Recorded presentation

Kari M. Gloppen, MPH and Pete Hunt, MPH. Division of Adolescent and School Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 4770 Buford Hwy NE MS K-12, Atlanta, GA 30341, 770-488-6208, phunt@cdc.gov

The CDC is developing a new initiative to help state and local education agencies select quality, research-based health and physical education curricula. The initiative includes three complementary tools that will be completed in 2004: Health Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (HECAT), Physical Education Curriculum Analysis Tool (PECAT), and The Consumer Guide to Health Education Curricula (Guide). The curriculum analysis tools are self-assessment tools for selecting or developing effective curricula to help youth adopt healthy behaviors. The tools help educators determine the degree to which a curriculum includes critical elements of effectiveness, which were distilled from national education standards and CDC’s school health guidelines. The Guide will be an interactive, online program in a Consumer Reports-like format that contains expert analyses of critical components of health education curricula, based on the HECAT. Additionally, the Guide will include analyses of outcome evaluation findings and quality of evaluations, whenever possible. Separate panels of research and program experts will conduct the Guide’s analyses. The first edition of the Guide will focus on curricula that address physical activity, healthy eating, sexual risk behaviors, and comprehensive health education. A second phase of this initiative will include tools to aid in dissemination, translation, and institutionalization of effective programs. CDC’s new initiative will provide the field of school health with valuable guidance on selecting effective health and physical education curricula.

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