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Abstract #160071

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Ximena Urrutia-Rojas, DrPH¹, Nuha A. Lackan, PhD², Richard Young, MD³, Anita Webb, PhD³, Yolanda Pitts, MEd, CHES¹, Elvia Arzate¹, Corinne Warren, MPH¹, Eileen Mauk, PhD⁴, Diane Sparks, RD, LD, CDE⁴, Cara Smith, RD, LD⁴, and Janie McGuigan, MCRP⁵. (1) School of Public Health, Dept. of Social and Behavioral Sciences, University of North TX Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd, Fort Worth, TX 76107, (2) School of Pubic Health, Dept. of Health Management & Policy, University of North Texas Health Science Center, 3500 Camp Bowie Blvd., Fort Worth, TX 76107, 817-735-5023, nlackan@hsc.unt.edu, (3) John Peter Smith FMRP, Family Medicine, 1500 S. Main, Fort Worth, TX 76104, (4) Food & Nutritional Services, John Peter Smith Hospital, 1500 S. Main, Fort Worth, TX 76104, (5) United Way of Tarrant County, Community Development Division, 210 E. Ninth St., Fort Worth, TX 76102

There is no single solution to the increase of childhood obesity because the causes are multiple and complex. In light of this, approaches to reducing obesity and overweight should include families, schools, health professionals, researchers, the food industry, and the media, and must be amenable to different ethnic groups, gender, and lifestyle preferences. Interventions that involve multidisciplinary teams working with multicultural communities are multi-dimensional and present multiple challenges and opportunities. This project demonstrates the multiple aspects of community partnerships in participatory research. "FitFuture" aims to motivate children and their families to understand the importance of achieving an appropriate weight, decreasing obesity and making a commitment to a healthier lifestyle, in a community that has been identified to be at the greatest risk for obesity during childhood. This 3 year intervention is a response to this challenge by enhancing community capacity through a participatory approach that considers the complexity of the etiology of obesity. The target population is third grade students and their families at an elementary school in Texas, which is comprised of primarily of African American and Hispanic students. The commitment to holistic health extends care laterally to the patient's family and community, and longitudinally to lifespan health promotion. Early on, we were impressed by the range and quantity of new relationships that were required just to develop the research proposal. We will briefly describe the project and we will illustrate and explain the matrix of complex institutional, research, academic, professional, community, and personal relationships that evolved.

Learning Objectives:

• Recognize the multidimensional aspects of childhood obesity and the importance of involving multidisciplinary teams in interventions that aim to change lifestyle
• List 3 opportunities and 3 challenges that arise when designing and implementing community participatory interventions
• Discuss the complexity of relationships at the institutional, academic, professional, community, family, and individual level that involve population participatory research

Keywords: Community Collaboration, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

• Slides (pdf) or Handout