Putting Promotion Into Practice: The African Americans Building a Legacy of Health Organizational Wellness Program

¹ an associate professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, School of Public Health, in Los Angeles, California.
² clinical associate professor and director, MHA Program at the University of Southern California, School of Policy, Planning, and Development in Los Angeles, California.
³ policy director for community health and education at Community Health Councils, Inc., in Los Angeles, California.
⁴ professor in the School of Policy, Planning, and Development at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.
⁵ associate director of the Division of Community Health at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California.
⁶ executive director of Community Health Councils, Inc., in Los Angeles, California.
⁷ an assistant professor at the University of California, Los Angeles in Los Angeles, California.
⁸ adj. associate professor of public health and psychology at the University of California, Los Angeles and researcher in the UCLA Division of Cancer Prevention and Control Research in Los Angeles, California.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed.

	Abstract

A Los Angeles REACH demonstration project led by Community Health Councils, Inc. adapted and implemented an organizational wellness intervention originally developed by the local health department, providing training in incorporating physical activity and healthy food choices into the routine "conduct of business" in 35 predominantly public and private, non-profit-sector agencies. A total of 700 staff, members, or clients completed the 12-week or subsequently retooled 6-week curriculum. Attendance and retention rates between baseline and postintervention assessments were improved substantially in the shortened offering. Feelings of sadness or depression decreased significantly (p = .00), fruit and vegetable intake increased significantly (+0.5 servings/day, p = .00), and body mass index decreased marginally (-0.5 kg/m², p = .08) among 12-week participants. The numbers of days in which individuals participated in vigorous physical activity increased significantly among 6-week participants (+0.3, p = .00). This model holds promise for extending the reach of environmentally focused work-site wellness programming to organizations and at-risk populations not traditionally engaged by such efforts.

Key Words: lifestyle change, work site, workplace policy, practice, physical activity, nutrition, exercise, community-based participatory research

First published on June 7, 2006, doi:10.1177/1524839906288696

Health Promotion Practice 2006;7:233S.

A more recent version of this article appeared on July 1, 2006


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