Thursday, November 21, 2024
11/21/2024
In 2017, the United Health Foundation ranked Missouri 40th in overall health, down from 24th in 1990. In Missouri, the burden of chronic disease is felt statewide, but more severely in the southeastern “Bootheel” and among certain subpopulations, such as African Americans, rural residents (over one third of the state population is rural), and individuals who are uninsured or in poverty. In this proposal, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services (DHSS) will lead a collaborative, statewide team to carry out the Missouri Physical Activity and Nutrition (MPAN), which is a strengthening and broadening of Missouri’s 1305 cooperative agreement (Basic and Enhanced) with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The purpose of MPAN is to help Missourians achieve the highest quality of life possible by ensuring access to safe places to be physically active and to healthy food/nutrition, including breastfeeding. To achieve this, MPAN will use a data-driven strategy to focus on geographic areas with the highest disparities in related risk factors (year one) and expand to other counties in subsequent years. MPAN’s work will make comprehensive improvements in statewide systems while also providing local training, technical assistance (TA) and resources so that the most at-risk communities achieve gains in each of the performance outcomes required by CDC (i.e., increased number of places that implement food service guidelines, increased number of places that implement supportive breastfeeding interventions, etc.). The project will be led by DHSS’s Section for Community Health Services and Initiative, which houses Missouri’s CDC-funded chronic disease programs and the Office of Epidemiology that coordinates state and national surveillance system data collection/analysis and provides outstanding evaluation capacity. MPAN will collaborate with 10+ other organizations and has an MOU in place with the University of Missouri that adds substantial content expertise in nutrition and physical activity, strategic communication expertise, county-based specialists who can provide TA, and connection with the 50-member Missouri Council for Activity and Nutrition to coordinate efforts statewide. MPAN leadership will use a team-based management strategy with functional units for each of the following four strategies (note nutrition and physical activity for ECEs are combined): • Food Service Guidelines – Strengthen Eat Smart in Parks by developing new resources, expanding TA, developing an online training, and disseminating healthy food service guidelines to other worksites and public locations and engaging youth through 4-H. • Supportive Breastfeeding Interventions – Work alongside the State Breastfeeding Coordinator to increase breastfeeding, especially among women with documented disparities, at worksites, child care, community venues, and maternity care. • Built Environment – Engage Missouri’s active transportation and built environment experts to lead Community-Based learning Collaboratives where communities design policy and interventions, and coordinate with the Missouri Trails project to increase use and connectivity of Missouri’s award-winning trails. • Early Care and Education Nutrition and Physical Activity – Continue promoting the MOve Smart recognition programs through coaching, create high-quality training and TA networks with a train-the-trainer model and an online training list, and help ECEs understand and comply with the new Child Adult Care Food Program meal requirements. The Health Communication Research Center at the University of Missouri School of Journalism will lead the development and implementation of an annual communications plan and implement specific activities each of the four strategies to maximize reach and impact.
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).
