Touching Hearts and Minds: Using Emotion-Based Messages to Promote Healthy Behaviors

The Touching Hearts, Touching Minds initiative was funded through a 2003 United States Department of Agriculture Special Projects grant to revitalize nutrition education and services in the Massachusetts Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) Program. The 30 nutrition education materials and facilitated group counseling techniques developed through the project use the power of parent-identified emotional “pulse points” to become more influential in guiding WIC participants to practice positive eating and physical activity behaviors that lead to healthier families. 

Touching Hearts, Touching Minds materials and strategies have been well received and provide opportunities to transform the nutrition counseling relationship between WIC families and WIC staff. 

View the study abstract or download the complete study from the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior.