Action Writing Action Statements

2. Action Writing Action Statements • Writing action statements is the first step in the second (action) stage of the public health nutrition (PHN) intervention management bi-cycle • The process of solution generation • Writing action statements is the initial task in solution generation and guides intervention planning • Process of collaboratively codifying a vision of the future intervention Writing Action Statements

3. Writing Action Statements

4. Intervention Planning • Intervention planning is an iterative process of generating orderly forward-looking action towards desired results • Intervention planning helps • reduce uncertainty about the future • develop an intervention appropriate to the target group • coordinate resources and effort for the greatest impact • Intervention planning is a collaborative process gaining support and expertise of the target population, key stakeholders and management • Intervention planning should be based on the intelligence gained from the first ‘intelligence’ of the PHN intervention management bi-cycle Writing Action Statements

5. Intervention Planning • Intervention planning can be time consuming but is essential to ensure intervention effectiveness and efficiency • An intervention plan outlines: • the key aims and methods of the intervention • a timescale • funding budget details • who is responsible for what task • the evaluation and dissemination strategies • Intervention plans should be clear, concise and used as a tool for managing intervention activities Writing Action Statements

6. Action Statements • Action statements are the goals and objectives that state the outcome and impacts the intervention intends to achieve • Goals provide the framework for program planning and must reflect the population of interest • Objectives provide a statement specifying the intended impact of the intervention and should be specific, realistic and measurable • Action statements should be feasible and based on projections from the intelligence gathered during problem, determinant and capacity analyses Writing Action Statements

7. Linking Analyses to Action Statements • The problem and determinant analyses provides the foundation for clearly specifying the intervention goal and objectives: • The intervention goal should reflect how to change the population nutrition problem • The objectives address the direct determinants • The sub-objectives address the indirect determinants • Using the determinants analysis also illustrates a causal cascade assumption: • → if strategies are affective at achieving sub-objectives, there will be a positive flow-on towards the objectives being achieved and ultimately the goals being achieved Writing Action Statements

8. Low intake of vegetables and fruit THE PROBLEM GOAL Reliance on fast food Price and availability DIRECT DETERMINANT OBJECTIVE Low level F&V cooking skills Low level consumer skills Time poor Limited School nutrition education Food system inefficiencies Transport costs Food miles INDIRECT DETERMINANT SUB- OBJECTIVE Example determinant analysis linked with action statements Writing Action Statements

9. Writing Intervention Goals • A goal is a statement that describes in broad terms the desired direction or outcome the intervention will achieve • Goals should be written in terms of outcomes to be achieved and have measurable indicators • → can be challenging due to the lack of data and evidence • When writing goals remember to include information about: • What you are trying to change • Who will be affected • How they will be affected • Where the change will take place • By when Writing Action Statements

10. Example Goal Writing Action Statements

11. Writing Intervention Objectives • Objectives state the change that must occur for the goal to be achieved • Objectives are much more specific and precise than goals and should be stated in terms of specific results rather than general terms • Objectives reflect the most important determinants that require changing to improve the of the PHN problem • → As determinants are complex it is common for several objectives to be associated with one goal • Objectives provide the main energising and directive force for intervention action, and guide and direct intervention evaluation Writing Action Statements

12. SMART Objectives • Objectives should be tangible, recognisable and achievable within the available resources. • The acronym SMART is an easy way to remember the key features of well-written intervention objectives: • S – specific (describe place, target group) • M – measurable (define an amount that can be measured in evaluation) • A– achievable (consider the circumstances and context) • R – realistic change (rather than ideal) • T – time specific (timeframe provided for achievement of objectives) Writing Action Statements

13. Short- and Long-term Objectives • Whether an objective is short or long-term is relative to the length of time needed to achieve the program goal. • As a general rule of thumb, the time frame for achievement of: • short-term objectives can be as short as 2–3 months up to 2 years • long-term objectives is usually 2–5 years • Short-term objectives specify the short-term, or intermediate, results that need to occur to bring about sustainable long-term changes • Long-term objectives specify the outcomes or changes needed to achieve program goals Writing Action Statements

14. Example Objectives Writing Action Statements

15. Outcome and Process Objectives • Outcome objectives consider the changes needed to achieve the intervention goal • Outcome objectives can refer to the educational, behavioural, policy, process or environmental outcomes the intervention will achieve • Process objectives describe what will be changed or implemented to achieve the outcome objectives • Process objectives relate to the short-term or intermediate results that need to occur to bring about sustainable long-term changes. Writing Action Statements

16. Example Objectives Writing Action Statements

17. Types and levels of Objectives • There are several levels where change can occur in PHN interventions: • Individual level objectives - to increase awareness of risk factors • Network level objectives - to increase knowledge of opinion leaders/champions • Organisational level objectives – to consider policy changes or adopting specific programs • Societal level objectives - to increase the importance communities and society attach to an issue, by increasing media coverage Writing Action Statements

18. Writing Action Statements