Exercise Is Medicine On Campus 2017: Increasing Off-campus Outreach And Community Collaboration 1480 Board #288 May 31 9 00 AM - 10 30 AM

PURPOSE: Exercise is Medicine on Campus (EIMOC) is an initiative promoting physical activity (PA) on college campuses. Pennsylvania State University, promoting EIMOC since 2010, has held an annual EIMOC Week since 2012. A focus of the EIMOC committee in 2017 was to expand its off-campus reach and community collaboration throughout the commonwealth of Pennsylvania and beyond. The purpose of this study is to analyze and describe the logistical challenges and lessons learned from expanding an EIMOC initiative to off-campus and out of town locations. METHODS: During fall 2017, EIMOC events were expanded from one, on-campus week, to a month of activities including a day of coordinated events with off-campus local businesses, travel to commonwealth campuses, and a week of collaboration with alumni-led organizations nationwide. The logistical challenges of coordinating remote events were documented and evaluated. Observational data from each event assessed popular activities and feedback from participating partners regarding the planning and execution of events was gathered. RESULTS: Analysis addressed three new initiatives. Partnership with local, off-campuses businesses, known as “EIM Off Campus Day,” involved local fitness centers offering no-cost access to students, faculty, and staff for one day, promoted via social media and our website. Reach was assessed through social media analytics (i.e. likes, retweets), website visits and unique page views. Traveling events to commonwealth campuses occurred during “Mobile EIM Week” and were assessed based on the type of activities included, number of partners involved, and number of participants engaged, as well as feedback regarding the perceived success of each event and suggestions to improve future collaborations. Finally, a week-long initiative engaged alumni nationwide (EIM Everywhere Week) relying on email campaigns and social media to spread the word and gauge participation. CONCLUSIONS: The current study offered insights on the challenges and successes in leveraging an existing EIMOC program to spread the message into the community, including timing of advertising and better communication. Despite this, the new initiatives proved both popular and successful, and improving their execution will significantly benefit the future impact of EIMOC.