CDC Says School Health
Programs Reach Students
Excerpt By Emma Hitt, PhD, Reuters Health

ATLANTA (Reuters Health) - School health programs have become more firmly established and widespread since 1994, according to a report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

``More than 95% of 5- to 17-years-olds are enrolled in school,'' CDC researchers note. Therefore, they explain, schools are the only public institutions that can reach nearly all youth, and are in a unique position to help young people improve their health. paraphrase end of release

The report is based on a nationwide study conducted during the spring of 2000. The CDC evaluated eight aspects of school health programs, including health education, physical education, health services and mental health and social services.

According to the report, more than 80% of school districts required their schools to teach some form of health education; however, the amount of health education decreased for children in higher grades.

``This is unfortunate because tobacco use and physical inactivity increase as kids go through school,'' the CDC's Dr. Laura Kann told Reuters Health. ``The report showed that there are some good things and less than good things that are going on nationwide.''

One of the good things, Kann said, is that the percentage of schools with a tobacco-free environment nearly doubled, from 36% to 64% since 1994. Moreover, the report indicates that the proportion of school districts requiring schools to teach tobacco use prevention increased from 83% in 1994 to 92% in 2000.

The number of states requiring schools to teach violence prevention increased as well, from 38% in 1994 to 61% in 2000, as did training for teachers on how to teach violence prevention.

But the study also found that only 8% of elementary schools and 6% of middle/junior and senior high schools required daily physical education for the entire school year, and only about half of all schools offered intramural activities or physical activity clubs.

Also, only about half the schools had the recommended number of nurses available. But many schools offered mental health counseling, even though few states or districts had policies about it, according to the report.

And although schools did provide the opportunity for students to eat healthily, 98% of senior high schools had vending machines or snack bars that sold unhealthy snacks and soft drinks, the CDC report.

``School health programs not only make kids healthier, but they can also improve academic performance as well,'' Kann pointed out.

She added, ``Parents are the primary role model for their children, and all school programs, including health programs, benefit from parental involvement, so the more parents can be involved, the better.''

Reference Source 89

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