How Cross-Sector Coalitions Can Improve Public Health

‘How’ Is the Big Question

While researchers have seen that cross-system collaborations can create change in small settings before, “we didn’t have hard evidence demonstrating how those cross-sector collaborations affect change, and how to use that knowledge to bring about lasting improvement,” says Calancie.

To answer that “how” question, the Tufts team designed the Somerville, Massachusetts, “Shape Up Under 5“ program. The program examined the effects of pulling together a 16-person committee of individuals working in the early childhood space from across sectors (early childhood education and care, healthcare, parks and recreation, local public health, and public schools). The committee met 16 times—every 4 to 6 weeks—in sessions facilitated by the Tufts team using group model building methods.

With the Tufts team’s help, the group gained a shared, comprehensive view of what influences early childhood obesity, what modifiable factors can influence the childhood obesity rate, what resources are available, and how to intervene effectively as someone who is involved at an individual or community level with young children.

Factors that can reduce early childhood obesity include breastfeeding; avoiding or reducing the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and promoting a diet of fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein; and decreasing screentime and increasing physical activity. The group learned about these influences, modeled potential interventions, and ultimately established priorities as to what type of program should be developed based on this process.

“They became systems thinkers, rather than thinking in their own silos,” says Economos.

Through this process, the coalition decided to a community-wide communications campaign in four languages that was culturally appropriate and simplified for a broad audience. Materials were disseminated across the community of Somerville where children and caregivers spend their time.

Using new tools designed to measure if and how the coalition process was effective, the researchers observed that over the two years of the program, knowledge and engagement increased both among the coalition members and nearly 200 members of their social networks. Participants also reported significant changes in policies, systems, and environments that support childhood obesity prevention.

Among the changes those involved in the study said they witnessed were an increased commitment to different aspects of the built environment, such as workplace accommodations for breastfeeding; increased use of public parks and swimming pools in Somerville; availability of health promotion materials at workplaces; and training and support for health promoting activities in a variety of venues.

Increasing Equity in Health

“Frequently programs are set up in a short-term way, for use in a single sector, and disadvantage people who are already disadvantaged by structural racism, poverty, and other forces,” notes Dean Economos. “Figuring out how to solve a problem like early childhood obesity is also about increasing equity. Moving beyond siloed approaches to systems thinking gives people a way to operate that uses a similar language to talk about how systems advantage or disadvantage certain groups in health.”