Community readiness refers to the degree to which a community is prepared to take action on an issue. The success of community-based public health interventions and programs is highly dependent on the level of community readiness. This study aims to: 1) develop a cohort of Latino youth with the capacity (knowledge, skills, and engagement) to advocate for active living and childhood obesity prevention; and 2) increase the Latino community's readiness for childhood obesity prevention, using a youth-led advocacy model. Using community-based participatory research, Latino youth leaders in Omaha, NE will be trained to develop content for 4 advocacy strategies: film and video-voicing, community improv, political communication, and web branding and social networking. A pre-post evaluation will be conducted among Latino adolescents, parents, and community leaders, using validated measures of the Community Readiness Model. A separate survey of community perceptions and attitudes about childhood obesity will also be administered in both the Latino community and the larger Omaha area pre- and post-intervention. The results of this study may have great potential to transform social norms and create a community climate that is more amenable or conducive to environmental and policy changes that are ultimately necessary for effective and sustainable solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic.
