The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi:A Comprehensive Prevention Program for the Washington County and Greenville, Mississippi, School District

Teddy Klug

Overall Strategy

● Target elementary schools in Washington County and Greenville, Mississippi.

● Change consumption habits in children, particularly reducing calorie intake from fat and sugar.

● Increase fruit and vegetable consumption.● Utilize classroom instruction, weekly newsletters and posters.● Aim to reduce future health complications associated with childhood

obesity, such as heart diseases, cognitive decline, and depression.

Childhood obesity and Mississippi

● Childhood obesity - body mass index (BMI) above the 95th percentile● In Mississippi, over 44% of children are overweight or obese.● 80% of obese children become obese adults● If not confronted early on, childhood obesity can lead to physical and

emotional consequences.● For some children in the US, the lack of access to healthy foods at home

or school is a significant barrier.

Target Population

The target populations for our health promotion program are children (ages 8-11) in the Mississippi Delta public school system and their

parents, specifically in Washington County and Greenville.

Why the Delta and Greenville, Mississippi?

Goals and Objectives

● By January 2017, students will consume no more than 35% of their calorie intake from unsaturated fat and no more than 10% of their calorie intake from saturated fat, with most fats coming from sources of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fatty acids, such as fish, nuts, and vegetable oils (Cooper, 2003).

● By January 2017, there will be a 15% increase in fruit and vegetable consumption in children, from 9% to 24% (Stockdale, 2010).

● By January 2017, there will be an increase, from 23% to 46%, in the number of students who participate in quality physical education classes for 60 minutes per day (Kolbo, 2008).

Key Stakeholders

● Parents

● Children

● Mississippi Governor

● Mississippi Department of Education, Office of Healthy Schools

● School staff and teachers

Messages and ChannelsWeekly Newsletter (HBM and SCT):

1. Weekly newsletters will be sent to the homes of our target audience, geared towards parents.

2. They will contain simple, low-cost, and healthy recipes.

Printed Posters :

● Designed based on the reading level of our audience.

● Photographs of kids eating fruits and vegetables

● Serve as a cue to action.

Messages and Channels

Messages and Channels

School-Based Curriculum (based on HBM and SCT):● Nutrition literacy● Importance of physical activity● Food preparation class

Anticipated Barriers

● Parent schedules and priorities ● Lack of knowledge, self-efficacy, and skills● Perceived high cost of healthy food● Student taste preference● Normative beliefs

Evaluation Plan● Surveys

● Observation

● Checklist

● Interviews

● Focus groups

Process Evaluation

● Document the process of our program implementation.

● Will measure the quantity of our intervention methods, the number of beneficiaries who received them, which channel was the most effective and the obstacles that we will encounter and how to solve them.

● Process evaluation will help stakeholders to measure the productivity of our program.

Outcome Evaluation● It will assess the effectiveness of our program in achieving the desired

goals.

● It will measure changes in our target audience’s attitudes, beliefs and behaviors.

● Examples of outcome evaluation questions:

1. Was our program successful in helping children eat more fruits and vegetables?

2. Was our program successful in increasing parents and school’s staff awareness about

the importance of healthy eating to reduce the prevalence of childhood obesity?

Logic Model