Evaluation of a Community-wide Obesity Prevention Initiative

Community-wide efforts have been used widely to promote healthy lifestyles and to fight the obesity epidemic in the U.S. Valid evaluation of such efforts is crucial to project success and sustainability but often prove to be challenging. This study adopts a systematic approach to evaluate a community-wide effort: the CDC-funded Douglas County (NE) Putting Prevention to Work obesity prevention initiative. The initiative is to prevent obesity through nine coordinated, evidence-based strategies: improving “share the road” signage; implementing bike share programs on college campuses; modifying the city's Master Plan to accommodate active living; promoting active transportation to primary schools; promoting health policies in local businesses and organizations; promoting active living in after-school programs; assisting store owners to incorporate healthy food selections; using locally grown foods within schools; and implementing a social marketing campaign to promote active living and healthy eating. The cornerstone of the evaluation was a comprehensive logic model developed collaboratively with the nine strategy groups, based on which a monthly output data tracking system was designed. Monthly progress reports were also collected providing qualitative data on implementation successes and challenges. This presentation discusses key evaluation findings from the first year for each strategy group, as well as lessons learned during program evaluation. Overall, the requested information was supplied timely and the continuous monitoring system contributed to 91% of milestones being completed on time. The results suggest that the use of a widely agreed-upon logic model and tracking systems contribute to evaluation effectiveness and success of a multi-component, community-wide intervention.