Conclusion of Healthy Communities Study: KU Work Group for Community Health and Development

A six-year Healthy Communities Study conducted by the KU Work Group for Community Health and Development concluded with the final meeting of the project’s executive committee held in May at KU. Funded by the National Institutes of Health, the $23 million umbrella grant involved several research partners including KU, the University of California-Berkeley and the University of South Carolina.

Obesity prevention project
The Work Group team (Vicki Collie-Akers, Stephen Fawcett and Jerry Schultz) had primary responsibility for measuring community programs and policies undertaken by communities to prevent childhood obesity, which ultimately involved 130 communities and more than 5,000 children. Their case studies are now available online.
 
Intern from Lebanon adapts Tool Box for Middle East
The Community Tool Box hosted intern Leah Soweid, a graduate of the American University of Beirut and native of Lebanon, for a month-long internship this spring. Soweid adapted the Tool Box for the Middle East North African region, creating seven toolkit examples that feature community action specifically tied to the region. One of her examples focuses on the development of a mental health intervention with youth in a Palestinian refugee camp. 
 
Peace Corps’ Office of Global Health 
The Community Toolbox is partnering with the Peace Corps’ Office of Global Health and HIV on a Peace Corps Community Tool Box to support capacity-building efforts among Peace Corps staff, volunteers and community counterparts. The Peace Corps version was pilot tested and introduced to 36 Peace Corps Staff, volunteers and community counterparts in Africa in May.