Healthy Schools Florida.
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ABSTRACT:
SUBMITTER: Bobik CD
PROVIDER: S-EPMC1924951 | biostudies-literature | 2007 Jul
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Publications
Healthy Schools Florida.
Journal of the Medical Library Association : JMLA 20070701 3
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Project description:ObjectiveThis study evaluates the dentists' availability to deliver preventive dental care to children in schools and the impact of school-based programs on access.MethodsThe study population included Florida elementary-school children, differentiated by dental insurance (Medicaid, CHIP, private, or none). We considered the implementation of school-based programs using optimization modeling to (re)allocate the dentists' caseload to schools to meet demand for preventive care under resource constraints. We considered multiple settings for school-based program implementation: (i) school prioritization; and (ii) dentists' participation in public insurance. Statistical inference was used to identify communities to improve access and reduce disparities.ResultsSchool-based programs reduced unmet demand (3%-12%), being more efficient if prioritizing schools in communities targeted to improve access. The access improvement varied by insurance status and geography. Uninsured urban children benefited most from school-based programs, with 15%-75% unmet need reduction. The percentage of urban communities targeted to improve access decreased by 12% against no-school program. Such percentage remained large for suburban (15%-100%) and rural (50%-100%) communities. Disparity in access for public-insured vs. private-insured children persisted under school-based programs (32%-84% identified communities).ConclusionSchool-based programs improve dental care access; the improvement was however different by insurance status, with uninsured children benefiting the most. Accounting to the dentists' availability in prioritizing schools resulted in effective resource allocation to school-based programs. Access disparities between public and private-insured children did not improve; school-based programs shifted resources from public-insured to uninsured. School-based programs are effective in addressing access barriers to those children experiencing them most.
| S-EPMC10006351 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Obesity and overweight are both public health problems, affecting increasingly younger populations. Promoting healthy eating should be a must in schools. Therefore, getting to know the eating habits of a population group as sensitive as adolescents and whether their schools apply an appropriate policy for their nutrition should be a priority. Therefore, the objective of this study was to discover whether the Secondary Education High Schools of Huelva and its province could be considered as centres that promote a healthy diet. A cross-sectional descriptive study was developed using a questionnaire comprising 39 indicators that were evaluated on 5 previously piloted subcategories of validated information. Data were obtained through a questionnaire presented to 200 key informants with four different profiles. The highest score for promoting healthy eating in the centres was related to the subcategory "School Curriculum", whereas the lowest means were those related to the Community category. No practical activities such as outings or cooking workshops were carried out. The low participation in activities promoting healthy eating habits, research and health training must be highlighted. Little attention was paid to compliance and monitoring of school cafeterias. Most of the studied Secondary Education High Schools did not meet the requisites to be considered promoters of healthy eating habits. Only three of the studied centres can be considered healthy-eating promoters. Institutional commitment is needed to favour the intersectorality of the different agents implied and to provide teaching units and other teaching profiles with the necessary resources, training, and tools to achieve integral and protective teaching activities aimed at promoting students' healthy eating habits.
| S-EPMC7400301 | biostudies-literature
Project description:OBJECTIVES:School nutrition policies offer a promising avenue by which to promote healthy eating and reduce the risk of chronic disease. This article reviews policy components that could support healthy eating, examines their evidence base and suggests directions for future research. METHOD:Information was drawn from research and other literature written in English between 1994 and 2008. Guided by recommendations from the World Health Organization, evidence pertaining to five potential components of policies was identified and reviewed: foods available, the food environment, health education, health services and counselling, and family and community outreach. RESULTS:A limited number of evaluations have examined the impact of school nutrition standards and have shown a positive impact on food availability and student nutrient intake. Results have shown that behaviourally focused nutrition education, especially when combined with food services and other initiatives, may affect students' eating habits positively but may not decrease obesity levels. Evidence pertaining to other potential policy subcomponents, such as limiting food marketing in schools, coordinating all food services and providing nutrition-related health services, is limited or lacking. CONCLUSION:Conceptually, comprehensive school nutrition policies comprising all five policy components offer an integrated and holistic approach to school nutrition. They could provide an umbrella to guide all school actions pertaining to nutrition and serve as a framework for accountability. Does conceptualization match reality? Further research is needed to determine how policy components affect implementation and outcomes.
| S-EPMC6974221 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The objective of this study was to establish and investigate a taxonomy of school health among high school students in Ontario, Canada. Data analyzed were based on 3358 9th-12th graders attending 103 high schools who participated in the 2011 Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey. Based on 10 health-related indicators, multilevel latent class analysis was used to extract 4 student-level latent classes and 3 school-level latent classes. Unhealthy schools (19% of schools) had the lowest proportion of healthy students (39%) and the highest proportion of substance-using (31%) and unhealthy (18%) students. Healthy schools (66%) contained the highest proportion of healthy students (56%) and smaller proportions of substance-using (22%) and unhealthy students (8%). Distressed schools (15%) were similar to healthy schools in terms of the proportions of healthy and unhealthy students. Distressed schools, however, were characterized by having the largest proportion of distressed students (35%) and the lowest proportion of substance-using students (4%). Meaningful categories of schools with respect to healthy environments can be identified and these categories could be used for focusing interventions and evaluating school health programs.
| S-EPMC4957574 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The purpose of this study is to report the impact of the three-year middle school-based HEALTHY study on intervention school vending machine offerings. There were two goals for the vending machines: serve only dessert/snack foods with 200 kilocalories or less per single serving package, and eliminate 100% fruit juice and beverages with added sugar. Six schools in each of seven cities (Houston, TX, San Antonio, TX, Irvine, CA, Portland, OR, Pittsburg, PA, Philadelphia, PA, and Chapel Hill, NC) were randomized into intervention (n=21 schools) or control (n=21 schools) groups, with three intervention and three control schools per city. All items in vending machine slots were tallied twice in the fall of 2006 for baseline data and twice at the end of the study, in 2009. The percentage of total slots for each food/beverage category was calculated and compared between intervention and control schools at the end of study, using the Pearson chi-square test statistic. At baseline, 15 intervention and 15 control schools had beverage and/or snack vending machines, compared with 11 intervention and 11 control schools at the end of the study. At the end of study, all of the intervention schools with beverage vending machines, but only one out of the nine control schools, met the beverage goal. The snack goal was met by all of the intervention schools and only one of the four control schools with snack vending machines. The HEALTHY study's vending machine beverage and snack goals were successfully achieved in intervention schools, reducing access to less healthy food items outside the school meals program. Although the effect of these changes on student diet, energy balance and growth is unknown, these results suggest that healthier options for snacks can successfully be offered in school vending machines.
| S-EPMC3655774 | biostudies-literature
Project description:The distribution of food and nutrition policies and practices from 28 US states representing 6,732 secondary schools was evaluated using data from the 2008 School Health Profiles principal survey. School policies and practices evaluated were: availability of low-nutrient, energy-dense (LNED) snacks/drinks; use of healthy eating strategies; banning food marketing; availability of fruits and vegetables; and food package sizes. For each school, school-level demographic characteristics (percentage of students enrolled in free/reduced-price meals, minority enrollment, and geographic location) were also evaluated. Schools in small town/rural locations had significantly fewer policies that support healthy eating strategies and ban food marketing, and were less likely to serve fruits and vegetables at school celebrations, have fruits and vegetables available in vending or school stores, and limit serving-size packages. Schools serving the highest percentage of minority students consistently reported the same or better school food environments. However, schools serving the highest percentage of low-income students had varied results: vending and LNED vending policies were consistently better and fruit and vegetable availability-related policies were consistently worse. Disparities in the distribution of policies and practices that promote healthy school food environments seem most pronounced in small town/rural schools. The data also support the need for continued reinforcement and the potential for expansion of these efforts in urban and suburban areas and schools with highest minority enrollment.
| S-EPMC5563466 | biostudies-other
Project description:BackgroundAlthough successful, assessment of multi-component initiatives (MCIs) prove to be very challenging. Further, rigorous evaluations may not be viable, especially when assessing the impact of MCIs on long-term population-level behavior change (e.g., physical activity (PA) and health outcomes (e.g., childhood obesity). The purpose of this study was to use intensity scoring, to assess whether higher intensity MCIs implemented as part of Healthy Schools Healthy Communities (HSHC) were associated with improved physical activity and reduced sedentary behaviors among youth (dependent variables).MethodsPA-related interventions were assigned point values based on three characteristics: 1) purpose of initiative; 2) duration; and 3) reach. A MCI intensity score of all strategies was calculated for each school district and its respective community. Multivariate longitudinal regressions were applied, controlling for measurement period, Cohort, and student enrollment size.ResultsStrategy intensity scores ranged from 0.3 to 3.0 with 20% considered "higher-scoring" (score > 2.1) and 47% considered "lower-scoring" (< 1.2). Average MCI intensity scores more than tripled over the evaluation period, rising from 14.8 in the first grant year to 32.1 in year 2, 41.1 in year 3, and 48.1 in year 4. For each additional point increase in average MCI intensity score, the number of days per week that students reported PA for at least 60 min increased by 0.010 days (p < 0.01), and the number of hours per weekday that students reported engaging in screen time strategies decreased by 0.006 h (p < 0.05). An increase of 50 points in MCI intensity score was associated with an average 0.5 day increase in number of weekdays physically active and an increase of 55 points was associated with an average decrease of 20 min of sedentary time per weekday.ConclusionsWe found a correlation between intensity and PA and sedentary time; increased PA and reduced sedentary time was found with higher-intensity MCIs. While additional research is warranted, practitioners implementing MCIs, especially with limited resources (and access to population-level behavior data), may consider intensity scoring as a realistic and cost effective way to assess their initiatives. At a minimum, the use of intensity scoring as an evaluation method can provide justification for, or against, the inclusion of an individual strategy into an MCI, as well as ways to increase the likelihood of the MCI impacting population-health outcomes.
| S-EPMC7881474 | biostudies-literature
Project description:IntroductionFew healthy eating, school-based interventions have been rigorously evaluated in American Indian communities. Gardening and healthy eating are priorities in the Navajo Nation. Collaborations between researchers and local partners supported the design and implementation of this project.DesignThe Yéego! Healthy Eating and Gardening Study was a group-randomized controlled trial to evaluate a school-based healthy eating and gardening intervention in 6 schools in the Navajo Nation. Schools were randomized 1:2 to intervention or comparison.Setting/participantsThe Shiprock and Tsaile/Chinle areas in the Navajo Nation were selected. Elementary schools were screened for eligibility. All students in third and fourth grades were invited to participate in the assessments.InterventionDelivered during 1 school year in the intervention schools, the intervention included a culturally relevant nutrition and gardening curriculum and a school garden.Main outcome measuresStudent self-efficacy for eating fruits and vegetables, student self-efficacy for gardening, and student healthy foods score from a modified Alternative Healthy Eating Index were assessed in third and fourth graders at the beginning and end of a school year affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Primary analyses used repeated measures linear mixed models accounting for students nested within schools to estimate the intervention effect and 95% CIs.ResultsStudents in the intervention schools had self-efficacy scores for eating fruits and vegetables that were 0.22 points greater (95% CI=0.04, 0.41) than those in the comparison schools, although the student healthy foods score increased in the intervention schools by 2.0 (95% CI=0.4, 3.6); the differential change was modest at 1.7 (95% CI=-0.3, 3.7). The self-efficacy to grow fruits and vegetables in the school garden increased among those in the intervention schools (OR=1.92; 95% CI=1.02, 3.63) but not significantly more than it increased in the comparison schools (OR=1.29; 95% CI=0.60, 2.81).ConclusionsThe intervention was efficacious in improving self-efficacy for eating fruits and vegetables among third- and fourth-grade students over a school year. The findings warrant further evaluation of the intervention in larger-group randomized trials with schools in Navajo communities.Trial registrationThis study is registered at clinicaltrials.gov NCT03778021.
| S-EPMC10546586 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundPrimary schools have long been identified as appropriate settings for improving the healthy eating behaviours of children and helping them develop food skills. This qualitative study explored the views of Australian primary school parents and teachers about schools' strengths and weaknesses in promoting healthy eating and equipping children with food skills.MethodsNineteen parents and 17 teachers from Victoria participated in semi-structured interviews. Audio recordings were transcribed and underwent thematic analysis using Nvivo.ResultsThis study demonstrated that parents and teachers believed that several facilitators helped promote children's healthy eating. These included food and nutrition education (FNE) programs, the community-based nature of schools, and teacher role modelling and the authority schools possess over children. Time scarcity, lack of teacher expertise, lack of leadership and funding were reported as barriers. School food environments such as canteens, lunch orders, fundraising events and school fairs were identified as both weaknesses and strengths by parents and teachers, which indicated inconsistent implementation of school nutrition policies across schools.ConclusionsAustralian primary schools demonstrate some useful efforts to promote healthy eating among children. However, there are numerous facilitators and barriers which impact on the promotion of healthy eating. These factors need to be addressed in order to develop healthy eating habits further among elementary students. These results provide directions for policymakers and school managers, as they point to the areas that need to be improved to assist the design of schools that better promote healthy eating among children.
| S-EPMC8491384 | biostudies-literature
Project description:BackgroundSchools provide an opportunity for developing strategies to create healthy food environments for children. The present study aimed to analyze the Healthy School Canteen (HSC) policy and identify challenges of its implementation to improve the school food environment in Iran.MethodsThis mixed method study included two qualitative and quantitative phases. In the qualitative phase, triangulation approach was applied by using semi-structured interviews with key informants, documents review and direct observation. Data content analysis was conducted through policy analysis triangle framework. In the quantitative phase, food items available in 64 canteens of primary schools of Tehran province were gathered. The food's nutrient data were evaluated using their nutrition facts label. The number and proportion of foods that met the criteria based on Iran's HSC guideline and the World Health Organization nutrient profile model for the Eastern Mediterranean Region (WHO-EMR) were determined.ResultsThe main contextual factors that affected adoption of HSC policy included health (nutritional transition, high prevalence of non-communicable diseases and unhealthy food environment in and around the schools), political (upstream supportive policies and joint memorandums about health children between the Ministry of Health and Medical Education and Ministry of Education), structural (the lack of unified stewardship, inadequate human resource capacity, poor inter-sectional cooperation), economic (school financial problems, poor fiscal supportive of food policies), and socio-cultural (mothers working outside the home, the role of children's peer group, low nutrition knowledge of school principals) factors. Assessment of the school canteens showed that a large proportion of available foods did not comply with the national guidelines (54.7 ± 2.54%) and WHO-EMR model (85.6 ± 2.34%). The main reasons identified for incomplete implementation of the policy were inadequate physical and economic infrastructure to set up standard school canteens, lack of scientific criteria for food categorization, poor monitoring, high price of healthy foods, and conflict of interest among the actors.ConclusionThe majority of foods and beverages available in the school canteens did not comply with national and regional standards. Iran HSC policy needs to be improved by using an evidence-based approach and active interaction between all key actors.
| S-EPMC8375065 | biostudies-literature