ePortfolio Reflections: Strengths and Opportunities

Taking a moment to reflect on my ePortfolio as I move from course 631 to 632, I believe it has the following strengths:

·      There is a section for artefacts containing easy to access links to some of my projects related to school nutrition, including a voiceover powerpoint that I think reflects both the current issues as well as a framework for how to improve the school food environment.

·      The updates I added to my ePortfolio while completing 631, in particular in the about me section, better reflect my positionality and reflexivity.

The framework that stands out for me most, and one I have discussed in a few of my blog posts, is the social ecological model of health.  Having worked with children in the past in both 1-1 nutritional counselling and at the larger level of the school food environment while working in public health, my conviction that interventions targeting the environment level are quite strong.  I find the social ecological model to be best suited for interventions targeting children as I more convinced than ever that the most impactful interventions related to most childhood nutrition issues lies far beyond the individual. 

In terms of limitations to my understanding of conceptual frameworks, I hope to take the theoretical concepts I learned about during 631 and develop a deeper understanding of how to implement and operationalize the learnings to see how I can apply them to my current role in home health care.

Lastly, one burning question related to the health problem I focused on in 631 (childhood nutrition issues and the school food environment) that  I hope to explore in 632 is “How do we increase buy in from parents, school administrators and teachers to ensure they follow school food and nutrition policies, in particular PPM 150”?  I look forward to strengthening my understanding of health promotion and gain more tools in 632!