Med-South Program Training

What is the Med-South Program?

The Med-South Program is an evidence-based lifestyle behavior change intervention that translates a Mediterranean dietary pattern for a Southeastern US population. It also includes support for increased physical activity. The program is delivered in four monthly, individual or group based counseling sessions plus a brief 15-minute phone call between sessions. The 20+ health departments and community clinics that have implemented Med-South to date have seen improvements in their participants’ dietary intake and blood pressure levels

Our Mission is to expand the Med-South Program across the Southeastern US

We want everyone across NC and the Southeastern US to gain ALL the benefits of choosing a southern style Mediterranean eating pattern. That’s our WHY for wanting to spread the Med-South Program across our region.

We have successfully trained public health staff to deliver this program as part of research studies and are now expanding our training to include staff in health departments and health centers across the Southeast so they can offer the Med-South Program to their patients, clients, employees, or community members. In addition to training, we will provide ongoing technical assistance and program materials, including a participant handbook, cookbook, and tools participants can use to track their progress.

Registration

Registration will open in April. Please check back for additional registration information.

Registration will be limited to a maximum of 3 attendees per site.

Who Should Take This Training

This training is designed for staff at local health departments, community health centers, or other healthcare agencies that provide patient health education. These include nurses, dietitians or nutritionists, health educators, social workers, or community health workers.

Training Overview

Med-South Program training includes two self-guided online modules on Nutrition and Physical activity as well as a series of 3 live webinars as detailed below.

Day 1 of 3 – Friday, July 26, 2024, 10am–12pm

Med-South Program Delivery – Part 1 

• Overview of the Med-South Program, how the program works, and research findings
• How the program is delivered to participants using a non-teaching, person-centered approach to fostering behavior changes in adults

Total Time = 2 hours; 4 training units + 15–minute break 

Day 2 of 3 – Friday, August 9, 2024,  10am–12pm 

Med-South Program Delivery – Part 2 

• Application of person-centered counseling approaches to delivery of Med-South sessions
• Guides to session delivery using individual and group-based formats and Med-South Program Evaluation

Total Time = 2 hours; 4 training units + 15-minute break 

Day 3 of 3 – Friday, August 23, 2024,  10am–12pm 

Med-South Program Implementation 

• Guidance on developing implementation documents that focus on setting up and making the Med-South program work at trainees’ public health sites

Total Time = 2 hours; 4 training units + 15-minute break.

Also, additional time for review of Day 2 activities and 2 documents to be completed after Day 3 training 

TOTAL TRAINING TIME – 10.5 hours

6 hours in Training sessions + 4.5 hours in addition training activities outside of sessions.

Training Sponsors

This training is offered by the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention. In 2019 the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) funded the UNC Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention (HPDP) to identify the most effective and efficient way to support the broad-scale implementation of the evidence-based Med-South Lifestyle Program across multiple public health and clinical practice settings.

For more information about this training, contact Lindy Draeger, Research Project Director, at lindy@unc.edu.