Year: 2013
Funding: Mentored Researcher Development Award
Status: Completed
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Overview
This study examines the implementation and impact of recent policy changes within California’s federally-funded Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention (NEOP) program that decentralized key funding and administrative mechanisms from the state to the local government level. The changes give local health departments greater decision-making authority and discretion over how program funds are used within local communities, along with an enhanced ability to support obesity prevention activities beyond nutrition education, including policy, environmental and systems change strategies. Through a systematic literature review on decentralized public programs, local health department interviews, and information collected by the state, Dr. Wu describes local health departments’ NEOP program implementation including the resources used, and their selection of policy, environmental and systems change interventions. By assessing the benefits and challenges of centralized vs. decentralized program administration, she develops recommendations for maximizing the effectiveness of the statewide obesity prevention program.
Publications
- Restructuring a State Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Program: Implications of a Local Health Department Model for SNAP-Ed (Journal of Public Health Management & Practice, pre-print October 2016)
- Changes in the Energy and Sodium Content of Main Entrees in US Chain Restaurants from 2010 to 2011 (Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, February 2014)
- What's on the menu? A review of the energy and nutritional content of US chain restaurant menus (Public Health Nutrition, January 2013)
Presentations
- Restructuring a State Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Program: Implications of a Local Health Department Model (Systems for Action Research Seminar, University of Kentucky, December 2015 recording)
- Restructuring a State Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Program: Implications of a Local Health Department Model (Poster Presentation, PHSSR Keeneland Conference, April 2015)
- Restructuring a State Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention Program: Implications of a Local Health Department Model (PHSSR Research-in-Progress Webinar series, April 2015, recording)
- Evaluating the Impact of the Nutrition Education and Obesity Prevention (NEOP) Program Reorganization on California’s Public Health System (Poster presentation, PHSSR Keeneland Conference, April 2014)
Tools
- Research Overview and Implications (Video Interview with Helen Wu, December 2015)
Research Areas
Contact
Researcher: Helen Wu, Ph.D., M.S.
Research Mentor: Kenneth Kizer, M.D., M.P.H.