School food environments are a common target of childhood obesity prevention initiatives, though buy-in from school staff is an essential component of project success. The Smarter Lunchrooms randomized controlled trial (RCT) was initiated in 2013 to test the effectiveness of select Smarter Lunchrooms practices in New York State middle schools. The 2016 iteration of this study was redesigned to examine the impact of buy-in – some schools were allowed to choose their intervention, while others were assigned an intervention protocol. Process evaluation was conducted in order to monitor protocol implementation and to determine barriers and facilitators to implementation.
In this webinar, Alisha Gaines, PhD, from the Cornell University Division of Nutritional Sciences, overviews the process evaluation from the final year of the Smarter Lunchrooms RCT. Please note that plate waste results are not discussed, though a discussion of how process evaluation results can be applied to future research and practice is included.
Resources
Implementing Smarter Lunchrooms Makeovers in New York state middle schools: an initial process evaluation
- https://archpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s13690-016-0153-9
- Contact Alisha Gaines (againes@cornell.edu) with questions
SLM
- http://smarterlunchrooms.org/
- Other SLM webinars
- Measuring the Long-Term Impact of Behavioral Interventions in School Cafeterias https://learn.extension.org/events/2856
Food and Nutrition Education in Communities (FNEC)
SNAP-Ed Toolkit