The Comprehensive School Health Program: Exploring an Expanded Concept

Abstract

Promoting the health of the school-age child is no easy task. It cannot effectively be accomplished through the singular efforts of an individual, a school, or an agency. Often these groups find themselves duplicating services and competing with each other while working toward a similar goal. What is needed to serve the public effectively is sympathetic cooperation.. . I ince the early 1900s, the school health program has S been conceived to include three components: school health services, school health education, and the school health environment. During the past several decades, society has evolved rapidly. Health problems have changed. So have schools and students.In the early lWs, the major causes of morbidity and mortality largely were infectious agents; today the major causes largely are behaviors. At the end of World War 11, the average school district served 250 students; today it serves 2,500. Students today also are different. Three-quarters of youth now live in urban areas, onehalf of them will spend some part of their childhood with only one parent, more than one-half will have used an illegal drug before graduating from high school, and more than one-half will have engaged in non-marital sexual intercourse by the time they are 18.Nevertheless, the future of young people may be brighter than ever before. As the current leading causes of morbidity and mortality emerged, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, and motor vehicle crashes, health professionals have learned how to diagnose and treat them more effectively. They have learned how behaviors such as tobacco use, consumption of saturated and total fat, failure to use safety belts, contributed to them, and we have learned how to help others avoid behaviors that are pathogenic and adopt behaviors that improve health. We also have learned how health, and certain health-related behaviors, contribute to cognitive performance and educational achievement. As Michael Statement of Purpose The /oumal of School Health. an official publication of the American School Health Association, publishes material related to health promotion in school settings. loumal readership includes administrators, educators, nurses, physicians, dentists. dcntal hygienists, psyrhnlngists, counselors, social workers, nutritionists, dieticians. and other health professionals. These individuals work cooperatively with parents and the community to achieve the common goal of providing children and adolescents with the programs, services, and environment necessary to promote health and to improve learning Contributed manuscripts are considered for publication in the following categories: general articles, research papers, commentaries, teaching techniques, and health service applications. Primary consideration is given to manuscripts related to the health of children and adolescents, and to the health of employees, in public and private pre-schools and child day care centers, kindergartens, elementary schools, middle level schools, and senior high schools. Manuscripts related to colle...

Enabling the Nation's Schools to Help Prevent Heart Disease, Stroke, Cancer, COPD, Diabetes, and other Serious Health Problems

“…[9][10][11] School health programs can be designed specifically to achieve four distinct, but interrelated, goals, to improve: (1) health literacy, (2) health behaviors and health outcomes, (3) educational outcomes, and/or (4) social outcomes. 12 Surveys show that school administrators, parents, students, and the public at large want school health programs; 13,14 and businesses 15 and state legislatures 16 increasingly appreciate the benefits of these programs.…”

Éducation à la santé à l’école : étude des déterminants des pratiques des enseignants du premier degré

“…Il s'agit bien de ressources et non d'un programme comprenant une succession de séquences à mettre en place (Jourdan, 2009). Ce dispositif s'inscrivait dans la perspective des programmes globaux de santé à l'école (Allensworth et Kolbe, 1987 ;Allensworth, Wyche, Lawson et Nicholson, 1995 ;Deschesnes, Martin et Jomphe Hill, 2003). Compte tenu du renouvellement des enseignants dans les écoles, des formations spécifiques à destination des nouveaux arrivants dans les écoles étaient programmées en complément du dispositif de base.…”

Obesity prevention in low socioeconomic status urban African-American adolescents: study design and preliminary findings of the HEALTH-KIDS Study

“…Our intervention program is designed and being carried out according to several behavior theories. The 'Social Cognitive Theory (SCT)' (Bandura, 1986) and the 'TTI' (Flay and Petraitis, 1994) serve as the core of the theoretical framework and link together the principles and strategies from other behavior theories and models including the comprehensive school health program model (CSHPM) (Allensworth and Kolbe, 1987), cultural sensitivity (Resnicow et al, 1999), and social marketing theory (Glanz et al, 2002). We highlight the TTI and the CSHPM.…”

“…The CSHPM. The model initially was developed by Allensworth and Kolbe (1987), and is very useful in guiding schoolbased intervention efforts, and has been widely accepted in the field (Centers for Disease Control andPrevention, 1996, 1997;Story, 1999). This model is also recommended by the CDC for school-based intervention programs to promote life-long HEPA habits -'the CDC coordinated school health program model' (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 1996, 1997.…”