Healthy Girls, Healthy Women (HGHW) Empowering Peer Leaders to Build Healthy Communities

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Healthy Girls, Healthy Women (HGHW) Empowering Peer Leaders to Build Healthy Communities Hye Won Lee, MPH, Sharon Odametey, MPH, Laurie Jo Wallace, MA, Evan Wilson MA OVERVIEW STRUCTURE RESULTS Background Goals Major Accomplishments • In recent years obesity has reached epidemic levels across the United States and has been a major contributing factor towards chronic illnesses. • Low-income communities and communities with a high density of minorities are disproportionately affected by higher rates of obesity and related illness. • In Boston, the prevalence of overweight or obesity is 64% among Black adults and 54% among Hispanics, but only 44% among Whites. • Roxbury, Jamaica Plain and Dorchester, low-income neighborhoods in Boston, exhibit nearly twice the rate of obesity and overweight as high-income neighborhoods such as Back Bay, Fenway and South End1. • According to the Boston Public Health Commission, the number of youth in these areas who are overweight or inactive is extremely high. • Some 33% of high school students in Boston are at risk of becoming obese and/or overweight and only 56% get an adequate among of exercise2. • In 2002, HGHW engaged adolescent girls in the development of a targeted health communications campaign promoting nutrition and physical activity in order to prevent osteoporosis. • Beyond the launch of the media campaign, HGHW continued to address the issue of childhood obesity. • HGHW was designed to address health disparities associated with being overweight and obese among girls and young women using the Ecological Perspective model, affecting multiple spheres of influence including the individual, their peers, institutions such as youth-serving agencies and the community as a whole. • HGHW’s primary approach to impact young women in Boston is through peer education. • Thus far in 2011, HGHW Peer Leaders have reached nearly 300 girls through peer-led workshops and community events. • HGHW Peer Leaders reached Many Peer Leaders have graduated high school and enrolled in college or university. • Several former HGHW workshop participants have been hired as Peer Leaders. • Peer Leaders have been invited to present at conferences for youth and adults. • HGHW partnered with The 84 – a statewide movement of youth fighting the influence of tobacco – where they were trained to meet with their legislators at the State House to talk about health issues in their community. • The Healthy Girls, Healthy Women Peer Leadership program aims to create a healthier, more powerful generation of young women in Boston by: • Addressing obesity among low-income, urban girls of color ages 12 – 18, • Promoting physical activity and healthy nutrition among these girls, • Helping girls develop strong self-esteem and maintain healthy relationships and • Equipping girls to become leaders in their communities. Activities • Recruit and Train Peer Leaders • A group of six to eight young women, ages 15 – 17, are hired as Peer Leaders during the summer and participate in a 24 hour training curriculum:“Peer Leaders Promoting Food & Fitness”. • The Peer Leaders also participate in on-going trainings and in-service workshops including: visits to gyms and grocery stores, attending conferences and viewing and discussing films. • Weekly Peer Leader Meetings • Throughout the year, the Peer Leaders meet on a weekly basis to discuss their personal steps towards being physically and emotionally well and also engage in in-service training and prepare to deliver workshops. • The Peer Leaders also keep journals where they record what they eat and how they have been physically active. • Peer-Led Workshops • Peer-led workshops are offered in an all-female space to community centers, girl groups, and after school programs. • Workshop topics include: • Nutrition • Healthy Relationships • Physical Activity • Body Image • Advocacy • Health Equity • Community Events • Throughout the year, Peer Leaders plan and lead community events to engage workshops participants and community members in celebration, education and advocacy events. • These events are an opportunity for the workshop participants to share what they have learned and to build a network of peers who share and support their commitment in being physically and emotionally healthy. Lessons Learned • As HGHW grew, the program added leadership positions for returning Peer Leaders. These Senior Peer Leaders now assist with training and recruitment. • While Peer Leaders were initially attached with specific community agencies, overtime HGHW saw greater potential to reach a significant number of youth by reaching out to interested organizations across Boston. • Peer Leaders benefited from ongoing trainings throughout the school year to further enhance their knowledge and skills. Program Design Testimony “Healthy Girls, Healthy Women helped me understand a lot about eating right, staying in shape, and loving your body. Before HGHW, I always thought that I had to be a perfect size 2 like everyone on TV looked and that in order to look like that I had sacrifice a lot.”~HGHW Participant “I never thought I could stand in front of a group but you made me feel like I can make a difference in these girls lives.” ~HGHW Peer Leader “I like teaching the other girls because it helped me feel more confident and feel like I have the power to start with something small.” ~HGHW Peer Leader “I have learned the facts and skills to make better choices. Some examples are that I choose different things to eat like fruits and yogurt and granola. I’ve never tried granola before, but now I like it! Now I am working out and tried to go to the gym with the other girls.” ~HGHW Participant “I’ve been sticking to my healthy eating habits and helping my friends and family be healthy and help people in my community.” ~HGHW Participant • 1.See Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 1999-2003. Since neighborhood-level data on childhood obesity is unavailable, we assume that demographic distortion of childhood obesity mirrors that of adult obesity. • 2. “Community Youth Meetings 2007: Health Status Report of Youth: Dorchester,” October 22, 2007, presented Boston Public Health Commission. Healthy Girls, Healthy Women is managed by Health Resources in Action and is funded by the Saucony Run for Good Foundation, Women’s Sports Foundation, United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley, Anna B. Stearns Foundation and City of Boston.