Purpose/Objectives: With the purpose of addressing childhood obesity, the U.S. Congress passed the Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act (HHFKA) 2010, which strengthened the mandate and regulations for schools to develop and implement school wellness policies (SWPs) to promote students' health. Transparency and accessibility of SWPs among schools and…

A number of states have taken steps toward promoting student wellness, with many of their state boards of education in the middle of the action. This article contains some examples of states leading on student wellness by addressing physical fitness, social and emotional learning (SEL), and mental health supports. The Every Student Succeeds Act…

In this study, the Rennie Center for Education Research & Policy sought to uncover the ways in which Massachusetts schools and districts support students' behavioral health needs. This study was guided by the following research questions: (1) What are districts doing to integrate social, emotional and behavioral health supports? (2) What are…

Two-thirds of high school students get less than eight to 10 hours of sleep per night according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Sleep deprivation in teens has been linked to poor academic performance, reduced immunity, obesity, ADD-like symptoms, and even drug and alcohol use. For years, experts have said that early school…

Health and education are reciprocally related, and research indicates that unhealthy students are poorly positioned to learn. Providing services that prevent health problems or help students cope with existing health concerns is one way that schools intervene in the relationship between student background and educational outcomes. Providing health…

Background: Curtailing childhood obesity is a public health imperative. Although multicomponent school-based programs reduce obesity among children, less is known about the implementation fidelity of these interventions. This study examines process evaluation findings for the Healthy, Energetic Ready, Outstanding, Enthusiastic, Schools (HEROES)…

Background: Asthma places a heavy burden on Chicago's schoolchildren, particularly in low-income, minority communities. Recently, our group developed a 10-week afterschool program, the Student Asthma Research Team (START), which successfully engaged high school youth in a Photovoice investigation of factors impacting their asthma at school and in…

Female high school athletes are an at-risk population for the Female Athlete Triad--a syndrome including low energy availability (with or without disordered eating), menstrual dysfunction, and low bone mineral density. School nurses can play an important role in reducing the health burden of this syndrome, by educating coaches and athletes, and by…

A literature review was conducted to summarize the impact of school-located influenza vaccination (SLIV) programs on school absenteeism. Seven studies were identified: six peer-reviewed articles and one conference presentation. The number of students vaccinated ranged from 185 to 5,315, representing 35-86% of enrolled students. Six studies…

Given the increased attention on school-based programs to decrease obesity and emphasize fitness among children, there is an alarming lack of attention on health and wellness of school administrators. This study investigated the work-life balance, health, and nutrition status of secondary administrators in one Midwest state using an online survey.…

This study aims to examine the relationship between sleep duration and body mass index (BMI) in two South Korean samples: children and adolescents. Nationally representative secondary data (i.e., the Korean Survey on the Obesity of Youth and Children) collected in 2009 were analyzed ("N" = 2,499 for children and "N" = 7,431 for…

Objective: To examine the relationship between stores selling calorie-dense food near schools and student obesity risk, with the hypothesis that high availability predicts increased risk. Methods: Mail surveys determined height, weight, and calorie-dense food consumption for 552 students at 11 Maine high schools. Driving distance from all food…

Background: In the emerging debate around obesity intervention in schools, recent calls have been made for researchers to include local community opinions in the design of interventions. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is an effective approach for forming community partnerships and integrating local opinions. We used CBPR principles…

Background: Epidemic increases in childhood obesity and associated health risks are resulting in efforts to implement school policies related to nutrition and physical activity (NPA). With multicomponent policy efforts, challenges exist in characterizing the extent of policy change across the breadth of NPA policies. Methods: Aggregated policy…

Objective: In preparation for a pilot study to evaluate the efficacy of a school nurse-delivered intervention, focus groups were conducted to gain insight into the perceptions of stakeholders regarding the design and implementation of the intervention. Setting and Participants: Fifteen focus groups at participating schools. One hundred subjects,…