Attacking the Obesity Epidemic at the Community Level—The Missouri Foundation for Health's Healthy & Active Communities Initiative: A Multicultural Community Grantee Perspective (Forest Institute of Professional Psychology & Hand in Hand Multicultural Center)

Hand in Hand Multicultural Center (HIH) is a non-profit community service organization located in Springfield, Missouri. Their mission is to empower individuals and ethnic minority families in Southwest Missouri to become more productive citizens by enhancing their mental, physical, social, economic, educational, and spiritual well being. This population is of particular interest because of the number of minorities in the service area and well known disparities in obesity. Between 1990 and 2000 the African American Population increased by 44%, Hispanic/Latino by 149.8%, and Asian American/Pacific Islanders by 88.1%.

Forest Institute of Professional Psychology (FIPP) has a history of partnering with HIH to provide services. In 2005 HIH and FIPP were awarded funding through the Missouri Foundation for Health's Healthy and Active Communities Initiative to improve nutrition and physical activity. Their program, Vitality Vim and Vigor for Life (3Vs), has since conducted numerous activities to fight obesity among participants. Activities include: 1)home health parties hosted by lay health leaders/promotores to encourage healthy eating and physical activity, 2) activity teams tailored to individual activity preferences, 3) information centers with creative and culturally sensitive printed materials, and 4) a community-wide campaign to promote the 3Vs program. 3Vs was also chosen for continued funding from MFH.

Throughout their program, 3Vs has established over 70 partnerships in the community and reached hundreds of individuals. This session will focus on the successful use of lay health leaders/promotores and existing community programs to deliver a cultural sensitive program. Evaluation outcomes and lessons learned will also be shared.