The Kaiser Family Foundation Community Health Promotion Grants Program: findings from an outcome evaluation

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Health Promotion
• Community Interventions

Background:

• The Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation's Community Health Promotion Grants Program (CHPGP) was a significant initiative.
• It aimed to improve health by altering community norms, environmental factors, and individual behaviors in 11 western communities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the outcomes of the CHPGP.
• To assess the program's effectiveness in achieving its health promotion goals.

Main Methods:

• Evaluation employed a mixed design with randomized control and intervention communities.
• Data collected via surveys of community leaders, adults, adolescents, and grocery stores over three time points.
• Outcomes were compared between intervention and control communities.

Main Results:

• Most intervention communities showed little evidence of positive change in targeted health outcomes.
• Positive outcomes were observed in two specific communities: a Hispanic community and a Native American reservation.
• Programs targeting dietary behavior and adolescent substance abuse demonstrated success.

Conclusions:

• Community-based interventions face challenges in achieving measurable health improvements.
• The CHPGP largely failed to produce significant, widespread changes in targeted health outcomes.
• Future efforts must enhance the theory and methods for designing and evaluating community-based health initiatives.