Robin Shook, PhD
Director, Kansas City Healthy Lifestyles Collaborative; Director, Translational Energy Balance Research Laboratory; Associate Professor of Pediatrics, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine; Research Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of Kansas School of Medicine
Full Biography
Robin Shook, PhD, Director of the Kansas City Healthy Lifestyles Collaborative and Director of the Translational Energy Balance Lab, Center for Children’s Healthy Lifestyles & Nutrition, received a one-year, $40,000 grant from The Kansas City Royals Foundation for his project, “The Kansas City Youth Physical Activity Central Repository.”
The project’s aim is to create a free, public facing, searchable central repository of youth physical activity programs in the Kansas City region. This comprehensive database will be available to all members of the public. “This project will lay the foundation for a regional entity that can serve as a central resource to unify and strengthen stakeholders in youth physical activity in Kansas City,” said Dr. Shook.
The project has several external partners. The University of Missouri – Kansas City (UMKC) is a partner on the Physical Activity Ecosystem Mapping Project that identifies all youth physical activity organizations and programs in the Kansas City region. Data from the mapping project will populate the central repository. Aspen Institute is a partner on Project Play KC, a 12-month assessment that identifies barriers and opportunities in youth sports in the Kansas City region. Data from the project will be incorporated into the central repository. The study team will also partner to develop a free, easy-to-use community dashboard to the central repository.
A secondary aim of the central repository project is to collect additional information outside the scope of the Physical Activity Ecosystem Mapping Project. This includes data about program enrollment rates, costs, scholarship opportunities, and geographic location of participants and programs. The study team will partner with the UMKC Center for Non-Profit Leadership to collect additional information.
This project continues implementation of strategies and tactics of The Kansas City Physical Activity (KCPA) Plan, which began in 2020. The KCPA Plan is a comprehensive, multisector collaboration working to foster a culture of physical activity in Kansas City. The Kansas City Healthy Lifestyles Collaborative at Children’s Mercy coordinates the KCPA plan.