National Health Outreach and Engagement Conference 2024

Sasse, C.
For Cooperative Extension (CE) to remain relevant, timely translation of health topics is
essential. Translation of nutrition science, however, presents unique challenges. Human clinical
trials are often contradictory, and progression from clinical trials to population-wide
recommendations can be slow. Unfortunately, the silence of CE professionals can leave an
information void for marketers to fill. Supplements claiming to support memory, for example,
yield 5 billion dollars globally each year. Despite extensive correlation evidence suggesting
certain diet patterns may provide a degree of cognitive protection for some individuals, CE
professionals are hesitant to address this topic. However, the provision of information by CE
professionals can debunk misinformation. To address these concerns, a 5-session behavior-
change program, MIND Your Diet, was developed based in part on the Mediterranean-DASH
Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay. Only recommendations with the highest level of
evidence were included, and missing recommendations from MyPlate were added. County
agents were trained extensively on the limitations and gaps in knowledge regarding diet and
cognition. Following the training, a Qualtrics survey revealed that 55% of county agents were
able to communicate the limitations and contradictions of research findings, felt comfortable
offering the curriculum, and agreed the topic was appropriate for CE programming. Program
evaluations of the first cohorts are pending. Using MIND Your Diet as a case example, CE can
increase relevancy in areas of current public interest through vetting research, extensive training
of county agents, and debunking of misinformation.