The resources below can be used to identify background information, statistics, model programs, best practices, and other program development tools that may be valuable during the application phase of the Challenge Grant Program.

• 1. Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals – State Center for Health Statistics & Associated Publications
  – The 2009 Louisiana Health Report Card is a comprehensive publication describing Louisiana’s population and vital statistics, cancer and other chronic diseases and their associated risk factors, and the results of preventive health outreach programs.
• 2. Louisiana Report Card on Physical Activity and Health for Children and Youth
  This Report Card is an advocacy tool designed to increase awareness of the health concerns associated with physical inactivity and to highlight the growing problem of physical inactivity and obesity among children and youth in Louisiana.
• 3. Community Commons
  Here you can connect with people, places, and initiatives; engage in dialogue, storytelling, and ideas; discover maps, apps, and data; and learn from news, stories, and resources.
• 4. CDC’s Healthy Communities
  This web page has links to many resources including action guides, tools for engaging the media, and sustainability planning.
  –  The Community Health Resources database on obesity provides resources in areas including data & statistics, evaluation, guidelines, and recommendations.

5. National level, evidence-based summary documents

• CDC 2009. Recommended Community Strategies and Measurements to Prevent Obesity in the United States. MMWR 58:1-26.
• Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2009. Action Strategies Toolkit. A Guide for Local and State Leaders Working to Create Healthy Communities and Prevent Childhood Obesity.
• Institute of Medicine. 2009. Local Government Actions to Prevent Childhood Obesity.
• White House Task Force. 2010. Solving the Problem of Childhood Obesity within a Generation.
• National Prevention Council. 2011. National Prevention Strategy.
• Institute of Medicine. 2010. Bridging the Evidence Gap in Obesity Prevention: A Framework to Inform Decision Making.
  – Report Brief
• 6. MAP-IT:  A guide to Using Healthy People 2020 in Your Community
  This is a relatively new tool developed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. MAP-IT provides a framework that “can be used to plan and evaluate public health interventions…”
• 7. The Community Toolbox  contains evidence-based practices, assessment tools, practical resources for program development, and more.
• 8. Developing an Effective Evaluation Plan – Setting the course for effective program evaluation
• 9. Rural Obesity Prevention Toolkit – This toolkit contains resources to help rural communities develop obesity prevention programs, building on best practices. (Please note Module 7: Evaluating Efforts.)