title: 4-H Healthy Living programs with impact: a national environmental scan.
abstract: The 4-H youth development program of the nation's 109 land-grant universities and the Cooperative Extension System is one of the largest youth development organization in the United States serving approximately six million youth. The 4-H Healthy Living initiative began in 2008 to promote achievement of optimal physical, social, and emotional well-being for youth and families. In 2013, the National 4-H Council sought to identify 4-H Healthy Living programs in the domains of healthy eating and physical activity that adhered to the national 4-H Healthy Living mission and were ready for comprehensive outcome evaluation or replication at a national level. This chapter shares findings from an environmental scan of 4-H programs and (a) identifies programs with evidence of promoting a healthy diet and physical activity, (b) describes program impacts related to healthy diet and physical activity, and (c) clarifies select program characteristics associated with reported healthy eating and/or physical activity outcomes. The RE-AIM evaluation framework is introduced as an effective approach to assessing program impact for 4-H Healthy Living and similar out-of-school time programs.
authors.affiliation: School of Human Sciences, Mississippi State University.
authors.forename: Laura H
authors.initials: LH
authors.lastname: Downey
authors.forename: Donna J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Peterson
authors.forename: Suzanne
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: LeMenestrel
authors.forename: JoAnne
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leatherman
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000072001:Diet, Healthy; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D015397:Program Evaluation; D014481:United States