Charting the Information and Systems Needed to Support Effective  Response to Childhood Obesity

The prevention and treatment of childhood obesity in the United States is a pressing concern of stakeholders in many sectors and disciplines across the country, including families, public health, health care, health research, government, schools, community groups, urban planning, the media, as well as others. Addressing this national health problem requires accurate, reliable, and relevant information to assist in shaping prevention and treatment programs and policies.

Project Summary
Because childhood obesity is a complex problem being addressed in multiple ways by multiple stakeholder groups and individuals, we have more questions than answers about what information they need to allow them to do their work effectively. This project, guided by the Public Health Informatics Institute’s collaborative requirements methodology and supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, will develop shared understanding of the information needs of this diverse group of stakeholders and will frame an approach to move from statements of information needs to articulation of the technical requirements for information systems to provide that information. 

Developing information requirements specifications that are widely endorsed and shared among stakeholder groups hinges on agreements by the various stakeholders of this project about the purposes and needs for information. This project will engage major stakeholders through structured interviews and meetings to develop a common understanding of their program objectives, information needs, and current information sources and information systems strategies.

For example: 

• What information do school districts need to help them shape their approach to school-based physical education and nutrition programs?
• What information do parents need from physicians to assure their child is at a healthy weight? Where can they go to get more information about obesity prevention or treatment programs?
• What information do physicians need to monitor a child’s weight? How will this information be communicated to parents and other stakeholders?
• How can federal agencies know if their grants to state and local public health agencies are reaching at-risk populations? How will information about obesity program performance goals be communicated from the local to federal levels?
• What information do community and state policy makers need to garner support for obesity programs and to demonstrate accountability of funds?
• How can data collected from research studies be synthesized and communicated to other stakeholders so physicians, schools, parents and policy makers can make informed decisions about the child obesity problem?

Common themes will emerge from the information needs assessment about what each group needs to know, when they need to know it, and how it should be communicated for maximum benefit.

The project (September 1, 2005 – November 30, 2006) is the first in a series of steps that are needed to guide these stakeholders in their pursuit of information systems that support their information needs. It will produce:

• A summary of stakeholders’ information needs that highlights areas of consensus and differences in opinions;
• An analysis of where information comes from and how it is used;
• A charter that identifies the purpose, scope, timeline, and governance plan for moving forward with subsequent projects that will lead to precise information system requirements definition (i.e., follow-on phases of the Institute’s methodology); and
• A communications plan to inform diverse stakeholders on the project’s methodology and progress and seek their review and endorsement.

Future projects (the second and third phases of the methodology) are contingent upon continued funding and successful completion of this project and upon a charter endorsed by key stakeholder groups. Subsequent projects will produce a tool to measure the value of childhood obesity information systems to different stakeholder groups; a description of the business processes (a detailed analysis of how stakeholders’ work is done); definitions of requirements for state and community-based childhood obesity information systems (technical statements about what the system must do); and recommendations for implementing or building the necessary information infrastructure to support programs. All projects are built around a highly collaborative process that respects the opinions of the many stakeholder groups.

Client and funding source
This program is supported by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which seeks to improve the health and health care of all Americans and is committed to halting the increase in childhood obesity rates. Over the next decade, the Foundation’s obesity strategies will target the places, programs and policies that effectively promote healthy eating and physical activity in schools and communities throughout the country, and improve the prevention and management of overweight and obesity in health care settings.

Related Links
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Childhood Obesity Programs

Contact: Kristin Saarlas, Deputy Director, Public Health Informatics Institute