Yellowstone Times

A new project in Montana aims to make communities more conducive to active lifestyles, facilitated by a two-year, $283,000 grant from the National Cancer Institute. This project involves a collaboration between the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact and Montana State University (MSU) Extension agents, focusing on modifications to built environments to encourage physical activity.

Laura Balis, a research scientist at the Center for Nutrition & Health Impact, serves as the principal investigator. Michelle Grocke-Dewey, an associate professor in the MSU Department of Human Development and Community Health, leads the MSU portion. She emphasized that working with agents across Montana can make communities more supportive of active lifestyles, helping lower the risk of various cancers. "This project is working with agents across Montana to make their communities more built for active lifestyles as a means of health and wellness generally, and more specifically, cancer prevention," said Grocke-Dewey.

Research shows that higher levels of physical activity correlate with a reduced risk of 13 types of cancer. "Physical activity is critical to cancer prevention, management, and survivorship," Grocke-Dewey said, noting that most Americans don't meet national activity recommendations.

The project provides strategies to support Extension agents in implementing built environment approaches. These approaches aim to eliminate barriers to physical activity, making it safer for individuals to engage in activities like walking or bicycling. Such approaches include adding street lighting, creating pathways, and installing bike lanes to encourage more active transportation.

The project's success hinges on the involvement of community organizations, which can find implementing built-environment changes challenging without tailored strategies. To address this, the research team worked closely with Montana Extension agents to determine the most helpful strategies. "It's a cool project because we've been working in such close partnership with agents in all these different communities," Grocke-Dewey remarked.

The research team uses RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, and maintenance) to evaluate the project's impact. Shelby Jones-Dozier, a family and consumer sciences agent with MSU Extension in Teton County, is participating due to the local lack of exercise opportunities. "Our sidewalks are over 100 years old," she said, emphasizing the need for safer environments for older adults.

The project began in September and will run through August 2026, with all of Montana's Extension agents invited to participate. "We want to get as many communities throughout Montana on board as possible to try to change the built environment for the better and help get people more active," Grocke-Dewey explained.