The Journal of school health
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Since 2003, many states have introduced policies to improve the nutritional content and restrict the availability of competitive foods, which are foods offered outside of the National School Lunch and Breakfast Programs. This article evaluates the impact of 2 types of state-level policies on the availability of competitive foods in a national sample of schools. ⋯ Standards introduced between 2004 and 2007 were associated with a decline in the availability of soft drinks, low-nutrient snacks, and sweets as reported by a national sample of children. School compliance with state competitive food policies may increase over time. Research on the impact of existing state policies could inform the development of a national policy to regulate competitive foods in schools.
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Enjoyment of physical activity is as an important determinant of children's participation in physical activity. Despite this, there is an absence of reliable measures for assessing children's enjoyment of play activities during school lunchtime. The purpose of this study was to develop and assess the reliability of the Lunchtime Enjoyment of Activity and Play (LEAP) Questionnaire. ⋯ This study confirms the LEAP Questionnaire to be a reliable, context-specific instrument with sound content, and face validity that employs a social-ecological framework to assess children's enjoyment of school play and lunchtime activities.
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Comparative Study
Identifying relationships between high-risk sexual behaviors and screening positive for chlamydia and gonorrhea in school-wide screening events.
This article describes a school-wide sexually transmitted infection (STI) screening to identify adolescent high-risk sexual behaviors, STI history/incidence, and presence of chlamydia and gonorrhea, and examines relationships between high-risk behaviors and screening positive for chlamydia and gonorrhea in an alternative high school setting. ⋯ School-Based Health Center (SBHC) screening was well accepted by students and staff. Sexually transmitted infection history was correlated with all identified high-risk sexual behaviors supporting the need for in-depth assessment, counseling, and testing of adolescents wherever they present for care. This study also provides an example of the role SBHCs can play in the national strategy to control chlamydia and gonorrhea in adolescents.
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There has been little evaluation of school-located vaccination programs that offer human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine in US schools without health centers (ie, extramural programs). This article summarizes lessons learned from such programs. ⋯ Extramural programs may increase uptake of vaccines and decrease absenteeism due to noncompliance with vaccine requirements for school entry. Until extramural programs in the US receive better access to billing private insurers and Medicaid, sustainability of these programs relies on grant funding. Better integration of extramural school-located vaccine programs with existing local healthcare and other programs at schools is an area for growth.
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Comparative Study
School sun-protection policies: measure development and assessments in 2 regions of the United States.
In 2002, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended that schools adopt policies that reduce exposure of children to ultraviolet radiation to prevent skin cancer. We report here the development of a school sun-safety policy measure and baseline descriptive statistics from the assessment of written policies collected in 2005-2007 from public school districts that enrolled in a randomized trial evaluating a policy promotion program. ⋯ The protocol for assessing sun-safety policy in board-approved written policy documents had several advantages over surveys of school officials. Sun-protection policies were uncommon and limited in scope in 2005-2007. California has been more active at legislating school policy than Colorado. School district policies remain a largely untapped method for promoting the sun protection of children.