Addressing the Gap Between Academic Research and Grassroots Public Health Practice: Supporting Policy, Systems, and Environmental Changes in Rural Communities.

Public health practice continues to expand beyond traditional partners to increase reach and impact in communities. This is particularly important in rural communities, who face inequities in the social determinants of health and increased chronic disease burden. However, the capacity for non-traditional community organizations to understand and implement public health work varies widely.

Activating Worksites to Implement Policy, Systems, and Environmental Changes: Outcomes and Overcoming Challenges.

Purpose: Although workplaces are prime settings for health promotion, little is known about the implementation of policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes focused on chronic disease. PSEs have broader reach and are more sustainable than individual level strategies.

Design: non-experimental, one group design with no control.

Grow This!

Gardening is associated with a wide array of health benefits. We describe the dissemination of a low-cost social media-based campaign (Grow This!), an intervention intended to reach novice gardeners and which combined elements of old (seeds) and new (Facebook) technology. Grow This! was implemented before (2018, 2019) and during (2020) the COVID pandemic, providing an interesting framework for understanding participants' motivations for gardening.

Maximizing the Potential of Mini-Grants to Promote Policy, Systems, and Environmental Changes: Outcomes and Challenges.

Purpose And Objectives: This article describes the implementation and evaluation of a chronic disease mini-grant initiative, coordinated by a state health department in collaboration with multiple stakeholders. Braided funding from federal and state sources was used to build and implement the initiative.

Intervention Approach: Mini-grants, facilitated by five different facilitating organizations, were funded to promote implementation of policy, systems, and environmental (PSE) changes at the local level.

Environmental Factors Affecting Rural Physical Activity Behaviors: Learning from Community Partners.

Background: Rural environments present many barriers to regular physical activity (PA), and residents who live in these communities are at higher risk for a variety of health issues.

Objectives: We used community-based participatory research (CBPR) to guide the development of project interventions and enhance partnerships within the communities.

Methods: University-community partnerships, including Extension professionals, were used to gather data from twenty key informants in two West Virginia counties.

Translating School Physical Education and Activity Policies into Practice: A Case Study.

Background: Public health experts recommend school-based policies as a population based approach to increase youth physical activity. The purpose of this case study is to describe one, largely rural, state's efforts to translate this recommendation into practice. Details about the genesis, implementation and evolution of two state level policies (physical education and physical activity), as well as in-house efforts of a State Department of Education to monitor policy compliance and challenges encountered are described.

Physical Activity-Related Policy and Environmental Strategies to Prevent Obesity in Rural Communities: A Systematic Review of the Literature, 2002-2013.

Introduction: Health disparities exist between rural and urban residents; in particular, rural residents have higher rates of chronic diseases and obesity. Evidence supports the effectiveness of policy and environmental strategies to prevent obesity and promote health equity. In 2009, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended 24 policy and environmental strategies for use by local communities: the Common Community Measures for Obesity Prevention (COCOMO); 12 strategies focus on physical activity.

How to Identify Success Among Networks That Promote Active Living.

Objectives: We evaluated organization- and network-level factors that influence organizations' perceived success. This is important for managing interorganizational networks, which can mobilize communities to address complex health issues such as physical activity, and for achieving change.

Methods: In 2011, we used structured interview and network survey data from 22 states in the United States to estimate multilevel random-intercept models to understand organization- and network-level factors that explain perceived network success.

Municipal Officials' Participation in Built Environment Policy Development in the United States.

Purpose: This study examined municipal officials' participation in built environment policy initiatives focused on land use design, transportation, and parks and recreation.

Design: Web-based cross-sectional survey.

Setting: Eighty-three municipalities with 50,000 or more residents in eight states.

Developing a Dissemination Model to Improve Intervention Reach among West Virginia Youth Smokers.

The not-on-tobacco program is an evidence-based teen smoking cessation program adopted by the American Lung Association (ALA). Although widely disseminated nationally via ALA Master Trainers, in recent years, adoption and implementation of the N-O-T program in West Virginia (WV) has slowed. WV, unfortunately, has one of the highest smoking rates in the US.

In-depth interviews with state public health practitioners on the United States National Physical Activity Plan.

Background: The United States National Physical Activity Plan (NPAP; 2010), the country's first national plan for physical activity, provides strategies to increase population-level physical activity to complement the 2008 physical activity guidelines. This study examined state public health practitioner awareness, dissemination, use, challenges, and recommendations for the NPAP.

Methods: In 2011-2012, we interviewed 27 state practitioners from 25 states.

Understanding physical activity outcomes as a function of teen smoking cessation.

Objective: Recent evidence suggests physical activity may be protective against smoking initiation and increased smoking among youth. The present study explored the effects of a teen smoking cessation intervention supplemented with a physical activity module on participants' physical activity outcomes. A secondary aim examined the relationship between participants' physical activity outcomes and postprogram smoking intensity.

Active living collaboratives in the United States: understanding characteristics, activities, and achievement of environmental and policy change.

Introduction: Changing the built environment to promote active lifestyles requires collaboration among diverse sectors. Multisectoral collaborative groups in the United States promote active lifestyles through environmental and policy changes. The objective of this study was to examine the characteristics of these collaborative groups and the extent to which they have achieved change.

Opportunity meets planning: an assessment of the physical activity emphasis in state obesity-related plans.

Background: In the United States, health promotion efforts often begin with state-level strategic plans. Many states have obesity, nutrition, or other topic-related plans that include physical activity (PA). The purpose of this study was to assess PA content in these state plans and make recommendations for future plan development.

Examination of trends and evidence-based elements in state physical education legislation: a content analysis.

Objectives: To develop a comprehensive inventory of state physical education (PE) legislation, examine trends in bill introduction, and compare bill factors.

Methods: State PE legislation from January 2001 to July 2007 was identified using a legislative database. Analysis included components of evidence-based school PE from the Community Guide and other authoritative sources: minutes in PE, PE activity, teacher certification, and an environmental element, including facilities and equipment.

Promoting youth physical activity and healthy weight through schools.

The prevalence of overweight in youth has increased three- to four-fold in the United States since the 1960s. The school environment can play prominently in the mitigation of this epidemic by increasing physical activity opportunities/ levels, decreasing the availability of food/ beverage with added sugar, and enhancing students' scientific understandings about energy balance. The potential to increase energy expenditure goes beyond the school day to include safe routes for walking and biking to school (active transport) as well as the availability of school facilities as a community resource for physical activity outside of school hours.

Engaging rural youth in physical activity promotion research in an after-school setting.

Background: West Virginia, the second most rural state in the nation, has a higher than average prevalence of chronic diseases, especially those related to physical inactivity and obesity. Innovative educational approaches are needed to increase physical activity among adults and youth in rural areas and reduce rural health disparities. This paper describes West Virginia's Health Sciences and Technology Academy (HSTA) Education and Outreach on Healthy Weight and Physical Activity.

The West Virginia Health Education Assessment Project.

Well-designed school health education should provide students with the knowledge and skills to prevent the health risk behaviors most responsible for the major causes of morbidity and mortality. This paper reports the methodology and findings of a West Virginia statewide health education assessment initiative and describes how the findings are used to design professional development training for school health educators. Selected response items from the State Collaborative on Assessment and Student Standards, Health Education Assessment Project were used to develop a 40-item assessment instrument for 6 health education content areas.

School-based opportunities for physical activity in West Virginia public schools.

Background: Schools have the unique potential to provide numerous opportunities for promoting physical activity. This article describes findings from a statewide survey of opportunities for physical activity in West Virginia (WV) schools. The purpose was to provide baseline data for two of the WV Healthy People 2010 objectives related to schools and youth to identify priorities for action.