141st APHA Annual Meeting

In This section

285762
Gaining traction: What Massachusetts has done to move the needle on childhood obesity

Monday, November 4, 2013 : 9:30 AM - 9:50 AM

Cheryl Bartlett, RN , Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Boston, MA
There are many factors that influence the development of an individual's lifestyle behaviors, including the culture and community in which he or she lives, the organizations in which he or she is involved, and his or her interpersonal relationships. Reducing overweight and obesity across the lifespan will require community-level, municipal-wide support of healthy behaviors through policy, systems and environmental changes. The Mass in Motion Municipal Wellness and Leadership Grant Program is designed to build capacity at the municipal level to create a sustained approach for active living and healthy eating. Municipalities have been funded to plan, assess, initiate, and/or expand the implementation of policy, systems, and/or environmental approaches that support healthy eating and active living. Under the leadership of city or town management (e.g., Mayor, Town Manager or the Board of Selectmen), municipalities create or expand an existing community partnership that includes municipal partners (e.g., local elected officials, local Board of Health, Planning, Parks and Recreation, Economic Development, School Superintendent, Councils on Aging/Senior Centers) and community partners (e.g., YMCAs, faith-based organizations, legislators, hospitals/healthcare providers, health insurance providers, foundations, business owners, chambers of commerce, urban planners, and leaders from underserved and/or racial and ethnic communities) to lead this effort. The initiative began in May 2009 as a public/private partnership between MDPH and several health/community foundations. As of February 2012 there are 33 Mass in Motion programs serving 52 communities across the state. 33% of the residents of the Commonwealth live in a Mass in Motion community.

Learning Areas:
Administer health education strategies, interventions and programs
Chronic disease management and prevention
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Planning of health education strategies, interventions, and programs
Public health or related education
Public health or related public policy

Learning Objectives:
Discuss development of public/private partnership to develop foundation for supporting efforts aimed at reducing childhood obesity. Describe activities in Mass in Motion communities to increase active living and healthy eating with particular emphasis on children and families Discuss efforts to evaluate community-level policy and environmental strategies effectiveness in addressing childhood obesity.

Keywords: Child Health Promotion, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Cheryl Bartlett was recently named as Interim Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Public Health where she will take on responsibilities to support the Department’s implementation of Chapter 224 and other quality and performance improvement initiatives. As Director of the Bureau of Community Health and Prevention, Ms. Bartlett is responsible for the Division of Violence and Injury Prevention, the Division of Primary Care and Health Access, and the Division of Prevention and Wellness.
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.