Below are select health-related programs offered by Purdue Extension Health and Human Sciences Educators. For additional health programming topics and options, please contact your local county Extension office.

 

CREW - Compassion & Resilience Education at Work

As concerns about mental health and substance use rise in the United States, many organizations want new or expanded education and resources for employee mental health and well-being. To help meet this need, Purdue Extension has an introductory educational curriculum on mental well-being specific to workplaces – Compassion & Resilience Education at Work or CREW.

The CREW Curriculum is adaptable for varied industries and organizations of all sizes. It can be delivered in person or virtually. CREW offers education and skill-building content related to three topics, available as standalone one-hour sessions or as a series:

  • Work-Life Balance
  • Stress Management
  • Stigma Reduction

The target audience for CREW is frontline employees. A secondary target audience includes employers, managers, supervisors, and human resources personnel. CREW is professional development for current employees to address challenges they may experience in their work environment (rather than as training for those entering the workforce).

Connect with your local Extension Educator to learn more about CREW and opportunities to bring the CREW Curriculum to your workplace.

 

Purdue Extension Be Heart Smart Logo with a heart

Your heart beats nearly 100,000 times a day. That’s 100,000 good reasons to take care of it.

Purdue Extension’s Be Heart Smart program is combating heart disease—the #1 cause of death for men and women in Indiana. Designed to help adults prevent heart disease, this four-session program offers simple, practical changes to achieve a heart-healthy lifestyle. This program provides information about:

  • managing blood pressure and cholesterol;
  • increasing daily physical activity;
  • improving dietary choices;
  • managing stress;
  • talking to a healthcare provider, and more.

After attending the program, participants will be able to identify their controllable risk factors for heart disease and how to reduce their personal risk. Connect with your local Extension Educator to learn more about Be Heart Smart and opportunities to attend this program.

 

Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces: Creating Healthy Communities

 

 

 

In Indiana, community leaders make decisions about public spaces such as parks, trails, farmers markets, schools, and Main Streets every day that affect the health and wellness of the community. Using Purdue Extension′s Enhancing the Value of Public Spaces: Creating Healthy Communities program, facilitators coach communities through development of a high quality action plan for the public spaces. The plan can guide decision and better position communities to take advantage of opportunities to promote healthy eating and active living. 

 

Purdue Extension wants to help you increase your physical activity. No need to worry about finding time to attend a program—this one is done completely via email!

Walking is an easy way to start and maintain a physically active lifestyle. Walking is accessible to almost anyone, does not require specific skills or abilities to perform, and can be done alone or with others. Physical inactivity is directly related to the prevalence of adult and childhood obesity. Participation in regular physical activity, like walking, decreases the risk of coronary heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, osteoporosis, depression, obesity, breast and colon cancers, and falls in older adults.

Get WalkIN’ helps to promote and increase physical activity among adults simply by walking more. This unique program is entirely e-mail based. Over a period of 12 weeks, you will receive 16 e-mail messages from Purdue Extension containing credible and useful information about the health benefits of walking, how to overcome barriers, principles of self-efficacy, social support, goal setting, walking locations, and relapse prevention.

Let us help motivate and encourage you to get on your feet! This program helps participants make simple changes to their daily routine to get in more steps—and on their way to better overall health and well-being.

 

Mental Health First Aid from National Council for Wellbeing

Purdue Extension has a team of facilitators who are certified to teach this evidence-based program developed by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing. Mental Health First Aid teaches how to interact with and support someone who may be developing a mental health issue or experiencing a crisis.

Mental Health First Aid participants:

  • Recognize the signs and symptoms of several mental health issues.
  • Gain new perspectives about the stigma surrounding mental health struggles.
  • Learn how to start conversations with those at risk and to encourage them to seek help.
  • Understand how to connect someone with appropriate professional and community resources.

Purdue Extension offers adult and youth Mental Health First Aid. The adult program is for adults who want to help other adults. The youth program is for adults who interact with elementary through high school aged youth.

Mental Health First Aid is open to any adult who is interested to learn. No prior training or specific education is needed, and all experiences are welcome. Recent participants have included concerned family members and friends, faith-based leaders, farmers, healthcare professionals, law enforcement, school personnel, and veterinary providers.

Visit Purdue Extensions Mental Health First Aid website to learn more or register for a course.