A Culturally-Adapted Multicomponent Teaching Kitchen Intervention for Low-Income Latino Adults - Lorena S. Pacheco, PhD, MPH, RDN is a nutritional epidemiologist whose overarching career goal is to
become a leading researcher studying scalable interventions to prevent cardiometabolic disease in Latinos and
other minority populations. Her proposed work entitled A Culturally-Adapted Multicomponent Teaching Kitchen
Intervention for Low-Income Latino Adults is timely as there is need for research on culturally-adapted
multicomponent interventions for Latinos of diverse ethnicities. Candidate: Dr. Pacheco is a Yerby
postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
(HSPH). Her prior work on an innovative cluster randomized trial in Latinos, and research in an underserved
Latino community in rural Baja California, Mexico, demonstrates her commitment to developing culturally-
sensitive interventions for dietary improvement in minority communities. The proposed plan will build upon her
expertise with four training objectives to enable her transition toward independence: 1) Attain knowledge about
examining health behaviors and integrative teaching kitchen (TK) curricula; 2) Gain expertise in using mixed-
methods approaches for intervention development; 3) Develop proficiency in cultural adaptations of
interventions; and 4) Obtain expertise in community-based participatory research for intervention development.
Dr. Pacheco’s training plan comprises didactic work/certification, conferences, and workshops, that will support
and enrich her skillset. Environment and Mentorship: HSPH has well-established research and training
programs in public health, nutrition, and behavioral science, and Boston Medical Center (BMC) is an academic
medical center committed to advancing the frontiers of medicine via research. Dr. Pacheco’s proposed career
development plan incorporates robust resources available in these two institutions. Additionally, she
assembled an excellent multidisciplinary mentoring team, with the commitment, knowledge, and expertise to
guide her through her training plan and research activities. Research: The goal of this project is to develop
and assess a research and training program involving a TK intervention to improve cardiometabolic health in
Latinos by: Aim 1 evaluating the longitudinal associations between distinct dietary behaviors and metabolic
syndrome and type 2 diabetes by Latino ethnic heritage; Aim 2 determining the level of at-home readiness and
practices, attitudes, preferences, barriers, and solutions regarding components of a TK intervention in low-
income Latinos of diverse ethnic heritages by using sequential explanatory mixed-methods strategies; and Aim
3 evaluating the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of a culturally-adapted multicomponent TK
intervention for low-income Latinos of diverse ethnic heritages compared to usual care. Summary: This is an
innovative proposal as this will be the first project to examine the feasibility of a culturally-adapted TK
multicomponent intervention for low-income Latinos. This award will provide the research and training required
for Dr. Pacheco’s success, and serve as the foundation for a large-scale, TK multi-center trial in Latinos.
