Abstract
Background: In underserved African American communities throughout DeKalb County, the DeKalb County Board of Health (DCBOH) is implementing community-based initiatives using policy, systems, and environmental improvement approaches to reduce racial and ethnic health disparities by increasing opportunities for nutrition and physical activity.
Methods: The initiatives are being implemented in priority census tracts where the population is at least 40% African American, 30% live below federal poverty level, and 25% did not graduate from high school. Communications promote awareness of the programs, and evaluation activities document processes and outcomes.
Results: To date, implementation of five interventions has affected approximately 276,000 DeKalb residents.
Conclusions: By implementing strategies for community-based policy, systems, and environmental improvement, DCBOH is increasing access to nutrition and physical activity opportunities for underserved African American communities in DeKalb County.
First Page
80
Last Page
88
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Hermstad, April; Gilliam, Erikka; Spivey, Sedessie; and Mendoza, Zipatly
(2016)
"Local Efforts Toward Addressing Health Disparities in DeKalb County, Georgia,"
Journal of the Georgia Public Health Association: Vol. 6:
No.
1, Article 33.
DOI: 10.21633/jgpha.6.121
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/jgpha/vol6/iss1/33
Supplemental DOI list