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    JBLE welcomes new health program

    JBLE welcomes new health program

    Photo By Tech. Sgt. Areca Wilson | Monica Richardson, 633rd Aerospace Medicine Squadron health promotion manager, briefs...... read more read more

    LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, VA, UNITED STATES

    08.05.2014

    Story by Airman 1st Class Areca Wilson 

    Joint Base Langley-Eustis

    JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. -- As Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, prepares to bid farewell to the Health and Wellness Center on Oct. 1, it welcomes a new Health Promotion program.

    Though both the HAWC and Health Promotion program share the goal of improving the overall health of U.S. Air Force Airmen, they are far from the same thing.

    "Health Promotion, by design, reaches far beyond the offices at the HAWC," said Monica Richardson, 633rd Aerospace Medicine Squadron health promotion manager. "Every Airman, commander, senior enlisted leader and medic can play an active role in promoting health within our community."

    The program, designed to maintain or boost health, is a combination of educational, environmental, organizational and regulatory mechanisms.

    "Our focus as a Health Promotion team is to encourage healthy behavior," said Richardson. "[We aim to] enhance resiliency and human performance and reduce illness and injury through a variety of programs, services and initiatives."

    The new system will focus on policy, systems and environmental changes rather than individual-based clinical interventions.

    "Policy, systems and environmental changes have greater impact and are more cost-effective than individual-based clinical interventions," said Richardson. "Civilian public health agencies at all levels -federal, state and local - are increasingly focusing on [those] changes to promote healthy populations. The resource-constrained environment the Department of Defense faces demands cost-effective approaches to health promotion."

    To better serve Airmen, the program uses a "social-ecological" model. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a social-ecological model allows the factors that put people at risk to be addressed.

    "In the model, health behaviors are highly influenced by the social environment. While recognizing the importance of individual responsibility and willpower, failure to address the environmental contexts in which behaviors occur is setting up individuals to fail," said Richardson. "The social-ecologic model includes multiple levels that influence health behaviors, including individual, interpersonal, organizational, community and public policy. For example, it is difficult for obese individuals to lose weight given relatively cheap, calorically-dense, unhealthy food."

    With the HAWC closing its doors, Air Force Medical Operations will help relieve the current responsibilities installation Health Promotion teams have for the "BE WELL--Balanced Eating, Work Out Effectively, Living Longer"--program and unit Physical Training Leader training by developing distance learning options. The Air Force Medical Operations Agency can also provide health surveillance reports and health communication materials that can be used by installation Health Promotion teams.

    In addition to the change in these programs, exercise prescriptions will also come to an end, however Airmen will be offered other avenues if they are in need of this program.

    "All fitness center staff receive Fitness Fundamentals training and can provide general exercise recommendations," said Richardson. "Airmen with physical limitations can consult with their health care providers for physical activity modifications as part of their clinical care."

    Though some programs will change, Airmen who choose to improve their health by quitting smoking will still be able to take advantage of the tobacco cessation program.

    "A critical element of an effective tobacco cessation program is its accessibility," said Richardson. "Quitting tobacco is tough and we want to eliminate as many barriers to cessation as possible. As part of the Health Promotion transition, however, our tobacco cessation efforts will focus more on influencing policies and social norms to promote tobacco free living and communicating and encouraging use of existing tobacco cessation resources."

    Richardson continued to urge Joint Base Langley-Eustis, members to practice promoting healthy habits among each other.

    "During this time of transition, it is important that our JBLE community remembers that health promotion is a shared responsibility," she said. "Transitioning from a facility-centric HAWC and a staff-based approach to Health Promotion to a capabilities-based framework allows everyone to cultivate a healthy JBLE community."

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 08.05.2014
    Date Posted: 08.26.2014 16:19
    Story ID: 140436
    Location: LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE, VA, US

    Web Views: 101
    Downloads: 0

    PUBLIC DOMAIN