Community and policy based obesity prevention interventions: What is needed to achieve sustainable change?

CO-OPS Collaboration Community Obesity Prevention Sites

Boyd Swinburn, Deakin University

Presented a plan for CO-OPS and sought input on the role of CO-Ops:

• Provides potential for presenting combined results – do different measures and data lend themselves to a meta-analysis?
• New Zealanders setting up a web-based network with similar goals – general stats, publications, database, training, fora/discussion groups etc - presenting at NV Nov Conference. Funded by Dept of Health and managed by an Independent Body
• Need a clear and strategic way of synthesizing info as it emerges – input to policy, quick response to research questions, policy briefings, quick snappy, main message type documents
• As the learnings grow, being able to look at the website and evaluations – learnings about what’s working and not working – the cumulative knowledge being synthesized
• Boyd – EPODE bring project mgrs in together regularly and provide systems and structure for sharing and combining findings
• Lessons from other whole-of-govt activities over the years – provides scope to identify a lot of activity happening but not reported
• Boyd- we would hope it will provide a sufficiently supportive environment to bring successes and failures to maximize learning
• Need a workforce and minimum critical mass to achieve gains in any given location
• (Boyd – in France they take only the willing, opt-in approach gets buy in and champion from start)
• No point providing the training if you don’t have the workers
• Population monitoring will provide background data to allow evaluations to be conducted more cheaply
• (Boyd – if we can establish something at a national level it changes the whole dynamics of evaluation)
• If you are going to go with population data it should not be limited to chronic disease because of a broader range of info needs.
• Scope for similar types of collaborative initiatives set up for other settings – eg workplace?
• (Boyd – will include schools, not sure about workplaces at this stage but potential in the future. Most at the moment around children and adolescents so will be core of the work)
• Is Colin’s list of community based interventions exclusive or will it continue to be built on?
• (Boyd- list of membership hasn’t been developed yet, certainly not exclusive, process of consultation, identifying and visiting)
• Role for gp like this coordinating national campaign carried out at a local level?
• (Boyd – not identified as role at the moment but would have weight as an advocacy group but hadn’t anticipated action like that would be coordinated by group. Potential – EPODE has coordinated a national social marketing campaign)
• Role of policy makers?
• (Involvement of ABHI – want involvement from State Govt and others with policy focus. Could have a strong input into policy but core focus on community support).

Please note that these are informal notes and may not accurately or fully reflect the position of the speakers. Please refer to speakers’ slides on this website or contact speakers directly to discuss their presentations.