The School Health Program: A Component of Community Health Chapter 6
Coordinated School Health Program
• An organized set of policies, procedures, and activities designed to protect, promote, and improve the health and well-being of students and staff
The School Health Council
• Individuals from a school or school district and its community who work together to provide advice and aspects of the school health program• Should include diverse representation
• Primary role – provide coordination of the CSHP components
The School Nurse
• Can provide great leadership for the CSHP
• Has medical knowledge and formal training
• Has multiple responsibilities
• Often districts do not have resources to hire full-time nurses
Teachers
• Heavy responsibility in making sure the CSHP works
• Often spend more waking hours with children than parents
The Need for School Health
• An unhealthy child has a difficult time learning
• Health and success in schools are interrelated
• A CSHP provides the integration of education and health
Foundations of the School Health Program
• School administration that supports the effort
• A well-organized school health council
• Written school health policies
School Health Policies
• Steps for creating local health-related policies include
• Identify the policy development team
• Assess the district’s needs
• Prioritize needs and develop an action plan
• Draft a policy
• Build awareness and support
• Adopt and implement the policy
• Maintain, measure, and evaluate
Policy Development
• Should be executed by the school health council
• Should cover all facets of the school health program
• Gain approval from key stakeholders
Policy Implementation
• Policies only effective if implemented• Distribute policies to those affected• Distribute with a memorandum of explanation
• Place in faculty, staff, and student handbooks
• Present them at group meetings (PTO)
• Hold a special meeting for explaining policies
• Place them in the school district newsletter
Monitoring Policy Status
• National survey conducted by CDC every 6 years
• Assesses:• School health policies
• School health practices at the state, district, school, and classroom levels
Components of a CSHP
• Administration and organization
• School health services
• Healthy school environment
• School health education
• Counseling, psychological, and social services
• Physical education
• School nutrition services
• Family/community involvement
• School-site health promotion for staff
Administration and Organization
• A CSHP should be administered by a School Health Coordinator• Multiple responsibilities
• Often not a position required by states
School Health Services
• Health services provided by school health workers to appraise, protect, and promote health
• Health screenings, emergency care for injury and sudden illness, chronic disease management, communicable disease prevention and control, health counseling
• Advantages: equitability, confidentiality, breadth of coverage, user friendliness, convenience
Healthy School Environment
• By law, school districts are required to provide a safe school environment
• Physical environment• Buildings and structures, and the behaviors of
those using them
• Location, age, air quality, food service, temperature, etc.
• Psychosocial environment• Attitudes, values, feelings of students and staff
School Health Education
• The development, delivery, and evaluation of a planned curriculum• Priority health content:• Alcohol and other drugs, healthy eating, mental
and emotional health, personal health and wellness, physical activity, safety/unintentional injury prevention, sexual health (abstinence and risk avoidance), tobacco, violence prevention
Development of and Sources of Health Education Curricula
• Many available from national specialists
• Approved curricula from state departments of education or health
• Health agencies and associations
• Commercially produced curricula
Issues and Concerns of the School Health Program
• Lack of support for CSHP
• School health curriculum challenges
• School-based health centers
• Violence in schools
Lack of Support for CSHP
• Limited success in getting CSHP implemented across the country
• Need supportive legislation
School Health Curriculum Challenges
• Controversy• Strong opinions on various topics
• Improper implementation• Often provided by individuals other than health
education specialists
• Barriers to school health education
School-Based Health Centers or School-Linked Health Centers
• Rapidly growing concept
• Provided in different ways; most common is in school building
• Common features among various centers
• “Cultural wars”
• Funding challenges
Violence in Schools
• High profile incidents of violence in schools
• Bullying
• Electronic aggression
• Recommendations for improving school climate as it relates to violence