title: What evidence and support do state-level public health practitioners need to address obesity prevention.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Obesity has reached epidemic proportions. Public health practitioners are distinctly positioned to promote the environmental changes essential to addressing obesity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and other entities provide evidence and technical assistance to support this work, yet little is known about how practitioners use evidence and support as they intervene to prevent obesity. The study's purpose was to describe how practitioners and CDC project officers characterized the obesity prevention task, where practitioners accessed support and evidence, and what approaches to support and evidence they found most useful. APPROACH OR DESIGN: Mixed-methods, cross-sectional interviews, and survey.
  
  
  METHODS
  State-level public health obesity prevention programs.
  
  
  METHODS
  Public health practitioners and CDC project officers.
  
  
  METHODS
  We conducted 10 in-depth interviews with public health practitioners (n = 7) and project officers (n = 3) followed by an online survey completed by 62 practitioners (50% response rate). We applied content analysis to interview data and descriptive statistics to survey data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Practitioners characterized obesity prevention as uncertain and complex, involving interdependence among actors, multiple levels of activity, an excess of information, and a paucity of evidence. Survey findings provide further detail on the types of evidence and support practitioners used and valued.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  We recommend approaches to tailoring evidence and support to the needs of practitioners working on obesity prevention and other complex health problems.
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leeman
authors.forename: Randall
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Teal
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jernigan
authors.forename: Jenica Huddleston
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Reed
authors.forename: Rosanne
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Farris
authors.forename: Alice
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ammerman
mesh_terms: D002487:Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, U.S. / Q000458:organization & administration; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D007407:Interviews as Topic; D009765:Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011634:Public Health / Q000379:methods*; D013219:State Government; D014481:United States