1. The Commit to Be Fit framework: a community case study of a multi-level, holistic school-based wellness initiative in rural Virginia.
- Author
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Redelfs AH, Smith M, Merrill JA, Grimsley S, Jenkins HE, Tederick JS, Butler AG, Dueck K, Eastham Thomas M, Perez DA, and Whigham LD
- Subjects
- Child, Humans, Holistic Health, Virginia, Emotions, Leadership, COVID-19 epidemiology, COVID-19 prevention & control
- Abstract
Background: Public health interventions that target children's physical, mental, and emotional health will enhance their ability to learn and grow. Although more complex, school initiatives that address multiple ecological levels and take a holistic view may be more effective and likely to lead to lasting change., Aims: This article presents the framework of Commit to Be Fit (C2BF) as an example of how schools can integrate multi-level and holistic approaches for health. This innovative school-based intervention includes activities addressing individual, home, school, and community to create a culture of wellness. We describe the implementation of C2BF and its basis in ecological models and give examples of activities across three components: cafeteria, classroom, and community. We discuss challenges and note that leadership engagement and alignment were critical elements for C2BF's success thus far., Discussion: C2BF uses a school-based multi-level approach to creating a culture of wellness and holistic health for students, teachers, and community members. C2BF is unique compared to other school-based programming and includes activities that address all eight domains posited for program sustainability within public health. Built to be flexible and adaptive, C2BF was able to successfully pivot during the COVID pandemic and also follow new science., Conclusion: C2BF and other multi-level holistic approaches are more likely to achieve long-term change by utilizing strategies across the multiple levels of the ecological model to improve health and wellbeing., Competing Interests: HJ, JT, and AB are RCPS employees who received at least partial salary support from the PATH Foundation through the C2BF grant. SG is the RCPS superintendent and received no compensation from PATH. HJ, JT, AB, and SG were not involved in data analyses outside of the participatory analysis in the Enhanced Force Field Analysis. LW, AR, and DP were contracted by the PATH Foundation to provide evaluation support for C2BF. KD and ME are employees of the PATH Foundation but did not have a role in the evaluation design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation of the findings that were the basis for this publication, and their support as C2BF program officers was critical to its implementation and success; however, their roles in this publication were limited to providing feedback on the final draft. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Redelfs, Smith, Merrill, Grimsley, Jenkins, Tederick, Butler, Dueck, Eastham Thomas, Perez and Whigham.)
- Published
- 2023
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