University of Minnesota Prevention Research Center

University Of Minnesota, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

SUMMARY The primary goals of the University of Minnesota Prevention Research Center (UMN PRC) are to develop and disseminate actionable knowledge, enhance community and cross-sector collaboration, build infrastructure and expand training for healthy weight promotion in youth and their families. This proposal builds on a long and rich history of weight-related research and public health advancement by UMN School of Public Health faculty and colleagues across UMN. This PRC will focus on the CDC’s priority area of improving nutrition, physical activity, health and wellness among children with overweight and obesity from households with lower incomes. Given the well-documented systemic drivers of health inequity and powerful social determinants of health and weight, the center’s work will focus on youth and families from historically underserved communities, including those of lower income and those identifying as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous and People of Color). The Center’s work is grounded in best practices for dissemination and implementation research and leverages deep and long-standing partnerships with community leaders, public health agencies, health organizations and other key stakeholder networks with shared commitments to healthy weight promotion. Our proposed core dissemination and implementation research project is a Hybrid Type 2 Effectiveness Implementation Trial focused on the evidence-based NET-Works intervention designed to promote healthy eating, activity and weight among preschool age children with overweight or obesity from lower income and BIPOC communities. We will partner with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs), UMN-Extension and local public health to understand how to effectively adapt and sustainably implement NET-Works in across clinical (FQHCs) and community settings (i.e., UMN-Extension Regions) and develop an implementation science informed and setting-specific strategy for enhancing future implementation processes. Study results will be integrated into an intervention toolkit to be disseminated through local and national channels to facilitate implementation of the evidence-based NET-Works intervention into public health practice. The PRC’s overall 5-year goals for research, translation, dissemination, training, technical assistance, communication and evaluation are to 1) implement an applied research and translation agenda to develop and disseminate knowledge and practices for evidence-based innovations in applied public health supporting healthy weight promotion; 2) create and support infrastructure, resources, and local, regional and national partnerships that fortify the PRC’s ability to advance public health practice for scalable healthy weight promotion efforts; 3) prepare future leaders in weight-related dissemination and implementation-oriented research and practice to effectively and respectfully engage in community-rooted efforts to enhance health in scalable ways; 4) enhance public health workforce capacity to leverage evidence for practice innovations; and 5) collaborate with national PRC network partners to enhance the network and its impact.