Promoting Healthy Environments In Afterschool Settings: The LiveWell Greenville Afterschool Initiative

Abstract

IntroductionLiveWell Greenville, a multi-organization community coalition, launched an initiative in 2011 to help afterschool programs promote environments that decrease the risk of obesity among children and adolescents. The objective of this study was to describe changes in nutrition and physical activity environments, policies, and practices among 37 afterschool programs after their participation in the LiveWell Greenville Afterschool Initiative.MethodsThe study used a nonexperimental, pre- and postsurvey design. The survey was based on the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self-Assessment for Child Care questionnaire and modified for afterschool settings. Items addressed sedentary time, physical activity time, availability of sugar-sweetened beverages, sweet and salty snack consumption, fruit consumption, staff behaviors, and policies that support nutrition and physical activity practices. The self-assessment survey was completed by an afterschool program supervisor at each site. The 9-month intervention consisted of program staff members’ completing the pre-assessment and goal-setting worksheet, receiving technical support and training from LiveWell Greenville staff, attending networking meetings about nutrition and physical activity promotion strategies, and completing a postassessment. ResultsWe found significant positive changes in afterschool environments in the type and frequency of snacks offered, duration of children’s sedentary time, staff behaviors that supported healthy nutrition and physical activity practices, and education provided to staff, children, and parents.ConclusionWe found the LiveWell Greenville Afterschool Initiative, which involved self-assessment, goal setting and technical support, to be a successful strategy to change nutrition and physical activity environments in afterschool settings.

Scoping Review of Family and Community Engagement Strategies Used in School‐Based Interventions to Promote Healthy Behaviors

“…This scoping review includes 67 articles, with 66 unique studies describing 67 interventions, about family and community engagement strategies within school and OST interventions to address PA and nutrition. Forty‐six articles reported on both family and community engagement strategies in the school‐based and OST interventions 19‐64 ; 15 articles reported only on family engagement strategies 65‐79 ; and 6 articles reported only on community engagement strategies 80‐85 …”

“…Articles that included more than one of the six family and community strategies were included articles reported only on community engagement strategies. [80][81][82][83][84][85] Table 2 presents study design and demographic characteristics (eg, race/ethnicity of students, schoollevel) in aggregate by each of the family and community engagement strategies. Across the 66 unique studies, 41 were quasi-experimental design, and 25 were randomized control trials or controlled clinical trials.…”

“…[56][57][58][59][60][61][62][63][64] Six additional interventions focused on collaborations between school and community members or organizations but did not include families. [80][81][82][83][84][85] Many of the interventions linked students and their families to resources, programs, and services provided by the community. Other collaborations included promoting participation in community-based health events, providing coupons from community businesses for use by families, and receiving financial support from community groups to promote and implement school health policies and practices.…”

Latinx Community Members’ Perspectives on Barriers and Facilitators to Healthy Eating and Active Living: A CBPR Approach to Combat Childhood Obesity

“…Among our three types of participants, high school students incorporated more nutritional concepts in their responses as compared to middle school students and parents, potentially reflecting the important role schools have in educating on healthy eating. It also reflects the relevance of multi-sector collaborations and alliances to adapt systems and the environment to promote culturally relevant and healthier eating habits, particularly among underrepresented communities and communities of color [28,29].…”

Opportunities in the Extended Day: Approaches for Promoting Physical Activity and Healthy Eating During Out‐of‐School Time

“…66 All but one of the interventions focused on multiple organizational policy objectives (13/14), supported staff through professional development, training, and/or technical assistance (TA), [57][58][59][60][61][62]65,67,68,71,[74][75][76][77]79,[81][82][83][84] or engaged programs in action planning and prioritizing which standards to adopt. 57,58,[60][61][62][63][64][65][66][67]69 Seven studies statistically analyzed changes to the nutrition environment for 8 interventions; 7 interventions led to both favorable and null outcomes. Most interventions (6/8) led to significant increases in serving FV, 57,62,65,70,78,81 or meaningful improvements in quality of beverages served (increased water and/or decreased SSBs, 6/8).…”