Online Program

294459
Be fit with friends leader manual: A training manual and session guide for a multi-component physical activity intervention for adolescent girls in a low-income, urban setting


Monday, November 4, 2013 : 10:50 a.m. - 11:10 a.m.

Deborah Parra-Medina, PhD, MPH, Institute for Health Promotion Research, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Laura Esparza, MS, CHES, Institute for Health Promotion Research, University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX
Innovative approaches are needed to increase physical activity (PA) levels of Latina adolescents who are less physically active than the general adolescent population and at risk for obesity and chronic disease. Two academic institutions and two community-based organizations, including a local Girl Scout council, established the Physical Activity Partnership for Girls (PG) to study community needs and priorities related to PA promotion for Latina adolescents (11-14 years) living in low-income, urban areas of San Antonio, Texas. Using a community-based participatory research approach, PG employed a variety of strategies to plan, develop, and implement a culturally and environmentally relevant PA intervention for Latina adolescents. Be Fit with Friends (BFF), a multi-component PA intervention, emerged out of this participatory process, utilizing knowledge gained from the formative assessments and ongoing feedback from community partners and a community advisory board. The BFF Leader Manual, one component of BFF, guides leaders of Girl Scout troops in the implementation of BFF through information and skills training and program sessions for small groups of girls, all of which promote increased PA and decreased sedentary behavior. BFF uses a variety of behavioral strategies to promote PA, provides opportunities in safe, non-intimidating settings for girls to enjoy PA and develop new skills, and connects girls and families to PA-promoting community resources. The 9-session BFF health education curriculum included in the manual was designed to increase girls' knowledge of PA and health, build behavioral skills and increase social support to achieve behavior change.

Learning Areas:

Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Chronic disease management and prevention
Other professions or practice related to public health
Program planning
Social and behavioral sciences

Learning Objectives:
Describe the components of a physical activity intervention's leader manual developed through a community-based participatory process.

Keyword(s): Adolescent Health, Physical Activity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Dr. Parra-Medina is formally trained in Epidemiology and Health Promotion. She is the principal investigator for the Physical Activity Partnership for Girls project.
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.

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