ESPHL PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS

ARKANSAS
JULY 2014

Team Members:
Stephanie Williams*
Joyce Elliot
Nell Smith
Jared Cleveland
Bradley Planey
Elizabeth Pitman
Katheryn Hargis
* Team Leader
For additional information, contact:
Stephanie Williams
Director of Public Health Programs
Arkansas Department of Health
Phone: 501-280-4055 Email: stephanie.williams@arkansas.gov

States policies shape where we live, learn, work, and play, and impact the publics health. While there is evidence
for what works to improve populations health outcomes, many states lack robust partnerships capable of
mobilizing stakeholders, re-examining existing legal models, and innovating through statue and regulation. The
Excellence in State Public Health Law (ESPHL) program sought to strengthen the relationships among health
policy decision-makers in and among selected states and to increase the ability of these states to understand how
policy could improve the publics health. States determined their own priorities, and ESPHL did not predetermine states outcomes.

The Arkansas Excellence in State Public Health Law (ESPHL)* team was unified by the alarming
statistics on obesity, teen pregnancies, tobacco use, binge drinking and other health challenges
among the states adolescents. The 2011 Youth Risk Behavior Survey identified several areas in
which Arkansas was lagging far behind not only its neighbors but the entire country. Arkansas
has seen an overall decrease in risky health behaviors in adolescents but still consistently ranks
above the national average in many negative health behaviors and their resulting poor health
outcomes in adolescents. These behaviors include tobacco use, binge drinking, prescription
drug abuse, sex before age 13, depression and suicide, high school dropout rate, and obesity.
Our research identified sports participation as one means to influence youth risk behaviors and
improve the health status of adolescents in Arkansas. The original project design was to address
these risk behaviors and health outcomes by addressing equity in female vs. male high school
sports participation rates. Our specific goals were:
to form a clearinghouse of athletic participation data accessible to all interested parties
(Governmental and non-governmental agencies, communities, parents);
to develop a system that encourages and supports collaborative efforts with other state
agencies and partners to promote more successful program/policy adoption;
to improve health outcomes of all youth by encouraging individual, regional and
statewide efforts aimed at increasing athletic participation through organized
competitive sports, intramural sports, after school activities.
Over the course of the year, the work of the Arkansas ESPHL team was supplemented by the
guidance and feedback received from additional partners and stakeholders including the
Arkansas Activities Association, Arkansas Department of Education, Arkansas Coalition for
Obesity Prevention and numerous program experts within the Arkansas Department of Health.
A series of meetings with Community Health Nutrition Specialists (CHNS) and Community
Health Promotion Specialists (CHPS) proved valuable in developing a clear and concise plan of
action. Based in fifteen educational cooperatives around the state and working directly with the
states schools, these seasoned professionals with substantial on-the-ground experience
suggested that we reframe the strategy of promoting sports participation to focus on the
promotion of physical activity in general. They also pointed out that several schools had been
successful in increasing physical activity opportunities for their students by establishing joint
use agreements with local municipalities. Though different from our original intent, this
collaboration helped us re-define our goals.
The team also collaborated with the Arkansas Department of Education and the Arkansas
Coalition for Obesity Prevention to develop a video, Get in the Game that illustrates the story
of why shared use agreements are critical in helping to increase physical activity levels among
students and communities around schools. The local community stories featured in this video
provide schools and communities interested in making similar changes with encouragement as
*

ESPHL, a program of the Aspen Institute Justice & Society Program, was made possible by a grant from the Robert
Wood Johnson Foundation.

well as direction on the process for seeking

financial and technical assistance to
establish joint use agreements in their
areas.
By showcasing how three distinctly different
communities: Springdale (urban), Bryant
(suburban) and Hamburg (rural) have been
able to produce significant community
impact by making small changes in the way
local assets are utilized, it was clear these
stories would be inspiring and likely spark
interest in other communities.
Development of the project using a multiagency team approach allowed each team
member to learn more about the other
agencies, each agencys understanding of
public health, and the interplay between
health status and the social determinants of
health. The activities conducted also serve
as a testament to the benefits of
collaboration.

When we would sit down with the folks working at

the local levelthey understood the kids,
understood the parents' concerns, and understood
the school administrators and their perspective.
Interestingly, we got a lot of feedback about the
importance of mayors and ensuring they can see
the vision for how this fits into having a livable
community, how it's good for the kids, it's good for
families, and it's good for businesses that see
families. And they're some of our best community
champions. So I think if we hadn't taken the time to
listen, we would have missed some of those
community stakeholders.
-

Stephanie Williams, Deputy Director for

Public Health Programs, Arkansas
Department of Health