Wisconsin School Wellness Policies after Federal Legislation Change: Understanding Key Mechanisms of Policy Improvement

Joyner, Hilary; Weymouth, Lindsay; Skalitzky, Erin; Hillert, Sydney

doi:10.1016/j.jand.2020.08.082

Cited by 3 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…These documents are as follows: (1) National Plan of Action for Childhood Obesity Prevention and Control (2015-2018): Barbados Childhood Obesity Prevention Program (B-CHOPP); (2) Nutrition and Healthy Foods in Schools: Nutritional and Practical Guidelines for Barbados (NSNG); and (3) Nutritious and Healthy Foods in Schools: Guidelines for Canteen Operators. We used a modified version of the WellSAT Score Sheet [17] containing four sections and 40 items which has been used in school policy analysis in previous studies [18][19][20]. The WellSAT questionnaire is based on assessing how well the nutrition policy/ guidelines address the following domains: Nutrition Education; Nutrition Standards for Food and Beverages Provided and Sold (in schools); Promoting Healthy Food and Nutrition Environment; and Communication and Evaluation.…”

Section: Documentary Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the need for a whole-of-society approach in school nutrition policy implementation: a qualitative analysis

Sobers

Bishop

et al. 2021

Implement Sci Commun

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Background Only three of twenty Caribbean Community (CARCICOM) countries have mandatory school nutrition policies despite one third of the region’s children being overweight or obese. In Barbados, there are nutrition guidelines which lack the legal mandate of a formal policy. We aim to assess the comprehensiveness of current national nutrition guidelines and to understand the factors operating in the inner and outer school setting that may influence the implementation of a mandatory school nutrition policy from the perspectives of school administrators. Methods A documentary analysis of existing nutritional guidelines was conducted along with qualitative semi-structured interviews in primary (elementary) and secondary (high) schools in Barbados. We purposively sampled six primary and four secondary school administrators (principals, deputy principals or senior teachers) to explore their knowledge and views on the National School Nutrition Guidelines. The deterministic implementation paradigm, Consolidated Framework for Implementation (CFIR), was used to explore the complexities within the inner and outer settings of schools. Documentary analysis used a theory-based framework informed by the Wellness School Assessment Tool—school policy analysis questionnaire. Interview transcripts were team coded using thematic analysis with constant comparison facilitated by NVIVO software version12. Results School administrators were unaware of the existing National School Nutrition Guidelines which documentary analysis found to be restrictive and weak for implementation. Administrators envisioned a government-led (outer setting), whole of society approach as the most effective strategy for the development and implementation of a proposed mandatory school nutrition policy. School administrators identified lack of financial and human resources as barriers to nutrition policy implementation. Formal and informal food vendors are institutionalized in schools and are influential determinants of the school food environment. Schools have individually reached into the outer setting to work with civil society organizations and private individuals to provide financial support and nutrition expertise to their institutions. Mass media campaigns in the outer setting may influence child and parental food choices. Conclusion School administrators describe that government-led, CSO supported policy development using a whole-of-society approach has implications for improving nutrition policy implementation. Our findings demonstrate the use of a deterministic implementation framework in the pre-implementation phase of school nutrition policy development.

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Section: Documentary Analysismentioning

confidence: 99%

Understanding the need for a whole-of-society approach in school nutrition policy implementation: a qualitative analysis

Sobers

Bishop

et al. 2021

Implement Sci Commun

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“…The report contents included (1) an executive summary explaining the statewide SWP evaluation study, (2) district-specific data from the policy evaluation study including the district’s adherence to the HHFK Act Final Rule federal mandates compared with the statewide average, (3) the district’s requirement of obesity prevention practices compared with the statewide average, (4) a unique code to enter in the Wisconsin Health Atlas data dashboards to explore additional district-specific, regional-, and state-level data; and (5) detailed success story narratives from four Wisconsin districts that were identified through our Wave I to Wave II data analysis as having made significant improvements to their SWPs. The success story narratives presented in the report were derived from semistructured interviews conducted by the authors and included descriptions of their local mechanisms for policy improvement, images, and quotes from the identified districts who agreed to be featured (Joyner et al, 2020).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…After completing Wave II of policy collection and evaluation (Joyner et al, 2020), we utilized Lavis’s framework for knowledge transfer (Lavis et al, 2003) to guide the development and dissemination of district-specific SWP data reports. Lavis’ framework offers the following questions: (1) What should be transferred to decision makers?…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…During the dissemination planning period, we leveraged established partnerships with Team Nutrition at the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (WI DPI) and with a statewide network of partners working on healthy eating and physical activity in schools to contribute to the credibility of our message. Throughout Waves I and II, all 442 public districts were asked to supply a school board approved SWP (Joyner et al, 2020). The report’s target audience encompassed SWP stakeholders at the 232 school districts who supplied SWPs during Wave II of policy collection.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This study describes the statewide dissemination of SWP evaluation results tailored to individual Wisconsin public school districts. As part of a larger obesity prevention initiative, researchers with the Wisconsin Health Atlas conducted two waves of statewide SWP evaluations (Joyner et al, 2020) to document the quality of Wisconsin districts' school board approved SWPs before and after the Healthy Hunger Free Kids (HHFK) Act Final Rule (USDA, 2016) was published in July 2016. Wave I of SWP collection and evaluation occurred between May 2016 and April 2017 and included SWPs that were published prior to July 2016.…”

Section: > > Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Local Data for Action: Statewide Dissemination of School Wellness Policy Evaluations in Wisconsin

Skalitzky

Joyner

Weymouth

2020

Health Promotion Practice

Self Cite

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School settings can influence child health, including physical activity and diet, through the promotion of high-quality wellness policies. Many studies have analyzed the quality of school wellness policies, but evidence is lacking regarding the dissemination of the policy evaluation results to school districts. This study describes the process the Wisconsin Health Atlas followed to disseminate tailored school wellness policy data reports and interactive dashboards to school districts throughout the state and the results of the statewide dissemination efforts. Prioritizing the translation of research to practice, the process included collaborating with key stakeholders and partners to provide formative feedback on the dissemination activities. The electronic and hard copy reports were disseminated to 232 districts through email and U.S. mail. Each district received a tailored report featuring an executive summary, local data for action, personalized policy recommendations, best practices, and a unique code to enter into interactive data dashboards to explore additional local, regional, and state-level data. In the utilization follow-up survey (20.3% response rate), respondents indicated that the report will help their district to improve the quality of their school wellness policy. Additionally, respondents who had used the report specified they used the data to identify areas for policy improvement and to support their triennial assessment, suggesting that districts value the technical support. To support school districts in improving the quality of school wellness policies, we recommend researchers prioritize collaborative dissemination efforts and provide actionable policy data when conducting school wellness policy evaluations.

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Evaluation of School Wellness Policies in Low‐Income California Districts After the 2016 USDA Final Rule

LoPresto,

Cassady,

Dove

2023

Journal of School Health

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BACKGROUNDDistricts with federal nutrition programs must have an updated local school wellness policy (LSWP) to promote nutrition, physical activity, and student wellness. This study evaluates factors associated with LSWP quality among low‐income districts.METHODSIn 2018, we collected LSWPs from websites of 200 randomly selected, county‐stratified, low‐income‐serving California public districts. Multivariable linear regression assessed associations between district characteristics, model LSWP use (national, state, none), and adoption date on policy quality.RESULTSOn the WellSAT 3.0 scale of 0‐100, mean (95% CI) comprehensiveness was 65.0 (63.2‐66.7) and strength was 37.3 (35.3‐39.2). Nearly verbatim adoption of model LSWPs was high (68.5% state model, 13.0% a national model). Half were adopted before mandated updates. District size (≥1000 students) and national model LSWP adoption were associated with higher comprehensive scores. National model LSWP adoption was associated with higher strength scores in updated policies compared with those not updated.IMPLICATIONSLSWPs have improved school food and activity environments, but district engagement in LSWP is low. Integration into education frameworks that reduce learning barriers could provide synergy for re‐engagement.CONCLUSIONSHigh adoption of model policies and low update compliance indicate little district engagement in LSWP. Mixed methods studies of districts with high‐quality LSWP are needed.

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Wisconsin School Wellness Policies after Federal Legislation Change: Understanding Key Mechanisms of Policy Improvement

Cited by 3 publications

References 18 publications

Understanding the need for a whole-of-society approach in school nutrition policy implementation: a qualitative analysis

Understanding the need for a whole-of-society approach in school nutrition policy implementation: a qualitative analysis

Local Data for Action: Statewide Dissemination of School Wellness Policy Evaluations in Wisconsin

Evaluation of School Wellness Policies in Low‐Income California Districts After the 2016 USDA Final Rule

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