Healthy Homes/Healthy Families

In order to combat high rates of obesity and low rates of physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption, Healthy Homes/Healthy Families provides in-home coaching to improve families' eating and physical activity habits. Coaches are specially trained residents of the local community, and help families complete a home environment profile to assess how they can overcome barriers to a healthy lifestyle. Participants play an active role in selecting options from a Healthy Action Checklist to make changes to their home environment, and coaches make two home visits and two coaching phone calls to support families during the intervention. The pilot study currently enrolls 150 families from six rural counties and runs from 2010 to 2014.

Healthy Homes/Healthy Families aims to help rural residents of Southwest Georgia make healthy behavior changes.

Families currently participating in Healthy Homes/Healthy Families are being surveyed in order to evaluate the effectiveness of the program. When the successful aspects of coaching are understood, the program will be refined into an easy-to-use training program for potential users, and the center may offer small grants, free training, and technical assistance to local organizations or agencies that want to try the program in their area.