Action Schools! BC is a best practices model designed to assist schools in creating individualized action plans to promote healthy living.
Action Schools! BC is a provincial initiative that adopted a socio-ecological approach to preventing obesity and promoting healthy weights in children. AS! BC engaged stakeholders at multiple levels of influence and across multiple sectors to mobilize schools and facilitate systemic change. At the school level AS! BC utilized a comprehensive school health –based model, facilitating the identification of community and school champions and the development of customized school Action Plans that target the whole school environment and involve families, teachers, principals and community stakeholders in providing more physical activity and healthy eating opportunities throughout the school day. For more information about Action Schools! BC go to www.actionschoolsbc.ca The results of a controlled efficacy trial (Pilot Phase) led the provincial government and key stakeholders to provide sustained funding for the provincial dissemination of the AS! BC model. The dissemination phase which is jointly funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research INMD and Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada provides the unique opportunity to evaluate whether the results observed in Phase I are transferable beyond a controlled urban setting to children and their school environments in culturally, economically and geographically diverse regions across BC. |
This program is in its first year after it was pilot tested in 10 elementary schools in 2006. The program is now in 50 schools in BC, and provides fresh fruits and vegetables twice a week to children. Currently a process evaluation in being conducted on the expansion of this project. |
Everybody and their Dog: Dog walking has been identified as a strategy for increasing physical activity levels. The purpose of this observational study is to monitor the physical activity levels and patterns of dog walkers who utilize public parts. We are interested in documenting whether dog owners who access parks to provide exercise for their dogs are also active themselves. There is new literature supporting dog walking as a means of regular physical activity, but this evidence is self-reported and does not include systematic observation of activity levels and patterns, nor of the built environment in which they walk Adapting McKenzie’s SOPLAY(2000) and SOPARC (2006) observational instruments, the researchers created a similar tool to capture dog walking behaviour – SOPAWD (Systematic Observation of Physical Activity With Dogs) |
Healthy Opportunities for Preschoolers (HOP) HOP targets childcare environments to support physical activity and other healthy lifestyle behaviours to optimize healthy child development. HOP offers a training manual, workshops and other resources to enhance the skills of childcare provides and parents to create healthy opportunities for preschoolers. HOP Childcare (manual and training) was initially developed with funding from the Vancouver Island Health Authority and the Ministry of Children and Families. It is currently being revised for families and for childcare with funding from 2010 Legacies Now Society under the LEAP BC initiative. HOP Family and HOP Childcare integrates physical activity, literacy and healthy eating. There are several research projects related to the HOP project. The impact evaluation is funded by CIHR and the process evaluations for the newly revised childcare and family resources by 2010 Legacies Now. |
Hale, Hearty & Literate: Empowering Students to Make Healthy Decisions This project has three distinct but related studies, each designed to enhance our understanding of how to nurture students (university, high school, and teen moms) to make healthy decisions regarding nutrition, physical activity, and substance use through health education curricula. In two of the studies (high school students in four Vancouver Island and Mainland schools, and teen moms attending four alternative education programs in the Victoria area), we are in the middle of data collection (e.g., environmental scans of school settings, interviews, focus groups, surveys), and have information describing students’ health priorities, sources of health information, and the influence of traditional and new media on their health literacy and practices. In the study with university students we have completed the initial round of data collection (surveys administered to 855 students, focus groups and interviews with 67 students, analysis of 50 student papers, environmental scan/literature review of health education curricula across North American campuses), and are developing a first year health education curriculum (on campus and online). UVic students’ overall wellness is considered “good.” Of the ten dimensions measured in the survey, students were classified as “good” in terms of wellness related to physical activity, nutrition, social and environmental connections, emotional management, self-care and occupational wellness; and, classified as “excellent” in terms of wellness for intellect, values, safety and sexual practices. Students’ scores on 10 dimensions of wellness were poorest for physical activity, nutrition, emotional management and social/environmental connection, and the highest for sexual health, safety and values. Qualitative analyses revealed four primary themes relate to students’ health and wellness:
A fifth pattern emerged when analyzing the interviews and one-minute papers of students who had completed PE 142: the Benefits of taking the course addressed many of the Being, Belonging and Becoming concerns articulated by students through the surveys, and focus groups. Beginning in the fall of 2007, we will invite students who take the health education course to be part of the second phase of data collection, and we will track their health practices before, during and following completion of the course. A complete copy of the report is available for download. |
It Takes a Village to Raise Physical Activity Levels: Measuring Qom Qom SW Physical inactivity is unequivocally linked to many chronic diseases and illnesses (e.g., heart disease, diabetes, cancer) and subsequent premature death, as well as a co-conspirator (with poor nutrition) in the obesity epidemic, all highly prevalent in Native communities (Coble & Rhodes, 2006; Kriska, Saremi, Hanson et al., 2003). Inactivity rates among Canadians in general is poor (46%), but alarmingly high among our Aboriginal populations. As with other cultures, although more pronounced in Indigenous groups, advancing age and a lack of culturally-relevant social support are key factors influencing sedentary habits.As with other cultures, although more pronounced in Indigenous groups, advancing age and a lack of culturally-relevant social support are key factors influencing sedentary habits. Although the responsibility to be physically active is traditionally viewed as an individual one, in our Aboriginal communities it ‘takes a village to raise physical activity levels.’ This project will be able to contribute to our relatively low levels of understanding about how to best support physical activity among Aboriginal peoples. The purpose of this research is to document and measure physical activity levels of First Nations students/staff attending the Saanich Adult Education Centre six months following the establishment of an Activity Centre (Qom Qom - means 'gaining strength' in the Sencoten language) at the Education Centre. Research questions include: (1) What is the physical activity experience (e.g., type of activity, duration, frequency) of First Nations adult learners six months after an activity centre is established in their school? (2) What impact, if any, has an activity centre had on the physical, social and psychological health of adult learners? (3) In what ways is the activity centre related to traditional First Nations' culture? |
Municipal Recreation Food Environment Audit Tool (MRFEAT) Municipal Recreation Food Environment Action Tool and Community Mobilization Project The purpose of this multi-phased project is to create health promoting municipal recreation food environments for recreation users by mobilizing stakeholders, enhancing collaboration and providing information, resources and technical support for municipal recreation professionals. The specific goals of the project are to facilitate change in the municipal recreation food environment by:
In collaboration with PJ Naylor and the Advisory Committee, Laura Bridgewater will be designing and conducting a series of research projects/investigations related to the goals of the project and addressing innovative aspects of policy and setting-based intervention to prevent childhood obesity, chronic disease and promote overall health and well-being. |
PRO - (Practical Research On) Active Communities The purpose of this project is to develop a process evaluation toolkit for the Active Communities Initiative. We have purposely sampled 15 communities to help us pilot evaluation tools. These 15 communities represent the diversity of registered Active Communities in terms of geography, size, regions, physical activity levels and state of readiness to implement Active Communities initiatives. To date, we have conducted the following data collection techniques:
In aiming to balance the science of evaluation with the art of community practice, we are striving to create a process evaluation tool that integrates dimensions of the RE-AIM framework (Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance) with the existing Active Communities Checklist to maximize feasibility and friendliness of the evaluation process. |
Physician Pedometer Projects Pilot Evaluation |
