The November issue of the American Journal of Public Health helps prove that, in the words of Ray Baxter of Kaiser Permanente and Bob Ross of The California Endowment, "Prevention works."

In “Emerging Issues in Improving Food and Physical Activity Environments: Strategies for Addressing Land Use, Transportation, and Safety in 3 California-Wide Initiative,” Prevention Institute’s Manal Aboelata and Policylink’s Amanda Navarro hone in on three community strategies—engaging local advocates, linking safety to health, and collaborating with local government officials—that may be associated with the successful development and implementation of long-term community-improvement efforts.

This special issue focuses on social justice, and includes a section, Environmental Approaches to Obesity Prevention showcasing prevention programs sponsored by The California Endowment and Kaiser Permanente. The collection of articles, says The California Endowment, “adds to a growing body of evidence indicating that residents take advantage of healthy choices when they are available. And it shows that all communities—even those facing serious economic or health challenges—can reshape their environments.”

You can delve deeper into the strategies highlighted by Aboelata and Navarro with these Prevention Institute tools:

Promising Strategies for Creating Healthy Eating and Active Living Environments delineates crosscutting strategies to engage diverse constituencies;
Addressing the Intersection illuminates the connections between safety and chronic disease; and
Collaboration Multiplier provides an interactive framework to strengthen and enhance collaboration efforts.

PI/Trust for America’s Health sign-on calls for interdisciplinary approach to prevention

The National Prevention and Health Promotion Strategy (NPS) represents a tremendous opportunity to launch a national vision of health. The Surgeon General has requested feedback on the NPS, and we invite you to join us by signing on to Prevention Institute and Trust for America’s Health comments on the strategy, released on October 1st and by registering now for our November 4th webinar discussing the strategy.

The letter calls for our federal leadership to work collaboratively, “committing all federal agencies to assess their core mission through a lens that assures they are working toward these goals, and moving the federal government to an integrative approach to reaching these national goals.” We urge you to read the letter, sign your organization on this week, and consider writing a separate response on behalf of your organization.

Register now for a November 4th webinar on the development and implementation of Community Transformation Grants and the National Prevention Strategy, led by representatives from the Department of Health and Human Services Office of Health Reform and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.