Abstract
The Healthy Weight Collaborative (HWC) represents a national quality improvement effort to increase uptake of evidence-based community-based interventions to address obesity among children. Implemented from 2011 to 2013, the HWC built the capacity of 49 community-based multisector teams (10 teams in the Phase 1 pilot, 39 teams in Phase 2), delivered services to support health behavior changes in children and families, and implemented sustainable social and environmental policy change at the organizational and community levels. Phase 2 teams participated in three virtual collaborative learning sessions interspersed with three “action periods” during which teams implemented the HWC “change package” while receiving tailored coaching and peer-support. All of the teams participating in Phase 2 adopted a healthy weight message, 59% implemented community-wide healthy weight assessments and healthy weight plans, and 31% made progress toward developing and implementing policies to promote healthy weight. By the end of the project, one-third of teams had developed sustainability plans to continue working with this approach. The HWC offers a collaborative team model with the potential to effectively address other public health challenges.
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Acknowledgements
This evaluation was supported by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) (Contract No. HHSH2502006460271/HHSH25034006T); the information contained in this article was obtained under the evaluation contract. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policies of HHS or HRSA, nor does mention of the department or agency names imply endorsement by the U.S. government.
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Hargreaves, M.B., Orfield, C., Honeycutt, T. et al. Addressing Childhood Obesity Through Multisector Collaborations: Evaluation of a National Quality Improvement Effort. J Community Health 42, 656–663 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-016-0302-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-016-0302-7