Building Healthy Communities Report: Evaluation Report 2009

Through the Building Healthy Communities program, based in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and New York, children learn about childhood obesity in the context of their own communities. The intent of this evaluation is to understand and measure the impact of the Building Healthy Communities curriculum on students, as well as the general effectiveness of the Building Healthy Communities program. A process evaluation method was used to discover the programs outputs and processes, and a process database was compiled so that program staff could track delivery of health-related information and programs of all enrolled youth. The major findings of this study include evidence that the Building Healthy Communities program was successful in positively impacting the ability for youth to modify behaviors and attitudes about health, increasing the civic engagement of participants, and increased the personal knowledge and awareness of staff members on health issues. Recommendations following this evaluation include expansion of the program to reach a larger group of youth, maintenance of a technology component of the program, continuous staff training, ongoing curriculum development, and increased parental involvement. (MS)