title: Healthy Alberta Communities: impact of a three-year community-based obesity and chronic disease prevention intervention.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess the impact of a 3 year (2006-2009) community-based intervention for obesity and chronic disease prevention in four diverse "Healthy Alberta Communities" (HAC).
  
  
  METHODS
  Targeted intervention development incorporated the ANGELO conceptual framework to help community stakeholders identify environmental determinants of obesity amenable to intervention. Several inter-related initiatives were implemented. To evaluate, we surveyed separate samples of adults in HAC communities before and after the interventions and compared responses to identical survey questions asked of adults living in Alberta in two waves of the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS).
  
  
  RESULTS
  The HAC sample included 4761 (2006) and 4733 (2009) people. The comparison sample included 9775 and 9784 respondents in 2005 and 2009-10 respectively. Self-reported body mass index showed no change, and neither were there significant changes in behaviors relative to secular trends. Most significant outcomes were relevant to social conditions, specifically sense of belonging to community in the intervention communities.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Health outcome indicators at the community level may not be sufficiently sensitive to capture changes which, over a relatively short term, would only be expected to be incremental, given that interventions were directed primarily to creating environmental conditions supportive of changes in behavioral outcomes rather than toward health outcome change directly.
authors.affiliation: School of Public Health, University of Alberta, 3-300 ECHA, 11405 87 Ave., Edmonton, AB T6G 1C9, Canada. Electronic address: kim.raine@ualberta.ca.
authors.forename: Kim D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Raine
authors.forename: Ronald
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Plotnikoff
authors.forename: Donald
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Schopflocher
authors.forename: Ellina
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Lytvyak
authors.forename: Candace I J
authors.initials: CI
authors.lastname: Nykiforuk
authors.forename: Kate
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Storey
authors.forename: Arto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ohinmaa
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Purdy
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Veugelers
authors.forename: T Cameron
authors.initials: TC
authors.lastname: Wild
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000416:Alberta / Q000453:epidemiology; D001794:Blood Pressure; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002908:Chronic Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000379:methods / Q000458:organization & administration; D004032:Diet / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods* / Q000458:organization & administration; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D009765:Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012111:Residence Characteristics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Chronic disease; Community networks; Health promotion; Intervention studies; Obesity; Prevention; Public health