Examining the implementation of the Healthy Kids Community Challenge

Abstract

Introduction: The Healthy Kids Community Challenge (HKCC) was a community-based, multi-stakeholder obesity prevention program aimed at children and youth in Ontario, which was funded and coordinated by the Ministry of Health and Long-term Care from 2015-2018. This project contributed to the process evaluation of the HKCC, which is being carried out by Public Health Ontario. The objective of my research was to identify and understand the barriers and facilitators to implementation of the HKCC, from the perspective of members of the Local Steering Committees (LSCs), who were directly involved in implementation.
 Methods: 10 questions from the 2018 LSC Survey were coded and thematically analyzed, using NVivo 11.0 software, according to the themes presented within Durlak and Dupre’s Ecological Framework for Effective Implementation. Themes were summarized according to barriers, challenges, factors associated with implementation, strategies communities used to engage partners and reach vulnerable populations, as well as positive experiences. The findings were presented in a report which featured a rich, qualitative account, accompanied by direct quotations and code frequency charts.
 Results: A number of perceived barriers to implementation were identified, including program structure (i.e., tight timelines, short duration), low SES (i.e., barriers related to lack of time, transportation and access to childcare, as well as difficulty accessing HKCC information) and geography and transportation (i.e., to access programming). Some important perceived facilitators of implementation included: funding, partnerships, HKCC messaging, and an inclusive, accessible approach to planning events. Participants expressed interest in sustaining programs and partnerships beyond the HKCC funding period, although the loss of provincial funding was identified as a challenge. Participants also noted potential for sustainability, particularly related to increased cross-sectoral collaboration and increased capacity for community-based health promotion.
 Implications: The results could be used to improve implementation of future community-based, multi-stakeholder health promotion programs. They might also offer insight into how to tailor the implementation process of large-scale community-based health promotion programs to local contexts.