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Project Title:
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A Framework for Decision-Making for Obesity Prevention: Integrating Action and Evidence
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PIN:
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FNBX-H-08-04-A
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Major Unit:
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Institute of Medicine
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Sub Unit:
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Food and Nutrition Board
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RSO:
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Parker, Lynn
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Subject/Focus Area:
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Food and Nutrition; Policy for Science and Technology
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Project Scope
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The Institute of Medicine will conduct an ad hoc study to develop a framework for evidence-informed decision-making in obesity prevention efforts. This framework will focus on approaches for assessing policy- and community-level interventions designed to influence food and physical activity environments. It will be guided by a systems approach that explicitly takes into account the social contexts in which decisions are made and the multiple determinants of policy and community action (e.g., projected health and economic impacts, feasibility, acceptability, public demand). While focused on obesity prevention, this framework could guide more general efforts to assess and use scientific evidence in complex, multifactorial public health challenges (e.g., violence, HIV/AIDS, tobacco-control).
Specifically, the study will:
1) Provide an overview of the current nature of the evidence base, i.e., the types of evidence that are available on the results of community- and policy-based obesity prevention interventions. This overview should include current methods used to characterize the evidence base and the challenges involved in applying traditional evidence hierarchies to population-based prevention efforts. This overview is not meant to be carried out by an exhaustive literature review but rather through the examination of case studies and existing reviews.
2) Identify the challenges faced in integrating scientific evidence into the broader array of factors that encourage or inhibit social change
3) Develop a framework for evidence-informed decision-making in obesity prevention efforts. The framework should define the set of research methodologies and research priorities that can be used to enhance the evaluation of community- and policy-based interventions and generate evidence needed for environmental change and policy action. In developing the framework, the committee shall consider:
a. The diverse and dynamic social contexts in which decisions are made and research is conducted
b. The complexity of the systems in which determinants of obesity are embedded and perpetuated, and the multi-level nature of the interventions being fielded.
c. The role and importance of achieving acceptable levels of internal and external validity
d. Public and private vested interests in the status quo
e. The ethical and practical limitations of experimentation in potential pathways of change
f. The role of scientific knowledge as one component of decision-making regarding community interventions and policy changes
4) Provide practical, action-oriented recommendations for choosing, implementing and evaluating obesity prevention efforts employing this framework. Innovative assessment and funding strategies for overcoming barriers to funding research and evaluation efforts should also be suggested. The recommendations shall include examples and/or case studies, where available, of how scientific evidence has been effectively integrated with other sources of knowledge to achieve positive social change.
5) Identify what new research tools and methods may be needed to build a useful and timely evidence base given the particular challenges of assessing complex, multi-level interventions
6) Develop a plan for communicating and disseminating the framework and recommendations
7) Specify a plan for evaluating and refining the framework by applying it to current decision-making processes.
This project is funded by Kaiser Permanente, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The start date for this project is June 1, 2008.
A report will be issued at the end of the project in approximately 24 months.
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Project Duration:
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24 months
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Provide FEEDBACK on this project.
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