Impact of a School Health Coordinator Intervention on Health-Related School Policies and Student Behavior

• Published in: The Journal of school health 2010-04, Vol.80 (4), p.176-185
• Main Authors: O'brien, Liam M., Polacsek, Michele, MacDonald, Pamela B., Ellis, Jacqueline, Berry, Susan, Martin, Maurice
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Alcohol use; Behavior modification; Child; Child Behavior; Chronic Disease - epidemiology; Chronic Disease - prevention & control; Community Participation; Comprehensive School Health Education; Control Groups; Cross-Sectional Studies; Curriculum; Demographic aspects; Disease prevention; Educational Change; Experimental Groups; Health; Health Behavior; Health behaviour; Health care coalitions; Health education; Health Facility Administrators - organization & administration; Health Policy; Health Programs; Health Promotion; Health Promotion - organization & administration; Humans; Influence; Intervention; Leadership; Logistic Models; Maine; Maine - epidemiology; Models, Organizational; Nursing; Nutrition; nutrition and diet; Partnerships; Physical Activities; Physical activity; physical fitness and sport; policy; Professional Role; Program Effectiveness; Program Evaluation; Public health; Risk; Risk behaviour; Risk factors; Risk-Taking; School based; school health instruction; School Health Services - organization & administration; School Policy; School Surveys; Smoking; smoking and tobacco; Smoking cessation; Student Behavior; Student health services
• ISSN: 0022-4391; 1746-1561
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1746-1561.2009.00484.x

BACKGROUND: Health‐related, school‐based interventions may serve to prevent disease and improve academic performance. The Healthy Maine Partnerships (HMP) initiative funded local school health coordinators (SHCs) as a part of Maine's Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) beginning in January 2001. SHCs established school health leadership teams and implemented annual work plans to address health risk behaviors. This study evaluates the impact of the Healthy Maine Partnerships SHC (HMPSHC) intervention on school policies and student risk behaviors after its first 5 years. METHODS: Data sources include the Maine School Health Profiles Survey and the Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey/Youth Tobacco Survey. Cross‐sectional analyses were performed on 2006 data to assess physical activity, nutrition, and tobacco‐related policy associations with the HMPSHC intervention. Finally, policy and student behavior analyses were conducted to assess associations. RESULTS: Intervention schools were more likely to be associated with physical activity intramural offerings, improved nutritional offerings, and tobacco cessation programs. In intervention schools, supportive school policies were associated with decreased soda consumption, decreased inactivity, and decreased tobacco use. Required school health education curricula were more predictive of decreased risk behavior in intervention schools than in nonintervention schools. CONCLUSIONS: In schools with SHCs, there exists a stronger association with improved school programs. Improved policies and programs were associated with decreases in risk behavior among students in intervention schools. The HMPSHC intervention may be a viable CSHP model to replicate and evaluate in other settings.