Promoting healthy environments in afterschool settings: The LiveWell Greenville Afterschool Initiative

Abstract

Introduction LiveWell Greenville, a multi-organization community coalition, launched an initiative in 2011 to help afterschool programs promote environments that decrease the risk of obesity among children and adolescents. The objective of this study was to describe changes in nutrition and physical activity environments, policies, and practices among 37 afterschool programs after their participation in the LiveWell Greenville Afterschool Initiative. Methods The study used a nonexperimental, pre- and postsurvey design. The survey was based on the Nutrition and Physical Activity Self- Assessment for Child Care questionnaire and modified for afterschool settings. Items addressed sedentary time, physical activity time, availability of sugar-sweetened beverages, sweet and salty snack consumption, fruit consumption, staff behaviors, and policies that support nutrition and physical activity practices. The self-assessment survey was completed by an afterschool program supervisor at each site. The 9-month intervention consisted of program staff members' completing the pre-assessment and goal-setting worksheet, receiving technical support and training from LiveWell Greenville staff, attending networking meetings about nutrition and physical activity promotion strategies, and completing a postassessment. Results We found significant positive changes in afterschool environments in the type and frequency of snacks offered, duration of children's sedentary time, staff behaviors that supported healthy nutrition and physical activity practices, and education provided to staff, children, and parents. Conclusion We found the LiveWell Greenville Afterschool Initiative, which involved self-assessment, goal setting and technical support, to be a successful strategy to change nutrition and physical activity environments in afterschool settings.