Hadassah Optimal: Exercise and nutrition in the immediate postpartum period in Israel-a successful intervention accompanied by government adoption

After a dozen years of operation, this chapter reviews the Public Health Nurses Promoting Healthy Lifestyles program (PHeeL-PHiNe), which ran in Israel from 2008 to 2017. In order to promote the health of the entire family, this program focused on training public health nurses working in community-based Mother and Child Health Centers (MCHC) in new exercise and healthy eating initiatives for the mothers, fathers, and children they serve. In 2017, the total population of Israel stood at 9.18 million people, with 184, 000 live births annually. Of these births, 74% are Jewish and 21% Moslem; the rest include Christians, Druze, Circassians, and other communities. The PHeeL-PHiNe program ran in three Ministry of Health districts in Israel. A national program for the promotion of healthy and active lifestyles was initiated in 2012 across all communities and sectors. PHeeL-PHiNe has played a major part in strengthening the important contribution of public health nurses who provide preventive health services. As part of the services provided and supervised by the Public Health division, a national network of MCHCs has been offering preventive health services in Israel since the 1920s. The PHeeL-PHiNe program utilized the existing national infrastructure of MCHCs.