The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

4142.0: Tuesday, November 12, 2002 - 12:42 PM

Abstract #43958

Building national capacity to promote public health initiatives through schools: Lessons from Nigeria and Indonesia

Phyllis Scattergood and Scott G. Pulizzi. Health and Human Development Programs, Education Development Center, Inc., 55 Chapel Street, Newton, MA 02458-1060

This presentation will introduce participants’ to the Rapid Assessment and Action Planning Process [RAAPP], a method designed by Education Development Center, Inc. and the World Health Organization in partnership with the ministries of health and education in Nigeria and Indonesia, to strengthen national capacity to deliver health programs through schools. The RAAPP is a participatory method for policymakers, NGOs, and parents to collectively assess and improve national capacity to promote health. RAAPP uses interactive methods to conduct systems-level analysis and promote collaboration between public, private, health and education sectors, establish performance benchmarks and develop the requisite skills for iterative analysis. A growing body of evidence describes the links between a student’s health status to their academic success. RAAPP provides an opportunity for targeted action to benefit a country’s youth. RAAPP methods and tools were culturally tailored and tested in partnership with a team in Indonesia. They were finalized and further customized for use with partners in Ministries of Health and Education in Nigeria. In earlier phases of development draft instruments were tested in Bolivia and Costa Rica. In this session, participants will identify and discuss criteria for customizing and conducting participatory assessments and transforming findings into evidenced-based action plans for advocacy, strategic planning, and capacity building based on experiences and lessons from Nigerian and Indonesia. Beneficiaries of this session include public- and private-sector staff responsible for public health actions and decisions in an education setting.

Learning Objectives:

Keywords: Assessments, International

Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.

Monitoring and Evaluation

The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA