186938 Schools/After School Domain of the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative: Engaging school leaders and after-school providers to participate in a broad-based community partnership

Tuesday, October 28, 2008: 5:30 PM

Naomi Butler, BS , Maternal, Child and Family Health Services, County of San Diego, Public Health Services, San Diego, CA
     
This session will present the work of the Schools/After School Domain of the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative (Initiative), a unique public/private partnership that has engaged community partners in multiple sectors to work together to impact childhood obesity. Schools/after school is one of seven domains identified by the Initiative to have the most influence on developing environments that support healthy choices and behavior change. With support from the Coalition on Children and Weight San Diego, school professionals and after school providers are working together and with other sectors to improve nutrition and physical activity environments in school settings.

The Schools/After School Domain is a collaborative coalition representing a broad membership including school professionals (educators, school nurses, administrators, school board members, PE professionals, County Office of Education staff, wellness council leads, etc.) health professionals (public health nurses, health plan administrators, nutritionists, physicians), after school providers (youth organizations, business owners, community-based organizations), and academia (University of California San Diego, San Diego State University). Domain leaders have provided technical assistance/training on implementation of federally mandated school wellness policies. Domain leaders make best practice models and practical implementation tools available to all 42 school districts in San Diego County and conduct trainings to teach parents to advocate for effective school wellness policies. Cross-sector efforts include leading a countywide school garden collaborative; piloting a school-based program to enhance food stamp utilization through nutritional messaging; and participation in a pilot program designed to collect BMI data for children upon school entry.

Learning Objectives:
1. Identify traditional and non-traditional partners from the school and after school sector to participate in a community-based public/private collaboration. 2. Apply concepts learned to assist in development of strategies to improve food and physical activity environments for children throughout the school day. 3. Identify methods of partnering with other sectors to impact policy and environmental change.

Keywords: Obesity, Partnerships

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: As Public Health Nutrition Manager for the County of San Diego Health and Human Services Agency, my main focus is promotion of healthier environments for youth in schools, after school settings, and the community. I serve as domain champion and chair of the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative’s Schools and After School Domain and was chair of the Coalition on Children and Weight San Diego’s school workgroup for three years. I have a Bachelor of Science in Foods and Nutrition from San Diego State University (SDSU) and have worked for the North San Diego County Indian Health Council in diabetes prevention and California Project LEAN (Leaders Encouraging Activity and Nutrition) at the local level for SDSU Foundation for nine years and at the state level for two years.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

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.

See more of: Childhood Obesity Initiative: A Public-Private Partnership in San Diego and Elsewhere
See more of: Community Health Planning and Policy Development