Food, Culture, and Health Study (‘Cunno, Caado, & Caafimaad’ Study)

What are some results of the study?

Executive Summary [download pamphlet here (for best results, print double-sided and fold into thirds)]

Our team also presented at the Society for Research on Adolescence in March, 2022. See more details here.

Watch this video to learn about the benefits of connecting to your heritage culture!

Resources for Families

Minneapolis & Twin Cities Metro (MN) (download flyer here)

Miami & South Florida Metro (FL) (download flyer here)

What is the purpose of this study? We want to better understand the strengths and challenges of refugee and immigrant youth and families in Minnesota, Florida and elsewhere in staying healthy, especially during pandemic times. Our findings will help community organizations, schools, families/caregivers and professionals to better support youth and families in being healthy and resilient.

Who is running this study? The Food, Culture, and Health Study (‘Cunno, Caado, & Caafimaad’ Study) expands the transdisciplinary research of the CFL Lab to new communities by investigating the roles of acculturation and media in the nutrition of U.S. immigrant and refugee families, especially in a post-COVID-19 and post #GeorgeFloyd national context. This collaborative project team pictured above includes researchers from the University of Minnesota, the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and the University of Miami. This study has been approved by the IRBs of the University of Minnesota (IRB STUDY00011248) and the University of Miami (IRB ID: 20201309).

The Food, Culture, & Health Study data collection core team meeting, September 2021. Top Row L-R: Hopewell Hodges (Graduate RA), Dr. Gail Ferguson (PI), Hattie Gibson (Undergrad RA). Second row from L-R: Sarah Gillespie (Grad fellow), Dr. Saida Abdi (Co-I), Anisa Ali (Cultural Broker). Bottom row from L-R: Salma Ibrahim (Undergrad RA), Dr. Sue Lycett Davis (Cultural Broker); Fernanda Da Silva (Graduate RA).

The Food, Culture, & Health Study team zoom meeting, June 2020. Top Row L-R: Sarah Gillespie (Graduate research fellow), Dr. Gail Ferguson (PI), Noa Cherney (Undergrad RA), Dr. Saida Abdi (Co-I). Second row from top L-R: Dr. Michelle Nelson (Co-PI), Dr. Guerda Nicolas (Co-I), Dr. Regina Ahn (Co-I), Dr. Lisa Harnack (Co-I). Third row from top L-R: Reece Alstat (Undergrad RA), Salma Ibrahim (Undergrad RA), Dr. Steve Tran (Stats Consultant), Dr. Fanita Tyrell (Pdoc Fellow). L-R bottom row: Dr. Roli Dwivedi (Co-I); Sarah Eckerstorfer (Undergrad RA), Fernanda Da Silva (Graduate RA), and Lauren Eales (Graduate RA & CFL Lab manager).

Who is funding this study? This project is funded by a 2020 Research Acceleration Developmental Project seed grant through the University of Minnesota’s College of Education and Human Development. The grant is awarded to an existing interdisciplinary partnership to support novel studies that break new ground or extend previous work in new directions.

Publications

Ferguson, G. M., Senesathith, V., & Ibrahim, S. (in press). How Parenting Facilitates
Adolescents’ Tricultural Identity Development: A Mixed Methods Collective Case Study of Tridimensionally Acculturating Black Jamaican Immigrant Families”. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology. Click here for [PDF].

Hodges, H. R., Gillespie, S., Cherubini, F. D. S., Ibrahim, S. A., Gibson, H., Ali Daad, A. M., Davis, S. L., Abdi, S. M, Senesathith, V., Food, Culture, and Health Study Data Collection Team, and Ferguson, G. M. (in press). Ethical applications of digital community-based research with Black immigrant and refugee youth and families. American Psychologist. doi: 10.1037/amp0001191