SaludABLEOmaha: Improving readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle in a Midwestern Latino community

Background: A community’s readiness for change is a precursor to the effective application of evidence-based practices for health promotion. Research is lacking regarding potential strategies to improve readiness to address obesity-related health issues in underserved communities.Community Context:...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Frerichs, L., Brittin, J., Robbins, R., Steenson, S., Stewart, C., Fisher, Christopher, Huang, T.
Format: Journal Article
Published: U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion 2015
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10065
_version_ 1848746127742992384
author Frerichs, L.
Brittin, J.
Robbins, R.
Steenson, S.
Stewart, C.
Fisher, Christopher
Huang, T.
author_facet Frerichs, L.
Brittin, J.
Robbins, R.
Steenson, S.
Stewart, C.
Fisher, Christopher
Huang, T.
author_sort Frerichs, L.
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Background: A community’s readiness for change is a precursor to the effective application of evidence-based practices for health promotion. Research is lacking regarding potential strategies to improve readiness to address obesity-related health issues in underserved communities.Community Context: This case study describes SaludABLEOmaha, an initiative to increase readiness of residents in a Midwestern Latino community to address obesity and adopt healthy lifestyles. Methods: SaludABLEOmaha emphasized 2 core approaches, youth activism and collaboration among public and private institutions, which we applied to planning and implementing tactics in support of 3 interconnected strategies: 1) social marketing and social media, 2) service learning in schools (ie, curricula that integrate hands-on community service with instruction and reflection), and 3) community and business engagement. Following the Community Readiness Model protocol (<a href="http://triethniccenter.colostate.edu/communityReadiness.htm">http://triethniccenter.colostate.edu/communityReadiness.htm</a>), structured interviews were conducted with community leaders and analyzed before and 2.5 years after launch of the program. Outcome: The community increased in readiness from stage 3 of the Community Readiness Model, “vague awareness,” at baseline to stage 5, “preparation,” at follow-up. Interpretation: SaludABLEOmaha improved community readiness (eg, community knowledge, community climate), which probably contributed to the observed increase in readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle. Community mobilization approaches such as youth activism integrated with social marketing and social media tactics can improve community responsiveness to obesity prevention and diminish health disparities.
first_indexed 2025-11-14T06:28:19Z
format Journal Article
id curtin-20.500.11937-10065
institution Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category Local University
last_indexed 2025-11-14T06:28:19Z
publishDate 2015
publisher U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling curtin-20.500.11937-100652017-09-13T14:52:45Z SaludABLEOmaha: Improving readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle in a Midwestern Latino community Frerichs, L. Brittin, J. Robbins, R. Steenson, S. Stewart, C. Fisher, Christopher Huang, T. Background: A community’s readiness for change is a precursor to the effective application of evidence-based practices for health promotion. Research is lacking regarding potential strategies to improve readiness to address obesity-related health issues in underserved communities.Community Context: This case study describes SaludABLEOmaha, an initiative to increase readiness of residents in a Midwestern Latino community to address obesity and adopt healthy lifestyles. Methods: SaludABLEOmaha emphasized 2 core approaches, youth activism and collaboration among public and private institutions, which we applied to planning and implementing tactics in support of 3 interconnected strategies: 1) social marketing and social media, 2) service learning in schools (ie, curricula that integrate hands-on community service with instruction and reflection), and 3) community and business engagement. Following the Community Readiness Model protocol (<a href="http://triethniccenter.colostate.edu/communityReadiness.htm">http://triethniccenter.colostate.edu/communityReadiness.htm</a>), structured interviews were conducted with community leaders and analyzed before and 2.5 years after launch of the program. Outcome: The community increased in readiness from stage 3 of the Community Readiness Model, “vague awareness,” at baseline to stage 5, “preparation,” at follow-up. Interpretation: SaludABLEOmaha improved community readiness (eg, community knowledge, community climate), which probably contributed to the observed increase in readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle. Community mobilization approaches such as youth activism integrated with social marketing and social media tactics can improve community responsiveness to obesity prevention and diminish health disparities. 2015 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10065 10.5888/pcd12.140328 U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion fulltext
spellingShingle Frerichs, L.
Brittin, J.
Robbins, R.
Steenson, S.
Stewart, C.
Fisher, Christopher
Huang, T.
SaludABLEOmaha: Improving readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle in a Midwestern Latino community
title SaludABLEOmaha: Improving readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle in a Midwestern Latino community
title_full SaludABLEOmaha: Improving readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle in a Midwestern Latino community
title_fullStr SaludABLEOmaha: Improving readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle in a Midwestern Latino community
title_full_unstemmed SaludABLEOmaha: Improving readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle in a Midwestern Latino community
title_short SaludABLEOmaha: Improving readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle in a Midwestern Latino community
title_sort saludableomaha: improving readiness to address obesity through healthy lifestyle in a midwestern latino community
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/10065