Promoting healthy lifestyles in Brazil: design and method of “VAMOS Program” in public health system

Abstract

The “Programa Vida Ativa Melhorando a Saúde – VAMOS” (Active Life Improving Health) is a community intervention with a behavioral approach. It uses educational strategies to assist health professionals in guiding the population about the importance of adherence and maintenance of healthy lifestyles. This descriptive study presents the design and method of the VAMOS Program version 2.0. The intervention is for adults and older adults’ users of Brazilian public health and aims to motivate them to adopt an active and healthy lifestyle regarding physical activity and eating. The program follows an intervention design that considers the dimensions of the RE-AIM framework. The VAMOS Program version 2.0 has the potential to be offered as a health promotion tool in the Brazilian public health system by using available resources and accessible and healthy behavioral strategies.

Barreiras para mudança de comportamento de idosas com excesso de peso participantes do programa vida ativa melhorando a saúde (VAMOS 2.0): Um estudo qualitativo

“…O VAMOS foi composto por 12 encontros com duração média de 60 a 90 minutos e em cada encontro foram distribuídos os livretos do programa gratuitamente para as idosas. Cada livreto abordava temas relacionados a atividade física, alimentação e como aderir a uma vida saudável (Benedetti et al, 2017;Tomicki et al, 2021). O profissional que conduziu o programa, denominado de multiplicador, foi certificado previamente por um treinamento on-line de 20 horas (José, Konrad, Ribeiro & Benedetti, 2019).…”

Active and healthy lifestyle in Brazilian Primary Health Care user’s: A pragmatic clinical trial about "VAMOS" behavior change program

“…Health professionals invited the UBS users to participate in the VAMOS. Recruitment strategies have been described elsewhere (Tomicki et al, 2021). It should be noted that in each UBS the period of disclosure and screening occurs at different times.…”

“…When it was impossible to be present at any meeting, it was suggested that the intervention leader replace the meeting. Details about the VAMOS, version 2.0, can be found in a previous study (Benedetti et al, 2017;Tomicki et al, 2021) and on the program's website: https://vamos.ufsc.br/.…”

“…Behavioral interventions developed in public health contribute of physical activity and healthy eating (Benedetti et al, 2012;Benedetti et al, 2020;Carvalho et al, 2020;Carvalho et al, 2021;Tomicki et al, 2021). Systematic reviews evidence the effectiveness of behavioral interventions developed in public health aimed at specific health outcomes, including obesity control (Menezes et al, 2020), promotion of healthy eating, and physical activity (Menezes et al, 2016).…”

“…These interventions can serve as examples of new ways to approach health. Research, Society and Development, v. 10, n. 13, e21101320382, 2021 (CC BY 4.0) | ISSN 2525-3409 | DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.33448/rsd-v10i13.20382 3 A strategy developed specifically for this purpose is the behavior change program "Active Life Improving Health" (VAMOS), version 2.0 (Benedetti et al, 2017;Tomicki et al, 2021). He has proven its effectiveness in different contexts (Gerage et al, 2017;Gerage et al, 2020;Meurer et al, 2019;Quadros et al, 2020;Souza et al, 2020).…”