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CHR to Launch New Studies in 2023

 
Dr. Alison Ventura, kinesiology and public health professor and associate CHR director, received a $2.7 grant to study feeding interactions. 


The iBaby study will be studying the developmental effects of early interactions between mom and baby. 

iBaby

Can mom’s use of technology affect the development of her baby? Researchers hope to answer this question after conducting the iBaby study, one of the Center for Health Research’s (CHR) newest grants. Principal investigator Dr. Alison Ventura hopes this $2.7 million National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant will help her and other researchers better understand how phones, tablets and other portable devices impact the quality of interactions between moms and babies, particularly during feeding. 

The iBaby Study will follow moms from their third trimester until their babies are one year old to see the longer impact of these early interactions. Although there have been some short-term studies on technology use while feeding, Ventura and her team think this longer study will provide important information about how these early interactions affect baby’s development. To do so, participants will be completing six visits during the study. During some of these assessments, staff will observe feeding interactions between mom and baby.   

"This study will provide evidence-based recommendations that guide parents of infants in how to use distracting technology in a manner that maximizes its benefits and minimizes its risks," said project coordinator Stephanie Lechuga. 

The research team hopes to start enrolling in the new year.  Participants, who will receive up to $460 in compensation, must be in their 3rd trimester, have a low-risk pregnancy and live within 50 miles of the Cal Poly campus. To learn more about the study, visit: https://ibabystudy.calpoly.edu/ 


Dr. Suzanne Phelan, kinesiology and public health professor and CHR director, received a $5.6 NIH grant to study the best ways to implement heart health education through a home visiting nursing program.

Healthy Hearts

It has been a busy year for CHR with the Center also receiving its largest grant to date.  Through this $5.6 million Healthy Hearts grant, Suzanne Phelan, director of CHR and kinesiology and public health professor, and her team will study the best ways to promote cardiovascular health among low-income pregnant women participating in California’s home visiting programs. 

Since receiving the grant in August, Phelan and her team have started program planning and determining the best way to partner with the home visiting programs that provide in-home social and health services to low-income families in San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, and Fresno Counties.  Families who receive these services are at higher risk for cardiac problems. Through the study Phelan hopes to identify the best ways to reduce risk factors for heart disease, such as obesity, sedentary lifestyles, poor diet and sleep and stress. 

“The population that we’re working with tends to be younger moms, and we’re trying to promote their health years before they’d be likely to get cardiovascular disease,” Phelan said. “Reduced weight and reduced waist circumference lower the disease risk for postpartum moms.  Intervention during pregnancy may help prevent later disease development in babies as well.” 

The grant is part of the NIH Early Intervention to Promote Cardiovascular Health of Mothers and Children program, and half of the study will be conducted in California and the other half in Rhode Island through Brown University.   

The Healthy Hearts team hopes to recruit 500 participants starting in in 2024. 

 

Check out the CHR’S website to get involved with new research studies: Welcome to Center for Health Research - Center for Health Research - Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo 

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