Climate change poses a threat to children, who are increasingly vulnerable, depending on adults to protect them from the impacts of these changes including extreme weather events, poor air and water quality and risk to mental health. Children living in poverty carry additional burdens and risks, living in environments that consistently experience…

In seeking an avenue to save money, an urban city made a choice to alter the drinking water for its residents and created a crisis, which all community stakeholders were unprepared to address. The Flint water crisis has been given national attention by celebrities and politicians, but the long-term issues related to families, children, and…

Background: Childhood obesity is a significant but largely "modifiable" health risk, disproportionately affecting socioeconomically disadvantaged, racial/ethnic minority, and rural children. Elementary school-aged children typically experience the greatest increases in excess weight gain and therefore are important targets for reducing…

School-located vaccination has a long history in the United States. The 2008 Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) recommendation for annual influenza vaccination of all children 6 months through 18 years of age adds approximately 30 million individuals to the overall cohort recommended to have a yearly vaccination. The ability to…

Too many California children suffer from high rates of preventable chronic conditions associated with childhood obesity and dental disease. The state is experiencing a crisis in both areas. Fortunately, common factors that contribute to both conditions--including the rates of breastfeeding, access to healthy food and the consumption of…

A holistic approach to promote physical activity should become a high priority if society is to overcome the dramatic increase in physical inactivity and kypokinetic diseases associated with it. In order to achieve this goal, a collective effort is urgently needed if everyone is serious in combating this unhealthy and dangerous trend. Schools as a…

Background: From January through June 2009, 6.1 million children were uninsured in the United States. On average, students with health insurance are healthier and as a result are more likely to be academically successful. Some schools help students obtain health insurance with the help of school nurses. Methods: This study assessed public school…

At the beginning of each school year, the school-nurse coordinator for the 3,000-student Ashland, Oregon, district plans a "parent's night" around the topic of vaccinations for the safety and health of children. That is only the beginning of the school-nurse coordinator's contact with parents who are skeptical about the necessity of…

The fact that today's children are projected to be the first generation in centuries to live sicker and shorter lives than their parents, due to the obesity epidemic, makes it imperative to identify early warning signs in children who may need a more comprehensive health evaluation. The CDC has been tracking the progress of the nation with regard…

The purpose of "Preparing for the Flu: A Communication Toolkit for Schools" is to provide basic information and communication resources to help school administrators implement recommendations from CDC's (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) Guidance for State and Local Public Health Officials and School Administrators for School (K-12)…

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…

This Technical Report includes detailed information on the reasons for the strategies presented in the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) "Guidance for School (K-12) Responses to Influenza During the 2009-2010 School Year" and suggestions on how to use them. The guidance is designed to decrease exposure to regular seasonal flu and 2009 H1N1 flu…

Vaccines are one of the triumphs of modern medicine, relegating many once-fearsome diseases to the history books. Denying access to school has long been the best way to ensure that children get vaccinated, but carrying out any change in immunization policy means a lot of work for school officials. This article discusses the unity of several…

One-third of the population of US children is considered obese and two-thirds of the adult population falls into the same category. These figures have tripled over the last 30 years. This demonstrates that the existing strategies to combat obesity do not work and it is time to look for alternatives. The recommendation is to turn the problem into a…

As knowledge of effective treatments for mental disorders has grown, so too has the field of mental health promotion and positive development. Studies completed during the last two decades have synthesized the state of mental health promotion and documented that universal mental health supports positively affect child and adolescent developmental…