion and Education, University of Utah, USA
- *Corresponding Author:
- Justine J. Reel
Assistant Professor
Department of Health Promotion and Education
University of Utah, 1901 E. South Campus Drive, Salt Lake City, UT 84112, USA
Tel: 801-581-3481
E-mail: Justine.Reel@hsc.utah.edu
Received date: May 25, 2012; Accepted date: June 15, 2012; Published date: June 18, 2012
Citation: Badger BK, Reel JJ, Leopardi A, Durrant L, Prospero M (2012) Inside- Out Health: An Integrative Health Education Program for Women in Substance Abuse Treatment. J Community Med Health Educ 2:156. doi: 10.4172/2161-0711.1000156
Copyright: © 2012 Badger BK, et al. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
Abstract
Background: Women in treatment for substance use disorders have been identified as at risk for developing co-occurring addictions (e.g., eating disorders) during and following treatment [1] as well as health-related concerns (e.g., inadequate nutrition, weight gain) [2].
Methods: Two evidence-based programs, Full of Ourselves [3] and Healthy Steps to Freedom [4], inspired the development of an integrative health education program (i.e., Inside-Out Health) designed to promote physical activity, healthy nutrition and positive body image. Forty-nine participants aged 18-59 (M=30.61, SD=6.90) came to the weekly program with 74% of participants attending 4 or more sessions out of 6 and 22% having perfect attendance. Nutrition, physical activity and body image were evaluated at pre- and post- and exploratory questions were included to assess program satisfaction.
Results: While statistical analyses did not reveal significant changes in body esteem and physical activity, the Food Choice Questionnaire responses on two subscales (i.e., FCQ-weight control, FCQ-nutrition) approached significance. FCQ-weight control scores increased from pretest (M=.2.24, SD=1.0) to posttest (M=2.55, SD=.74) and FCQ-nutrition scores increased from pretest (M=2.70, SD=.67) to posttest (M=2.82, SD=.68).
Discussion: This integrative health education program is an initial attempt to incorporate health education and eating disorder prevention efforts into an existing substance abuse treatment program. This study confirms the feasibility of promoting physical activity, nutrition and positive body image among female substance abuse clients.
