UCCS-UCM Health and Wellness Consortium Planning Academic-Community Collaboration to Improve Child Health and Wellness in Schools of Underserved Communities Sarah Kennedy, MEd1, Todd Barnett2, and Anna Volerman, MD3 1University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine, 2University of Chicago Charter School, 3University of Chicago Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics Background Specific Aims Results Conclusions UCCS-UCM Health and Wellness Consortium Planning 2014 – 2015 Over the last decade, the rate of childhood obesity in the US has tripled to 16.8%1  Chicago Public School students are more overweight on average (figure 1) On the South Side of Chicago, the rate of overweight and obese is 56.4% among non-Hispanic, black students1  Low income limits food choice There is little funding to promote health in schools Urban, African American families report they do not have information regarding child health2 The University of Chicago Charter School (UCCS) is a non-selective public charter school on Chicago’s South Side3 4 campuses with 1,900 students in pre-kindergarten to 12th grade 96.7% are African American  82% qualify for free or reduced price lunch 100% of graduates accepted to college for last four years (2012-2015) To take inventory of the health education assets at each of the school’s four campus and share best practices among them To identify programming needs for building a wellness-conscious school culture that promotes educational success To reduce health disparities faced by the underserved population at these school campuses The needs assessment allowed the consortium to identify existing assets and gaps in health and wellness across the school’s four campuses Shifts in school culture are slow and must be implemented in small, manageable pieces with buy-in from leaders Bringing all stakeholders to the table in academic-community collaborations is crucial to success This innovative academic-community collaboration effort has fostered a stronger relationship between the academic medical center and its surrounding underserved communities Next steps are focused on implementation, including identifying priority areas, securing funding, building upon community resources to implement the wellness plan incrementally Health and wellness consortium formed Members brainstorm and discuss current status of health and wellness Medical students conduct wellness assessment at all campuses and model school (figure 2)  Health and wellness policy written Annual implementation plan written Spring 2015 Budget prepared Family wellness night Fall 2015 5K run / walk Strict food policy Movement activities in class Professional development for PE and health teachers Staff wellness initiatives Preventive health Nutrition Physical activity and education Social and emotional well-being Reproductive health Health education Staff wellness Methods Health and Wellness Consortium developed in summer 2014 Physicians, residents, and medical students from University of Chicago Medicine + school administrators, nurses, and physical education and health teachers Monthly meetings to foster collaboration Aim to develop, implement, and assess programs related to wellness Pritzker School of Medicine students created and implemented a targeted school wellness tool Adapted from validated assessments School Health Index5 and WellSAT6 Completed assessment based on direct observation and discussion with teachers, administrators, and students Visited each of the four campuses during school day Also visited model school for wellness programming in Chicago Acknowledgements Figure 1. Overweight or obesity prevalence among Chicago Public Schools students4 Figure 2. Selected results from targeted wellness assessment tool implemented at each charter school campus and a local model school This project was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences of the National Institutes of Health through Grant Number UL1 TR000430. We thank the faculty, staff and administration at each campus for generous assistance in survey completion. Special thank you to all members of the Health and Wellness Consortium in its inaugural year in 2014-2015. Donohue (PreK-5) Carter G. Woodson (6-8) Woodlawn (6-12) N. Kenwood/ Oakland   UCCS Model school Outside food policy No formal policy Strict policy listing allowable healthy snacks that may be brought for special occasions Physical education Two 60 minute PE classes per week Daily for 60 minutes Health education Provided for high school students for one trimester; taught by physical education teacher when possible for other grades Integrated into morning routine in every classroom, preK to 8th grade Recess structure Unregulated after lunch Activity stations before lunch References Margellos-Anast H, Shah AM, Whitman S. Prevalance of Obesity Among Children in Six Chicago Communities: Findings from a Health Survey. Public Health Rep. 2008; 123(2): 117-125. Burnet DL, Plaut, AJ, Ossowski K, Ahmad A, Quinn MT, Radovick S, Gorawara-Bhat R, Chin MH. Community and Family Perspectives on Addressing Overweight in Urban, African-American Youth. J Gen Intern Med 2008; 23(2): 175-179. UChicago Charter School. The University of Chicago Urban Education Institute. http://www.uchicagocharter.org. Accessed Sept 28, 2014. Jones, RC, Morita J, Ramirez E, Bocskay KA, Lakhani A, Lionberger A, Harvey-Gintoft BC. Whyte S. Overweight and Obesity among Chicago Public Schools Students, 2010-11. City of Chicago, 2013. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. School Health Index: A Self- Assessment and Planning Guide. Elementary school version. 2012. Yale University Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. WellSAT: Wellness School Assessment Tool. 2013.