The overall goal of this application is the expansion of the nutrition knowledge base and the use of that knowledge for the prevention of cardiovascular disease (CVD) through learning experiences for medical students, house staff, faculty and practicing physicians. This goal will be met through five major aims: (1) To integrate nutrition principles into the existing curricula. (2) To focus on prevention of CVD as nutrition and exercise are taught within the curricula. (3) To assess program effectiveness through changes in awareness (attitudes), knowledge level and use of nutrition principles. (4) To develop training modules in collaboration with other Awardees for dissemination to other medical schools and institutions. (5) To promote research studies in nutrition and cardiovascular disease prevention at The University of Iowa. Strategies to accomplish these aims include interactive computer simulations, interactive discussions with a multidisciplinary team, nutrition-oriented case studies, nutrition related experiences designed to allow personal exploration of CVD risk factors and their diagnostic tests, food demonstrations (including ethnic low-fat cuisine), medical student luncheons, medical student dietitian shadowing, funded nutrition fellowships, post-graduate nutrition and CVD experiences, and research activities involving nutrition and CVD. To determine the effectiveness of these strategies a wide variety of methods will be used.
