Moving Evidence to Action: A Strategy to Support the Implementation of Comprehensive Violence Prevention Efforts.

For public health agencies, the pragmatic need to bring together science and practice to affect public health outcomes manifests in the implementation of prevention strategies with the best available evidence. Knowledge translation makes scientific findings understandable to the knowledge user, often through synthesis of the best available evidence. Implementation science promotes the adoption and integration of evidence through prevention strategies implemented within various contexts. Working together, knowledge translation and implementation science can promote the uptake and advancement of scientific and practice-based evidence for strategies that will have the greatest impact across a variety of contexts. Violence Prevention in Practice (VPP) is an online resource designed to help practitioners select, adapt, implement, and evaluate multiple prevention strategies included in five technical packages developed by Centers for Disease Control's Division of Violence Prevention. A technical package translates the best available evidence into a core set of prevention strategies intended to be broadly implemented. VPP supports communities in using the technical package strategies in combination, drawing on key implementation science principles. In this article, we explain the process for developing VPP and provide a framework that can be used to develop similar guidance in other health promotion areas. The framework explains how both general components, such as selection and adaptation, come together with strategy-specific implementation guidance. Distinct from typical planning models, VPP is not designed as a linear stepwise process, and it allows practitioners to use one or more components alone, as well as helps practitioners link across components as needed.

Impacts of a farmers' market incentive programme on fruit and vegetable access, purchase and consumption.

OBJECTIVE: The present study examines the impact of Health Bucks, a farmers' market incentive programme, on awareness of and access to farmers' markets, and fruit and vegetable purchase and consumption in low-income New York City neighbourhoods. DESIGN: The evaluation used two primary data collection methods: (i) an on-site point-of-purchase survey of farmers' market shoppers; and (ii) a random-digit-dial telephone survey of residents in neighbourhoods where the programme operates. Additionally, we conducted a quasi-experimental analysis examining differential time trends in consumption before and after programme introduction using secondary Community Health Survey (CHS) data. SETTING: New York City farmers' markets and communities. SUBJECTS: Farmers' market shoppers (n 2287) completing point-of-purchase surveys in a representative sample of New York City farmers' markets in 2010; residents (n 1025) completing random-digit-dial telephone survey interviews in 2010; and respondents (n 35 606) completing CHS interviews in 2002, 2004, 2008 and 2009. RESULTS: Greater Health Bucks exposure was associated with: (i) greater awareness of farmers' markets; (ii) increased frequency and amount of farmers' market purchases; and (iii) greater likelihood of a self-reported year-over-year increase in fruit and vegetable consumption. However, our CHS analysis did not detect impacts on consumption. CONCLUSIONS: While our study provides promising evidence that use of farmers' market incentives is associated with increased awareness and use of farmers' markets, additional research is needed to better understand impacts on fruit and vegetable consumption.

CDC's Health Equity Resource Toolkit: disseminating guidance for state practitioners to address obesity disparities.

Obesity has been on the rise in the United States over the past three decades, and is high. In addition to population-wide trends, it is clear that obesity affects some groups more than others and can be associated with age, income, education, gender, race and ethnicity, and geographic region. To reverse the obesity epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) promotes evidence-based and practice-informed strategies to address nutrition and physical activity environments and behaviors. These public health strategies require translation into actionable approaches that can be implemented by state and local entities to address disparities. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention used findings from an expert panel meeting to guide the development and dissemination of the Health Equity Resource Toolkit for State Practitioners Addressing Obesity Disparities (available at http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/health_equity/toolkit.html). The Toolkit helps public health practitioners take a systematic approach to program planning using a health equity lens. The Toolkit provides a six-step process for planning, implementing, and evaluating strategies to address obesity disparities. Each section contains (a) a basic description of the steps of the process and suggested evidence-informed actions to help address obesity disparities, (b) practical tools for carrying out activities to help reduce obesity disparities, and (c) a "real-world" case study of a successful state-level effort to address obesity with a focus on health equity that is particularly relevant to the content in that section. Hyperlinks to additional resources are included throughout.

Implementing a farmers' market incentive program: perspectives on the New York City Health Bucks Program.

INTRODUCTION: One strategy for lowering the prevalence of obesity is to increase access to and affordability of fruits and vegetables through farmers' markets. However, little has been documented in the literature on the implementation of such efforts. To address this gap, the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO) sponsored an evaluation of the New York City Health Bucks program, a farmers' market coupon incentive program intended to increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables in underserved neighborhoods while supporting local farmers. METHODS: We conducted a process evaluation of Health Bucks program implementation. We interviewed 6 farmer/vendors, 3 market managers, and 4 program administrators, and collected data on site at 86 farmers' markets, including surveys of 81 managers and 141 farmer/vendors on their perspectives on promotion and redemption of the incentive coupons; knowledge and attitudes regarding the program; experiences with markets and products; and facilitators and barriers to program participation. RESULTS: Results indicate that respondents view Health Bucks as a positive program model. Farmers' market incentive coupon programs like Health Bucks are one strategy to address the problem of obesity and were associated with higher fruit and vegetable access and purchases in low-income communities. CONCLUSIONS: This evaluation identified some areas for improving implementation of the Health Bucks program. Farmers' market incentive programs like Health Bucks may be one avenue to increase access to and affordability of fruits and vegetables among low-income persons. Further research is needed to assess the potential effects of these programs on access and health outcomes.

News from CDC (summer 2011)-translating knowledge to program action for nutrition, physical activity, and obesity interventions.

CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO) focuses on supporting healthy eating and active living through policy and environmental changes where Americans live, work, learn, and play. Within DNPAO, the Program Development and Translation Team (PDATT)-a cross-disciplinary team of behavioral scientists, epidemiologists, nutritionists, physical activity specialists, and public health educators-works to identify, synthesize, and disseminate evidence- and practice-based interventions to state-funded programs. In addition to the translation efforts of PDATT, DNPAO provides external funding to the Center for Training and Research Translation to translate and disseminate evidence-informed interventions and train practitioners to adapt and implement obesity-prevention interventions.

Perceptions of own sexual lies influenced by characteristics of liar, sex partner, and lie itself.

The current study examined perceptions of own sexual lies (lies to sex partners about sexual matters), in particular the perceived acceptability and seriousness of such lies, as well as potential determinants of such perceptions. Participants were 166 undergraduates who were asked to recall a recent event in which he or she had engaged in sexual lying and then respond to several questions regarding the event. Results showed that those who recalled relatively risk-relevant and self-protective sexual lies saw their lies as more serious and less acceptable. Moreover, those who told relatively risk-irrelevant and other-protective sexual lies reported less history of sexual lying or infidelity and more liking for the lie recipient in the event. These findings have implications both for safer-sex interventions and for interventions in intimate relationships.