A Community-Academic Partnership to Address Disparities*

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DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): As outlined in Healthy People 2010, eliminating health disparities, especially with respect to child obesity, is a major U.S. goal. Obesity rates among youth have been rising dramatically in recent years, with a concomitant rise in the risk of diabetes and cardiovascular disease. In Los Angles County, the site of our proposed study, the prevalence of obesity among African-American and Latino teenagers is about 50% higher than for White teenagers; available data for Asian/Pacific Islander youth also suggest disparities. Limited physical activity and poor diet contribute to obesity and are prevalent among youth from all racial/ethnic groups, but especially among African Americans and Latinos. We propose a three-year community-based participatory research project to develop and pilot test an intervention that addresses racial/ethnic disparities in obesity among adolescents in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). We aim to (1) build a strong community-academic partnership and assess community needs and priorities for obesity-related programs among adolescents through effective collaboration among LAUSD staff, researchers, and key community stakeholders; (2.) jointly design a pilot intervention to reduce/prevent obesity among adolescents of diverse race/ethnicity through such potential strategies as increasing physical activity and/or healthy eating behaviors; and (3) pilot test the feasibility and effects of the intervention among adolescents of diverse race/ethnicity. To accomplish these aims, we will build upon an existing collaboration among LAUSD, the UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion, and stakeholders in an ethnically and racially-diverse community-the Carson-Wilmington area of LA. LAUSD and community stakeholders have identified addressing adolescent obesity as a high priority. We will conduct extensive formative work, including qualitative interviews, focus groups, site visits, and surveys with community stakeholders, to assess priorities and potential strategies for addressing adolescent obesity; we will use this information to design and pilot test an intervention uniquely tailored to the community. We anticipate revising the intervention based on pilot results and seeking additional funds to conduct a full evaluation throughout LAUSD. We also anticipate that the community-academic partnership and infrastructure developed during this process will allow us to continue to collaborate in addressing health disparities facing the youth of LA.