The Journal of school health
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This study examined relationships between variation in child and adolescent firearm mortality by state and the following variables: childhood poverty rate, percent single parent families, percent population that is African American, percent population that is Hispanic, percent students carrying a gun, percent students carrying a weapon, percent students feeling unsafe, percent students feeling sad/hopeless, percent students academically at-risk, percent students involved infighting, percent students engaging in binge drinking behavior, violent crime rate for youths, individual gun laws in each state, prevalence of firearm ownership, and percent residing in urban area. Stepwise regression was calculated and one independent variable, prevalence of firearm ownership in the state, emerged as a significant predictor of child and adolescent firearm mortality. This variable predicted 47% of the variance from state to state in the child and adolescent firearm mortality. Schools need to address firearm safety and advocate for elimination of firearms accessible to youth.
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During the past decade, prevalence of food allergies among children increased. Caring for children with life-threatening food allergies has become a major challenge for school personnel. ⋯ The guidelines assist schools by providing information on food allergies and anaphylaxis, emphasizing the need for team planning and development of an individualized health care plan, giving guidance on strategies to prevent accidental exposure to specific allergens in school settings, and offering information on emergency responses should unintended exposures occur. The collaborative process for developing the guidelines, which continued during the distribution and implementation phases, set a tone for successful multidisciplinary teamwork in local schools.
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Comparative Study
Comparing unintentional and intentional injuries in a school setting.
This study determined the incidence of violence-related injuries in an urban school district, and compared characteristics of unintentional and intentional school injuries. A sample of student Accident Report Forms completed for a school district in 1997 were reviewed for demographic characteristics of the student and injury characteristics. Injuries were categorized as unintentional, intentional, or of unknown intent. ⋯ Intentional injuries were almost three times more likely to be associated with unstructured play or after school playground hours; were less likely to be witnessed events; and were more likely to occur on the surrounding school grounds than unintentional injuries. Unintentional injuries represent a greater risk to school children than do intentional injuries. A potential area to focus interventions for intentional injuries are modifications of the school environment and surrounding grounds to improve supervision and monitoring.
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The North Carolina "Baby Think It Over" (BTIO) evaluation was conducted during spring semester 2000. Data were collected from participating teachers, students, and parents. Twenty-five teachers were selected randomly from different counties in North Carolina. ⋯ Most teachers reported that the intervention was not disruptive to their classes. However, results from student surveys did not reveal the same support. Student changes in attitudes and beliefs about parenting after the intervention were minimal.