"Abstract: Improving the health and health literacy of low-income families is a national public health priority in the United States. The federal Head Start program provides a national infrastructure for implementation of health promotion interventions for young children and their families. The Health Care Institute (HCI) at the Anderson School of Management at the University of California, Los Angeles, developed a structured approach to health promotion training for Head Start grantees using business management principles. This article describes the HCI approach and provides examples of implemented programs and selected outcomes, including knowledge and behavior changes among Head Start staff and families. This prevention-focused training platform has reached 60,000 Head Start families in the United States since its inception in 2001. HCI has demonstrated consistent outcomes in diverse settings and cultures, suggesting both scalability and sustainability.
"This multilevel approach reflects an integrated theoretical framework based on several established models of health promotion and behavior, including health promotion planning, social ecology, Life Course Health Development, and community partnering models, which have been described previously (10). This integrated theoretical framework has informed our practical approaches to implementation, designed to improve health behaviors using a structured process...."
Discussion: ...The HCI experience highlights the value of a systematic approach to dissemination of health promotion, consistent with dissemination frameworks for evidence-based health promotion practices reported previously (20). This approach to health promotion for low-income families represents a valuable and potentially cost-effective way to promote prevention and reduce health disparities in a vulnerable population...."
http://www.cdc.gov/PCD/issues/2013/13_0015.htm
Citation: Herman A, Nelson BB, Teutsch C, Chung PJ. A Structured Management Approach to Implementation of Health Promotion Interventions in Head Start. Prev Chronic Dis 2013;10:130015. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5888/pcd10.130015
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