Integrating Systems and Sectors Toward Obesity Solutions Proceedings of a Workshop (2021) / Chapter Skim
Currently Skimming:
5 Examples from the Field: Applying Systems Thinking to Population Health Issues
5 Examples from the Field: Applying Systems Thinking to Population Health Issues
Pages 69-78
The Chapter Skim interface presents what we've algorithmically identified as the most significant single chunk of text within every page in the chapter.
Select key terms on the right to highlight them within pages of the chapter.
From page 69... ...
(Bonnie Spring) • Causal loop diagrams help community stakeholders see where they fit into a response to obesity and can be used to track actions and visualize actors, actions, and the connections among them.
|
From page 70... ...
Jakicic reported that the team began by surveying members of the university community about supports for physical activity, and received feedback centered on a desire for more exercise facilities and equipment. He pointed out, however, that targeting exercise is markedly different from promoting physical activity.
|
From page 71... ...
This discovery, he said, led to the birth of the Be Fit Pitt initiative, which attracted people who were not regular exercisers but who wished to move more as they viewed activity from the perspective of a healthier lifestyle. The team drew on laboratory research– based findings indicating that individuals with low activity levels are more likely to sustain physical activity if new activity options are introduced every 8 to 12 weeks, which prompted the creation of regular programming opportunities for engagement in physical activity.
|
From page 72... ...
Initially, the DPP treatment package involved 24 one-on-one, in-person treatment sessions led by health professional counselors, Spring explained, but now it is common to have group sessions led by trained lay counselors at a much lower cost. Spring described how her team optimized the DPP by studying which additional dimensions of the socioecological model beyond the individual level produced enhanced weight loss when targeted by the intervention (see Figure 5-1)
|
From page 73... ...
Spring reviewed a table populated with the intervention data to demonstrate how to build a treatment package that maximizes 6-month weight loss for less than $500: a remotely delivered weight loss intervention comprising an app, 12 digitally connected coaching sessions, buddy train ing, and primary care progress reports produced 7 percent weight loss for 52 percent of the sample, a result comparable to that of the original DPP in-person intervention at less burden and cost ($427)
|
From page 74... ...
The trial design builds on a 20-year history of community-based interventions, which Allender said imparted several lessons: childhood obesity is preventable; community-led interventions targeting various stages of childhood can be effective; multi level strategies are important; local ownership and leadership are criti cal; implementation is often time-consuming and challenging; and if these l essons are not applied, sustainability is likely to be limited, especially in a climate of fluctuation in political support. According to Allender, these lessons helped researchers recognize the importance of giving communities tools and techniques to address the complexity of conditions because their contexts are vastly different.
|
From page 75... ...
The actions operate at multiple levels and in different parts of the commu nity, he pointed out, but most important, they are backed by community interest and capacity. Next, Allender highlighted STICKE,1 software invented by his group to help communities facilitate the process of creating causal loop diagrams and tracking actors and actions.
|
From page 76... ...
Community Perceptions of Systems Science Approaches Bleich asked Allender to describe how communities in Australia per ceive a systems science approach to obesity prevention compared with a more traditional approach. Allender replied that a systems science approach is more logical from a community's point of view, and described how his team presents this approach as a way of thinking that might be helpful and then allows communities to opt in to proceed.
|
From page 77... ...
Reconciling Individual Perspectives with Systems Science Approaches Recalling the finding by Jakicic's team of varying individual perspec tives on physical activity, Bleich asked him how that diversity can be recon ciled with the application of systems science approaches. Jakicic reiterated that viewing physical activity as exercise is a barrier for some people, and that certain forms of physical activity requiring greater financial investment or higher fitness levels are less accessible.
|
From page 78... ...
CLOSING REMARKS FOR PART II Christina Economos, co-founder and director of ChildObesity180 and professor and New Balance chair in childhood nutrition in the Friedman School of Nutrition Science at Tufts University, reflected on themes that had emerged from the workshop presentations and discussions. She high lighted examples of structural and social drivers with the potential to shape public health and offer opportunities for systems change as they relate to obesity solutions, including context, inequities, structural racism, dispari ties, bias, power dynamics, relationships, mindset, trust, humility, engage ment, multilevel interventions, and technology.
|
Key Terms
This material may be derived from roughly machine-read images, and so is provided only to facilitate research.
More
information on Chapter Skim is available.