The Battle River Project

1. The Battle River Project Year 1 Overview and Background January 30, 2008 Camrose, AB

2. WHAT is a blender? “…an electric kitchen appliance with rotating blades used for puréeing, liquefying, or finely chopping.” (Oxford Canadian Dictionary, 1998)

3. What is the PURPOSE of a blender? “…combine compatible ingredients to produce something that tastes good!” (Doug’s Dictionary of Mixology, 2007)

4. WHAT is a school? “An institution for educating or giving instruction, especially one for students under 19 years.” (Oxford Canadian Dictionary, 1998)

5. What is the PURPOSE of a school? “…ensure that students attain the knowledge and skills required for lifelong learning, work and citizenship.” (Alberta Education Business Plan: 2006-2009)

6. YOUTH MEETING PHYSICALACTIVITY GUIDELINES(60 min MVPA 5 days/wk) % Young People’s Health in Context: HBSC. WHO, 2004

7. Nutrition? Children purchasing lunches at schools • 39% more overweight • 39% more obesity

8. Measured Overweight Ages 2-17 years CPHI. Promoting Health Weights. 2006.

9. WORK/ INTERNATIONAL NATIONAL/ COMMUNITY LOCALITY SCHOOL/ FACTORS REGIONAL HOME Leisure Activity/ Facilities Transport Public Transport Globalization of markets Urbanization Public Safety Labour Infections Health Care Health Development Worksite Food & Activity Social Security Sanitation Media & Culture Media programs & advertising System Family & Home Manufactured/ Imported Food Education School Food & Activity Food & Nutrition Agriculture/ Gardens/ Local markets National perspective INDIVIDUAL POPULATION Energy Expenditure I T Y % OBESE OR UNDERWT O P R E V Food intake : Nutrient density A L E Source: see Kumanyika Ann Rev Pub Health 2001; 22:293-308

10. School based promotion of healthy eating and active living Pre-intervention Post-intervention

11. Bullying Social environment Friends TV Physical environment teachers Phys Ed? Negative experiences modeling Lunches from home School transport Extra-curricular Urban / Rural vending machine intramurals Principal social determinants demographics self esteem nutrition academics School store

12. School based promotion of healthy eating and active living Pre-intervention Post-intervention Practitioner’s work: types of activities target groups involvement planning collaboration and partnerships barriers What is REALLY going on here? HOW is the intervention implemented? Give us something to do!

13. Ever Active Schools A Health Promoting Schools approach to creating Healthy Active School Communities in Alberta

14. Vision Alberta students live, learn and play in healthy, active school communities. Mission Statement The Ever Active Schools Program facilitates the development of healthy children and youth by fostering social and physical environments that support healthy active school communities.

15. Health Promoting Schools Instruction home community school Services/supports Environment

16. Health Promoting Schools A whole school approach where health promotion is addressed by all stakeholders over a long period of time through intense integration, coordination, and enhancements to • Curriculum and teaching methods • Social & physical environments • Family, school, and community partnerships and services

17. Health Promoting Schools involve • Champion(s) in school • Facilitation of planning processes • Evidence-based, promising practice • Evaluation

18. The Battle River Project Multi-level partnership Battle River School District Ever Active Schools East Central Health Funded by Alberta’s Active Living Strategy Alberta Healthy School Community Wellness Fund

19. Key Question How can the school environment and health behaviors (healthy eating, active living and mental health) of children and youth be positively improved when a Health Promoting Schools model, the Ever Active Schools Program, is implemented with School District support?

20. Theories Ecological Model (Bronfenbrenner, 1977; Kelly, 1990; Sallis & Owen, 1997) • Individual • Social • Organizational • Community • Public policy Action Research (Smits, 1997; A.R. Guide for Alberta Teachers, 2000) • Trigger • Reflect • Plan • Action • Data collection Physical Environment

21. Theory Justification Ecological Model • Focus on Social and Organizational (micro-policy) to effect individual behaviours • Trudeau & Shepard (2005) – school an effective setting to increase MVA in PE, extra-curricular, active transport and community facilities • Veugelers & Fitzgerald (2005) – multi-leveled (micro-policy, social, organizational) intervention reduced overweight by 59% and obesity by 72% • Stewart-Brown (2006) – overview of world-wide HPS (essentially ecological in structure) initiatives for effectiveness: • Physical Activity • Nutrition • Mental Health Promotion

22. Theory Justification Action Research • Focus on Social and Organizational (micro-policy) to effect individual • Smits (1997): “Action research is a form of theory and practice engaged with real life; practical questions and issues (p. 282)” • Catelli, Padovano & Costello (2000): role of collaboration to permit change and improvement at all levels with the goal being improvement (EAS, Schools, BRSD, RHA) • Franks, et. al. (2007): lessons from CATCH, Planet Health and Not-On-Tobacco

23. What it looks like… Structure • Partnership between EAS, BRSD, ECH, UofA • 3 year project / $105,000 each year • Provide support to schools/teachers for PA, MW & HE • Work with BRSD and ECH to set policy and process • Essentially a quasi-experimental feasibility study… • Multiple measures • Possible embedded case studies • Year 1, 2 & 3 measurements of student health Intervention • EAS / ECH facilitation and resource support • Promising practices and collaboration with all partners • Part-time staff position • Action research principles for on-going improvement

24. Process • Year 1 (2007-2008) • Sign up schools, set up steering committee, initiate planning, measure baseline • Year 2 (2008-2009) • District policy, school sharing, revised planning • Year 3 (2009-2010) • Continue revision of plans due to evaluation, measurement of students, promising and best practice • Sustainability • BRSD plan and process for ongoing support

25. Supports • District support to implement healthy initiatives in schools • Curriculum supports • Nutrition expertise • Release time for planning/networking/sharing • Workshops, resources, promising practices • Working on priority issues in your school • Working towards the vision of your school – developing a game plan for your school • Measurement and evaluation

26. Your Role • Plan and implement a Health Promoting Schools approach with the help of project coordinator and project team. • Administer and review school capacity and student health measures. • Contribute to the growth and success of the project.

27. Measurement Capacity Measures • Common measure of school capacity for health promotion (where are we now?) • Done by every school in the BRSD Surveys • Survey measures of individuals (students, staff) • Physical Activity, Mental Wellbeing & Healthy eating (self-report) Other • Accelerometer / pedometer measurement • BMI Links with other Projects • Make the Healthy Choice the Easy Choice (10 schools) • AHW Study (100 schools)

28. Health Promoting Schools “Let us rethink school health away from kits and projects to solve problems and use the school as an ongoing setting where health is created, supportive environments are built, partnerships made and many skills are learned. Then we might be able to say this is what school communities can realistically do to build the health and wellbeing of their students now and into the future.” (Leger, 2004)

29. It’s up to YOU…What will you put into the blender?More importantly, what do you hope to pour out?