Implementing Environmental Changes in Elementary Schools
In one school district of San Luis Valley, Colorado, about 26% of second
grade students are overweight or at risk for obesity as a result of unhealthy eating
habits and insufficient physical activity. To reduce this risk, researchers
are implementing a project that helps schools make changes in their
procedures, policies, food environment, and physical layout to promote
healthy food choices and increased physical activity.
Ten elementary schools in the San Luis Valley are participating, each of
which has a high proportion of low-income and Hispanic children. Schools are
asked to form a task force comprising school nurses, food service
managers, physical education teachers, administrators, classroom teachers,
and parents. To make changes to the school environment and policies, half
of the schools are using Intervention Mapping (IM) as their planning process
and the other half are using CDC’s School Health Index (SHI). Center staff
are facilitating the project in IM schools throughout the planning
process. The task forces are being taught to use IM to select, implement,
and evaluate environmental and policy changes appropriate for their school.
These changes may include requiring daily physical education classes,
removing sugar-sweetened sodas from vending machines, and creating a school
walking path.
Researchers will measure school environment health, the changes made, and
whether the changes affect individual health behaviors. To measure the
health of the school environment, schools complete the School Environment
and Policy Survey annually. To measure health behaviors, center staff are
observing students’ physical activity during physical
education classes and recess, and assessing foods eaten in the lunchroom.
Researchers will also conduct interviews with task force members to evaluate
the effectiveness of the IM process as a tool for community-academic
partnerships.
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