2007 - Alabama Department of Public Health

ureau of professional and support services
parents and caregivers. Training sessions are being held
throughout the state of Alabama.
The Alabama Office of Women’s Health held three
BodyWorks training sessions in July and August
for 38 providers and community representatives.
These trainers are currently conducting parent
groups and additional train-the-trainer sessions
throughout Alabama. Preliminary discussions have
been held with the Girl Scouts of America South
Central Alabama office staff to conduct a pilot study by
implementing 10 weekly 90-minute sessions for parents
and caregivers with Troop 107 in Montgomery. Success of
the pilot study will establish a model for implementation
with Girl Scout troops throughout Alabama.
The office’s New Leaf initiative continues to enjoy
successful implementation with the help of new partners
and community health advisors. During July 2007, New
Leaf Intervention Training was provided in Birmingham
for the general public and health professionals in an effort
to increase the number of trained New Leaf group leaders
throughout Alabama. Sponsors for the training included:
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, the Alabama
Office of Women’s Health Steering Committee, CDC
WISEWOMAN Program, University of North Carolina
Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention,
and the Alabama Cooperative Extension System. Twentythree
community leaders and health professionals
attended the two-day training session increasing the total
New Leaf trainer pool to 171 group leaders throughout
the state. Ninety-eight percent of those attending the
training indicated they plan to implement the New
Leaf…Choices for Healthy Living intervention during the
2008 year.
encourage them to control risk factors. Heart Truth
Champions were trained to use National Heart, Lung,
and Blood Institute health education material to increase
heart health awareness in their communities. Awareness
outreach efforts are ongoing in the communities with
technical support provided by staff from the Office of
Women’s Health, the Cardiovascular Health Branch, the
Office of Minority Health, and the Alabama Cooperative
Extension System.
Additional activities for 2007 included continuation of
the office’s clearinghouse resource information project
which includes publication of the office newsletter,
Women’s Health Exchange. The newsletter is distributed
biannually through routine mailings and is accessible
on the office’s Web page, making it available to health
professionals and the community. Monthly activities
include serving on local, state, and national steering
committees, planning committees, and advisory boards
for collaborating partners, and the distribution of women’s
health educational materials by frequent mailings,
during presentations, and participation in health fairs.
The office also continues to serve as the department’s
point of contact and liaison for the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services, Region IV Office on
Women’s Health. Acting in the role of liaison, the office
was asked to present at the National Rural Women’s
Health Conference in Washington, D.C. in August 2007
to discuss community models that are addressing obesity
in women. The successes of the Alabama WISEWOMAN
Partnership with Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention using the New Leaf…Choices for Healthy
Living community model were presented.
During April 2007, the Office of Women’s Health
and the department’s Cardiovascular Health Branch
and Office of Minority Health collaborated with staff
from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute
and agents from the Alabama Cooperative Extension
System to conduct the second Heart Truth for Women
Campaign training in Huntsville. The Heart Truth for
Women Campaign targets African American women
and women in rural counties ages 40 to 64 with health
education symposium sessions and radio media to
increase awareness of cardiovascular disease and
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