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ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #171851
Title: A QUALITATIVE TOOL FOR ASSESSING COMMUNITY READINESS FOR NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY INTERVENTIONS: A COMPONENT OF COMMUNITY-BASED PARTICIPATORY RESEARCH.

Author
item HYMAN, EDITH - DELTA NIRI
item McCabe Sellers, Beverly
item STRICKLAND, E - DELTA NIRI
item Staggs, Cathleen
item Bogle, Margaret

Submitted to: Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Publication Type: Abstract Only
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/3/2004
Publication Date: 4/2/2005
Citation: Hyman, E.N., McCabe Sellers, B.J., Strickland, E., Staggs, C.G., Bogle, M.L. 2005. A qualitative tool for assessing community readiness for nutrition and physical activity interventions: A component of community-based participatory research [abstract]. Journal of Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology. 19(5):A1456.

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: As health promotion and disease prevention have shifted from a focus on individual interventions to community interventions, the need for developing tools to assess community readiness for change has grown. The Lower Mississippi Delta Nutrition Intervention Research Initiative is conducting nutrition intervention research in a 36-county area in Arkansas, Louisiana, and Mississippi with a goal of impacting health through improved nutrition using community-based participatory research. Assessment of community readiness prior to interventions allows researchers to define the degree of readiness and to develop strategies to increase the level of readiness. Working closely with a highly interested group of community members may give a false sense of overall community readiness without a structured assessment method. The Tri-Ethnic Community Readiness theoretical model, originally designed for drug and substance abuse intervention, was adapted to assess community readiness for nutrition and physical activity interventions. Using six dimensions scored on a nine-point scale, each dimension is linked to suggested strategies for increasing readiness for change and subsequently sustainable nutrition behavior change. The findings will be used to refine intervention plans within the specific community surveyed for readiness. Supported by USDA, ARS Project #6251-53000-004-00D.