Everyone Swims: a community partnership and policy approach to address health disparities in drowning and obesity.

Well-known disparities exist in rates of obesity and drowning, two public health priorities. Addressing these disparities by increasing access to safe swimming and water recreation may yield benefits for both obesity and injury prevention. Everyone Swims, a community partnership, brought community health clinics and water recreation organizations together to improve policies and systems that facilitated learning to swim and access to swimming and water recreation for low-income, diverse communities. Based in King County, Washington, Everyone Swims launched with Centers for Disease Control and Prevention grant funding from 2010 to 2012. This partnership led to multiple improvements in policies and systems: higher numbers of clinics screening for swimming ability, referrals from clinics to pools, more scholarship accessibility, and expansion of special swim programs. In building partnerships between community health/public health and community recreation organizations to develop systems that address user needs in low-income and culturally diverse communities, Everyone Swims represents a promising model of a structured partnership for systems and policy change to promote health and physical activity.

Building capacity for childhood obesity prevention and treatment in the medical community: call to action.

Large gaps exist in the capacity of the US medical system to participate meaningfully in childhood obesity-prevention efforts and to meet the treatment needs of obese children. Current primary care practice for the prevention and treatment of childhood obesity often varies from evidence-based recommendations. Childhood obesity specialists have partnered successfully with schools of medicine, professional societies, and other organizations to collaboratively engage with primary care providers in quality improvement for obesity prevention and treatment. This review and commentary targets 2 audiences. For childhood obesity experts and their organizational partners, methods to support change in primary practice and the evidence supporting their use are outlined. For primary care providers and non-obesity specialists, effective strategies for changing practice and the potential benefits of addressing childhood obesity systematically are discussed.

Perspectives on obesity programs at children's hospitals: insights from senior program administrators.

OBJECTIVE: The obesity epidemic has resulted in an increasing number of children needing multidisciplinary obesity treatment. To meet this need, pediatric obesity programs have arisen, particularly in children's hospitals. In 2008, the National Association of Children's Hospitals and Related Institutions (NACHRI) convened FOCUS on a Fitter Future, a group drawn from NACHRI member institutions, to investigate the needs, barriers, and capacity-building in these programs. METHODS: Senior administrators of the 47 NACHRI member hospitals that completed an application to participate in the FOCUS group were invited to complete a Web-based survey. The survey targeted 4 key areas: (1) perceived value of the obesity program; (2) funding mechanisms; (3) administrative challenges; and (4) sustainability of the programs. RESULTS: Nearly three-quarters of the respondents reported that their obesity programs were integrated into their hospitals' strategic plans. Obesity programs added value to their institutions because the programs met the needs of patients and families (97%), met the needs of health care providers (91%), prevented future health problems in children (85%), and increased visibility in the community (79%). Lack of reimbursement (82%) and high operating costs (71%) were the most frequently cited challenges. Respondents most frequently identified demonstration of program effectiveness (79%) as a factor that is necessary for ensuring program sustainability. CONCLUSIONS: Hospital administrators view tackling childhood obesity as integral to their mission to care for children. Our results serve to inform hospital clinicians and administrators as they develop and implement sustainable pediatric obesity programs.