KEYS 4 Healthy Kids: A policy and environment needs assessment in low income neighborhoods

West Virginia, one of the poorest states in the nation, has some of the highest rates of overweight and obesity among adults and children/adolescents. Although West Virginia has progressive state level legislation directed at reducing childhood obesity, implementation at the local level has proven to be challenging. The Institute of Medicine specifically recommends a focus on local action to achieve sustainable policy and environmental change. This paper describes KEYS 4 Healthy Kids, a community-based effort designed to influence policy and environmental change, being implemented in two low income neighborhoods in Charleston West Virginia. KEYS 4 Healthy Kids is a partnership of over 25 organizations, including sectors such as education, city government, social services, health agencies, and community based organizations. A six part needs assessment was conducted in the spring of 2010, including corner store healthy food assessments (n=32 stores), a physical activity opportunity inventory, community forums (n=47 participants) and a youth focus group (n=9 participants), a survey of resident's (n=101) current practices and barriers related to physical activity and healthy eating, a child care policy assessment (n=25 child care centers), and an assessment of local government and school policies related to physical activity. The needs assessment revealed many of the same barriers to healthy eating and physical activity for low income populations reported in the literature. This paper will describe the results of the needs assessment and the process used to prioritize implementation strategies, as well as lessons learned from the community partnership engagement process.