CDC Communities Putting Prevention to Work: King County, WA

Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) is a national initiative to prevent chronic disease and promote healthy living through policy, systems, and environmental changes in 50 sites throughout the United States. King County was awarded CPPW funding to tackle obesity and tobacco use in 2010-2012, the leading causes of preventable death in the region.

The obesity initiative included a school-based component with three major goals: implementation of a high-quality physical education program, support for safe routes to school efforts, and improvement of school nutrition standards to meet the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2010. The initiative was implemented in focus areas that were selected using a need index based on socioeconomic and health outcome measures. The tobacco initiative aimed to decrease rates of tobacco use among students using two strategies: increasing enforcement of the existing Tobacco-Free Environment policy and implementation of an Alternative to Suspension (ATS) procedure in all secondary schools, and a student-led Youth Task Force to change social norms around tobacco use at school.

The King County Communities Putting Prevention to Work initiative goals are to reduce obesity and tobacco use.

Communities Putting Prevention to Work in King County is associated with reducing obesity prevalence among students in participating school districts and has made substantial progress towards decreasing tobacco use.

According to the Washington Healthy Youth Survey, the obesity prevalence in King County in 2012 showed a statistically significant decrease from previous years whereas statewide there was no change. Among students in school districts that participated in the CPPW initiative, obesity prevalence decreased significantly from 2010 (10.6%) to 2012 (8.8%). Obesity prevalence was stable during this same time period in King County school districts that did not participate in CPPW.

Enforcement of the tobacco-free environment policy has included revision of the policy to include new tobacco products such as e-cigarettes. A universal Alternative to Suspension (ATS) policy, which includes education, parent engagement, and intervention/cessation instead of suspension, was first implemented in the 2012-2013 school year following a successful pilot program. Youth Task Forces are at work to influence student attitudes towards tobacco use across many schools.