Policy, Systems, & Environments

A New Approach to Creating Healthy Communities

Casey M. Coombs RD, CD

You can’t make positive choices for the rest of your life without an

environment that makes those choices easy, natural, and

enjoyable

-Deepak Chopra

Environmental Factors•Homes, schools, work, rec facilities, food service, retail establishments, etc.

Sectors of Influence•Government, health care systems, agriculture, marketing/media, community design & safety, etc.

Social & Cultural Norms and Values•Belief Systems, heritage, religion, priorities, lifestyle, body image

Individual Factors•Awareness, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, values, & preferences

SNAP-Ed Socio-Ecological Model

1. Work WITH direct nutrition education 2. Collaboration3. Evaluation

Improved Nutrition

Increased Physical Activity

Maintenance of a normal body weight

pol·i·cy /ˈpäləsē/ noun

a course or principle of action adopted or proposed by a government, party, business, or individual.

synonyms: plans, strategy, stratagem, approach, code, system, guidelines, theory;

REPRESENT Be the voice of our target population

Policy Examples:

• School policy regulating items sold at bake sale.

• Early childcare policy limiting screen time during the day.

• Senior living facility policy to increase whole grains served in dining hall.

sys·tem/ˈsistəm/ noun

a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole

synonyms: structure, organization, arrangement, complex, network; informal setup

System change: An organization adopting a new intervention, reallocating resources, or reaching a new population.

EDUCATE Individualize the system change

System Examples:

• Afterschool program evaluates if participants would prefer granola bars or yogurt parfaits as part of their new healthy snack initiative.

• Senior living facilities nutrition director accesses farm-to-fork program and includes local produce in menu.

• Local Cooperative Extension office replaces energy dense foods with nutrient dense options in break room vending machine.

en·vi·ron·ment/inˈvīrənmənt/ noun

the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates.

synonyms: habitat, territory, domain

PROMOTEIncrease awareness of environmental changes

Environment Examples:

• Signage at point of purchase, point of decision making

• School garden used for increased physical activity opportunities

• Financial incentives to encourage a behavior

• Nutrition information in hospital cafeterias for staff workers

Resources:• SNAP-Ed Grant Program with PSE implementation:

http://snap.nal.usda.gov/snap/Guidance/FinalFY2015SNAP-EdGuidance.pdf

• SNAP-Ed Toolkit using PSEs: http://snap.nal.usda.gov/snap/SNAP-EdInterventionsToolkit.pdf

• Understanding PSE to improve community health: http://www.health.state.mn.us/healthreform/ship/techassistance/pse02222012.pdf