The 131st Annual Meeting (November 15-19, 2003) of APHA

Abstract #59606

Steven H Kelder, PhD, MPH¹, Deanna M. Hoelscher, PhD, RD, LD, CNS², Chris Mccullum, PhD¹, Peter Cribb, MEd¹, and Cristina S. Barroso, MPH³. (1) School of Public Health, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, 7000 Fannin, Suite 2658, Houston, TX 77030, 713-500-9636, Steven.H.Kelder@uth.tmc.edu, (2) Human Nutrition Center, Univ. of Texas School of Public Health, 1200 Herman Pressler, E 601, Houston, TX 77030, (3) Center for Health Promotion Research and Development, University of Texas-Houston School of Public Health, 1200 Herman Pressler, W-904E, Houston, TX 77030

Texas Senate Bill 19 (SB 19), passed into law in 2001, requires elementary schools (K-6) to be trained in and implement a coordinated school health program designed to prevent risk factors for chronic disease. The Coordinated Approach to Child Health (CATCH), which includes physical education (PE), classroom, nutrition, and family components, has been approved to meet SB 19 requirements, and is being disseminated using diffusion theory. This presentation details the dissemination of CATCH since passage of SB 19. Training sessions were conducted using either (1) component training (PE, classroom curriculum, foodservice) or (2) all-component training that included program overview, individual component break out sessions, and implementation planning sessions. To evaluate dissemination efforts, mail surveys were distributed to foodservice staff (n = 213) and PE specialists (n = 410) that attended a training session within the past 2 years. Survey response rates were 40% and 38% respectively. Seventy percent of foodservice staff agreed CATCH helped them meet USDA nutrition goals and 76% of PE specialists agreed that CATCH helped them meet PE goals. Sixty one percent of school food service staff and 25% of PE specialists agreed CATCH helped them meet their SB 19 requirement. Use of a coordinated school health program enabled trained staff to meet their nutrition and PE goals. Future trainings will focus on enhanced awareness of using CATCH to meet Texas SB 19 requirements. This study was funded by the Texas Department of Health Diabetes Council and the Centers for Disease Control, Prevention Research Center program.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, participants will be able to:
• Describe Texas Senate Bill 19 and it's impact on child health
• Describe the CATCH program and how it meets the requiremetns of SB 19
• Describe methods to train schools in to implement coordinated school health

Keywords: Coordination, School Health

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.