BodyWorks: Using Technology to Expand the Reach of a Childhood Obesity Prevention Program

Background: Nearly one in three children in the United States is overweight or obese.

Program background:  BodyWorks, an interactive healthy lifestyle intervention for families from the HHS Office on Women’s Health (OWH), was developed based on research showing that parents and caregivers influence the nutrition and physical activity patterns of their children.  The 10-session weekly program, moderated by trained facilitators, provides hands-on materials to help families make small, specific behavior changes to achieve and maintain a healthy weight.  Once trained to facilitate the BodyWorks program, a trainer can implement the program in his/her community as well as train others to do so.  Each new trainer receives a training guide, complete with lessons plans and handouts for all 10 program sessions.  Train-the-trainer sessions are typically held with groups of 10 or more individuals interested in implementing the BodyWorks program.  The BodyWorks team conducts several in-person trainings each year, in order to expand to areas of the country and populations not reached by the existing trainer network.  In a time of tight budgets yet exciting new technology, OWH sought a way to reach more potential trainers while still managing costs.

Evaluation Methods and Results:  OWH revamped the BodyWorks training and technical assistance program in an innovative and cost-effective manner.  Beginning in July 2010, BodyWorks staff began offering highly interactive online training webinars every 1-2 months.  Each 6-hour webinar has been filled to capacity with 30 call-in lines and a wait list.  Online trainings include: quizzes, scavenger hunts, virtual break-out sessions with group white boards for note-taking, lively discussions and brainstorming and stretch breaks.  One-hundred seventy-three individuals have become new BodyWorks trainers through the online training webinar.  These trainings have enabled BodyWorks to expand to all 50 states as well as several American territories.  Participants provided extremely positive feedback through an online survey, completed by nearly 60% of trainees.  Ninety-nine percent of those who responded would recommend a BodyWorks online training to a colleague.  On a scale of 1 to 5, participants rated the use of WebEx for training a 4.55 out of 5, the use of online break-out sessions a 4.33 out of 5, and the ability to interact with other participants during training a 4.22 out of 5. 

Conclusions:  OWH plans to continue to increase the online presence of BodyWorks.  Team members also began using webinars for “re-orientation” sessions with experienced trainers, and are planning a series of informational webinars for trainers called BodyWorks University, which will launch in April 2011 with the release of a new promotional and trainer advisory video.  OWH will also look into text message and social media campaigns to continue to reach more trainers at little cost.

Implications for research and/or practice:  Unfortunately, as the obesity epidemic grows, so do budget concerns for many federal health programs.  Obesity prevention efforts remain critical, as does cutting unnecessary and extraneous costs.  OWH has found that using new technology for its BodyWorks trainings helps manage costs by saving travel time and money while still increasing outreach and delivering technical assistance with a personal touch.