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Background: Calls for the adoption of a systems approach to chronic disease prevention date back at least ten years because of the potential to empower communities to identify and address the complex causes of overnutrition, undernutrition and climate change. Australia, like many countries, has high levels of obesity and extreme climate events. The Reflexive Evidence and Systems interventions to Prevent Obesity and Non-communicable Disease (RESPOND) trial aims to prevent unhealthy weight gain in children in 10 intervention and two pilot communities in north-east Victoria, Australia using community-based participatory approaches informed by systems science. Intervention activities co-designed in 2019 were disrupted by COVID-19 and bushfires. This paper explores the impacts of these 'shocks' on the local prevention workforce to implement actions within communities. Methods: A case study design involving one-hour online focus groups and an on-line survey (November 2021-February 2022). Purposive sampling was used to achieve diverse representation from RESPOND stakeholders including local council, health services, primary care partnerships and department of health. The focus group interview schedule and survey questions were based on Durlak and DuPre's implementation factors. Results: Twenty-nine participants from seven different communities participated in at least one of nine focus groups to discuss the impacts of COVID-19 and bushfires on localised implementation. Twenty-eight participants (97% of focus group sample) also completed the on-line survey. Implementation of RESPOND stalled or stopped in most communities due to bushfires and/or COVID-19. These shocks resulted in organisational priorities changing, loss of momentum for implementation, redeployment of human resources, culminating in fatigue and exhaustion. Participants reported adaptation of RESPOND, but implementation was slowed due to limited resources. Conclusion: Further research is needed to advance risk management strategies and protect resources within health promotion. System shocks such as bushfires and COVID-19 are inevitable, and despite multiple adaptation opportunities, this intervention approach was not 'shock proof'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Community-based interventions have shown promise in reducing childhood overweight and obesity. However, they have been critiqued for using linear logic models. Participatory community-based systems approaches are posited as addressing the complexity of non-linear relationships in a local context. Community members are empowered to understand and describe obesity causation, identify and prioritise possible solutions. The application of such approaches to childhood obesity is in its infancy. Aim: To describe the first 12 months of a participatory whole-of-community systems approach to creating collective action to tackle childhood obesity, called GenR8 Change, in a local government area of Victoria, Australia. Methods: Three group model building (GMB) sessions focused on the development of a causal loop diagram (CLD), prioritised evidence-informed actions, and developed implementation strategies. The collective impact framework underpinned the approach, with a local backbone group supporting community members to implement prioritised actions. Results: The first two GMB sessions included 20 key community leaders where a CLD examining the factors contributing to childhood obesity in the community was constructed and refined (22 variables GMB1, 53 variables GMB2). In the third session, 171 members of the wider community further refined the CLD, identified priorities for childhood obesity prevention (72 variables in final CLD). One-hundred and thirteen individuals signed up across 13 working groups to plan and implement 53 prioritised actions. Agreed community actions included creating sugar free zones; developing healthy policies; increasing breastfeeding rates; improving drinking water access; and increasing physical activity options. Twelve months post-GMB3, 115 actions had been implemented. Conclusion: GenR8 Change is one of the first communities to apply systems thinking to childhood obesity prevention. Knowledge on how to collectively identify relevant leverage points to tackle childhood obesity can now be shared with other communities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]