Fighting childhood obesity with university-community partnerships.

Abstract

This article describes how two Robert Wood Johnson (RWJ) Executive Nurse Fellows used their leadership competencies to inspire and lead change within the community to fight the growing problem of childhood obesity. A model of University-Community partnership is proposed which incorporated the core leadership competencies of the RWJ program--interpersonal and communication effectiveness; risk-taking and creativity; self-knowledge; skills in creating change; and, strategic vision. Leadership lessons learned are provided for nurses interested in leading efforts to improve the health status of communities.