Community-Based Participatory Obesity Prevention Interventions in Rural Communities: A Scoping Review

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Community-Based Research
• Childhood Obesity

Background:

• Childhood obesity is a significant global public health issue.
• Children in rural America face higher obesity rates compared to urban counterparts.
• Community-engaged research is crucial for addressing health disparities in under-represented populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To conduct a scoping review of community-engaged research in childhood obesity prevention programs in rural America.
• To identify the extent of community engagement in interventions targeting school-aged children in rural US communities.

Main Methods:

• A systematic literature search was performed using Medline Ovid.
• Studies focused on obesity prevention interventions promoting healthy diet or physical activity (PA) in rural US school-aged children.
• Two independent reviewers screened titles, abstracts, and full texts, with twelve studies meeting inclusion criteria.

Main Results:

• Most reviewed studies (7/12) focused on elementary school children.
• The majority of interventions (9/12) aimed to improve both diet and physical activity (PA).
• Only five studies (5/12) incorporated the target audience in intervention development or implementation, with community participation being the most common engagement method (4/12).

Conclusions:

• Community-engaged research is under-utilized in childhood obesity prevention programs in rural US settings.
• There is a need to increase the involvement of target communities in the design and execution of obesity interventions.
• Enhancing community engagement can improve the effectiveness and relevance of obesity prevention efforts for rural children.