Evaluating Community-Level Interventions

Many community, foundation, and government initiatives are being implemented to target policy, system, and environmental changes to reduce morbidity and mortality associated with obesity. Case studies and examples of these interventions are provided below.

• Department of Health and Human Services
  • State Physical Activity and Nutrition Program (SPAN)
  • Racial and Ethnic Approaches to Community Health (REACH)
  • Good Health and Wellness in Indian Country

Evaluation examples

The following programs offer examples of evaluation strategies for measuring policy, system, and environmental change in community-level obesity prevention initiatives.

Program: Kaiser Permanente Community Health Initiative
Summary: Implemented between 2005 and 2010. An organization-wide effort designed to produce a significant and measurable impact on the health of select communities.

• Goal of evaluation: To promote program improvement, assess impact, and share lessons learned
• Target population: Nine communities in five regions (three in Northern California and Colorado, one in Georgia, Ohio, and the Mid-Atlantic States)
• Design: Non-experimental, cross-site evaluation
• Evaluation methods: Analysis of progress report data; key informant interviews; observation of environmental changes; calculating affected reach; analysis of clinical data; baseline and follow-up population-level surveys of youth and adults
• Evaluation findings: 2008 interim findings: Communities built capacity and implemented creative strategies. Potential impact of their interventions was high
• Sources: Approaches to Measuring the Extent and Impact of Environmental Change in Three California Community-Level Obesity Prevention Initiatives
  Cheadle, A., Samuels, S., Rauzon, S., et al.
  American Journal of Public Health, 2010, 100(11)