Interventions
Choose Health LA Kids was a program in Los Angeles County helping families with children ages 0-5 build and maintain healthy lifestyles. The program was run by the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health made possible with funding from First 5 LA. Twenty partner agencies throughout Los Angeles County implemented the Choose Health LA Kids program and offered a variety of services to help make the healthy choice the easy choice for families.
Choose Health LA Kids Interventions – Socio-ecologic Approach
Childhood obesity cannot be solved with one single strategy. Therefore, the Choose Health LA Kids program was designed with the social-ecological approach in mind. Multiple interventions operate at various levels of the social-ecological model – individual level, organizational level, community level, and systems/societal level. See below for further details.
SOCIAL-ECOLOGICAL MODEL LEVEL
|
INTERVENTIONS/STRATEGIES
|
Individual Level
|
HEALTHY PARENTING WORKSHOPS CURRICULUM
The Healthy Parenting Workshops (HPW) Curriculum – a series of six, 90-minute workshops that engage parents in a dynamic, support group environment designed to build effective parenting skills and implement healthful parenting, sleep, nutrition, and physical activity routines in their lives. Unlike traditional nutrition education programs, the Healthy Parenting Workshops is based on the social learning theory and combines healthy eating strategies with actionable parenting skills in a supportive group environment. Caregivers learn how to use praise to reinforce positive behaviors, give commands effectively, establish healthy daily and weekly routines, stop unwanted behaviors, and participate in hands-on cooking demonstrations and group discussion.
Download the Full HPW Toolkit below:
Healthy Parenting Workshops – English Toolkit
Healthy Parenting Workshops – Spanish Toolkit
Download Train-the-Trainer materials to teach new facilitators how to implement HPW:
Download the full evaluation report or key findings infographic to learn more about the results of the HPW in Los Angeles County:
GROCERY STORE TOURS & FOOD DEMONSTRATIONS
Food demonstrations offer families the opportunity to learn new cooking skills and healthy, culturally appropriate recipes. Store tours provide tips for navigating the market, eating right when money is tight, and encouraging healthful options for children ages 0-5 and their families.
Download the toolkits and brochures below:
|
Organizational Level
|
CHOOSE HEALTH LA RESTAURANTS PROGRAM
The Choose Health LA Restaurants program is a partnership between the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and local restaurants that gives customers the option to choose smaller portion sizes and healthier children’s meals.
CLINICAL SETTINGS PROGRAM
The Choose Health LA Kid program also works with 29 community clinics in Los Angeles County to implement obesity prevention protocols, including routine BMI measurement and tracking, nutrition and physical activity education, and targeted case management.
|
Community Level
|
COMMUNITY ASSISTANCE PROGRAM PROMOTION
CalFresh & WIC Promotion: Choose Health LA Kids works to promote community assistance programs including Women, Infants, & Children (WIC) and CalFresh (food stamps) among eligible recipients.
Child Welfare & WIC Promotion: Through a partnership with the Los Angeles County Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS), Choose Health LA Kids works to address high rates of childhood obesity within the child welfare system by strengthening linkages to WIC. A flyer is now placed in all child welfare placement packets to ensure all incoming caregivers (foster, relative, or biological) are aware of WIC resources.
Download a copy of the Child Welfare WIC flyer – English, Spanish
|
Societal Level
|
PUBLIC POLICY & PARENT ENGAGEMENT
Marketing Matters White Paper: Choose Health LA Kids worked with ChangeLab Solutions, a non-profit public health law firm, to release a toolkit that outlines local level policy strategies to reducing unhealthy food and beverage marketing to children. Using the evidence-based policy adoption model, the 20 Choose Health LA Kids partner agencies worked to develop parent-driven coalitions to focus on the unique needs of their communities and work on various strategies from voluntary policies to city ordinances.
Download the full Marketing Matters toolkit or handouts for various stakeholder groups (e.g., parents, policymakers, and community groups), visit: ChangeLab Solutions
Download our infographics for ideas on how to help schools and businesses reduce unhealthy food and beverage marketing to children:
|
