Messages Matter: Using Data to Inform School-Based Health Care Policy Advocacy

Schools are the one place children dependably convene and as such, providing health services for youth in schools seems a logical and efficient service delivery locale. Yet despite the obvious need for school-based health care centers (SBHCs) and their demonstrated contributions, they constantly struggle to secure a reliable funding base due at least in part to untested policy advocacy messages. This paper analyzes the findings of a W.K. Kellogg Foundation commissioned national survey conducted by Lake Research Partners; synthesizes how results can promote supportive legislation for SBHCs; as well as, informs the larger school health community of the efficacy of empirical studies that test messages designed to advance protective, effective, and efficient policies.

Over 4000 surveys were conducted between May 2006 and January 2007 in several sweeps. Questions were administered by professional interviewers, were validated using focus groups, and telephone numbers were drawn using a random digit sample,. Data was weighted slightly by age, education, party identification, and race to reflect the attributes of the actual population of registered voters. The margin of error on the overall sample is +/- 2.8%.

Most participants strongly believed SBHCs would improve access to care, would keep children healthy, support school success, and should be reliably funded. However, SBHCs were generally an unfamiliar concept and very sensitive to opposition messages. In summary, voter support for SBHC policies proved quite sensitive to language, definitions, services offered in schools, and the simplicity of targeted messages.