COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL HEALTH EDUCATION

COMMUNITY LEVEL
ACTION SHEET

American Academy of Pediatrics
Section on School Health and Subcommittee on CSHE

THE CHARGE: Comprehensive school health education (CSHE) begins at the local level. Too many of our children and their families have unhealthy lifestyles. Health education that is sequential, comprehensive, and provided preschool through high school is required if we plan to equip children with the skills and knowledge to be healthy, whole individuals. Parents and pediatricians are key to successful implementation at the local level.

THE BACKGROUND: It is clear that unhealthy lifestyles account for more than 50% of early mortality of our children. It is also intuitively obvious that single interventions cannot change these lifestyles. Issues such as violence, low self-esteem, smoking, drug abuse, and suicide, need consistent, persistent educational efforts to alter these undesired outcomes. The American Cancer Society (ACS) sponsored a Gallup Poll of school health education in 1994. The results showed strong support for CSHE by parents, students, and school administrators. More than 80% of each group said that health education was of equally or more important than other academic subjects. Who better to lead the efforts to promote health than pediatricians? By collaboration with parents, educators, students, and community leaders, we can make a difference. The following actions should help you through the process to promote better health through comprehensive school health education.

SPECIFIC ACTIONS: Pediatricians cannot make these changes alone. Identify and links with other groups working on health education in your community. Work as a team in this process.

__ Identify and contact local school district health education coordinators. Learn the type of health education occurring in schools, who makes health education decisions, and who in the school district is interested in health education (eg, school nurses or administrators).

__ Develop or join a school health council or advisory board under the auspices of the school district. Ask the superintendent or school board to authorize a council or advisory board that inlcudes members whom have an interest in promoting health education, e.g., physicians, school nurses, dentists, psychologists, parents, the Parent Teacher Association (PTA), teachers (particularly health), child advocates, business leaders, and health promotion groups (eg, ACS, American Lung Association).

__ Encourage parents to find out what their children are being taught about health at school, and enlist their support for CSHE. PTA pamphlets called "Healthy Children, Successful Students" are an excellent resource to give out to parents.

__ Enlist local media to inform them of child health concerns. Once they are informed, ask them to support the school health council recommendations for CSHE.

__Organize a needs assessment to define local health issues. Local data have more meaning to local communities. Assess problems such as smoking rates, drug use, teen pregnancy, suicide, and violence. Call the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) program for models (several have already been developed) and potential funding to help complete your local needs assessment.

__Consider being a school medical advisor to develop support within the school's administrative structure. This can be rewarding and helpful in promoting attainment of CSHE goals.

__Contact the chairperson of your AAP chapter's school health committee. This person can connect you with other pediatricians in your state working at the local level. You can learn from their experience.

__The ACS has published national standards for CSHE. These will be useful to you. A copy can be obtained from the ACS and is part of the AAP legislation packet on CSHE, available through the AAP Division of State Government Affairs. The ACS has also published Gallup Poll results of parents and administrative opinion on CSHE. It is available from the above resource.

RESOURCES:

American Academy of Pediatrics (800/433-9016)

• AAP State legislative packet on School Health Education (ask for the Division of State Government Affairs). Any AAP members can receive one free. This product is excellent and a MUST-it contains the ACS Gallup Poll and health education standards.
• CATCH Program in the Department of Community Pediatrics
• Committee on School Health
• Section on School Health and its Subcommittee on CSHE

American Cancer Society (404/320-3333) - A state CSHE coordinator and task force should be in place in each state.

Association for the Advancement of Health Education (703/476-3437)

National School Board Association (703/838-6722) - Several publications are available on CSHE.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health (770/488-5327)-Good resource and up-to-date information. The Division is developing CSHE guidelines and has copies of a state-specific Youth Risk Behavior Survey.

American School Health Association (216/678-1601)

State and National PTAs (National PTA: 312/670-6782; Catalog Office: 312/549-3253)