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

Abstract #67883

Julie Robarts, MS, MPH, RD, LDN¹, Maria Bettencourt, MPH¹, Elizabeth Metallinos-Katsaras, PhD, RD², Deborah N. Pearlman, PhD³, and Vanessa Cavallaro, MS, RD, LDN¹. (1) Bureau of Family and Community Health, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 250 Washington Street, 4th floor, Boston, MA 02108-4619, (2) Simmons College, 300 The Fenway, Boston, MA 02115, (3) Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research, Brown University, Box G - B 213, Providence, RI 02912

The need for effective school-based programs to improve eating and physical activity habits of youth is well documented. Healthy Choices, a Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH) overweight prevention program for middle school students was piloted in 1994 with a grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The program addressed healthy snacking, body image, television viewing, fitness, and body size diversity through nutrition projects, media message development, and a variety of physical activities. The success of the pilot program led MDPH to develop a statewide Healthy Choices initiative. BlueCross and BlueShield of Massachusetts provided funding to support the expansion. In 1999, the MDPH received a collaborative evaluation grant from the CDC and National Cancer Institute to determine the impact of the Healthy Choices. MDPH used a case-comparison design to evaluate a variety of outcomes: physical activity behaviors, sedentary activity behaviors, fruit/vegetable intake, nutrition knowledge, and body mass index (BMI). In addition, the MDPH conducted an extensive process evaluation. Findings showed a positive intervention effect for girls (p<0.001) for both BMI and nutrition knowledge in models that controlled for race, gender, intervention status, and relevant baseline score. Process evaluation data demonstrated that a dedicated school-based coordinator, a unified team, support from school administration, adequate resources, and technical assistance from MDPH were predictors of whether an individual program reported successes during the year and was sustained during the next year. Program impacts will be presented as well as information on the process evaluation.

Learning Objectives:

At the conclusion of the session, the participant in this session will be able to:
• Identify the main messages of the Healthy Choices program
• Describe the positive intervention effects that were a result of the Healthy Choices evaluation
• Discuss the results of the Healthy Choices process evaluation, particularly the barriers and facilitators to successful program implementation

Keywords: Nutrition, Physical Activity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
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.