Policy, Systems, & Environments A New Approach to Creating Healthy Communities Casey M. Coombs RD, CD

You can’t make positive choices for the rest of your life without an environment that makes those choices easy, natural, and enjoyable - Deepak Chopra

Environmental Factors Homes, schools, work, rec facilities, food service, retail establishments, etc. Sectors of Influence Government, health care systems, agriculture, marketing/media, community design & safety, etc. Social & Cultural Norms and Values Belief Systems, heritage, religion, priorities, lifestyle, body image Individual Factors Awareness, knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, values, & preferences SNAP-Ed Socio-Ecological Model

1. Work WITH direct nutrition education 2. Collaboration 3. Evaluation

 Improved Nutrition  Increased Physical Activity  Maintenance of a normal body weight

pol·i·cy / ˈ päləsē/ noun a course or principle of action adopted or proposed by a government, party, business, or individual. synonyms:plans, strategy, stratagem, approach, code, system, guidelines, theory;

REPRESENT Be the voice of our target population

Policy Examples: School policy regulating items sold at bake sale. Early childcare policy limiting screen time during the day. Senior living facility policy to increase whole grains served in dining hall.

sys·tem / ˈ sist ə m/ noun a set of connected things or parts forming a complex whole synonyms:structure, organization, arrangement, complex, network; informal setup System change: An organization adopting a new intervention, reallocating resources, or reaching a new population.

EDUCATE Individualize the system change

System Examples: Afterschool program evaluates if participants would prefer granola bars or yogurt parfaits as part of their new healthy snack initiative. Senior living facilities nutrition director accesses farm-to-fork program and includes local produce in menu. Local Cooperative Extension office replaces energy dense foods with nutrient dense options in break room vending machine.

en·vi·ron·ment /in ˈ vīr ə nm ə nt/ noun the surroundings or conditions in which a person, animal, or plant lives or operates. synonyms: habitat, territory, domain

PROMOTE Increase awareness of environmental changes

Environment Examples: Signage at point of purchase, point of decision making School garden used for increased physical activity opportunities Financial incentives to encourage a behavior Nutrition information in hospital cafeterias for staff workers

Resources: SNAP-Ed Grant Program with PSE implementation: 15SNAP-EdGuidance.pdf 15SNAP-EdGuidance.pdf SNAP-Ed Toolkit using PSEs: EdInterventionsToolkit.pdf EdInterventionsToolkit.pdf Understanding PSE to improve community health: chassistance/pse pdf chassistance/pse pdf