RESUMO
Mounting research has suggested linkages between neighborhood safety, community design, and transportation patterns and eating and activity behaviors and health outcomes. On the basis of a review of evaluation findings from 3 multisite healthy eating and activity initiatives in California, we provide an overview of 3 community process strategies-engaging local advocates, linking safety to health, and collaborating with local government officials-that may be associated with the successful development and implementation of long-term community-improvement efforts and should be explored further.
Assuntos
Exercício Físico , Abastecimento de Alimentos , Promoção da Saúde , Obesidade/prevenção & controle , Características de Residência , Segurança , Meios de Transporte , California/epidemiologia , Estudos de Avaliação como Assunto , Comportamento Alimentar , Abastecimento de Alimentos/legislação & jurisprudência , Comportamentos Relacionados com a Saúde , Promoção da Saúde/legislação & jurisprudência , Promoção da Saúde/métodos , Humanos , Segurança/legislação & jurisprudência , Mudança Social , Meios de Transporte/legislação & jurisprudênciaRESUMO
In the decades since chronic illnesses replaced infectious diseases as the leading causes of death, public health researchers, particularly those in the field of health promotion and chronic disease prevention, have shifted their focus from the individual to the community in recognition that community-level changes will foster and sustain individual behavior change. The former emphasis on individual lifestyle change has been broadened to include social and environmental factors, often without increased resources. To find new ways to support community health promotion at the national level, the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion and the Division of Adult and Community Health invited an external panel of experts to participate in the National Expert Panel on Community Health Promotion. This article highlights the process through which the expert panel developed its eight recommendations. The recommendations include issues related to community-based participatory research and surveillance, training and capacity building, new approaches for health and wellness, and changes in federal investments. They illustrate the steps needed to broaden the traditional scope of public health and to advance a new vision for improving community health and wellness.