The Journal of school health
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Environmental and policy influences are potentially the most powerful-and yet the least understood-strategies for reversing the current childhood obesity epidemic. ⋯ Defining competitive foods in a federally consistent manner and eliminating competitive foods from our nation's schools are food fight that will evidently be fought by legislative efforts at the local, state, and federal level. The food industry, as history illustrates, will likely work hard to weaken any regulatory efforts and could potentially demand that this fight end up requiring judicial review.
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Because of school districts' interest in best serving the health needs of students, many choose to administer surveys addressing controversial topics. Administering such surveys in a voluntary and anonymous manner may help reduce conflict. ⋯ School districts should ensure a student survey relates to the district's overall educational goals. Likewise, the district should adequately inform parents of a survey's contents, date of administration, and a parent's ability to opt out. Schools should make sure a survey is truly voluntary and anonymous. Finally, schools should carefully follow local policy and state and federal laws that apply to surveying students, such as the federal Protection of Pupil Rights Amendment.
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The "Partners in School Asthma Management" program for inner-city elementary school children comprises (1) case finding; (2) linkage of school nurses, parents, and clinicians; (3) a computer-based tailored educational program; and (4) school environmental assessment and intervention. Case finding identified 1730 children in 60 elementary schools with probable asthma; 835 (96% Hispanic or African American) joined the study. Baseline, posttest, and follow-up measures of asthma knowledge, self-efficacy, and self-management behavior were obtained from the children, and data on symptoms, emergency department visits, and hospitalizations were obtained from their parents. ⋯ Children participating in this enhanced intervention had better school performance and fewer absences than the comparison group. Overall, the program was effective in improving children's asthma self-management but not in improving their health status. While the case-finding, computer-based self-management training program and linkage system were successfully implemented, the program failed in creating needed changes in the medical (action plans by community physicians) and physical environments (reduced school allergen levels) of the children.
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Randomized Controlled Trial
Evaluation and sustainability of the healthy learners asthma initiative.
The Healthy Learners Asthma Initiative (HLAI) involved collaboration between Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS), local health care providers/payors, parents, and other partners. The intervention included development of enhanced asthma care in school health offices and clinic performance improvement projects to foster adoption of National Institutes of Health asthma guidelines. Goals were to improve asthma management among school children and reduce asthma-related school absences, hospitalizations, and emergency department visits. ⋯ Clinics initiated significantly more asthma action plans and sent them to MPS. Attendance differences between groups were limited to students who received asthma care through the school health office. Monitoring of asthma management activities provided through school health offices from 2002 to 2005 indicates sustained implementation of enhanced asthma care in schools and increased asthma communication between school, parents, and health care providers.
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This national study assessed elementary school teachers' (n = 352) firearm safety education activities and perceptions using a 3-wave mailing survey. One percent of the teachers reported receiving undergraduate training regarding firearm safety. Yet, 12% claimed to be well prepared or very well prepared to teach firearm safety. ⋯ Ten percent were currently teaching firearm safety. Teachers perceived 3 main barriers to teaching firearm safety: not enough expertise (66%), not sure what topics should be taught (58%), and not enough time to include firearm safety in the curriculum (54%). About one third (35%) desired further information regarding teaching firearm safety.