A tool for rating chronic disease prevention and public health interventions.

Bridging the gap between research and practice requires more than evaluating the effectiveness of interventions in controlled studies. To bridge this gap, evidence needs to be defined in different ways, and opportunities need to be provided for practice-based evidence to be replicated and disseminated. Community-based interventions are often not conducted or evaluated in controlled settings, yet they provide more real-world context and have the potential to have a greater effect on population health than findings from controlled studies that are limited in generalizability. The purpose of this article is to describe an approach to identify community-based programs and interventions that have the potential for replication and dissemination. In our study, such interventions met criteria in 3 primary domains: innovativeness, effectiveness, and sustainability. The criteria and tool developed were applied to 2 obesity-prevention programs to demonstrate the usefulness of the tool for identifying potential programs for replication and dissemination, contributing to practice-based evidence. Funders, practitioners, and researchers can apply these criteria to identify programs, environmental changes, or policies that may be replicated and disseminated.

Healthy & Active Communities Initiative: a foundation's response to the obesity epidemic.

Missouri has the 12th highest rate of adult obesity and the 15th highest rate of overweight and obese youth in the United States. In response, Missouri Foundation for Health has implemented the Healthy and Active Communities Initiative (H&AC). Methods applied through H&AC include grantmaking, evaluation support, dissemination technical assistance, policy assessment, and development of local, regional, and statewide collaborations to increase access to physical activity and nutrition through environmental, policy and behavior change. Results to date demonstrate more than 49 counties in the state have been impacted through 79 grantee projects. Nearly half (45%) of these grantees have achieved more than their original goals and 60% of grantees can sustain at least half of their program activities post award. Fifty percent of grantees have helped to change the way the community works on public issues. Through the H&AC Initiative, Missouri Foundation for Health serves as a model for how a foundation can assist in efforts to mitigate and prevent rising rates of obesity.