Community Benefit and Obesity Programming: Guidance and Opportunities for Nonprofit Hospitals

New research from the Strategies to Overcome and Prevent (STOP) Obesity Alliance sheds light on the challenges and opportunities for nonprofit hospitals to address obesity through community benefit activities. Nonprofit hospitals can use the insights offered in the paper to inform their decisions around obesity programming. The paper offers guidance on issues such as how to select community partners, how to determine the scope of an intervention, and which obesity-specific factors to take into account when developing programs. Findings included in the paper from the Alliance’s research team at the George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services include a lack of proven community-based programs that directly address obesity in adults; a need to reduce stigma; and the value of effective partnerships. Read the paper.