September 19, 2012 - Indiana Schweitzer Fellows Present at IARCCA Annual Conference
As members of the very first class of
Indiana Schweitzer Fellows,
Darby Chodakowski and Chelsea Kane have made
their mark on their community—and their professional peers: they will
present their Schweitzer service project at today’s
Indiana Association of Residential Child Caring Agencies (IARCCA) annual conference.
The two Schweitzer Fellows (both students at the University of Indianapolis School of Psychological Sciences) partnered with the Riley Hospital for Children. They provided education and support to parents of children enrolled in the hospital’s POWER (Pediatric OverWeight Education and Research) Program, which addresses childhood obesity through nutrition education, cooking classes, and focused exercise activity.
Prior to their Schweitzer project, no such parent support existed—and
in today’s interview, Chodakowski and Kane discuss the impact of their
efforts, their belief in multidisciplinary teamwork as a means of
solving health and social problems, and their hopes for their IARCCA
presentation.
ASF: Why did you decide to develop your particular project?
Kane: When we stumbled upon a newspaper
article about the Riley Hospital for Children’s POWER Program and their
associated summer camp, we were so intrigued by their model that we felt
we had to give them a call. We contacted the program coordinator,
Amanda Garant (who turned out to be our Schweitzer site mentor),
and immediately she wanted to include us in their work. She mentioned
that their weekly classes had no parent education component—and from
there, our project was born. We then set out to build a model and
curriculum that could complement the work being done with the children.
Our goal was to provide parents with the tools and education to help
them help their children succeed.
Chodakowski: Childhood obesity is one of
the leading health concerns in Indiana, and we understand that many of
the contributing factors to this complex problem have behavioral and
psychological underpinnings. It is important to bear in mind that
multiple biological, social, and psychological factors of each person’s
experience, including socioeconomic disparities, uniquely coalesce to
develop into health dilemmas such as obesity. Though we initially sought
to target interventions toward the children themselves, we quickly
realized that our time and efforts would be better spent focusing upon
parents, as they serve as the most pivotal and consistent sources of
behavioral and environmental change in a child’s day-to-day life. Though
education and behavior modification are implicit in our model,
ultimately, I hope that through my interactions with families for whom
these issues have become paramount, the door to open, honest,
empathetic, reflective and challenging conversation has been opened.
ASF: What do you hope will be the lasting impact of your project on the community it serves?
Chodakowski: Despite the growing concern over childhood obesity, it seems that a centralized, effective, multidisciplinary
treatment is missing. I hope that our model adds to the conversation
professionally and can be utilized as a jumping-off point for future
interventions by a variety of professionals in the health and social
services fields. Like Chelsea, I am excited to share what we have
learned and developed with a diverse group of professionals at IARCCA,
in hopes that those interventions best supported by theory and research
can become more easily accessed.
I am grateful for the enthusiasm and dedication of our
multidisciplinary colleagues who recognize the value of incorporating
psychological and behavioral interventions into community programming
targeting obesity. I have realized, more than ever before, that the
inter-related nature of our complementary strategies for change
necessitate this cooperative relationship.
Kane: We are grateful to have the support
of the POWER Program staff. They are fully committed to continuing our
parent classes, and we are so happy about that. We have already
recruited a group of clinical psychology doctoral students to continue
the classes, and we hope that each year’s facilitators will recruit for
the following year.
At IARCCA, we will have the opportunity to share our work and
philosophies with a variety of professionals and organizations who work
closely with children and families. We hope to influence the kinds of
programming that exist for children and families with our project, and
to also learn and further develop our understanding of the complexities
of childhood obesity and the social determinants of health that exist
within the family system.
Chodakowski: I hope that the growth seen in
the individuals with whom we have worked persists. I hope that the
conversations begun in our weekly groups extend to their families at
home and continue to impact the ways they think and speak about
themselves as biological, social, and emotional beings.
ASF: What was the most surprising element of your experience as Schweitzer Fellows?
Chodakowski: In graduate school—and really
in life—it is easy to become very insular, existing in a fairly
homogenous bubble of values and knowledge. Through the Fellowship, I
gained exposure to many individuals with diverse backgrounds and found
my (somewhat previously unconscious) assumption—that personal and
reflective conversations are taking place about attitudes surrounding
health, nutrition, fitness, and body image—to be faulty.
So I guess, as odd as it sounds, I found the degree of usefulness of
the subject matter we explored with participants to be surprising. I
underestimated how much these parents would value the opportunity to
speak openly with others about these at times sensitive issues. For some
of the parents involved, it became evident that this weekly group was
meeting a crucial (and, at times, otherwise unfulfilled) need for
support in their journey toward improved overall health.
Kane: Probably the prestige of ASF. Because
the Indiana Schweitzer Fellows Program is the newest ASF chapter, most
of the Indiana Fellows were unaware what prestige, honor, and influence
the Albert Schweitzer Fellowship commands. Slowly I realized the “club” I
had become a member of and was so humbled to have been selected.
Attending the ASF Conference in 2011 was an amazing experience [registration is now open for the 2012 Conference on Nov. 2-3].
I was so impressed by the quality of the projects and of the people
involved with this organization, and I will proudly claim my affiliation
as a Fellow for Life.
ASF: What do you think is the most pressing health-related issue of our time, and how do you think it should be addressed?
Kane: Advancing the multidisciplinary,
integrated health care model. We simply cannot treat patients as if
their medical/behavioral/social/psychological problems exist
independently, and we must have a model and workforce enthusiastic about
collaborative treatment. The evidence is clear that individuals need to
be treated as whole beings. When all the patients’ needs are addressed
and all complicating factors are given due attention, health outcomes
improve, cost is reduced, and patients are more satisfied with their
treatment.
Chodakowski: One of the issues about which I
am personally very passionate is that of preventive health care. Issues
of access to health care and multidisciplinary treatment are definitely
intertwined with this passion, but I tend to focus on the individual,
micro level in considering ways to addressing this issue. While many
programs and initiatives have increased awareness regarding
the extremely effective role of health behaviors related to nutrition
and exercise, patient non-compliance with these behaviors remains a
great frustration among health professionals.
The problem is much greater than a simple lack of motivation: issues
of resources, time, and priorities often prevent healthy habits from
ever taking root. As a society, I think that we struggle with slowing
down, reflecting, and caring for ourselves, as we are seemingly driven
by a cultural mandate to produce, remain “relevant”, and justify our
time as ”productive.” Altering such a fundamental aspect of
our lifestyle, particularly as the current of culture pushes us in the
other direction, is not easy. I see much of my own current and future
work in the mental health field as promoting this counter-cultural
“mindfulness” of being.
ASF: What does being a Schweitzer Fellow (and ultimately a Schweitzer Fellow for Life) mean to you?
Kane: Being a Fellow for Life is an honor,
and the distinction carries with it great responsibility. To be a Fellow
for Life means that my professional life will always be marked by the
acknowledgement of human dignity and vocational spirit. No longer can I
simply walk through life, working the 9-to-5, just “doing my job.” Now, I
have the honor, privilege, and obligation to “make my life my argument”
and to infuse my work with my passion for service.
Chodakowski: As a Schweitzer Fellow for Life, my
understanding of critical local health needs has developed, influencing
me personally and professionally in ways that the classroom cannot. As a
result of this experience, my commitment to future service in my
community has been strengthened. It would be easy to consider volunteer
service as something to pursue once the busyness of graduate training is
complete—but the Fellowship has encouraged me to intentionally
integrate the pursuit of this value into my life now.
Conceptualizing and implementing our psycho-educational program has
been challenging and not without obstacles, but the support, feedback,
and inspiration of the other Indiana Schweitzer Fellows and board members
has been instrumental. Regardless of where my future journey takes me
personally and professionally, I hope that the path is continually
shaped and ignited by the same Reverence for Life that motivated Albert
Schweitzer throughout his work in this world.
To learn more about the Indiana Schweitzer Fellows Program’s work to create change and improve health, click here.
More news