Background

Schools provide an ideal setting for promoting healthy lifestyles in youth, but it has proven difficult to promote the adoption and implementation of evidence-based programming by school leaders. The SWITCH® (School Wellness Integration Targeting Child Health) intervention is a capacity-building process designed to help school leaders learn how to plan, implement, and sustain school wellness programs on their own.

Objective

The present study evaluates the transdisciplinary approaches used in establishing an integrated research-practice partnership with the state-wide 4-H/Extension network to support broader dissemination.

Method

The study used a mixed methods approach to evaluate the degree of engagement and motivation of 4-H leaders (N = 30) for providing ancillary support for local school wellness programming. Engagement from 4-H Staff was logged over a year-long period through tracking completion of training and ongoing engagement with aspects of SWITCH. They completed checkpoint surveys and an interview to provide perceptions of supporting school implementation of SWITCH programming. Data were analysed through Pearson bivariate correlations and constant comparative analysis.

Results

County-level 4-H staff demonstrated high engagement in SWITCH by attending training sessions and hosting structured checkpoint sessions with schools. Interview data revealed that 4-H Staff valued connections with schools and emphasized that training on SWITCH was consistent with their existing roles related to youth programming.

Conclusions

The results demonstrate the value of the sequential capacity-building process used to train 4-H Staff to facilitate school wellness programming. The transdisciplinary approaches built transferable skills and fostered relationships that directly support the broader goals of 4-H.

中文翻译：

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通过分布式4-H /扩展网络传播SWITCH学校健康计划的跨学科方法

背景

学校为促进青年时期的健康生活方式提供了理想的环境，但事实证明，很难促进学校领导者采用和实施循证编程。SWITCH®（针对儿童健康的学校健康整合）干预是一项能力建设过程，旨在帮助学校领导者学习如何自行计划，实施和维持学校健康计划。

目的

本研究评估了跨学科的方法，该方法用于与全州范围的4-H /扩展网络建立集成的研究与实践合作伙伴关系，以支持更广泛的传播。

方法

该研究使用混合方法来评估4-H领导者（N = 30）的参与程度和动机，从而为当地学校健康计划提供辅助支持。通过跟踪培训的完成情况和对SWITCH各个方面的持续参与，记录了4-H员工的参与情况长达一年。他们完成了检查站调查和采访，以提供支持学校实施SWITCH编程的看法。通过Pearson二元相关性和常数比较分析来分析数据。

结果

县级4-H人员通过参加培训课程和与学校举行结构化的检查站课程，展示了SWITCH的高度参与度。访谈数据显示，4-H员工重视与学校的联系，并强调在SWITCH上进行的培训与他们与青年编程有关的现有角色一致。

结论

结果证明了用于培训4-H人员以促进学校健康规划的顺序能力建设过程的价值。跨学科方法建立了可转移的技能并建立了直接支持4-H广泛目标的关系。