title: Creating a community coalition to prevent childhood obesity in Yakima County, Washington: Rev It Up! 2008.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  One-third of the US population is obese, and childhood obesity has tripled since the late 1970s. Childhood obesity is a significant health issue requiring interventions on individual, interpersonal, community, organizational, and policy levels. Community coalitions offer successful strategies for engaging community partners with health improvement goals.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  In 2008, Yakima County, an agricultural community in eastern Washington, was ranked the eighth fattest city in the United States. Recognizing the obesity problem, the Yakima Health District (YHD) established 2 objectives: to decrease rates of childhood obesity in Yakima County and to recruit and establish a community coalition of key stakeholders and experts to help address the problem.
  
  
  METHODS
  The YHD spearheaded a movement to create a community coalition. The coalition applied for and received state and federal grants. In September 2008, the YHD held the first recruitment event for Rev It Up!, its community-based effort to address the obesity problem in Yakima. YHD invited the Washington State Department of Health to advise the coalition-building and action-planning process.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The community coalition achieved 5 of 7 objectives, including developing a common vision, creating an advisory committee, and conducting a community inventory, prioritization process, and action plan. However, unexpected public health challenges in the YHD delayed coalition efforts.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Creating the Rev It Up! coalition met a community need and engaged community partners. Some potential partners were dissuaded by the 6-month period required to establish the coalition. Rev It Up! continues as a community effort to reduce rates of obesity in Yakima County.
authors: Washington State University, College of Nursing, Yakima, WA 98902, USA. faubionr@wsu.edu
authors: Robin Johannsen
authors: RJ
authors: Faubion
authors: Jessica
authors: J
authors: Brown
authors: Ruth C
authors: RC
authors: Bindler
authors: Kris
authors: K
authors: Miller
mesh_terms: D026683:Advisory Committees; D001642:Bicycling; D057191:Capacity Building; D002202:Capital Financing; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services; D002958:City Planning; D018672:Community Health Planning; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000379:methods*; D019058:Community Networks; D003256:Community Participation; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D006265:Health Care Coalitions / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006291:Health Policy; D006801:Humans; D008430:Maternal-Child Health Centers; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D009937:Organizational Objectives; D016134:Organizational Policy; D016730:Program Development; D016138:Walking; D014861:Washington