Medicine and Health Sciences Commons^™

Mobilizing Rural Communities To Create Systemic Changes To Reduce Health Disparities, Denise Everson, Amanda Tedrow, Al Parker Edd

National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference

USG institutions are creating strategies to enhance community capacity in addressing health inequities, "closing the gap" between suggested optimal development models and helping prepare a visioning masterplan in rural communities.

Fitnessgram Assessment Results In Five Rural Counties Of Georgia, Tara L. Underwood, Jimmie H. Smith Jr, Dawood H. Sultan

Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association

Background: Childhood obesity continues to be more prevalent in the United States (US) than ever before. Youth who reside in rural areas tend to experience higher risks of obesity and overweight status, mainly due to barriers to physical activity. Even though the US federal government has mandated a daily requirement of physical activity for all school-age children, the majority of youth from rural communities tend to not achieve the recommended Health Fitness Zone (HFZ) goals.

Methods: The FITNESSGRAM is the instrument that has been used to measure and report students’ physical activity and body mass index (BMI) based …

Community Health News, Georgia Southern University

Community Health Department News (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines Maternal Caregiver Support for Prevention of Childhood Obesity

Community Health News, Georgia Southern University

Community Health Department News (2011-2018)

• Georgia Southern Examines the Effectiveness of a Physical Activity Educational Campaign
• Georgia Southern develops and conducts psychometric testing of a childhood obesity perception survey

Preventing Childhood Obesity: A Mixed Methods Study Into The Perceptions Of African Americans In A Rural Community, Dayna S. Alexander

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Preventing childhood obesity is a global priority due to adverse health risks and financial burdens. With childhood obesity rates stabilizing it is difficult to determine which factors alone (i.e., genetic, environmental, behavioral, or demographic) increase susceptibility to childhood obesity. Parents influence childhood obesity risk factors through their parenting styles and behaviors. Social behavioral theories and public health evidence demonstrate including parents in childhood obesity efforts could assist in reducing childhood obesity rates. The objective of this study was to assess perceptions of childhood obesity among African Americans with children enrolled in a rural elementary school in the Deep South. The …

A Community-School District-University Partnership For Assessing Physical Activity Of “Tweens”, Robert J. Mcdermott, Jen Nickelson, Julie A. Baldwin, Carol A. Bryant, Moya L. Alfonso, Leah M. Phillips, Rita D. Debate

Moya L. Alfonso

Introduction: Obesity among youth is related to a decline in physical activity, and data on physical activity levels among children in elementary and middle schools are limited.
Methods: We leveraged a community–school district–university partnership in Sarasota County, Florida, in May of 2005 to assess physical activity levels among tweens (youth aged 9-13 years) and to measure the relationship between tweens’ awareness of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s VERB program and participation in physical activity, using a minimally obtrusive survey. After surveying participating schools (4 elementary schools and 3 middle schools), we obtained 1,407 responses from children in grades …