This week we would like to spotlight the Hip Hop Healthy Heart Program for Children™ (Hip Hop), a comprehensive wellness program bringing together physical education, music, and arts in grade K-6th.

The Program Basics

Hip Hop works through wellness education that flows from teacher, to student, to family and the community at large. It requires parents/guardian/mentors to be involved in training on a daily basis, not only helping to reinforce the lessons at home, but also by personally participating in the President’s Active Lifestyle Award Program (PALA). It has 8 multidiciplinary modules and inspires kids to participate by recognizing their achievements with:

• Award certificates for completion of each module
• Certificate of Completion for the entire program.

In order to receive their final program certificate, students and an adult partner are required to register for the PALA when they start Module 1.

Measuring Success

Jyl Steinback, co-creator of the program and Executive Director of Shape Up US mentioned two ways in which Hip Hop is evaluated:

• Educational Assessment: Students are required to complete a written test to assess their comprehension of the topic. Upon passing each module test, students will receive a module certificate of completion and will be eligible for additional awards and prizes.

• Health Assessment: To make sure that the positive lifestyle lessons taught in Hip Hop are truly making a difference, Shape Up US has partnered with HeartSmartKids to track each student’s health progress. Anthropometric data, lifestyle factors, and family history are assessed and tracked using this system.
  

Challenges

Steinbeck states that, “in some cases, students may not have a parent, guardian or partner/mentor available, or able to participate.” In such cases, she suggests that instructors help students partner with another role model so that they can participate in the program: older siblings; grandparents; recent retiree volunteer - Check www.AARP.org ; student mentor from a local high school as part of the high school’s community service curriculum.

Implementing a Similar Program in Your Community

Use existing infrastructure- The Hip Hop model relies on training educators, healthcare professionals and others who work with groups of children. This creates a program with controlled costs because it builds on existing infrastructure. In your community, try building upon existing infrastructures to implement your program. 

Engage parents and guardians- To help engage partners to get the maximum benefit of Hip Hop:

• Letters to send home to parents that provides parents with information about the curriculum prior to starting it
• Parent, guardian or partner/mentor contracts for each module

Reach out to encourage participation-

• Scheduling a group meeting to discuss the curriculum
• Send home personal invitations to the group meeting and ask parent/guardians to RSVP by a specific date.
• Telephone parents who do not respond and encourage them to participate
  

Don’t forget potential resources in your community- Hip Hop is designed to be taught many different types of teachers. Programs like this can be taught by:

• Public/Private School Teachers as part of their regular curriculum
• Home School Instructors
• PE Instructors
• Fitness Instructors at Health Clubs, After School Programs, YMCA, etc.
• Park and Recreation Instructors

Have you used existing infrastructure to implement a physical activity program? How?

This week we would like to spotlight the "Physical Activity. The Arthritis Pain Reliever" campaign which aims to increase physical activity among men and women with arthritis.

The Program Basics

"Physical Activity. The Arthritis Pain Reliever" is designed to:

• Raise awareness of physical activity as a way to manage arthritis pain and increase function

• Increase understanding of how to use physical activity (types and duration) to ease arthritis symptoms and prevent further disability

• Enhance the confidence of persons with arthritis so that they can be physically active

• Increase trial of physical activity behaviors

Messages are added or edited based on research including making sure that it is congruent with the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. In Wisconsin, implementation includes the health communication campaign with targeted print and community event outreach including health fairs, bus stop posters, and billboards.

Measuring Success

The Wisconsin Arthritis Program measures program success by impressions or the number of people that have been exposed to the campaign message. Radio spots, billboards, bus benches, posters, print ads and bookmarks are all utilized to communicate the campaign message to as many individuals as possible.

In May 2010, the Wisconsin Arthritis Program conducted the health communication campaign, including statewide radio advertising with targeted print and community event outreach in several select counties; Milwaukee, Marathon, and Wood.　 The Program was highly successful in delivering over 35 million impressions of the message to adults over the age of 40 living in Wisconsin.

Challenges

As Julie Dotson mentioned, "It can be time consuming to establish partnerships within a particular community prior to beginning a campaign." The Wisconsin Arthritis Program invested 6 months prior to campaign implementation into making contacts and establishing partnerships within the community. Dotson also mentioned that it was a challenge to make sure that the program aligned with prominent community leaders that were identified by members of the community. The Program learned that selecting the right individuals to serve on a planning committee or spearhead an effort is crucial to the campaigns ultimate success.

Implementing a Similar Program in Your Community

Partnering with community based organizations that frequently serve the population that you are trying to reach is essential. The Wisconsin Arthritis Program found that building rapport with the community through trusted partners was a very strong foundation on which to implement the campaign and spread the message regarding the importance of physical activity for persons with arthritis. The Program also found tremendous success in participating in community sponsored events like health fairs.

This week we would like to spotlight the Arkansas State University – Beebe Wellness Program, a recently developed wellness program struggling through the difficulties associated with building a successful program with limited resources.

The Program Basics

The Arkansas State University – Beebe Wellness Program (ASUB Wellness) is entering its second year of existence.  Upon initiation of the program, they received a copy of the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Toolkit.  Since then, they have followed many of the guidelines in their programs and especially in wellness coaching sessions with individual employees. They have established an incentive program entitled “Step by Step” focusing on walking and “Walking Wednesdays” to promote physical activity. Be Active Your Way materials are freely distributed to the employees who show interest in physical activity.