NIH-funded researchers are working together with community members to improve nutrition for pregnant women and young children in Las Vegas, Nevada. They aim to create practical, community-driven strategies that reduce food insecurity during the critical first 1,000 days of life.
Led by Gabriela Buccini, Ph.D., at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the team launched the Early Responsive Nurturing Care for Food Security (EARN-FS) project, supported by the NIH Common Fund. The project focuses on understanding food insecurity, which is defined by limited or uncertain access to nutritionally adequate and safe foods, among families in under-resourced communities in Las Vegas.
Food insecurity during pregnancy and early childhood can have lasting effects on health and development. To better understand local challenges and opportunities, researchers partnered with community members, including mothers who have experienced food insecurity, to co-create solutions using a technique called concept mapping. This method allowed participants to identify barriers, brainstorm ideas, and rate strategies based on feasibility and impact—all grounded in direct experience and community knowledge.
The findings, published in Maternal & Child Nutrition, revealed a wide range of promising, community-informed strategies. Themes included: improving access to nutrition assistance programs by making enrollment easier and outreach more culturally relevant, ensuring food options are desirable and appropriate, strengthening local partnerships with trusted organizations such as community health workers and peer support groups, and including community voices in program design to enhance trust and improve uptake.
According to the authors, this participatory process bridged the gap between research frameworks and real-life experience. It not only generated actionable solutions that are feasible and tailored to the realities of families’ lives, but it also reinforced the importance of involving those most affected by food insecurity in the design of programs meant to serve them. The EARN-FS research team plans to continue refining and expanding the program to meaningfully engage with mothers to improve maternal and child health.
Citation: Saragosa AC, Flatt JD, Buccini G. Using concept mapping to co-create implementation strategies to address maternal-child food insecurity during the first 1000 days of life. Matern Child Nutr 21(1):e13739.
