March 2006

News from the PAN Branch

As in early 2005, President Bush has eliminated the Preventive Health and Health Services Block Grant from his proposed fiscal year 2007 budget. This means that all 100 North Carolina counties serviced by our 85 local health departments will lose the funding that supports the Statewide Health Promotion program. The Statewide Health Promotion program supports staff in all 85 health departments who conduct important work integrating multi-level healthy eating and physical activity interventions in their communities. The SHP community action plans address physical inactivity, poor nutrition and tobacco use, the top three causes of chronic disease and premature death in our state.

We are urging all partners to write letters to your respective Congressmen and women to educate them on the critical nature of the funding North Carolina receives from CDC through this Block Grant. Contact Sharon Nelson at Sharon.boss.nelson@ncmail.net or call her at 919-707-5220 for more information or to find out how you can help.

Programs, Projects and Initiatives

National Public Health Week Theme is “Designing Healthy Communities: Raising Healthy Kids”

The 2006 observance of National Public Health Week (NPHW) will be from April 3rd - 9th and will be dedicated to “Designing Healthy Communities: Raising Healthy Kids.” During the week, APHA and its partners will promote awareness of the built environment as it relates to the specific children’s health issues including access and equity, physical activity, injury prevention, and asthma. A critical piece of each day will be to focus on effective solutions based on case studies from model communities. To learn more about National Public Health Week and to sign up as a sponsor or partner in the event please visit this link.

Medical Fitness Week, Steppin’ Out, A National Walking Challenge

The Medical Fitness Association (MFA), in conjunction with the MFA Education Committee, is sponsoring the Second Annual Medical Fitness Week, April 24–30, 2006. The goal of this MFA initiative is to promote an increase in physical activity levels in all ages and to highlight the medical fitness difference. During this international event, medical fitness centers and communities are asked to offer programming that focuses on teaching families the skills they need to develop healthy lifestyle habits. In addition, all participating organizations are asked to raise money—through participation in the Walking Challenge—for local programs and scholarship funds in the fight against childhood obesity. Currently, medical fitness facilities provide health and wellness programs to over two million people.

Visit our website for more information about the event.

Walking Challenge

70,000 Steps in 7 Days. The Walking Challenge encourages local communities to get up and move by striving for 70,000 steps in seven days. The challenge will involve wearing a pedometer and tracking how many steps a day a person is achieving. The community who achieves the most steps in the seven days will receive national recognition through press releases, the MFA website, and the 2006 Annual Conference in Las Vegas. Visit thislink for more information and to register.

50th Anniversary of the President’s Council

The President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. To become a 50th Anniversary Partner to Get America Moving, go to this site.

Success Stories

2005 Distinguished Health Education Program

NC Department of Public Instruction’s “NC Healthy Schools” initiative received the 2005 National Distinguished Health Education Program Award presented by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Public Health Education and Promotion Network. The award is given to a program that has demonstrated impact on the national level as reflected in changes in health indicators, health policy, health systems or health status, which developed national partnerships to achieve its objectives, is national in scope and has been in existence for five years or more. The North Carolina School Health Advisory Council manual, which was written and designed by NC Healthy Schools’ staff, is serving as a national model for CDC’s Division of Adolescent and School Health for use in other states to help influence the adoption of School Health Advisory Councils throughout the country. State Board of Education Chairman Howard Lee presented NC DPI’s Senior Advisor for Healthy Schools Paula Collins with a certificate in recognition of her efforts to promote healthy schools initiatives in North Carolina public schools.

Featured Resources and Research

Economic Benefits of Trails and Greenways

This 4-page fact sheet by the Trails and Greenways Clearinghouse provides insight into the economic benefits of having trails and greenways in your community, including increasing property values, building local economies and benefiting the environment. A list of helpful resources is also included.
View the fact sheet at this site

Trail User Survey Workbook

The Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and Trail Facts Interactive Marketing, with support from the Penn. Dept. of Conservation, have published a trail survey workbook called “How to conduct a survey and win support for your trail: sample surveys and methods.” The workbook includes survey templates, and information about how to design your survey and methods to collect, record, analyze and report your data. To view the workbook and templates, go to this site.

DATA2010

The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) is pleased to announce the update of DATA2010, the on-line Healthy People 2010 database. On January 30, 2006 a new version of the database was made available to the public through the CDC WONDER system. This is the first update of DATA2010 since November 2004 due to the extensive changes made during the Midcourse Review process.

National Council on Aging Publishes Issue Brief on Research and Practice
Keeping Current on Research and Practice in Physical Activity for Older Adults is the fourth issue brief in a series promoting best practices in physical activity programming. The focus of this publication is to encourage physical activity programmers to stay on top of the latest research and best practices in the field of physical activity and older adults. It provides steps in creating a learning plan, and offers a variety of tools and resources that will help connect organizations with the most current research and practice. For more information, visit this site.

Parents’ Report Executive Summary Now Available

Based on requests from our State Team members, AFHK now has the Executive Summary of the Parents’ Views on School Wellness Practices available. This document summarizes the key learning’s from the nationwide survey of parents with school-aged children. To view and download this report, visit the AFHK website at Action for Healthy Kids: Exclusive Reports.

101 Tips for Family Fitness Fun

For National Physical Fitness and Sports Month and National Physical Education and Sport Week (May 1-7), the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE) and Walk4Life, Inc have teamed up to remind parents that children learn by example and have 101 suggestions for getting more physically active with their new brochure, 101 Tips for Family Fitness Fun. To receive a free copy of 101 Tips for Family Fitness Fun and information about bulk rate costs, email Janice Lee-Beverly of NASPE at jlee-beverly@aahperd.org. To purchase copies, call 1-800- 321-0789. Stock number is 304-10322. For those of you who need a parents’ brochure in Spanish, NASPE also has 99 Consejos Divertidos para una Familia en Forma. For more information, visit this site.

New HRSA Publication

“The Health and Well-Being of Children: A Portrait of States and the Nation 2005,” indicates that, in general, U.S. children are in good health and grow up in healthy environments. It also points to a need to improve access to health care for children from low-income families, those with no health insurance, and children with special health care needs. Visit this site.

Legislation

Physical Education Amendments for No Child Left Behind

Senator Cornyn (R-TX) and Representative Wamp (R-TN) have each introduced a bill (S1276 & HR4359) that would amend No Child Left Behind Act to include physical education. The bills require content and performance standards for physical education beginning in school year 2006-2007 as part of a state plan for compliance under the law. By the 2008-2009 school year, states would also have to assess student progress in physical education. Go to this site.

Grants

Women’s Sports Foundation Invites Applications for GoGirlGo! Grant Program

Deadline for Applications: March 15, 2006

The GoGirlGo! Grant and Educational Program, administered by the Women’s Sports Foundation, provides financial assistance to sports and physical activity programs seeking to add new or expanded program participation opportunities for an under-served population of girls, particularly economically disadvantaged girls and/or girls from populations with high incidences of health-risk behaviors. The GoGirlGo! educational curriculum is available free of charge and must be ordered separately. Visit this site for further information.

Carol M. White Physical Education Program

On February 27th, the U.S. Department of Education is scheduled to release a grant application for the Carol M. White Physical Education Program, commonly referred to as PEP. This federal grant program provides funds for physical education programs, including after-school programs, for students in one or more grades from kindergarten through 12th grade to help students make progress toward meeting state standards for physical education. Local education agencies and community-based organizations are both eligible to apply. In the past, the majority of grants have gone to school districts; community nonprofits such as YMCA’s and Boys & Girls Clubs have also been awarded PEP grants. Stay tuned to this site for more information.

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Call for Proposals related to Childhood Obesity.

Application Deadline: May 10, 2006

Active Living Research is a $12.5 million national program to stimulate and support research that will identify environmental factors and policies that influence physical activity.

Findings are expected to inform environmental and policy changes that will promote active living among Americans, both young and old.

This research will help increase our understanding of the relationship of environmental characteristics to physical activity for three priority topics: young people’s use of parks, physical activity in and around buildings, and physical activity in rural areas. Evaluations of community interventions that are part of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Active Living by Design program also will be supported.

The research funded under this call for proposals will inform the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s efforts to help halt the increasing prevalence of childhood obesity by 2015. For more details on how to apply visit this site.

Training and Professional Development

International Congress on Physical Activity and Public Health
April 17-20, 2006
Atlanta, Georgia

This event, sponsored by the CDC Physical Activity and Health Branch will commemorate the 10-year anniversary of the release of the landmark U.S. Surgeon General’s Report on Physical Activity and Health. Key scientific and programmatic advances in the field in the past 10 years will be emphasized and the direction of future research and promotion will be highlighted. For more information, visitthis site.

The CDC Diabetes and Obesity Conference

May 16-19, 2006
Denver, Colorado

Going a Mile High Against Diabetes and Obesity: A Look to the Future, CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation will convene its 29th Annual Diabetes Conference May 16–19, 2006, at the Adam’s Mark Hotel, 1550 Court Place, Denver, CO.

The collaboration between CDC’s Division of Diabetes Translation and Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity will provide a forum to discuss issues concerning both diabetes and obesity.

The conference will bring together more than 800 participants from a wide range of local, state, federal, and territorial governmental agencies along with private-sector diabetes and obesity partners. See a preliminary agenda and registration information at this link by March 3, 2006.

CSHP By The Sea 2006

July 10 – 13, 2006
Wilmington, NC

With a great agenda focused on Coordinated School Health and Personal Wellness on campus at UNC-W! Make plans NOW to join us – participation will be limited to 250 people! Bring your team representing the eight areas of a Coordinated School Health Program and hear national speakers as well as presenters from all parts of North Carolina.

In addition to keynote and breakout sessions, CSHP By The Sea will feature opportunities for you to experience best practices sessions, improve your own personal wellness, and participate in a variety of activities! School Health Advisory Councils will have the opportunity to apply for possible funding as well as submit the Healthy Active Children Progress Report.

For more information contact: Anne Marie Jenks, Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Tobacco Consultant, NC Healthy School, (919) 807-3909.

2006 National Health Promotion Conference

September 12 - 14, 2006
Atlanta, Georgia

The 2006 National Health Promotion Conference is the first joint conference presented by CDC’s Coordinating Center for Health Promotion (CoCHP) and its constituent groups: the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (NCCDPHP), the National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities (NCBDDD), and the Office of Genomics and Disease Prevention (OGDP). With a conference theme of Innovations in Health Promotion: New Avenues for Collaboration, the conference will provide an unprecedented opportunity to create new partnerships and strengthen existing ones to move forward with a national health promotion and wellness agenda. Visit www.cdc.gov/cochp for updates and more information.

Cooper Institute Conference Series

October 26-28, 2006
Dallas, TX

The Cooper Institute Conference Series: Parks, Recreation, and Public Health: Collaborative Frameworks for Promoting Physical Activity will be held on October 26 - 28, 2006 in Dallas, Texas. The 2006 conference will focus on developing collaborative frameworks for researchers, practitioners, and educators in the field of public health, parks, and recreation. Abstracts will be accepted for poster presentations at the conference. Watch for the upcoming call for abstracts and registration information at this site.

Active Aging 2006

November 15-17, 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada

Active Aging 2006 will be held November 15 -17, 2006 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Submissions for presentations are due February 26. You can find more information about the conference, call for presenters and application form at this site.