Background: Massachusetts (MA) mandated body mass index (BMI) screening in schools in 2010. However, little is known about pediatricians' views on school-based screening or how the pediatricians' perspectives might affect the school-based screening process. We assessed MA pediatricians' knowledge, attitudes, beliefs, and practices concerning BMI…

School-based health centers (SBHCs) are the "ideal location" for primary care and mental health staff to "collaboratively address students' physical and mental health needs"--leading to greater success in school and in life. This brief document provides key facts that support this argument.

This bnef document describes research and evaluations that have demonstrated that school-based health centers represent cost-effective investments of public resources.

The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) surveys state public health and Medicaid offices every three years to assess state-level public policies and activities that promote the growth and sustainability of school-based health services. The FY2011 survey found 18 states (see map below) reporting investments explicitly dedicated…

Poor academic outcomes and high dropout rates are major concerns of educators, policy makers, and parents alike--and poor health severely limits a child's motivation and ability to learn. Recent research confirms that "health disparities affect educational achievement". Improving students' health is integral to education reform.…

School-based health centers (SBHCs) and school nurses know that healthy students learn better. They share an important mission: providing preventive care for all students they serve, with the goal of keeping students in class learning. They both: (1) Educate students and families about healthy behaviors and nutrition; (2) Enroll students and…

One of today's most pressing public health problems is the rise in childhood overweight and obesity. School-based health centers (SBHCs)--the convergence of public health, primary care, and mental health in schools--represent an important element in the public health toolbox for combating the challenging epidemic. When working side-by-side in a…

The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care's (NASBHC) 2007-2008 Census is the 11th request for data from school-based health centers (SBHCs) since 1986. The Census: (1) provides a better understanding of the role of SBHCs in meeting the needs of underserved children and adolescents; (2) collects relevant trend data on demographics,…

The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care conducted the 2004-05 Census, the tenth count of school-based health centers (SBHCs) since 1986, to: (1) provide a better understanding of the role of SBHCs in meeting the needs of underserved children and adolescents; (2) collect up-to-date data on demographics, staffing services, operations,…

This brief document provides a look at research and evaluations that have demonstrated that school-based health centers represent cost-effective investments of public resources.

The purpose of this position statement is to clarify issues and suggest priorities relating to the documentation of the relationship between school-based health centers (SBHCs) and the academic accomplishments of students. Current national educational policies, such as the No Child Left Behind Act, are increasingly exerting pressure upon schools…

This report outlines the national and state environmental context for the SECCS Initiative in supporting MCH strategic planning in early childhood systems building. This strategic context has implications for roles, relationships, and activities within a planning process and ultimately an implementation process. It summarizes the opportunities and…

The National Assembly on School-Based Health Care (NASBHC) convened a meeting of 23 stakeholders representing a national cross-section of experts in the fields of health and education on April 30, 2004. Among the participants were school health practitioners, educators, researchers, and funders. The meeting's purpose was to clarify and document…

The Fifteenth International Congress on Hygiene and Demography, held in Washington City in the autumn of 1912, was a notable event in the history of sanitation and in the discussion of the conditions of the physical and mental health of the people. The exhibition held in connection with the congress was instructive in many ways, and contained much…

Children spend more time in school than anywhere else with the exception of home. This bulletin provides information to help support healthy and productive school environments for our nation's school children. It contains contributions from American Medical Journals, compiled from the year July, 1914 through July 1915. The following contents are…