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JUNE/JULY 2007 NEWSLETTER
STEPS PROGRAM OFFICE
Posted July 20, 2007
Topics in this newsletter:
June Steps CAP Workshop and Action Institute....... A
Great Success!
| More than 300 people representing Steps grantees and partners, associated
national organizations, and the CDC attended the 2007 Steps Cooperative
Agreement Program Workshop and Action Institute, held June 4–June 6 in
Seattle, Washington. Summary information is accessible through a new main
menu item ("June 2007 Workshop") on the Steps Web site, which also leads to
other workshop-related hyperlinks cited in this newsletter. |
The Workshop Agenda focused on training in the areas of "Environmental,
Policy, and Organizational/Systems Change" and "Sustainability" for the
communities funded by the Steps Program. Information was presented through
thought-provoking plenary speeches, poster and oral presentations on
selected abstracts, and daily training sessions.
The Steps Program Office would like to give special thanks to King County
Steps to Health and Steps to a HealthierWA, two Steps Program grantees, for
serving as co-hosts for this year’s Workshop and Action Institute. The
Program would also like to thank our generous sponsors — the National
Association of Chronic Disease Directors, the YMCA of the USA, and
Partnerships in Prevention — for helping to support this year’s meeting.
2007 Steps Community Heroes....... Inaugural Awards Given
| At the Workshop and Action Institute’s closing ceremony on June
6, the recipients of the 2007
Steps Community Heroes Awards were announced and officially
recognized. The heroes then shared moving stories about why they
became actively involved in their communities. Information about the
awards program and each of the heroes is available at the above
link. Videos of their acceptance speeches will be available in the
near future at the above link. |
The Steps Community Heroes Awards Program is a new initiative that honors
individuals who have made outstanding contributions to improve the health
and well-being of others in their communities. The inaugural 2007 recipients
include a minister, business leader, husband-and-wife volunteer team,
fitness advocate, and citizen activist. These volunteers have worked
tirelessly to create opportunities in the community and workplace for better
access to walking and biking trails, workplace fitness centers, healthy food
and beverage choices, and educational programs on the benefits of physical
activity, good nutrition, and disease self-management.
The 2007 recipients of the Steps Community Heroes Awards are
The Steps Program National Office would also like to congratulate all of the
other nominees whose names were submitted by other Steps communities in
recognition of their contributions. The following is an alphabetical list of
the other 22 nominees:
- Dr. Albert Adler (Steps to a HealthierAZ-Tohono O’odham Nation);
Agriculture and Land-Based Training Association (Steps to a Healthier
Salinas); Roy Avila (Steps to a Healthier Santa Clara); Kathy Boeckman
(Steps to a Healthier Santa Clara); Dr. Gayle Bush (Steps to a HealthierAL-Southeast
Region); Brita Butler-Wall (King County Steps to Health); Dan Deon (Steps to
a HealthierNY-Jefferson County); Mildred DeRouen (Steps to a HealthierCO-Teller
County); Jennifer Eisenbarth (Steps to a HealthierMN-Minneapolis); Randy Evetts (Steps to a HealthierCO-Pueblo County);
Christy Filby (Steps to a
HealthierWA-Chelan, Douglas, and Okanogan Counties); Joanne Florian (Steps
to a HealthierCO–Mesa County); Wayne Fraleigh (Steps to a HealthierAZ-Cochise
County); Greta Gladney (Steps to a Healthier New Orleans); Peter Guttchen
(Steps to a HealthierWA-Thurston County); Vedeta Hanley and Linda Suarez
(Steps to a HealthierNY-Rockland County); Barbara Lewis (Steps to a HealthierPA-Fayette County);
Karen Pesce (Steps to a HealthierFL-Hillsborough); Stephen Schadler (Steps to a HealthierAZ-Santa Cruz County);
Mayor Thomas Selders (Steps to a HealthierCO-Weld County); Ila Tittelbaugh (Steps to a
HealthierAZ-Santa Cruz County); and Sally White (Steps to a HealthierAZ-Cochise
County).
Environmental, Policy, and Organizational/Systems
Change....... Web Site Resources
| Several of this year’s Steps Workshop and Action Institute training sessions
were led by presenters from the Prevention Institute, including its
Executive Director Larry Cohen, and the Work Group for Community Health and
Development at the University of Kansas, including its Associate Director
Dr. Jerry Schultz. These two organizations have developed many useful tools
for developing, implementing, and sustaining chronic disease prevention
programs at the community level. The resources cited below were presented
during training sessions. |
Prevention Institute’s Tools*
Prevention Institute is a nonprofit national center dedicated to improving
community health and well-being by building momentum for effective primary
prevention. The organization "develops tools to support the crafting,
implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive prevention initiatives and
effective coalitions." The following items are just some of the tools
available on their Web site:
- Spectrum of Prevention: A six-level framework that expands prevention
efforts beyond education models by promoting a multifaceted range of
activities for a more comprehensive and effective understanding of
prevention.
- Developing an Effective Coalition: An eight-step guideline for the
process of coalition building to help advocates and practitioners on issues
ranging from the function of the coalition, to membership selection and
conducting ongoing evaluations.
- Collaboration Math for Enhancing the Effectiveness of Multidisciplinary
Collaboration: A tool intended to help organizations from diverse
disciplines work together by enabling them to better understand each other’s
perspectives and to identify both strengths and gaps in their partnership.
- Environmental Nutrition and Activity Community Tool (ENACT): A concrete
menu of strategies designed to help communities improve nutrition and
activity environments on a local level, and also includes the "ENACT Local
Policy Database."
- THRIVE (Tool for Health and Resilience In Vulnerable Environments): A
tool designed to help you understand and prioritize the factors within your
own community that can help improve health and safety.
University of Kansas’ Community Tool Box*
The Community Tool Box, online since 1995, provides more than 7,000 pages of
practical information for promoting community health and development. The
Web site is created and maintained by the Work Group for Community Health
and Development at the University of Kansas. According to University of
Kansas, "Each section includes a description of the task, advantages of
doing it, step-by-step guidelines, examples, checklists of points to review,
and training materials. The vast resources are organized by what you may
want to do," as follows:
- Learn a Skill: A "Table of Contents" links you to 46 Chapters and more
than 350 sections that provide training in specific skills of community
work.
- Plan the Work: Toolkits provide outlines for tasks, examples, and links
to how-to information for 16 core competencies involved in doing this work.
- Solve a Problem: "Trouble-Shooting Guides" list common dilemmas you face
in this work, questions for analysis, and links to relevant supports for
solving them.
- Explore Best Processes and Practices: Evidence, examples, and links to
tools help you make the case for a set of key mechanisms that advance your
work.
- Connect with Others: Learn with others about this work in online forums,
ask a question of an advisor, and find links to other online resources.
Charting the Future of Community Health Promotion.......
Recommendations
| In March 2006, the CDC’s Division of Adult and Community Health (DACH)
within the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health
Promotion (NCCDPHP) invited an external panel of experts to provide guidance
for advancing community health promotion within the next 3 to 5 years.
Twenty-five people representing various health care sectors and broad areas
of public health and community expertise (e.g., universities, state and
local health departments, national nonprofit organizations, and
community-based groups) participated on the National Expert Panel on
Community Health Promotion. The recommendations, entitled "Charting the
Future of Community Health Promotion: Recommendations from the National
Expert Panel on Community Health Promotion," were published in the
July 2007
edition of CDC’s Preventing Chronic Disease. |
The July edition was designed as a special issue on community health
promotion and includes topics related to community-based participatory
research and surveillance, training and capacity building, new approaches
for health and wellness, and maximizing federal investments. The special
issue not only highlights the recommendations, but also includes a
roundtable of editorials from experts in community health promotion from
within and outside of CDC (see
table of contents). This compilation of articles illustrates the
steps needed to broaden the traditional purview of public health and advance
a new vision of improving community health and wellness.
Nutrition and Physical Activity....... Legislative
Database
| CDC’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Legislative Database is provided as an
online resource by CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and
Obesity in the
National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion. This
database can assist communities in keeping abreast of legislative issues
that may affect their communities. |
What is included in the database? All topics relate to the main subjects of
nutrition and physical activity. Topics such as obesity/overweight are
included, as well as more specific listings such as location (e.g., schools,
work site), related focus area (e.g., fruits and vegetables), or service
(e.g., health insurance). Using the general search function, you can find
out what bills are pending this year in your state or you can search by
specific bill number.
Encouraging Community Walks....... Make It a "Challenge"
| To all Steps Grantees: How about checking on your professional sports
schedules and setting up a Community Spirit Challenge? Read further to find
out how a friendly competition proved to be an excellent way to promote the
importance of being more physically active while at the same time creating a
venue for these two city’s residents and downtown employees to walk in
support of their respective NBA teams. |
Cleveland fans showed their support for the Cavaliers in the NBA Finals Game
4 with a lunchtime 1.6 mile "Rise Up Spirit Walk" on June 14 from City Hall
to Quicken Loans Arena that was organized by Steps to a Healthier Cleveland.
Simultaneously, Steps to a Healthier San Antonio led its own walk for the
Spurs team in response to a spirit challenge from the Cleveland Steps
program. Jennifer Scofield, director of Steps to a Healthier Cleveland, was
pleased to see all 5 television stations cover their walk. Jennifer said,
"We were able to get out the message about the importance of work site
wellness and walking, and we were able to capitalize on promoting physical
activity during the workday." Richard Jackson, senior management analyst for
Steps to a Healthier San Antonio, reported having television coverage of
their event as well. Richard commented, "We had a great turnout walking
downtown, which included the River Walk." He went on to say with a laugh,
"You know, we really should automatically be considered the ‘winners’ since
they walked in a cool 78 degrees and we walked in 93 degree heat!"
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Cleveland, OH
(Courtesy of City of Cleveland
Photographic Bureau) |
San Antonio, TX |
Upcoming Conferences of Interest....... For Steps
Grantees and Partners
- September 10-11, 2007.....Bethesda, Maryland
WorkLife 2007: Protecting and Promoting Worker Health, sponsored by National
Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) http://www.worklife2007.com/home.asp
- October 31-November 3, 2007.....Alexandria, VA
SOPHE's 58th Annual Meeting: Partnerships to Achieve Health Equity,
sponsored by Society for Public Health Education in collaboration with CDC’s
REACH Program
- November 3-7, 2007.....Washington, DC
APHA’s 135th Annual Meeting,* sponsored by American Public Health
Association
- November 5-7, 2007.....Dearborn, Michigan
Safe Routes to School National Conference,* sponsored by the National Center
for Safe Routes to School and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership
- November 27-29, 2007.....Washington, DC
2007 National Prevention and Health Promotion Summit: Creating a Culture of
Wellness, sponsored by CDC and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’
Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
*Links to non-Federal organizations are provided solely as a
service to our users. Links do not constitute an endorsement of any organization
by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. The CDC is
not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found
at this link.
Page last reviewed: May 2, 2008
Page last modified: January 8, 2008
Content source: Division of Adult and
Community Health, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
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