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What's
New Determining the Impact of Walk Kansas: Applying a Team-Building Approach to Community Physical Activity Promotion Estabrooks PA, Bradshaw M, Dzewaltkowski D, Smith-Ray RL
Department of Human Nutrition, Foods, & Exercise, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA, estabrkp@vt.edu. BACKGROUND: Research and practice partnerships have the potential to enhance the translation of research findings into practice. PURPOSE: This paper describes such a partnership in the development of Walk Kansas (WK) and highlights individual and organizational level outcomes. METHOD: Phase 1 examined: (a) the reach of WK, (b) physical activity changes, and (c) maintenance of physical activity changes 6 months after the program was completed. Phase 2 explored WK adoption and sustainability over 5 years. RESULTS: WK attracted a large number of participants who were more likely to be female, more active, and older than the adult population within the counties where they resided. Inactive or insufficiently active participants at baseline experienced significant increases in both moderate (p < 0.001) and vigorous (p < 0.001) physical activity. A random selection of participants who were assessed 6 months post-program did not demonstrate a significant decrease in moderate or vigorous activity between program completion and 6-month follow-up. The number of counties adopting the program increased across years, peaking at 97 in 2006 and demonstrated the sustainability of the WK over 5 years. CONCLUSIONS: WK is effective, has a broad reach, and enables participants to maintain increased activity. It also shows promise for broad adoption and sustainability. EXTERNAL VALIDITY FOCUS Two recent articles in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine focus on external validity of research reports. Lisa Klesges and colleagues review the external validity of childhood obesity prevention studies and an accompanying article by the journal editors discusses balancing internal and external validity concerns and the journal’s editorial policy on external validity. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NEW PUBLICATIONS ENCOURAGING MORE ATTENTION TO EXTERNAL VALIDITY The January, 2008 issue of the American Journal of Public Health carried an editorial by associate editors, Drs. Allan Steckler and Kenneth R. McLeroy, calling attention to the need for better reporting on external validity issues in research reports. The article titled, “The Importance of External Validity”, can be found in Volume 98, No. 1, pages 9-10 of the AJPH. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A recent publication by Green and Glasgow addresses the application of RE-AIM dimensions to encouraging more attention by journals, their authors and their peer reviewers to issues of external validity. Click HERE to view the article APPLYING THE RE-AIM FRAMEWORK TO ASSESS THE PUBLIC HEALTH IMPACT ON POLICY CHANGE A recent publication by Jilcott, Ammerman, Sommers and Glasgow in the Annals of Behavioral Medicine (2007, Vol. 34, 105-114) summarizes how the RE-AIM framework can be applied to the design and evaluation of health policies. Click HERE to view the abstract for this article NIH CONFERENCE: BUILDING THE SCIENCE OF DISSEMINATION AND IMPLEMENTATION IN THE SERVICE OF PUBLIC HEALTH ACTIVE FOR LIFE PROGRAM LESSONS LEARNED The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded the Active for Life program which used the RE-AIM framework to help plan and evaluate the application of evidence-based physical activity programs for older adults in many different settings across the U.S. They used a participatory approach and among other findings, concluded that “RE-AIM provides the best blue print we have for defining and improving evidence-based community-participatory interventions that meet the needs both of the scientist or publich health officer and of the community.” Find out more about their project and conclusions at www.activeforlife.info or read their latest report in Alzheimers and Dementia, 2007;3:S52-S57 by Marcia Ory, Nelda Mier, Joe Starkey, and Lynda Anderson titled, “Translating Science into Public Health Practice: Lessons from Physical Activity Programs”. DR. GLASGOW DISCUSSES INTEGRATING EXTERNAL ANND INTERNAL VALIDITY IN RESEARCH At a featured keynote debate at the recent Society of Behavioral Medicine Annual meeting in Washington D.C., Dr. Glasgow presented his vision for " What Types of Evidence Are Needed?". He argued that to advance our present state of knowledge we need evidence that is contextual, practical, and robust. Such evidence and experimental designs should address questions important to clinicians and policy makers, and he provided examples of research that is both rigorous and relevant. Please click here to view the SBM Powerpoint. NEW CENTER ON IMPLEMENTATION AND DISSEMINATION RESEARCH The Kaiser Colorado Clinical Research Unit has just launched a new center and resource for translation to practice and policy issues. The center, whose final title may change slightly, is the Kaiser Permanente Center for Implementation and Dissemination Research. It will be led by Co-Directors Drs. James Dearing (see www.kpco-cru.org) and Dr. Russ Glasgow. While the center will hosted within Kaiser and will serve as a resource and learning laboratory for multiple Kaiser research centers, it will also have a strong external and community focus. The mission of the new Center is to conduct research on the development, implementation and dissemination of applicable concepts and practical tools for the integration of health care research, practice, and policy". Click HERE to see a Power Point presentation on the new Center. For more information, contact Barbara McCray@kp.org.
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