Goal 4 health: Encouraging synergy for family health

The family plays a significant role in how individuals manage their health via positive reinforcement by example. The Goal 4 Health (G4H) program, a community-campus service initiative, utilizes soccer, a key community and cultural resource, to encourage more physical activity and healthy lifestyle habits within the families in the city of San Bernardino, nestled in the culturally diverse and resource poor area of Southern California. In an effort to maximize the benefits of the G4H program, a Healthy Living Activities (HLA) curriculum geared towards the parents was integrated with the soccer league. An evaluation of previous seasons has revealed that parents have not shown a significant level of interest in and support of the HLA curriculum. In order to investigate ways to modify the curriculum to promote greater parent involvement, a team of Public Health students, in partnership with the G4H staff, conducted a mixed methods needs and assets assessment guided by the Social-Ecological Model and community-based participatory methodologies. The assessment included focus groups (n=4), key informant interviews (n=4), and a survey (n=11) in order to identify the barriers to involvement and potential improvement. The results identified barriers such as a lack of curriculum organization, incentives, relevant courses and practical activities. Furthermore, parents recommended key health topics such as stress and weight management, healthy snacks, and reading nutrition labels. The team implemented and evaluated these recommendations with modified structural and organizational methods to increase the percentage of parental participation, encourage family involvement, and ultimately improve health outcomes of the community.