Development and implementation of a school-based obesity prevention intervention: lessons learned from community-based participatory research.
BACKGROUND
National, state, and local policies aim to change school environments to prevent child obesity. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) can be effective in translating public health policy into practice.


OBJECTIVE
We describe lessons learned from developing and pilot testing a middle school-based obesity prevention intervention using CBPR in Los Angeles, California.


METHODS
We formed a community-academic partnership between the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) and the UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion to identify community needs and priorities for addressing adolescent obesity and to develop and pilot test a school-based intervention.


CONCLUSIONS
Academic partners need to be well-versed in organizational structures and policies. Partnerships should be built on relationships of trust, shared vision, and mutual capacity building, with genuine community engagement at multiple levels.


CONCLUSIONS
These lessons are critical, not only for partnering with schools on obesity prevention, but also for working in other community settings and on other health issues.
Uyeda
Kimberly
K
Los Angeles Unified School District, USA.
Bogart
Laura M
LM
Hawes-Dawson
Jennifer
J
Schuster
Mark A
MA
D000293:Adolescent; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017144:Focus Groups; D006291:Health Policy; D006293:Health Promotion; D006301:Health Services Needs and Demand; D006801:Humans; D015141:Los Angeles; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D016730:Program Development; D036301:Qualitative Research; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D012574:Schools