Health equity resource toolkit for state practitioners addressing obesity disparities

Abstract

The purpose of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (DNPAO) Health Equity Resource Toolkit for State Practitioners Addressing Obesity Disparities is to increase the capacity of state health departments and their partners to work with and through communities to implement effective responses to obesity in populations that are facing health disparities. The Toolkit's primary focus is on how to create policy, systems, and environmental changes that will reduce obesity disparities and achieve health equity. For the purpose of this Toolkit, "policy" refers to procedures or practices that apply to large sectors which can influence complex systems in ways that can improve the health and safety of a population. States are already conducting activities to address obesity across populations. This Toolkit provides guidance on how to supplement and compliment existing efforts. It provides evidence-informed and real-world examples of addressing disparities by illustrating how the concepts presented can be promoted in programs to achieve health equity using three evidence-informed strategies as examples: 1. Increasing access to fruits and vegetables via healthy food retail with a focus on underserved communities. 2. Engaging in physical activity that can be achieved by increased opportunities for walking with a focus on the disabled community, and other subpopulations that face disparities. 3. Decreasing consumption of sugar drinks with an emphasis on access to fresh, potable (clean) water with a particular focus on adolescents and other high consumers. Though the Toolkit utilizes these three strategies as examples, the planning and evaluation process described in the Toolkit can be applied to other evidence-informed strategies to control and prevent obesity. This Toolkit is a unique resource as it is developed at a state level for health departments and practitioners who work with and through communities, rather than solely addressing communities themselves. Its purpose is to inform state programs that seek to address obesity with a focus on health equity. CDC is also currently developing a Health Equity Playbook, which focuses on addressing health disparities from the community perspective and updating the document Promoting Health Equity: A Resource to Help Communities Address Social Determinants of Health. As you plan and evaluate your state obesity a nd health equity programs, these resources may further enrich your understanding of health equity and social determinants of health.Introduction -- I. Purpose and Intended Target Audience of the Toolkit -- II. Toolkit Organization, Content, and Use -- III. Health Disparities in Obesity and Obesity-related Risk Factors: Scope of the Problem -- IV. Defining Key Terms -- -- Conceptual Framework -- -- Incorporating Health Equity into the Obesity Prevention Planning Processes -- I. Program Assessment and Capacity Building -- II. Gathering and Using Data to Identify and Monitor Obesity Disparities through a Health Equity -- Lens -- III. Multi-sector Partnerships, Non-Traditional Partnerships, and Community Engagement -- IV. Applying a Health Equities Lens to the Design and Selection of Strategies -- V. Monitoring and Evaluating Progress -- VI. Ensuring Sustainability -- VII. Developing Culturally Relevant Health Communication Strategies -- -- Conclusion -- References -- Appendix A. Additional Resources for Improving Access and Availability of Healthy Foods -- Appendix B. Additional Resources for Improving the Beverage Environment -- Appendix C. Additional Resources for Improving Safe, Accessible Physical Activity Environments -- Appendix D. Resources Included in the Toolkit, by SectionThis document was created to provide examples of strategies and surveillance data which can be used to inform obesity prevention initiatives. Many of the examples and success stories listed in this document were conducted by organizations outside of CDC and the federal government and without CDC or federal funding. These examples are provided for illustrative purposes and therefore do not constitute a CDC or federal government activity or endorsement.The Health Equity Resource Toolkit for State Practitioners Addressing Obesity Disparities was prepared by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with Stephen James, Lisa Hawley, Rachel Kramer, and Yvonne Wasilewski at SciMetrika, LLC.Available via the World Wide Web as an Acrobat .pdf file (4 MB, 84 p.).Includes bibliographical references (p. 56-59)