Chronic Disease Prevention and Management
In 2024, AgriLife Extension Family and Community Health educators and volunteers conducted 1,613 educational events resulting in 67,359 direct contacts. Combined with promotional events and newsletters, 125,925 total contacts were made through programs that seek to prevent and manage deadly and costly chronic diseases impacting Texans. The following programs illustrate the breadth and depth of programs offered throughout the state.
Diabetes Management
AgriLife Extension’s diabetes programming aims to address and educate Texans on diabetes. With 7.1 million Texans having prediabetes and 2.5 million diagnosed with diabetes, the annual cost for diabetes care in Texas reaches $25.6 billion. The agency’s diabetes programming emphasizes the importance of diabetes management to reduce health care costs and improve quality of life. Programs such as Do Well, Be Well with Diabetes, ¡Sí Yo Puedo!, and Wisdom, Power, Control aim to improve blood glucose management through comprehensive curricula aligned with the American Diabetes Association Standards of Care. In FY 2024, diabetes education programs reached more than 8,700 educational and other contacts, teaching participants the skills to better manage their diabetes and to effectively reduce the risk of developing diabetes. Lifetime economic benefits are estimated at $5.3 million. An evaluation study with 242 participants who completed the comprehensive program showed significant improvements in their confidence and self-care behaviors.
Cooking Well Programs
Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service developed a set of Cooking Well programs as an educational approach for preventing diet-related chronic diseases across the state.
Through hands-on recipe demonstrations, four Cooking Well programs aim to improve participants’ confidence in healthy food preparation skills targeting concepts like diabetes management, healthy blood pressure, healthy cultural cuisines and safe meal preparation.
In FY 2024, there were 1,325 participants in 114 Cooking Well series across the state of Texas. The programs proved to meet the needs of participants, as 97.3% (n=866) reported they or their family benefited from participating in the Cooking Well program and 99% of those responding (n=937) reported they would recommend the program to others.
More than half of the participants (52.9%, n=494) reported an increase in confidence in preparing meals and snacks at home, while 45.8% (n=427) increased their confidence in modifying recipes to reduce salt, sugar and fat content. Additionally, Cooking Well program outcomes demonstrate that the participants increased the amount of fruit (44.9%, n=424) and vegetables (47.3%, n=447) they consumed in a day post-program series.
I am enjoying the recipes and experimenting with freezing or making alternate meals with some of the recipes. I learned that there are many easy and quick adjustments you can make to a recipe that make a big difference in reducing carbs, fats and sodium.”
HealthTalk Express
The HealthTalk Express program provides health presentations in 30 minutes or less using a persuasive public speaking approach that informs community members about important health topics and empowers them to take action. The goal of the program is to help Texans know their risks, motivate them to take action, and make healthy choices to improve overall quality of life and reduce the likelihood of getting a chronic disease. Modules in the program range from preventing diabetes to reducing stress to maintaining a healthy life balance. In FY 2024, 759 adults in 27 counties were reached using the HealthTalk Express program. More than 90% of participants agreed to take future action to prevent a chronic disease, and 97% of participants intend to use the information from the HealthTalk Express presentation to improve their personal health.
Weight Management and Healthy Lifestyle Programs
AgriLife Extension offers several programs that help participants manage their weight through adoption of healthy lifestyle behaviors. Program participants are supported by Extension agents as they work to set goals and monitor their progress.
Through these programs, participants learn about the importance of physical activity and nutrition for improved health. In FY 2024, 471 actively participated in Step Up, Scale Down; Maintain No Gain; or StrongPeople™ Strong Bodies programs. 117 program participants reported decreasing their weight during the program and average weight loss for participants was 10.9 pounds.
The programs also proved to meet the needs of participants: 97.9% (n=286) of the participants responding to a post-program survey reported they or their family benefited from participating in the program, and 99.7% of those responding (n=291) reported they would recommend the program to others. 109 participants (36.7%) self-reported their health improved after the program.
I have taken more action to read food labels, make an effort in choosing the better option, and taking time to get more fruits and veggies in my diet.”
Texas AgrAbility
The Texas AgrAbility program helps farmers and ranchers with disabling or chronic health conditions to start or stay engaged in agriculture operations. The program offers one-on-one consultations, referrals to resources, assistive equipment recommendations, assessments and education through online courses for health practitioners working with rural populations and farmers and ranchers with disabilities.
Since 2012, 70% of AgrAbility clients have been military veterans. The program was featured on the latest season of Around Texas with Chancellor John Sharp. In FY 2024, 310 direct one-on-one consultations were conducted with farmers and ranchers with disabilities and their service providers, 66 occupational therapy students were educated in assistive technology for farmers and ranchers, 16 onsite farm assessments were conducted with occupational therapy doctoral students, and $65,000 in equipment for farmers and ranchers with disabilities was provided through the Texas Workforce Commission Vocational Rehabilitation.
