ACSM American Fitness Index™
Actively Moving America to Better Health
AFI Community Action
Guide
Overview
ACSM American
Fitness Index™
 ACSM American Fitness Index™ (AFI)
focuses on:
– Health behaviors
– Chronic disease
– Health care
– Built environment
– Recreation
– School PE
 Identifies community strengths
& challenges
AFI Program Goal
Improve the
health, fitness
and quality of life
of Americans by
promoting
physical activity
Helping All Communities
 AFI data report includes top 50 metro
areas
 Information can help all communities
look at same types of data
 AFI Community Action Guide
companion to AFI data report
AFI Community Action Guide
 Easy to read
 Practical
 Supports community-based efforts to
improve health
 Guide  not How-to Manual
 Links to resources & tools
What’s In the Action Guide?
 Executive Summary
 Background about AFI
 Leadership
 Coalitions
 Planning
 Advocacy
 Moving Forward
Available Online
www.americanfitnessindex.org
Why Physical Activity?
 54% U.S. adults don’t get
enough physical activity
 Inactivity doubles risk of
heart disease, type 2
diabetes & obesity
 Annual estimated cost of
inactivity $24 to $76 billion
 Modest increase in activity
produces great health
benefits
Don’t Reinvent the Wheel
 National Physical Activity Plan identifies 12
states with plans www.physicalactivityplan.org
 Governor’s Councils on Physical Fitness
www.physicalfitness.org/state_councils.html
 Councils of Government (COGs)
 Health departments
 Parks & recreation departments
AFI Community Action Guide
Who Is the Guide For?
People interested in:
 Community health
& wellness
 Physical activity
 Smart growth
 Community planning
 Parks, open space & recreation
 Youth services
 Aging services
Leadership
 Catalysts
 Engage the community
 Help recruit coalition
 Lead policy efforts
 Help assure sustainability
Types of Leaders: Figurehead
 High profile name
 Spokesperson
 Helpful with networking
& opening doors
 Usually limited time available
 In-kind support
Types of Leaders: Active
 Agenda setting
 Recruiting others
 Strategic planning
 Facilitating
 Resources
 Presentations
 Building sustainability
Types of Leaders: Staff
 Fiscal management
 Reporting
 Monitoring
 Operations
 Communication
 Follow-up
 Primary point of contact
Leadership Game Plan
 Be clear with what you are asking
leaders to do
 Indicate amount of time needed
 Identify leaders who can share power
 Identify leaders who can bring
resources to the table
Coalitions
 Work to achieve shared
goals
 Represent broad
community interests
 Provide unified direction
 Work from defined
objectives
Coalition Functions
 Community awareness, education &
strengthening knowledge
 Educating policy makers
 Influencing public & private policy issues
 Building support for improvements in
infrastructure
 Changing organizational practices
Starting Your Coalition
 Define goals & objectives
 Determine who should be involved
 Set up operational processes
Building Your Coalition
 Communicate
 Listen
 Determine decision-making process
 Determine how tasks will be assigned
 Set processes for follow-up & reporting
 Recognize & celebrate successes
Coalition Pitfalls
 Lack of clear leadership
 Competition or conflict
 No plan  unclear goals &
 Meetings
objectives
 Focus too broad
 Poor decision-making
process
 Impatience
 Poor follow-up
 Inadequate communication
 Imbalance in authority
–
–
–
–
Too many
Too long
Hard-to-get to
Too infrequent
 Not enough funding
 People turnover & burnout
 Language & cultural
barriers
Planning
 Provides clear focus
 Supports monitoring and
assessment
 Facilitates new program
development
Planning Elements
 Vision: Clear, broad, inspiring, easy to
communicate
 Mission statement: Easy to understand,
outcome-oriented, inclusive
 Objectives: Specific, measurable
 Strategies: How objectives will be reached
 Action plan: Detail –who does what, when
Needs Assessment
 Obtaining & analyzing
information
 Determine the status
and service needs
Asset Mapping
What resources exist?
 People
 Relationships
 Infrastructure
 Financial resources
Developing Asset Maps
 Identify community
assets
– Address
– Category
– Telephone number
– Website
 Develop spreadsheet
listing assets
 Map asset locations
Wants vs. Needs
Wants
Needs
We want to build a new We need easily accessible,
park
affordable, and attractive
places where people can be
physically active
We want more
streetlights
We want to create
bicycle lanes
We need to address safety
issues for pedestrians
We need to make our roads
safer for bicyclists, and also
consider the needs of
motorists
Gap Analysis
Review asset maps:
 Determine strengths &
weaknesses
 What is missing?
 What is poorly
addressed?
Monitoring & Evaluation
 Helps know progress made toward
goals
 Important to funders
 Helps measure success
 Builds trust
Considerations
 Who will use the information?
 What is being evaluated?
 What are the evaluation methods?
 How will information be gathered?
 How will information be analyzed?
 How will information be communicated?
Public Policy  Advocacy
 Advocacy 
Education
 Public Policy 
Addressing and
influencing laws,
codes &
regulations
Rules of Advocacy
From the American Public Health Association
1. Get to know legislators
2. Get to know staff
3. Identify partners
4. Know opponents
5. Build relationships
6. Be honest
7. Be polite
8. Know processes
9. Be brief
10.Follow-up
Moving Forward
Chronic diseases attributable to
physical inactivity and unhealthy diets
are a “clear and present danger”
 Focus on prevention
 Address underlying health risks
 Focus on community interventions
QUESTIONS?