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

Abstract #67882

Barbara J Low, DrPH¹, Nancy G Murray, DrPH², Alan W. Cross, MD³, Sally Davis, PhD⁴, Chris Hollis, MPH, MPS⁵, and Yemisi Adetunji, MD, MPH³. (1) Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, University of Texas School of Public Health, 7000 Fannin Street, Suite 2664B, Houston, TX 77030, (713) 500-9624, BJLow@sph.uth.tmc.edu, (2) School of Public Health - Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research, University of Texas, 7000 Fannin, UCT 2620, Houston, TX 77030, (3) Social Medicine and Pediatrics, Maternal and Child Health, Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, University of North Carolina, University of North Carolina, Center for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, 1700 Airport Road, Room 225, CB 7426, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7426, (4) University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center, 2701 Frontier NE Suite 251, Albuquerque, NM 87103, (5) Manager, Health Promotion, University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center, 2701 Frontier NE, Surge Bldg, #251, Albuquerque, NM 87131

Coordinated School Health Programs (CSHP) connect schools with community health promotion activities that can reduce rates of school absenteeism, enhance academic outcomes, and promote graduation rates. These programs focus on school nutrition services, physical education, health care, counseling and psychological services, healthy school environment and policy, parent, family and community involvement, comprehensive health education, and school staff health promotion. CSHP components are designed to create a health-oriented environment that provides a strong foundation of safety, healthy lifestyle choices, reduction of risky behaviors, and support for healthy mental, emotional, social, and physical well-being. A comprehensive review of the literature pertaining to CSH programs has been methodically performed during the past two years. The primary tool for critiquing more than 400 published research papers was the Guide to Community Prevention Services, a meticulous data extraction format. Ten longitudinal studies met the criteria for acceptable quality of design, methods, execution, and/or control of threats to validity. Strong evidence supports the link between CSHP and positive student outcomes for nutrition services, comprehensive health and social education, and parent/family involvement. More high-quality longitudinal school-based research is needed to substantiate results from cross-sectional studies to indicate the impact of CSHP on student achievement and well-being, particularly in the domains of physical education, provision of general health and mental health services, school policy and environment, and school staff/faculty health promotion. Further research is also needed to evaluate the effect of coordination of CSHP to foster long-term student learning, personal growth, and development.

Learning Objectives:

• (1)Participants will be able to list the components of Coordinated School Health Programs;
• (2)Participants will be able to state the methods used for reviewing research describing CSHP and student achievement, including the tool used for systematic data extraction;
• (3)Participants will be able to describe the evidence for positive impact of CSHP on student academic achievement and specify the need for more high-quality longitudinal research.

Keywords: Adolescent Health, School-Based Programs

Related Web page: www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dash/about/school_health.htm

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.