Social determinants of health are social factors which can contribute to our health.  We may not always take into consideration that factors such as income, social support, stress, social exclusion, neighborhood environments and education can have a profound impact on health.  Additionally, one social determinant can actually lead to another and in many cases often does. For example, if you are unemployed, you are more likely to live in poor conditions and lack transportation. In this situation a person may not have the resources to go to a doctor for a medical issue, purchase healthy food, or engage in physical activity.  For more information on social determinants of health,                    visit the CDC Web site.

 Research has shown that healthcare alone cannot counteract the effects of these factors on health.  Interventions and programming, both on the local and more global level, are needed that target these social factors.  These interventions must be inclusive of all populations, including people with disabilities whose health can often have an even greater likelihood of being affected by these determinants.

Creating or adapting your interventions and programs in order to make them more inclusive of everyone is a process, and possibly an intimidating one.   However, simply having the right attitude is a huge step in the right direction.  If you are willing and open to creating modifications to accommodate even one person so he or she can benefit from your program, then you are on your way to being more inclusive.  Here are some suggestions:

• Worksite health promotion programs must be inclusive and consider appropriate modifications for current (or future) employees with disabilities.  Maybe you don’t have any employees with disabilities now, but one day you may.   Plus, your current employees are aging, increasing the likelihood of age-related activity limitations.  Encouraging healthy behaviors now for people of all abilities can possibly help avoid or delay these limitations or secondary conditions AND improve worker productivity and/or attendance.
• By including the caregiver or other support provider within a program, you can help not only with the success of the individual with a disability but also increase your success rate twofold!
• It may be the case that someone can’t get to your facility to participate in a program, whether its because of transportation or another issue.   When this occurs, try to find ways to make your program, or even pieces of it, accessible from a remote location, whether online or through another method.
• Maybe you don’t have any idea of how to get started, nor do you feel you have the time or resources to make the necessary changes up front in order to make your program more inclusive.  You have to start somewhere, right?  So, start by making sure your marketing materials and targeted audiences are diverse and that you make it known that anyone is invited to participate.  You can then make the changes individually as those people sign up.  Ask the individual what type of accommodations he or she may need in order to benefit from your program, and go from there.
• Any other suggestions???  Please share!

We hope you've enjoyed our Monday program spotlights the past couple months. Do you enjoy reading about all these fantastic physical activity promotion programs? Would you like your program to be spotlighted? Do you know a program you would like to nominate to be spotlighted? We would love to hear from you! Just answer the six questions below in 750 words or fewer and e-mail them, along with a photo from your program, to rachel.hayes@hhs.gov.   

Submitting information about your program does not guarantee that your program will be featured. “Programs” may include specialized organizations, ongoing efforts by broader organizations, temporarily-funded interventions, and/or periodic events. Programs must not conflict with the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Evidence-based programs or programs including an evaluation component will be given preference. If your program is chosen, an ODPHP representative will e-mail you before posting to confirm accuracy of the blog post.

Questions

1.    Describe your program and the population it serves.

2.    How are the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans incorporated into the program?

3.    How is the success of your program measured?

4.    What are some challenges you faced in implementation?

5.    Please give tips for others to implement programs similar to yours.

www.pedbikeimages.org by Andy Hamilton

If you lived in a neighborhood where gunshots rang out every day and drug dealers loitered on your street every night, would you let your kids outside to play? Well, you’re not alone.

One of the reasons our children are not getting the minimum amount of physical activity they need is that physical education has been carved out of our schools, and many youth live in high-crime neighborhoods where their parents are afraid to let them go outside. So it’s no wonder that the national childhood obesity rate, especially in impoverished and underserved communities, has skyrocketed over the last 30 years and has now reached epidemic proportions.

A report conducted by the Trust for Public Land revealed that “crime drops when adequate parks and recreational activities are available in inner-city neighborhoods.”  Many examples can be found in cities and towns throughout America where policymakers, law enforcement officials, community leaders, and residents have joined together with the park service and recreation facility owner-operators to take back their neighborhoods and make them safe.

Every summer in Phoenix, basketball courts and rec centers are kept open until 2 a.m. to encourage residents to be active with their neighbors. The city of Phoenix found that during the summer months, calls to police reporting juvenile crime incidents drop by as much as 55 percent.

Researchers at Columbia University reported that Boys or Girls Clubs in public housing projects reduced crime rates by 13 percent and drug use by more than 20 percent. Juveniles between the ages of 10-16 year olds who have a mentor, which is an important component of a quality after-school program like those of the Boys and Girls Clubs of America, are 46 percent less likely to use drugs and 27 percent less likely to start drinking alcohol.

So we cannot afford for our kids to sit home and play sedentary video games after school. We must give them opportunities to participate in physical activity and make better food choices throughout the day. It is proven that physical activity and good nutrition help children perform better academically by increasing concentration and energy levels and boosting self confidence. Physical activity also hones their socialization skills, which enable young people to identify with peers, succeed in college or a vocation, and live happier and healthier lives.

That is why the President’s Council works closely with First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! initiative to connect the public and private sectors with non-profit organizations and encourage them to develop sustainable programs to fight childhood obesity. Through the “Million PALA Challenge”—a joint physical activity campaign to get one million Americans to earn their Presidential Active Lifestyle Award (PALA) by September 2011—and initiatives like Let’s Move! Cities and Towns and Let’s Move Outside, we will make great strides to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic one child, one family and one community at time. For more information, visit www.fitness.gov.