Background: To monitor school health practices in the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) developed a system of surveys called School Health Profiles (Profiles). Although Profiles has been conducted biennially since 1996, the release of the 2022 data is the first time results will be available via Profiles Explorer, an interactive online tool.

Methods: Profiles surveys were conducted by education and health agencies among representative samples of middle and high schools in 45 states, 28 school districts, two territories, and one tribe. Data were collected from principals and lead health education teachers through paper-and-pencil mail surveys or web-based surveys. State-level data from 45 states and the District of Columbia were aggregated (n=9,706 principals; n=8,747 teachers) and weighted to provide nationwide estimates.

Results: Nationwide, 48% of schools required students to take 2 or more health education courses. Twenty-five percent had a written plan for providing opportunities for student physical activity and 58% did not sell unhealthy foods and beverages at school. More than half of schools (52%) had a school health council. Fewer than half of schools (48%) had a gay/straight alliance and 67% had a full-time registered nurse, though the percentage of schools reporting these practices varied widely across states.

Conclusions: Profiles revealed both strengths and weaknesses in school health programs nationwide. Profiles data can be used to compare results across jurisdictions, plan and monitor programs, identify professional development needs, and support health-related policies and legislation.

Background

Students consume most of their daily calories at school, indicating that school meal programs have a significant impact on student dietary quality and serve as an ideal intervention site. School districts are continually innovating to strengthen programming, such as transitioning to a scratch-cook model, and collaborating with other districts for training, buying power, and peer learning.

Description

Community partners in Western Nevada County, California, supported 8 school districts to develop a Joint Powers Authority (JPA), allowing unified leadership under a one Executive Food Service Director, staff training, production consolidation, and an intentional focus on fresh/whole ingredients for scratch-made menu options. Approximately 7,500 students are impacted daily by this innovative county-wide collaborative model. The evaluation of the model utilized key informant interviews and operational data to describe lessons learned and project outcomes.

Lessons Learned

The formation of the JPA required relationship building, planning, and group consensus. This multi-year process took longer than expected and would have benefited from a dedicated coordinator from the beginning. Once the JPA was formed, recruitment and selection of the Executive Food Service Director also took longer than expected, which could have been expedited with an earlier agreement on collaborative funding strategies.

Implications

This unique model has resulted in many lessons learned and shareable templates that will be discussed in this presentation. The transition to a consolidated production model with a focus on scratch menu items will impact food quality and increase student exposure to whole/fresh ingredients. Other communities could benefit from replicating this model.

School recess is not merely a break from academic rigor; it is a cornerstone of childhood development, fostering physical health, social skills, and emotional well-being. Research highlights the positive impact of regular physical activity on children's physical health, including reduced risk of obesity, improved cardiovascular health, and enhanced motor skills. Moreover, these policies are instrumental in ensuring equitable access to quality recess experiences for all students, regardless of socioeconomic background or geographic location. Nationally, it is recognized that most elementary schools provide at least 20 mins of recess per day. Nevertheless, there are regional and economic disparities that need to be addressed.

Through the utilization of Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child Model, It's Time Texas School Capacity Building works closely with Rio Grande Valley school districts to implement policy, systems and environmental changes to improve the health of the school community. Using a step-by-step assessment, school districts are supported in assessing their current local school wellness policies and developing action plans to adapt and/or enhance policies. What has become apparent is the need for enhanced school recess policies. The importance of building trust, having school community buy-in, and developing strong community partnerships have been a cornerstone to this project.

Learn about how It’s Time Texas is influencing policy, systems and environmental changes in the Rio Grande Valley to ultimately create healthier communities.

BACKGROUND: Various professionals within schools are considered trusted/reliable sources from which students may acquire health information. Health educators and school nurses may work conjointly to provide medically accurate/developmentally appropriate health information about various topics, including sexual health.

METHODS: This study investigates collaborative language found in state-mandated health education standards ([HES] grades K-12) and school nursing standards/guidelines [NG]. Standards were collected from all 50 states and the District of Columbia. A single researcher performed a contextual content analysis [CCA], determining the presence of collaborative language across standards regarding health education efforts and sexual health education topics. A relational content analysis [RCA] was also performed to examine identified collaborative language and sexual health topics.

RESULTS: The CCA indicated a lack of collaborative language in both HES and NG. Only 20 of 51 HES examined referred to “school nurse”, 16 mentioned “nurse”, and just 6 explicitly suggested working with school nurses to meet requirements. Of the 51 NG analyzed, only 7 mentioned “health teacher[educator]” and just 13 explicitly referenced sexual health education. The RCA for HES identified an interrelation between nurses/school nurses and “helpers” (resources/persons aiding in task completion). However, RCA among NG identified interrelatedness between sexual health education efforts and school nurses as effective educators (i.e., planning/implementing/teaching).

CONCLUSIONS: Results indicate increased alignment across HES and NG is needed. Health educators and school nurses are often tasked with fulfilling health education in school settings, particularly within the WSCC model. Greater attention should also be given to improving professional collaboration within sexual health education.

Introduction/Background: Recent research revealed that only one quarter of U.S. 6-12 graders who attempted purchasing tobacco and e-cigarette products were refused sale, whereas retailers lack training for prevention of underage sales. This analysis examined if retailers’ underage sales violations are associated with distance to the nearest public school and its characteristics.

Methods: Data for tobacco retailer’s underage sales violations and public schools were obtained from Food and Drug Administration and National Center for Education Statistics, respectively. Buffer analysis in geographic information systems (GIS) was utilized for estimating the distance from each retail store to the nearest school. Binomial generalized linear models were used for analyses.

Results: Of the 38,152 retail stores which had compliance checks accompanied by a minor during 5 months of the current fiscal year (10/2023-02/2024), 15.88% violated underage sales regulations, resulting in 4.16% monetary penalties and 11.72% warnings. The mean distance to the nearest school was 1.23 miles (median=0.53; range=0.01-24.99). Retailer violations were associated with proximity to the nearest school (B=0.04; Z=6.34; p<0.0001), school poverty estimated as percent students receiving free/reduced-price lunch (B=0.41; Z=–9.81; p<0.0001) and the highest grade (B=0.01; Z=2.21; p=0.027) but were not associated with the student/teacher ratio.

Conclusion: Retailer violations increased with the nearest school’s proximity, poverty, and students’ age, indicating that tobacco retailers need an attitudinal shift and more training on prevention of underage sales. Despite greater transportation options available for youth, school proximity remains important in targeted programming. The “Whole School, Whole Community, Whole Child” model is necessary for breaking the vicious cycle of addiction.

Background: Idaho’s youth aged 12-17 rank 42nd in depression and 40th in suicide as compared to other US states. Even before the pandemic, young people in Idaho completed suicide at higher rates than the national average. Incorporating youth voices is essential when it comes to creating change around their mental health risk and protective factors while supporting their needs.

Methods: Focus groups (n=10) were conducted with over 50 Idaho youth representing middle & high school students to understand their perceptions of their mental health and stress, and what their school and community can do to help them. Consensual thematic analysis was conducted to determine the major themes that emerged.

Results: Three themes emerged: 1) Young people would like a safe space in their communities where they can just be young people, hang out with their peers, and receive accurate education about mental health that is outside of their school system, 2) Young people’s mental health is impacted greatly by the adults around them, their behaviors, and economic inequalities faced in their community, and 3) Young people repeatedly reported feeling isolated or lonely and need support to build relationships with their peers through community efforts and learning about their inner-self.

Conclusions: Communities need to consider the best methods to support young people in their efforts to address mental health. Opportunities include providing a safe community space in which youth can gather and learn about their mental health and provide structured activities to increase their social connection.

Background

Establishing positive health trajectories begins early; yet early childhood is overlooked in health research. Health disparities have early childhood roots through systemic and structural bias and discrimination. Preschool expulsion rates are 3.5x higher than K-12 and are disproportionately higher in disabled(14.5x) and Black(2.5x) children. Suboptimal trajectories are difficult to shift later in development, making early childhood ideal for interventions for children and teachers.

Method

3 teachers completed baseline reports about 31 preschoolers, including demographic characteristics, disability status, Preschool Expulsion Risk Measure(PERM), the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale(STRS), and open-ended items about what makes teaching children more/less enjoyable. Children were ages 3- 5(Mage=3.9, SD=0.70): 18(58%) female; 11(35%) Black, 4(13%) Hispanic, and 13(41%) White. Teachers identified 8(25.8%) children with a disability. Independent samples t-tests assessed group differences. Content analysis was conducted on open-ended responses.

Results

Teacher reports were less favorable for children with disabilities(N=8) relative to those without(N=23). Scores were higher for the full PERM scale (p<0.01) and 4 subscales (disruption p<0.08, fear p<0.05, hopeless p<0.06, stress p<0.001). Teachers’ STRS ratings were lower for closeness(p<0.05) and higher for conflict(p<0.01) when reporting about children with disabilities. Racial-ethnic group differences were non-significant. Qualitative responses revealed tantrums and uncontrollable/unpredictable behavior make teaching less enjoyable whereas how children challenge teachers in ways that promote their learning made teaching more enjoyable.

Conclusions

Prevention and intervention programs implications, including social emotional learning programs to promote the whole child model will be discussed. Mitigating teacher bias may improve child health outcomes and foster a more equitable early childhood educational system.

Empowering Parents for Students’ Success is a community-based participatory, culturally relevant school health program designed to improve mental health literacy, reduce stigma, and promote wellness for parents of children attending Broward County Public Schools in Florida.

Methods: Online synchronous parent sessions were offered monthly by licensed mental health professionals throughout the school year in topics related to child and youth mental health, social and emotional behavioral health, and academic success. Between the three languages offered (Haitian-Creole; Portuguese, and Spanish) there have been over 1000 attendees combined since the beginning of the program. Quality improvement interviews were conducted at the end of 2020, 2021 and 2022, via participant interviews. Data was summarized and analyzed via evaluation criteria (success of the program, roadblocks/challenges, modifications/corrections, improvements to the program).

Results: Overall, participants were satisfied with the quality of content, facilitation and delivery of information, and communications relating to the program. Monthly sessions gave parents an opportunity to have a sense of community during a global pandemic. Due to the benefits of social connectedness, sessions were lengthened by 30 minutes. The most important aspect was the capability of providing the program in the parent’s native language.

Conclusion: This program provided immigrant parents valuable information, tools, and resources on how to communicate with their children regarding mental health and promote mental wellness with their families. In a goal towards wellness, we acknowledge that the socio-ecological model plays an important role in the health outcomes of children.

Background: Girls’ health and educational outcomes in Niger are among the world’s weakest, with daunting levels of child marriage and early childbearing, along with elevated school dropout rates. Lumière des Filles et des Femmes (LFF), a Nigerien NGO, runs a safe-spaces program for girls ages 10-13 for the final two years of primary school to improve girls’ autonomy and well-being. Program interventions include 36 mentored twice-weekly safe-spaces sessions covering literacy, numeracy, and life skills (reproduction, communication, negotiation, and social relationships).

Methods: Using a pre-/post-test evaluation approach, LFF selected 38 intervention (n=966) and control schools (n=792) from a pool of 76 rural, lower-performing primary schools in 4 peri-urban Maradi communes. We compare literacy and numeracy test scores, school dropout rates, end-of-year government exam scores, and secondary school enrollment rates using Wilcoxon rank-sum tests and chi-squared tests.

Results: Compared to the control group, second-year intervention girls at endline had significantly lower school dropout rates (0.1% vs. 14%, 𝝌2(2, n=266) =11.7, p>0.01), higher secondary school entrance exam passage rates (85% vs. 46%, 𝝌2(2, n=125) =22.6, p>0.001), and higher secondary school enrollment rates (94% vs. 73%, 𝝌2(2, n=88) =7.4, p>0.01). In addition, they had significantly greater improvements in literacy and math scores (191% vs. -16%, Z=-30.71, p<0.001 ).

Conclusion: Working in a region with Niger’s weakest social outcomes, LFF’s in-school safe spaces program shows promise for interrupting generational patterns of illiteracy and improving life outcomes. LFF is expanding this intervention to other schools and advocating for its regional adoption and institutionalization.