The School Health Program: A Component of Community and Public Health

Scope

part of the curriculum that outlines what will be taught

Sequence

part of the curriculum that states in what order the content will be taught

School health education

the development, delivery, and evaluation of a planned curriculum, kindergarten through grade 12 - provides students with the knowledge and skills they need to become successful learners and healthy and productive adults

School health program

- " The school setting is a great equalizer, providing all students and families - regardless of ethnicity, SES, or level of education - with the same access to good nutrition and physical activity - Children also reach their parents, important lessons learned at school can help the entire family

Improper Implementation

- Because health is not considered a "core" subject, there is little priority for it - Much of the instruction is provided by individuals other than health education specialists - Results in reliance on textbook as the curriculum, lack of awareness of state or national standards, an emphasis on content rather than skills, and limited, if any, coverage on topics that cause discomfort

The Physical Environment

- Divided into two major categories: 1. Actual physical plant - the buildings and surrounding areas and al that come with them) 2. Behaviors of those using the building ex. violence between students and lack of proper supervision by school employees

The Need for School Health

- Health and success in school are interrelated - Schools cannot achieve their primary mission of education if students and staff are not healthy and fit physically, mentally, and socially. - CSH provides the integration of education and health

Responsibilities of school health coordinator

- Identify necessary resources - Facilitating collaboration among school health program and staff - Conduct evaluation activities - Provide/arrange technical assistance - Ensure instruction and services are reinforcing and present consistent message

Reduce Controversy and Improper Implementation

- Implementing age-appropriate curricula - Using effective teaching methods - Gaining parent/guardian approval and teaching methods - Developing a school policy that enables parents to review the curricula and to withdraw their children - Implementing a school policy that provides for the handling of concern by parents - Making sure qualified and interested teachers teach health

Issues and Concerns Facing School Health

- In the 1940s, the three leading problems were talking, chewing gum, and making noise - Today, problems are related to health, such as bullying and other forms of violence, drug use, and consequences of low-self esteem

Lack of Support for Coordinated School Health

- Legislation needs to be passed that supports the notion that everyone is entitled to CSH efforts in our schools - Limited resources make it difficult for school districts to make CSH a priority

Common features of SBHC

- Located in schools or on school grounds - Work cooperatively within the school - Provide a comprehensive range of services that meet physical and behavioral health needs of students - Employ a multidisciplinary team of providers to care for students

The Teacher's Role

- Spends more waking hours with school-aged children than do the parents of many children - in a position to make observations on the normal and abnormal behaviors and conditions of children - many are receiving leadership training regarding CSH, making them ideal for leading the coordination

School health coordinator

- a trained professional at the state, district, or school level who is responsible for managing, coordinating, planning, implementing, and evaluating school health policies, programs, and resources - logical choices would be a school nurse or health education specialist

School health advisory council

- advisory group composed of school, health, and community representatives who act collectively to advise the school district on aspects of coordinated school health - Also called a "school wellness council" - Primary role: to provide coordination of the various components of CSH to help students reach and maintain high-quality health

Violence in Schools

- affects the individuals involved but also may disrupt the educational processes and affect bystanders, the school itself, and the surrounding community - Possibility that a disagreement among students will be settled with a weapon rather than old-fashioned fist fight has significantly increased

Family/Community Involvement for School Health

- allows for an integrated school, parent, and community approach for enhancing the health and well-being of students

Coordinated school health

- an organized set of policies, procedures, and activities designed to protect, promote, and improve the health and well-being of pre-kindergarten students and staff, thus improving a student's ability to learn - it includes health education; school health services; a healthy school environment; school counseling; psychological and social services; physical education; school nutrition services; family and community involvement in school health - about one-fifth of the U.S. population attend or work in schools. - significant improvements would be seen if there was more coordination between services

Electronic aggression

- any kind of aggression perpetrated though technology - any type of harassment or bullying that occurs through email, chat room. instant messaging (most common), a website, or text messaging - studies suggest that it peaks around the end of middle school/beginning of high school

School health coordinator

- critical for the successful implementation of the work of school health advisory councils - most often is a health education specialist or school nurse - helps maintain active school health advisory councils and facilitates health programming in the district

Healthy School Environment

- designates the part of CSH that provides for a safe - both physically and emotionally - learning environment - the promotion, maintenance, and utilization of safe and wholesome surroundings in a school

Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool

- developed by the CDC - a resource school districts, schools, and others involved in the curriculum process can use to conduct their own analysis of health curricula.

The Psychosocial Environment

- encompasses the attitudes, feelings, and values of students and staff Ex. student who are fearful of responding to a teacher's question because the teacher might make fun of them if they answer incorrectly

School Nurse

- has medical knowledge and experience in formal training in health education - Key Responsibilities: 1. facilitating normal development and positive student response to interventions 2. providing leadership in promoting health and safety, including a healthy environment 3. providing quality health care and intervening with potential health problems 4. using clinical judgment in case management 5. collaborating with others to build community capacity

School Health Services

- health services provided by school health workers to appraise, protect, and promote the health of students - becoming more popular because poverty - focus on prevention, intervention, and treating acute illness

School-Site Health Promotion for Staff

- includes opportunities for school staff to improve their health status through health-related assessments and activities - result in improved health status, improved morale, positive health role modeling, reduced health insurance costs, and decreased absenteeism

School health policies

- laws, mandates, regulations, standards, resolutions, and guidelines- provide a foundation for school district practices and procedures. - describes the nature of the program and the procedure for its implementation to those outside the program - important indicator of where school health is prioritized within overall educational agenda

Physical Education

- planned, sequential K-12 curriculum that provides cognitive content and learning experiences in a variety of activity areas - emphasis is placed on physical fitness and skill development that lead to lifelong physical activity

School Nutrition Services

- provide access to a variety of nutritious and appealing meals that meet the needs of all students - offer students a learning laboratory for classroom nutrition and health education - serve as a resource for links with nutrition-related community services

Which individuals (name by position) should be considered for inclusion on the school health advisory council?

- school health coordinator, each of the eight components and district administrators, parents, students, and community leaders

Counseling, Psychosocial, and Social Services

- services provided to improve students' mental, emotional, and social health - certified school counselors, psychologist, and social workers provide these services - can include individual and group assessments, interventions, and referrals

Controversy

- sexual intercourse, suicide, substance use and abuse, sexually transmitted diseases, dating violence, contraception, death and dying, and even abstinence - Continues to be a challenge for health education for a number of reasons: 1. Pressure from conservative groups 2. Differences in family value systems and religious beliefs

Monitoring school health policy

- the Division of Adolescent Health at the CDC has conducted a national survey to assess school health policies and practices at the state, district, school, and classroom levels - Conducted every 6 years

School-Based Health Centers or School-Linked Health Centers

- the number is increasingly growing with majority being located in urban areas and in high schools - Main goal: the ability to reach, in a cost effective manner, a large segment of the population that is otherwise without primary health care

Curriculum

- the written plan for school health education - outlines the scope and the sequence - provides learning objectives, standards, learning experiences leading to the adoption and maintenance of specific health-enhancig behaviors, possible instructional resources, and methods for assessment to determine the extent to which the objectives and standards are met

Bullying

- unwanted, aggressive behavior among school aged children that involves a real or perceived power imbalance - Can take many forms such as physical (hitting), verbal (teasing) , social (spreading rumors), and cyber (sending insulting messages or pictures by phone or via Internet) - affect academic achievement and self-esteem

Development of and Sources of Health Education Curricula

-Prepackaged curriculum from for-profit or non-profit (voluntary) health agencies -Curriculum from state or local PH agency -Adopt new health textbook series and use it as a guide -Develop own in-house curriculum

Policy Implementation

1. Distributing the policies with a memorandum of explanation 2. Placing the policies in both faculty/staff and student handbooks 3. Presenting them at a gathering of the different groups 4. Holding a special meeting for the specific purpose of explaining the policies 5. Placing them in the school district newsletter

Steps for creating local health-related policies

1. Identify the policy development team 2. Assess the district's needs 3. Prioritize needs and develop an action plan 4. Draft a policy 5. Build awareness and support 6. Adopt and implement the policy to meet program goals 7. Maintain, measure, evaluate

Foundation of the School Health Program

1. School administration that supports such an effort 2. Well-organizaed school health advisory council that is genuinely interested in providing a coordinated program for the students, families, and staff - Written school health policies

At minimum schools should provide the following three types of services (recommended by American Academy of Pediatrics):

1. state-mandated services, including screenings, verification of immunization status, and infectious disease reporting 2. assessment of minor health complaints, medication, administration, and care for students with special needs 3. management of emergencies and other urgent situations