The Journal of school health
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Schools can play a major role in prevention and intervention for childhood obesity. We describe changes in elementary school cafeteria lunch sales patterns resulting from nutritional improvements in menu offerings that were part of a community-wide focus on health. ⋯ Elementary school children purchased healthier lunches when healthier menu items were offered and when less healthy foods were eliminated from the menu. There was no significant decline in the number of students who purchased lunches as nutritional improvements were made.
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The United States Department of Agriculture's (USDA) new nutrition standards for school meals include sweeping changes setting upper limits on calories served and limit milk offerings to low fat or fat-free and, if flavored, only fat-free. Milk processors are lowering the calories in flavored milks. As changes to milk impact school lunch participation and milk consumption, it is important to know the impact of these modifications. ⋯ While school children appear to accept lower calorie flavored milk, further monitoring is warranted as most of the flavored milks offered were not fat-free as was required by USDA as of fall 2012.
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For schools to be safe and supportive for students, school health professionals should be aware of the particular challenges lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, or questioning (LGBTQ) students face, especially the risk for discrimination, violent victimization, and depression in the school setting. We assessed school health professionals' preparedness to address needs of LGBTQ students. ⋯ School health professionals in New Mexico do not appear prepared to address needs of LGBTQ students. Schools should consider integrating specific content about LGBTQ health risks and health disparities in trainings regarding bullying, violence, cultural competency, and suicide prevention.
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Seattle Public Schools has implemented policies and programs to increase safety, family involvement, and student achievement for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) youth. This case study examines students' perceptions of bullying and harassment in the school environment, and teacher intervention when these problems arise in the presence of strong district policies and programs aimed at reducing LGBTQ bullying and harassment in schools. ⋯ Seattle Public Schools has made great strides in creating safe and welcoming schools for LGBTQ students, but still have to work further toward reaching this goal. Data from students on how they experience their school environment can help identify areas for improvement.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
A randomized controlled trial of a public health nurse-delivered asthma program to elementary schools.
Childhood asthma is a serious and common chronic disease that requires the attention of nurses and other school personnel. Schools are often the first setting that children take the lead in managing their asthma. Often, children are ill prepared for this role. Our study evaluated a school-based, multifaceted asthma program that targeted students with asthma and the broader school community. ⋯ Implementation of a multifaceted school-based asthma program can lead to asthma-friendly schools that support children with asthma to be successful managers of their asthma and experience improved quality of life and decreased disease associated burden.