Though Marion and Polk counties seemed by come out OK in the state rankings, in absolute terms, the relevant indices were in the red.
The proportion of obese residents was too high and the proportion of residents engaging in regular physical activity was too low - both in the red.
In one of the graphics in a plan to address these indices, the CHIP, was a stylized map and there were lots of people on bikes in it! 
In fact, there was even a button that said, "I support new bike routes."Curiously, in the actual policies the followed, there was no talk of bicycling or of the new Salem bike plan:
Objective 1: Provide information and educationWhat's missing? How about a commitment to support Active Transportation!Objective 2: Promote behavior change through “challenges” and other activities
- Provide information about the benefits of regular exercise (goal 1 hr/day) and resources for adults to exercise at low-cost – Health Department
- Provide My Plate educational sessions to adults and children in Marion County – OSU Extension
- Provide healthy weight, nutrition & activity information at clinic visits – MCHD Women’s Health
- Hold a community science fair April 2012 & develop outreach materials – Willamette University
- Assess client interest in & plan presentations by OSU Extension on healthy SNAP eating - ARCHES
- Adopt “My Plate” for community education programs – Marion-Polk Foodshare and Salem Health
- Sponsor National Nutrition Month forum with focus on I Love Me and specifically 5-2-1-0 wellness program as a tool for Adult Obesity Prevention or Intervention - Salem Health
- Promote I ♥ Me program to increase number of participating employers – Salem Health
- Targeted classes to promote healthy behavioral change by county employees – Marion County
- Incorporate health & wellness activities into employee workday – Lancaster Family Clinic
- Hold “Tomando Control” client chronic disease management classes – Lancaster Family Clinic and Salem Health
- Hold 5-2-1-0 wellness program presentation for staff and promote staff participation – ARCHES
- Promote policies that increase access to healthy food options – Health Department
- Provide I Love Me/5-2-1-0 wellness program, Train the Trainer Sessions for organizations interested in running a program at their site - Salem Health
The built environment shapes our daily transportation choices at a pretty basic level, and altering the built environment to make it easy to choose active transportation like biking and walking is perhaps the easiest way to incorporate a baseline level of physical activity into one's daily life. Moving becomes quotidian!
So how about it? Salem Health, County Public Health, area MDs and medical providers, how about embracing policies and goals to reduce driving and increase walking and biking!
4 comments:
"Objective 1: Provide information and education"
Why is it that Salem "experts" always seem about 20 distant years off. Most health experts know the research: information and education have not worked over the past three decades. Why do the Salem Health folks think it's going to work now? Just once, I wish Salem was more progressive and cutting edge.
I wonder if anyone from the panel has even read the National Physical Activity Plan found here:
http://bit.ly/I7hBgx
My sense is they have not!
From the Transportation segment:
"
STRATEGY 1
Increase accountability of project planning and selection to ensure infrastructure supporting active transportation and other forms of physical activity.
TACTICS
Support transportation agencies and planning organizations to establish performance measures for transportation plans that are specific to physical activity and health. This should include systematic measurement of all trips, including commute, school, and other trips as well as standardized reporting and recording of crash and injury data, for all travel modes including pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders.
Support annual reporting by all schools of their transportation mode split.
Support and integrate the use of health impact assessments in planning to inform activity-friendly design and development.
Support increased accountability in planning to address equity and disparity issues, especially for vulnerable communities and vulnerable populations."
I'm glad to hear that there's data that "info and education" alone leads to paltry outcomes - that's the knock on Socrates, after all: evil, wrong-doing, and sub-optimal decisions are not just the result of ignorance and in many cases are done despite knowing what we should do!
Aggregate participation in the state's HEM seems to require the stick of a potential fee/penalty, not merely exhortation to make good decisions. Cheerleading only gets you so far. Changing habits requires a more robust support and incentive structure.
This CHIP thing at the moment may not be structured for success.
Thanks for sharing the National Plan's perspective.
Measles, smallpox, diphtheria, cholera, typhoid are mostly not problems any more.
Mostly, school districts require vaccination, and parents comply.
Municipalities chlorinate water and treat sewage.
We involve big institutions and infrastructure in public health and don't just leave it to education, information, and personal discretionary choice.
To make real dents in the rates of obesity and diabetes, why do we imagine that we won't similarly need to involve institutions and infrastructure?
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