Contributions to Science

Community Social Systems characterized by context characteristics and individual characteristics emerge to drive population health behavior.
Leaders of child development settings can be trained to modify organizational and individual practices to improve the social and physical environments of youth to promote health behavior. Evolving from Dzewaltowski's lab earlier health behavior work that was strongly influenced by an individual level approach to health behavior theory, we have  adopted an ecologically informed social cognitive approach and later an ecological social systems approach to setting intervention. These setting intervention studies were designed to test the effectiveness of a community participatory approach to training adult and youth leaders to adopt evidence-based practices to modify the social and physical environment (context) to promote health behavior in children and youth. The findings demonstrated that the capacity of leaders of youth settings can be developed to modify organizational practices to impact health behavior. Communities have adopted the intervention programs resulting from these studies for implementation. For example, the National Cancer Institute has listed the Scouting Nutrition and Activity Program as a "research-tested intervention program."

Dzewaltowski DA, Rosenkranz RR, Geller KS, Coleman KJ, Welk GJ, Hastmann TJ, Milliken GA. HOP'N after-school project: an obesity prevention randomized controlled trial. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2010 Dec 13;7:90. 

Rosenkranz RR, Behrens TK, Dzewaltowski DA. A group-randomized controlled trial for health promotion in Girl Scouts: healthier troops in a SNAP (Scouting Nutrition and Activity Program). BMC Public Health. 2010 Feb 19;10:81. 

Dzewaltowski DA, Estabrooks PA, Welk G, Hill J, Milliken G, Karteroliotis K, Johnston JA. Healthy youth places: a randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of facilitating adult and youth leaders to promote physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption in middle schools. Health Educ Behav. 2009 Jun;36(3):583-600. 

Coleman KJ, Tiller CL, Sanchez J, Heath EM, Sy O, Milliken G, Dzewaltowski DA. Prevention of the epidemic increase in child risk of overweight in low-income schools: The El Paso coordinated approach to child health. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2005 Mar;159(3):217-24. 
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Adult and youth setting leaders capacity can be developed to modify their implemented practices.

Our  recent work has focused on identifying the organizational and individual practices of settings that are related to improved population health behavior using observation of physical and social environments and measurement of health behavior objectively, such as physical activity with accelerometers. With this information, our work will contribute to refining interventions that train leaders of settings  to implement practices that create social systems that promote healthful behavior.  Our studies have demonstrated that the contextual factors promoting physical activity (e.g., social, solitary) interact with individual differences, which suggests that interventions can be tailored with precision for larger health behavior outcome effects.


Schlechter CR, Rosenkranz RR, Milliken GA, Dzewaltowski DA. Physical activity levels during youth sport practice: does coach training or experience have an influence? J Sports Sci. 2017 Jan;35(1):22-28. PubMed PMID: 26930302.

Schenkelberg MA, Rosenkranz RR, Milliken GA, Dzewaltowski DA. Social Environmental Influences on physical activity of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Phys Act Health. 2015 May;12(5):636-41. PubMed PMID: 25109324.

Schenkelberg, M. A., Rosenkranz, R. R., Milliken, G. A., Menear, K., & Dzewaltowski, D. A. (2017). Implications of Social Groups on Sedentary Behavior of Children with Autism: A Pilot Study. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 47(4), 1223-1230.
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Schlechter, C. R., Rosenkranz, R. R., Fees, B. S., & Dzewaltowski, D. A. (2017). Preschool daily patterns of physical driven by location and social context. Journal of School Health, 87(3), 194-19.


Ecological validity is essential to implementation success.

Dr. Dzewaltowski was also a founding member of the Reach, Effectiveness, Adoption, Implementation and Maintenance (RE-AIM) work group, whose goal has been to encourage program planners, evaluators, readers of journal articles, funders, and policy-makers to pay more attention to essential program elements that can improve the sustainable adoption and implementation of effective, evidence-based health promotion programs. The RE-AIM framework is rooted in implementation and dissemination science and has spread over the last 15 years. In a recent network analysis of the RE-AIM Framework publications, Dzewaltowski was identified as the 7th highest author in centrality to the spread across the international network of implementation science researchers.

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Dzewaltowski DA, Estabrooks PA, Glasgow RE. The future of physical activity behavior change research: what is needed to improve translation of research into health promotion practice? Exerc Sport Sci Rev. 2004 Apr;32(2):57-63. 

Dzewaltowski DA, Estabrooks PA, Klesges LM, Bull S, Glasgow RE. Behavior change intervention research in community settings: how generalizable are the results?. Health Promot Int. 2004 Jun;19(2):235-45. 

Glasgow RE, Klesges LM, Dzewaltowski DA, Estabrooks PA, Vogt TM. Evaluating the impact of health promotion programs: using the RE-AIM framework to form summary measures for decision making involving complex issues. Health Educ Res. 2006 Oct;21(5):688-94.

Schlechter CR, Rosenkranz RR, Guagliano JM, Dzewaltowski DA. A systematic review of children's dietary interventions with parents as change agents: Application of the RE-AIM framework. Preventive Medicine, 2016; 91:233-243.  


Individual cognitive-affective systems determine health behavior.

Lack of physical activity is a major public health problem. Dzewaltowski Lab’s early work could arguably be considered to be one of the first lines of research to take on the challenge of identifying the determinants of physical activity from a theoretical perspective. His work compared several psychology discipline theoretical models and in 1989 identified self-efficacy as a central social cognitive process mediating health behavior change. These findings were widely cited and became central to Albert Bandura's books and papers addressing self-efficacy and other social cognitive processes and health behavior theory.

"Some researchers have tested whether factors included in alternative conceptions of health behavior add incremental prediction over about a subset of sociocognitive determinants. In several of these studies, the sociocognitive determinants included efficacy beliefs, and satisfaction or dissatisfaction with the changes in achieved heath habits (Dzewaltowski, 1989; Dzewaltowski et al, 1990). Both efficacy beliefs and affective self-reaction to personal progress contributed to adherence to healthful behaviors. Attitude and perceived social pressure similarly accounted for healthful behavior, but they did not improve prediction when added to the subset of sociocognitive determinants. Such findings suggest redundancy of determinants under different names rather than dissimilar determinants. (p., 286, Bandura, 1997)." The work supported adopting a social cognitive approach to health behavior change, avoiding the jingle jangle fallacies,  and later helped direct the field toward addressing intervention development targeting psychosocial causal processes within a theory-driven mediation/moderation framework.


Bauman AE, Sallis JF, Dzewaltowski DA, Owen N. Toward a better understanding of the influences on physical activity: the role of determinants, correlates, causal variables, mediators, moderators, and confounders. Am J Prev Med. 2002 Aug;23(2 Suppl):5-14.

Dzewaltowski DA. Physical activity determinants: a social cognitive approach. Med Sci Sports Exerc. 1994 Nov;26(11):1395-9. 

Dzewaltowski DA, Noble JM, Shaw JM. Physical activity participation: Social cognitive theory versus the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior.. 1990; 12(4):388-405.

Dzewaltowski DA. Toward a model of exercise motivation. . 1989; 11(3):251-269.


Selected Publications

​Whole-of-Community Epidemiology and Intervention Effects
  • Estabrooks, PA., Smith-Ray, R. Dzewatlowski, D.A., Dowdy, D., Lattimore, D., Rheaume, C., Ory, M.G., Bazzarre, R., Griffin,S.F., & Wilcox, S.  (2011).  Sustainability of evidence-based community-based physical activity programs for older adults:  Lessons from Active for Life.  Translational Behavioral Medicine, 1, 208-215.​​
  • Ford, P. & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2011). Neighborhood deprivation, supermarkets and BMI in low-income women across the urban-rural continuum: A multilevel analysis. Journal of Community Health, 36, 785-796. PMID: 21547411.
  • Ford, P.B., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2010). Limited supermarket availability is not associated with obesity risk among participants in the Kansas WIC program.  Obesity, 18, 1944-1951.
  • Ford, P.B., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2010).  Geographic, racial, ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in the availability of grocery stores and supermarkets among low-income women across the urban-rural continuum.  Journal of Hunger and Environmental Nutrition, 5, 216-233.
  • Estabrooks, P.E., Bradshaw, M., Dzewaltowski, D.A., Smith-Ray, R.L. (2008).  Determining the impact of Walk Kansas:  Applying a team-building approach to community physical activity promotion.  Annals of Behavioral medicine,36, 1-12. ​
  • Ford, P.B. & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2008). Disparities in obesity prevalence due to variation in the retail food environment:  Three testable hypotheses.  Nutrition Reviews, 66, 216-228.
  • Wilcox, S., Dowda, M., Griffin, S. F., Rheaume, C., Ory, M. G., Leviton, L., et al., Dzewaltowski, D.A., Mockenhaupt, R.  (2006). Results of the first year of active for life: translation of 2 evidence-based physical activity programs for older adults into community settings. American Journal of Public Health, 96, 1201-1209.
  • Dzewaltowski, D.A., Estabrooks, P.A., Klesges, L.M., Bull, S.S., Glasgow, R.E. (2004). Behavior change research in community settings:  How generalizable are the results?  Health Promotion International,19, 235-245
  • Estabrooks, P.A., Bradshaw, M., Fox, E.H., Berg, J., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2004). The relationship between delivery agents’ physical activity level and the likelihood of implementing a physical activity program.  American Journal of Health Promotion, 18, 350-353. ​
  • Russell, W.D. Dzewaltowski, D.A., & Ryan, G.R. (1999).  The effectiveness of a point-of-decision prompt in deterring sedentary behavior.  American Journal of Health Promotion, 13, 257-259.
Child Care Intervention Effects
  • ​Trost, S.G., Fees, B., Dzewaltowski, D.A.  (2008).  Feasibility and efficacy of a “Move and Learn” physical activity curriculum in preschool children. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 5, 88-103.
  • Fees, B., Trost, S., Boop, M., Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2009). Physical activity programming in family child care homes: Providers perceptions of practices and barriers, Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 41, 268-273.
Youth Club and Summer Camp Intervention Effects
  • ​Cull, B.J., Rosenkranz, S.K., Dzewaltowski, D.A., Teeman, C.S., & Rosenkranz, R.R. (Submitted).  Home-based obesity prevention and health promotion in children and adolescents:  Randomized controlled trial protocol of the Wildcate Wellness Coaching Trial.
  • Rosenkranz, R.R., Behrens, T.K., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2010).  A Group-Randomized Controlled Trial for Health Promotion in Girl Scouts: Healthier Troops in a SNAP (Scouting Nutrition and Activity Program).  BMC Public Health, 10, 81.
  • Rosenkranz.R.R., & Dzewaltowski D.A., (2009) Promoting better family meals for girls attending summer programs. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 41, 65-67.
  • Hastmann,T.J., Foster, K.E., Rosenkranz, R.R., Rosenkranz, S.K., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2012). Effect of adult leader participation on physical activity in children. Open Journal of Preventive Medicine, 4, 429-435.
  • Foster, K.E., Behrens, T.K., Jager, A.L., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2010).  Effect of Elimination Games on Physical Activity and Psychosocial Responses in Children, Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 7, 475-483.
Afterschool Program Intervention Effects
  • Shoemaker, C.A., Domenghini, C., Milliken, G.A., Bopp, M., Walch, T.,&  Dzewaltowski, D.A. (Submitted). PLANTS after-school gardening project: an overweight prevention group randomized trial. ​
  • Dzewaltowski, D.A., Rosenkranz, R., Geller, K., Coleman, K., Welk, G., Hastmann, T., et al. (2010). Healthy Opportunities for Physical Activity and Nutrition After-School: A randomized controlled trial. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 7, 90-90. PMID: 21144055 
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  • Hastmann, T.J., Bopp, M., Fallon, E.A., Rozenkranz, R.R., & Dzewaltowski, D.A., (2013). Factors influencing the implementation of organized physical Activity and fruit and vegetable snacks in the HOP'N after-school obesity prevention program. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 45, 60-68. ​
  • Poston, S. A, Shoemaker, C.A., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2005).  A comparison of a nutrition and gardening program with a standard nutrition program in an out-of-school setting. Horttechnology. 15, 463-467.
School Health Promotion Intervention Effects
  • ​Caparosa, S.L., Shordon, M. Santos, A.T., Pomichowski, M.E., Dzewaltowski, D.A., & Coleman, K.J. (2014). Fundraising, celebrations and classroom rewards are substantial sources of unhealthy foods and beverages on public school campuses.  Public Health Nutrition, 17,1205-1213.
  • Coleman, K.J., Shordon, M., Caparosa, S.L., Pomichowski, M.E., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2012).  The Healthy Options for Nutrition Environments in Schools (Healthy ONES) group randomized trial:  Using implementation models to change nutrition policy and environments in low income schools.  International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 9, 80.
  • Dzewaltowski, D.A., Estabrooks, P.A., Welk, G., Hill, J., Milliken, G., Karteroliotis, K., & Johnston, J.A., (2009).  Healthy Youth Places, A randomized controlled trial to determine the effectiveness of facilitating adult and youth leaders to promote physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption. Health Education and Behavior, 36, 583–600.
  • Coleman, K.J., Tiller, C.L., Sanchez, J., Heath, E.M., Sy, O, Milliken, G., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2005).  Preventing the epidemic rise in child overweight in low-income schools:  The El Paso Coordinated Approach to Child Health (El Paso CATCH).  Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine, 159, 217-224.
  • Dzewaltowski, D. A., Estabrooks, P. A., & Johnston, J. A. (2002). Healthy Youth Places Promoting Nutrition and Physical Activity.  Health Education Research, 17, 541-551.
Primary Care and Health Care Interventions
  • Almeida,  F.A., Smith-Ray, R.L., Dzewaltowski, D.A., Glasgow, R.E., Lee, R.E., Thomas, D., Xu, S., & Estabrooks, P.E. (2015). An interactive computer session to initiate physical activity in sedentary cardiac patients:  Randomized controlled trial. Journal of Medical Internet Research, 17(8), e206.
  • Estabrooks, P.A., Glasgow, R.E., Dzewaltowski, D.A.  (2003).  Physical activity promotion through primary care. Journal of the American Medical Association, 289, 2913-2916.
Youth Development Setting Physical Activity and Nutrition Observation Studies
  • ​Schlechter, C.R., Rosenkranz, R.R., Milliken, G., & Dzewaltowski, D.A., (In Press).  Physical activity levels during youth sport practice:  Does coach training or experience have an influence?  Journal of Sport Sciences.
  • Schenkelberg MA, Rosenkranz RR, Milliken GA, & Dzewaltowski DA (2015). Social environmental influences on physical activity of children with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 12(5),636-641.
  • Caparosa, S.L., Shordon, M. Santos, A.T., Pomichowski, M.E., Dzewaltowski, D.A., & Coleman, K.J. (2013). Fundraising, celebrations and classroom rewards are substantial sources of unhealthy foods and beverages on public school campuses.  Public Health Nutrition. First View Article pp 1-9. Published online: 14 June 2013.
  • Hastmann,T.J., Foster, K.E., Rosenkranz, R.R., Rosenkranz, S.K., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2012). Effect of adult leader participation on physical activity in children. Open Journal of Preventive Medicine, 4, 429-435.
  • Rosenkranz, R.R., Welk, G.J., Hastmann, T.J., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2011). Psychosocial and demographic correlates of objectively measured physical activity in structured and unstructured after-school recreation sessions.  Journal of Science and Medicine in Sport, 14, 306-311.
  • Rosenkranz, R.R., Welk, G.J., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2011). Environmental correlates of objectively measured physical activity in after-school recreation sessions.  Journal of Physical Activity and Health. 8, S214-221.
  • Foster, K.E., Behrens, T.K., Jager, A.L., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2010).  Effect of Elimination Games on Physical Activity and Psychosocial Responses in Children, Journal of Physical Activity and Health, 7, 475-483.
  • Coleman, K.J., Geller, K.S., Rosenkranz, R.R., Dzewaltowski, D.A.. (2008). Physical activity and healthy eating in the after-school environment. Journal of School Health, 78, 633-640. ​
  • ​Trost, S., Rosenkranz, R., Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2008). Physical activity levels among children attending after-school programs. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 44, 622-629.
Psychosocial Motivational Process Papers
  • Geller, K.S., Melbye, M.J., Rosenkranz, R.R., Shoemaker, C., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (In Press).  Measuring elementary-aged children's self-efficacy and proxy efficacy for gardening, physical activity and fruit and vegetable consumption. Hortechnology. ​
  • Geller, K.S., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2010).  Youth proxy efficacy for fruit and vegetable availability varies by gender and socio-economic status, Public Health Nutrition, 13, 843-851.
  • Geller, K.S., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2010). Examining Elementary School-Aged Children's Self-Efficacy and Proxy Efficacy for Fruit and Vegetable Consumption.  Health Education and Behavior, 37, 465-478. PMID: 19858314.
  • Dzewaltowski, D.A., Geller, K.S., Rosenkranz, R.R., & Karteroliotis, K. (2010).  Children's self-efficacy and proxy efficacy for after-school physical activity. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 11, 100-106. ​
  • ​Geller, K.S., Dzewaltowski, D.A., Rosenkranz, R.R., & Kateroliotis, K.  (2009)  Measuring children's self-efficacy and proxy efficacy related to fruit and vegetable consumption.  Journal of School Health, 79, 51-57.
  • Geller, K.S., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2009). Longitudinal and cross-sectional influences on youth fruit and vegetable consumption, Nutrition Reviews, 67, 65-76.
  • ​Rosenkranz.R.R., & Dzewaltowski D.A., (2009) Promoting better family meals Dzewaltowski, D.A., Ryan, G.J., & Rosenkranz, R.R. (2008).  Parental bonding may moderate the relationships between parent physical activity and youth physical activity after school.  Psychology of Sport & Exercise, 9, 848-854.
  • Dzewaltowski, D. A., Karteroliotis, K., Welk, G., Johnston, J.A., & Estabrooks, P.A. (2007) Measurement of self-efficacy and proxy efficacy for middle school youth physical activity.  Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 29, 310-332.
  • ​Ryan, G.J., & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2002). Relationships among Types of Self-Efficacy and After-School Physical Activity in Youth.  Health Education and Behavior, 29, 491-504.
  • Patrick, L.E.,  & Dzewaltowski, D.A. (2000).  Multidimensional scaling and preference mapping:  Promising methods for investigating older adults physical activity perceptions and preferences.  Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 8, 343-362
  • Dzewaltowski, D.A., Noble, J.M., Shaw, J.M. (1990).  Physical activity participation:  Social cognitive theory versus the theories of reasoned action and planned behavior. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 12, 388-405.
  • Dzewaltowski, D.A., (1989).  Toward a model of exercise motivation.  Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 11, 251-269.