Online Program

336615
Healthy Fun for All Festivals: Policy for Social Norms Change


Monday, November 2, 2015 : 11:30 a.m. - 11:50 a.m.

Rocio Hernandez, MS, MFT, LPCC, Community Health Policy, Planning, and Prevention Services, Marin County Department of Health and Human Services, San Rafael,, CA
Theresa Rockas, Department of Health Education and Promotion, Kaiser Permanente, San Rafael, CA
County fairs, music, art festivals, cultural celebrations, museum exhibitions, concerts, and other neighborhood events create life long memories in communities – why not create “healthy” memories?

An inviting community event promotes and supports healthy communities; it is a fun, environmentally sustainable event that creates an atmosphere allowing individuals to make healthy choices around food, alcohol and tobacco use while inspiring more physical activity.

An event that is healthy, fun, smoke-free and safe will encourage families to attend – and families will be willing to spend their entertainment budget at a venue that has them in mind.  Highlighting and adding healthy options to your event will increase its value and attract more families.

By the end of the presentation, at least 9 practical tools will be learned to increase positive changes at your event to be healthier as well as more profitable.  Explore over a decade of policies, evaluating how the Marin County Fair:

  • increased awareness and access to healthy food choices

  • encouraged physical activity throughout the fairgrounds

  • decreased alcohol related issues through Responsible Beverage Service Training

  • reduced teen tobacco and alcohol use

  • integrated youth and community members for healthy outreach and engagement

  • welcomed expecting and families with young children

  • partnered broadly for successful implementation

  • created more potential revenue streams

  • changed policy to reach beyond the fair
  • invested in 11 years of social norms change and evaluation

 Attendees will be prompted to engage in physical activity and other interactivity during the presentation.

Learning Areas:

Advocacy for health and health education
Diversity and culture
Implementation of health education strategies, interventions and programs
Public health or related public policy
Social and behavioral sciences
Systems thinking models (conceptual and theoretical models), applications related to public health

Learning Objectives:
Design policies that contribute to healthier fairs such as to a) increase access to healthy food choices, b)encourage physical activity throughout the fairgrounds, c) decrease alcohol related issues through Responsible Beverage Service Training, and d) eliminate smoking on the premises.

Keyword(s): Public/Private Partnerships, Community Health Planning

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I am the co-author and co-founder of the initiatives, presentation, and programs. Eleven years ago I contacted the Marin County Fair to start health initiatives at the fair. After 11 years we have changed policies as well as social norms that contribute to healthier fairs.
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.