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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Recorded presentation

Victoria L. Evans, MPH¹, Martha M. Phillips, PhD, MPH, MBA², C. Heath Gauss, MS¹, Melany C. Birdsong, BA¹, Zoran Bursac, PhD¹, and James M. Raczynski, PhD¹. (1) College of Public Health, University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, 4301 West Markham Street, Slot 820, Little Rock, AR 72205, 501-526-6635, vlevans@uams.edu, (2) Division of Health, Center for Public Health Practice, Arkansas Department of Health & Human Services, 4815 West Markham Street, PO Box 1437, Slot H-32, Little Rock, AR 72203-1437

Arkansas Act 1220 of 2003 brought widespread awareness of issues related to childhood obesity throughout the state. School administrators have a unique opportunity to influence student health by creating policy change within their respective schools. Principals were surveyed to determine policy change regarding nutrition in schools. These data, along with data from the Arkansas Department of Education and the National Center for Education Statistics, were analyzed to assess the relationship between policy change and school characteristics (i.e., school level, geographic region, rural/urban status, enrollment, and student-teacher ratio). Descriptive and logistic regression analyses were completed with self-reported policy change as the outcome. Of the 822 surveys (74% response rate), 42% reported at least one policy change. The most frequently reported policy changes included healthier cafeteria options (21%), food sale restrictions (18%), and healthier vending options (16%). Multivariate logistic regression analyses indicated that geographic region (OR=2.32; p=0.01; southwest vs. north) and school enrollment (OR=1.1; p=0.03; per 100 students) were significantly associated with early policy adoption, while being a rural school (OR=1.4; p=0.09) only showed a trend that may need to be further considered. School level was significantly associated with early policy adoption only for elementary schools (OR=1.5; p=0.03; elementary vs. high school); the association between school level and policy change for middle schools was non-significant (OR=1.5; p=0.08; middle vs. high school). Some Arkansas schools are independently making policy changes as they become aware of the childhood obesity epidemic. Additional research to explicate the characteristics of those schools can inform targeted change efforts.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe nutrition policy changes occurring in Arkansas schools
• Identify school characteristics that predict policy change

Keywords: School Health, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No

Recorded presentation