The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #61645

Leslie A. Lytle, PhD RD¹, Jared B. Jobe, PhD², Lauve Metcalfe³, Jamie Moody, MS⁴, Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, PhD, MPH¹, Brit I. Saksvig⁵, Ruth P. Saunders, PhD⁶, Patricia K. Strikmiller, MS⁷, and Dianne Ward, EdD⁸. (1) Division of Epidemiology, University of Minnesota, 1300 South Second Street, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55454, 612-624-3518, lytle@epi.umn.edu, (2) Division of Epidemiology and Clinical Applications, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, 2 Rockledge Center, MSC 7936, 6701 Rockledge Drive, Bethesda, MD 20892, (3) Department of Physiology, University of Arizona, 6522 N. Foothills Drive, Room 113 PO Box 210093, Tucson, AZ 85721, (4) San Diego State University, 9245 Sky Park Court, Suite 224, San Diego, CA 92123, (5) University of Maryland, Welch Center East, 2809 Boston Street; Suite 7, Baltimore, MD 21224, (6) Department of Health Promotion & Education, University of South Carolina School of Public Health, 216 Health Sciences Bldg, Columbia, SC 29208, (7) School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine, Department of Biostatistics, Tulane University, 1430 Tulane Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70112, (8) University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, CB #7400, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400

Purpose: This session will describe the conceptual model, planning process and intervention channels developed for the Trial of Activity in Adolescent Girls (TAAG), a multi-centered school and community intervention trial funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, NIH. Background: Young adolescents experience a decline in physical activity as they reach their middle school years. Reversing these trends will likely require environmental changes such as providing more opportunities, increased incentives and positive normative expectations and experiences in schools and communities. Methods: The primary aim of TAAG is to determine if an intervention that links schools to community organizations reduces the age-related decline in moderate to vigorous physical activity in middle school girls. A socio-ecological approach was chosen to guide the TAAG intervention. Such an approach emphasizes the etiologic evidence for the behavior in question and considers predictors at multiple levels including individual behavior change, interpersonal, organizational, policy and other setting and environmental factors that comprise the context wherein behavior occurs. Formative assessment and pilot work are essential in designing intervention strategies that are feasible and acceptable to adolescent girls. The TAAG intervention channels include: TAAG Partners for Physical Activity, Physical Education, Health Education with Activity Challenges, and TAAG Promotions. Conclusion: Developing effective health promotion interventions are very challenging. Using a program planning approach, behavioral theory that addresses the multiple levels of influence, and a conceptual framework that guides the development of creative and appropriate intervention strategies that actively involve school and community resources will enhance our chances for success.

Learning Objectives:

• To describe the conceptual model and intervention strategies for a large school-based intervention study to promote physical activity in adolescent girls.

Keywords: Physical Activity, Adolescents

Related Web page: www.cscc.unc.edu/taag/

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: NHLBI; University of Minnesota; University of Maryland; University of Arizona; University of South Carolina; University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill; San Diego State University; Tulane University
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.