The evolution of the steps program, 2003-2010: transforming the federal public health practice of chronic disease prevention.
The Steps program, formerly known as Steps to a HealthierUS, was the first Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) program to support a community-based, integrated approach to chronic disease prevention. Steps interventions addressed both diseases and risk factors, focusing on the 3 leading causes of preventable deaths in the United States--tobacco use, poor nutrition, and physical inactivity--and the associated chronic conditions of asthma, diabetes, and obesity. When Steps shifted from interventions focused on individual health-risk behaviors to the implementation of policy, systems, and environmental changes, the program became an integral part of changing the way CDC addressed chronic disease prevention. In this article, we describe the shift in intervention strategies that occurred among Steps communities, the model that was developed as Steps evolved, common interventions implemented before and after the shift in approach, challenges experienced by Steps communities, and CDC programs that were modeled after Steps.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy, MS K-93, Atlanta, GA 30341, USA. PNichols@cdc.gov
Phyllis
P
Nichols
Ann
A
Ussery-Hall
Shannon
S
Griffin-Blake
Alyssa
A
Easton
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003920:Diabetes Mellitus / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006293:Health Promotion; D006296:Health Services / Q000592:standards*; D006298:Health Services Administration / Q000592:standards; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology; D011634:Public Health / Q000639:trends*; D012424:Rural Population; D012574:Schools; D013997:Time Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D014483:United States Dept. of Health and Human Services; D014505:Urban Population