As a semester-long course project for my Trauma-Informed Approaches course, I developed a grant proposal for the prevention of childhood overweight and obesity with a trauma-informed approach. This program aims to prevent childhood overweight and obesity in Pinellas County, where nearly 20% of children are overweight or obese. Childhood obesity without intervention increases the likelihood of developing asthma, diabetes, and more severe obesity in adulthood. Children are dependent on adults to live healthy lifestyles, that is why this intervention targets children at risk for obesity with the incorporation of the broader social ecosystems.
Through easy to follow free online modules, caregivers can learn to better serve their children. Module topics include increasing exercise, decreasing screen time and “junk” food, and implementing healthy meals. Three trauma-informed SAMHSA principles will be embedded into this program: peer support, collaboration and mutuality, and empowerment, voice and choice. Similar interventions in Florida have contributed to substantial changes at many levels, which demonstrates that this program can find the same success in Pinellas. However, this program is unique by incorporating SAMHSA principles.
Trauma-Informed Principles
Three trauma-informed SAMHSA principles will be embedded into this program in hopes to prevent childhood overweight and obesity. The first SAMHSA principle is peer support. Using the built support systems surrounding elementary school children, such as school sports teams, the surrounding local community will be engaged to work together on the common issue of preventing childhood obesity (SAMHSA, 2014).
Through the SAMHSA principle of collaboration and mutuality, another trauma-informed principle, caregivers, teachers, and school administrators will work together to create stronger systems for Pinellas county children (SAMHSA, 2014). As dictated by this principle, all components of the system will learn to recognize that everyone has a role to play in protecting Pinellas county children. Family members of children who are at risk of being overweight will be involved in the education regarding a healthy lifestyle and how they can implement lessons learned in the modules.
The school system, or teachers and administrators, will serve as a larger unit that can apply their collective resources to ensure that all children are being positively impacted by the program. The school system will also ensure that children who do not have as many protective factors at home have the opportunity to thrive during school time through the program. For example, through the school changes in increasing physical activity opportunities in safe spaces, as well as access to healthy food and beverages.
The final trauma-informed principle utilized in this program is empowerment, voice and choice. Children and their caregivers will learn new skills for a healthy lifestyle as well as using and building upon individual strengths and past experiences (SAMHSA, 2014). Children will be empowered to develop their ability of choice in decision making about healthy habits By utilizing these three trauma-informed SAMHSA principles, opportunities for growth will be ensured for all children.
Level(s) of Social Ecological Model:
This program will use the CDC Social Ecological Model (CDC, 2022). At the individual level, the program would develop behavioral capability by providing education on healthy eating and the benefits of exercise that can be used to inspire individual action. This action would be enabled by providing access to safe spaces for physical activity, nutritious food, and decreased access to junk food and sugary drinks. Additionally, the program would build self-efficacy and self-regulation. Children will need to be guided but also understand that there are choices that they can make themselves. Furthermore, this intervention will build outcome expectations as children will be taught what positive and negative consequences of an unhealthy lifestyle.
At the relationship level, the program will use social support by involving the children’s families in education about a healthy lifestyle. Family members will be given access to free online modules from the campaign. Families will be encouraged to provide healthy meals and snacks and encourage active play time.
At the community level, the program will use community-based participatory research methods. Health records will be used to identify children particularly at risk. Program staff will engage the local community by working with healthcare professionals to provide education or services and with community leaders to identify risk/protective factors. This will ensure school resources are available to provide safe play spaces, recess time, healthy lunches and snacks, and drinkable water. At the societal level, the program goal is to reduce incidence of childhood obesity in Pinellas county children.
Public Health Framework
This intervention will be addressing primary and secondary levels of prevention based on the CDC definitions (CDC, n.d.). Children will be screened using BMI levels. This will allow the program staff to identify students who are already overweight or obese or at risk to be so to reduce the impact and hopefully decrease their BMI. The program will also be preventing overweight and obesity in children who do not currently have high BMI levels to prevent the disease from occurring in these children in the first place. The modules will teach caregivers about nutrition and physical activity, building behavioral capability, self-efficacy, self-regulation and outcome expectations. Caregivers will then be encouraged to engage children in activities that will build health habits.
Although this program will be available for all public elementary school children in Pinellas County, it is most important that the children with the highest number of ACEs, are the ones that are most positively impacted by the intervention. The strength of this program is that it will be built on the partnerships between healthcare providers, education and early childhood development experts in addition to caregivers. This will mitigate upstream factors of health disparities such as socioeconomic and education levels of caregivers, and midstream social factors, such as parenting skills, that may have inhibited some at-risk children from benefiting from the program.
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