Haywood 4 Good is a free wellness initiative that addresses physical, spiritual, emotional, and community wellness.  The program operates in six-month sessions and offers continuous enrollment.  Participants have the opportunity to participate in at least three wellness challenges each month.  Unlike the typical heart health or weight loss challenge, Haywood 4 Good is more broad and inclusive.  Challenges such as screen time, water consumption, and volunteerism are accessible by a wider range of people and ability levels.    

Haywood 4 Good was identified by the Healthy Haywood Wellness Action Group as an action, that when combined with other actions in our community, that has a reasonable chance of making a difference in adult overweight and obesity prevalence in our community. This is an ongoing program in our community.

The current intervention shows promise.  Of participants registered for the 2022 program (January-June session), nearly 26% of participants reported not getting any flexibility and balance (stretching) training per week.  During the closing survey for January-June 2022, the percentage of participants reporting no flexibility and balance training dropped to 0.  Vegetable consumption was also a challenge, as nearly 13% of January-June 2022 participants reported rarely eating vegetables.  During the closing survey for this time frame, the percentage of participants who reported rarely eating vegetables dropped to zero.  The primary limitation for the program's evaluation is that fewer participants completed the closing survey, demonstrating a gap in behavior change data.  In addition, some participants registered more than once, causing duplicate results.  

The priority population/customers for this community wellness program are Haywood County residents, and the Haywood 4 Good aims to make a difference at the individual level. Implementation takes place in a virtual format, as all activities may be done individually.

This strategy addresses health disparities by providing a free program that does not require transportation or internet access to complete.  

2022 update:

• From July-December, the number of participants reporting 2-3 cups of daily vegetable consumption increased by 12%.  
• The second half of the year saw a decline in registered participants.  While registration is not required for challenge activities, it gives participants the chance to earn incentives. 
• The program reintroduced small incentive items, randomly drawn from participants who report their activity points.
• The program maintains an active Facebook page. 
• The Haywood County Public Library supports this program by placing packets in several branches.  The HCPL is an active member of the Wellness Action Group.  

2023 update

• Participation numbers have declined and the health department is trying to better understand the story to make future improvements.  
• Resource information was shared with the program's e-mail list to support involvement in program challenges.    
• A limited number of participants were randomly selected to receive small prizes based on participation and tracking program points.  
• During registration for the January-June  2023 program, 9.5% of participants reported rarely eating vegetables.  The percentage of participants who reported rarely eating vegetables was zero during the July-December 2023 program.  The number of registrants varied slightly between sessions and some participants did not register for both rounds of the 2023 program.    
• Data limitations include: Due to a transition in data collection and storage methods, 2023 numbers may not accurately represent final totals or are unavailable.  Due to some duplicate participant registrations and some participants enrolling in both rounds of the program, the 2023 participant number was calculated as an average.  Not all individuals who follow challenge activities choose to officially enroll.  Limited distribution of midpoint and closing surveys, as well as response to surveys, makes evaluating program participation and satisfaction difficult.   

The partners for this community wellness program include:

Evaluation Plan:

We plan to evaluate the impact of the community wellness challenge through the use of Results-Based Accountability™ to monitor specific performance measures. We will be monitoring How Much, How Well, and/or Better Off Performance Measures. Our evaluation activities will be tracked in the Work Plan table, above. 

Data limitations: There is a chance of participant duplication.  For example, participants may complete the registration form more than once, resulting in duplication of data.  

Sustainability Plan:

The following is our sustainability plan for the community wellness challenge: 

• Sustainability Components
  • Participant registration numbers, percent of participants following recommended health behaviors, and participant feedback will be evaluated.  This information will be used to determine the future of the program and justify necessary funding to stakeholders.  
  • The challenge is not a typical nutrition or weight loss program, but will instead have a comprehensive focus of physical, spiritual, emotional, and community wellness.  Unlike previous programs, the wellness challenge will not focus on gym membership or have a cost, increasing the likelihood that participants will continue healthy habits over time.  These features will allow us to engage a more diverse group of community members.  
  • Haywood County Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA) has a history of conducting a community fitness challenge and has strong support from community partners.  The HHSA is committed to providing staff time for this program.