A Diffusion Study of the Federally Mandated School Wellness Policy

Using Diffusion of Innovations (DOI) in Organizations as a theoretical framework, this dissertation analyzed the diffusion process of the federally mandated School Wellness Policy (SWP) in three separate studies. Beginning with a content analysis of the SWP mandate's legislative history using the constant comparative method, the first manuscript evaluated the policy Initiation process to provide context for the creation of the original mandate. Next, the researcher conducted a systematic literature review to organize and analyze the current literature on SWP implementation. The third manuscript presented a qualitative case study of one local school district's experience implementing the School Wellness Policy. Interviewing school personnel such as teachers, school nurses, PE teachers, and cafeteria mangers provided key insight to processes involved in policy implementation at the local level.

Three key findings emerged from the study: 1) a lack of research on the clarifying stage of the policy diffusion process, 2) the limitation of policy alone in addressing child obesity, and 3) an opportunity for health promotion researchers to engage in policy research. This study is unique because it analyzed the complete diffusion process of the SWP policy, beginning with policy decision making by legislators on the federal level and ending with policy implementation efforts by school district personnel on the local level.

Public attention to the child obesity epidemic has grown significantly in the last decade. However, increased awareness is not necessarily indicative of change or improvement of the problem. In the case of the School Wellness Policy (SWP), the federal government attempted to mandate change in the school environment as a way of combating the child obesity epidemic. Although public policy can be effectively used to facilitate change, policy alone is incapable of solving problems as vast and complex as the child obesity epidemic. The SWP has resulted in changes to the school environment; but, this study showed that a societal shift (change across all private and public sectors) is necessary for long term success in combating child obesity.