Wednesday, January 15, 2025
1/15/2025
Statement of where work will take place: Minnesota Although Minnesota is ranked as one of the healthiest states in the nation, dramatic disparities exist in opportunities, access, and conditions that support healthy eating, active living and breastfeeding. In Minnesota, these gaps disproportionally affect people of color, American Indians, and people living in rural communities and areas of high poverty. Purpose. OSHII, working in partnership with local public health (LPH) agencies and partner collaborators, will implement and evaluate evidence-based strategies to support healthy eating, safe and accessible physical activity, and breastfeeding across the state focusing on communities disproportionately experiencing health inequities. Outcomes. The long term outcomes for this proposal are to increase Minnesotans’ purchasing of healthier foods, increase breastfeeding, increase physical activity with an emphasis on walking, and improve early care and education (ECE) physical activity and nutrition (PAN) environments. Intermediate outcomes include increasing the number of: 1) ECE settings that implement enhanced PAN standards; 2) places that implement supportive breastfeeding interventions; 3) places that implement healthy food service guidelines; 4) places that implement community planning and transportation inventions that support safe and accessible physical activity. Strategies and Activities. OSHII will implement evidence-based strategies that are state and locally led with a focus on advancing health equity. The health equity focus will be grounded in a pilot of a Health Equity to Action strategy building on OSHII’s past Health Equity Data Analysis (HEDA) work to surface and test implementation of community designed approaches. State led strategies are designed to impact statewide policies and systems that influence the proposal’s long term outcomes. This work will be conducted by OSHII staff in collaboration with partners and contractors. Locally led strategies will impact specific settings (e.g. worksites, maternity centers, parks and recreation areas) and will be implemented through LPH agencies via Minnesota’s Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) program and community partners. Locally led, community based participatory research (CBPR) strategies will be implemented by OSHII and local leaders to pilot, test and scale innovative PAN strategies statewide. ECE Nutrition and Physical Activity: Build on existing partnerships to advance innovative, evidence-based strategies to strengthen nutrition and physical activity standards in state-level ECE systems, and expand access to training and technical assistance for ECE providers to increase adherence to nationally-recognized best practice standards of providers serving low income children and families. Goal. Increase the number of ECEs that implement nutrition and physical activity standards by 125 providers. Breastfeeding: Implement evidenced-based breastfeeding support strategies that address maternity center practices, improve continuity of care and community support for breastfeeding and increase workplace compliance with the federal lactation accommodation laws. Goal. Increase the number of places supporting breastfeeding by 84. Food Service Guidelines: Increase the number of places implementing healthy food service guidelines targeting government facilities and recreation areas located in local communities. Goal. Increase the number of government facilities and public places implementing food guidelines by 236. Master Plans and Land Use: Develop resources for winter snow removal and provide community workshops to engage stakeholders at a local level in walkable community initiatives. Goal. Increase the number of communities implementing at least one policy, systems or environmental change that contributes to safe and accessible walking, including winter walking to 73.
HHS’ Tracking Accountability in Government Grants System (TAGGS) website provides access to detailed descriptions of grants, loans, aggregated direct payments and other types of financial assistance awarded by the HHS Operating Divisions (OPDIVs) and the Office of the Secretary Staff Divisions (STAFFDIVs).