title: The Healthy Communities Study: Its Rationale, Aims, and Approach.
abstract: Communities across the U.S. are implementing programs and policies designed to address the epidemic of childhood obesity. These programs vary widely in their approaches, including the intensity level, duration, funding, target population, and implementation techniques. However, no previous studies have examined these variations and determined how such aspects of community programs and policies are related to childhood obesity outcomes. The Healthy Communities Study is an observational study that is assessing the associations between characteristics of community programs and policies and BMI, nutrition, and physical activity in children. The Healthy Communities Study was funded in 2010, field data collection and medical record abstraction will be completed in 2015, and data cleaning and analyses will be completed by mid-year 2016. One-hundred and thirty communities (defined as a high school catchment area) and approximately 5,000 children in kindergarten through eighth grade and their parents have been recruited from public elementary and middle schools across the country. The study is examining quantitative and qualitative information obtained from community-based initiatives; measures of community characteristics (e.g., school environment); and child and parent measures, including children's physical activity levels and dietary practices and children's and parents' BMI. The Healthy Communities Study employs a complex study design that includes a diverse sample of communities across the country and combines current/cross-sectional and retrospective data (abstracted from children's medical records). This paper describes the rationale for the Healthy Communities Study, the study aims and logic model, and a brief overview of the study design.
authors.affiliation: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Maryland. Electronic address: arteagass@nhlbi.nih.gov.
authors.forename: S Sonia
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Arteaga
authors.affiliation: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Catherine M
authors.initials: CM
authors.lastname: Loria
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Policy Institute, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, Oakland, California.
authors.forename: Patricia B
authors.initials: PB
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.affiliation: Work Group for Community Development, University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas.
authors.forename: Stephen B
authors.initials: SB
authors.lastname: Fawcett
authors.affiliation: Westat, Rockville, Maryland.
authors.forename: Howard A
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Fishbein
authors.affiliation: Battelle Health and Analytics, Arlington, Virginia.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Gregoriou
authors.affiliation: Battelle Health and Analytics, St. Louis, Missouri.
authors.forename: Lisa V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: John
authors.affiliation: National Institute on Aging, Bethesda, Maryland.
authors.forename: Melinda
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kelley
authors.affiliation: Department of Exercise Science, University of South Carolina, Columbia, South Carolina.
authors.forename: Russell R
authors.initials: RR
authors.lastname: Pate
authors.affiliation: Nutrition Policy Institute, Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of California, Oakland, California.
authors.forename: Lorrene D
authors.initials: LD
authors.lastname: Ritchie
authors.affiliation: Battelle Health and Analytics, Columbus, Ohio.
authors.forename: Warren J
authors.initials: WJ
authors.lastname: Strauss
mesh_terms: D006293:Health Promotion; D006801:Humans; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000517:prevention & control*; D012107:Research Design; D012111:Residence Characteristics