For additional resources on these topics and others related to school health
education and services, visit the School Health Program Web site at
www.dshs.state.tx.us/schoolhealth
Quote to Note:
“Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal.”
Henry Ford, founder of Ford Motor Co.
Conferences, Trainings and Professional Development:
10th National Conference on Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Prevention – August 25–27, 2009
This conference, to be held in New Orleans, LA and conducted by the National Children’s Advocacy Center, will discuss child sexual abuse prevention, intervention and treatment. Workshop topics include mobilizing communities to prevent child sexual abuse, developing and disseminating prevention messages, identifying perpetrators of abuse and promoting Internet safety. Early registration deadline is August 1, 2009. For more information and to register, visit
www.nationalcac.org/professionals/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=121&Itemid=129.
Physical Education:
Study: Sports help children resist smoking, but movies have a big impact
Playing team sports reduces the likelihood children will smoke; but that benefit is trumped by the detrimental influence of smoking in movies, study data found. The study, published this month in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, showed that those who didn't play sports were twice as likely to become smokers as those who did, but both groups were equally affected by exposure to smoking in movies. Read more at http://news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20090706/hl_hsn/teamsportscantcompetewithfilmstokeepkidsfromsmoking.
Health Services:
August is Children's Eye Health and Safety Month
This campaign, conducted by Prevent Blindness America, disseminates materials for parents and children about eye problems, getting professional eye care and preventing eye injuries. The “Play it Safe!” collection materials teach parents to avoid thousands of eye accidents that children five and under have each year. For information, go to
www.preventblindness.org/safety.
Counseling and Mental Health Services:
Health Status and Behavioral Outcomes for Youth Who Anticipate a High Likelihood of Early Death
researchers found that one in seven adolescents believe that it is highly likely that they will die before age 35, and this belief predicted that the adolescents’ would engage in risky behaviors. Those who engaged in risky behaviors such as illicit drug use, suicide attempts, fighting or unsafe sexual activity in the first year were more likely in subsequent years to believe they would die at a young age. Vice versa, those who predicted that they’d die young during the first interview were more likely in later years to begin engaging in these same risky behaviors and have poor health outcomes. To read the report, go to www.pediatrics.org/cgi/content/full/124/1/e81.
Behavioral Risk for Pregnancy in High School Students
Between 2003 and 2007, the progress made in the 1990s and early 2000s in improving teen contraceptive use and reducing teen pregnancy and childbearing stalled, and may even have reversed among certain groups of teens, according to Changing Behavior Risk for Pregnancy Among High School Students in the United States, 1991-2007. To read the article, go to www.guttmacher.org/pubs/journals/reprints/Behavioral_Risk_Santelli_JAH.pdf.
Book on Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People
Mental health and substance use disorders among children, youth and young adults are major threats to the health and the well-being of younger populations which often carry over into adulthood.Preventing Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Disorders Among Young People updates a 1994 Institute of Medicine book, Reducing Risks for Mental Disorders, focusing special attention on the research base and program experience with younger populations that has emerged since that time. Find out how to access the book at http://books.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=12480&utm_medium=etmail&utm_source=National%20Academies%20Press&utm_campaign=NAP+mail+new+06.16.09&utm_content=Downloader&utm_term.
Nutrition Services and Education:
FRAC Releases New Report on Childhood Hunger
Yesterday, the Food Research and Action Center (FRAC) released an analysis of the steps needed for the nation to reach President Obama's goal of ending childhood hunger by 2015. To read the report titled "Ending Childhood Hunger by 2015: The Essential Strategies for Achieving the President's Goal," go to http://frac.org/news/2015.htm.
2010 Youth Garden Grants Program – Deadline: November 2, 2009
The National Gardening Association and The Home Depot provide Youth Garden Grants to schools and community organizations with child-centered garden programs. For more information, go to www.kidsgardening.com/YGG.asp.
Report: Healthy lunch may improve students' behavior
British students who ate healthy school lunches in comfortable dining rooms were 18% more likely to concentrate on and engage in learning afterward, according to research. That could make classes held after lunch run more smoothly with less misbehavior, researchers said. Read more at www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jul/08/school-lunches-pupil-concentration.
Safe and Healthy School Environment:
National Teen Driver Safety Week: Ride Like A Friend/ Drive Like You Care – October 18-24, 2009
Ride Like A Friend/ Drive Like You Care (RLAF), a peer-to-peer school-based initiative, was developed by The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and piloted in two Pennsylvania schools during 2008 National Teen Driver Safety Week. RLAF, the major program of the 2009 National Teen Driver Safety Week, encourages driver and passenger behaviors that reduce crash risk: wearing a seat belt; minimizing distractions and respecting the driver.
For more information and to join the RLAF Network, visit http://stokes.chop.edu/programs/youngdriver/registration/rlaf/index.php. To prepare for the 2009 observance, visit www.ridelikeafriend.com/organizer.
Comprehensive Policies, Reports, Research and Resources:
Review Presents a National Health Profile of Adolescents and Young Adults
This review presents a compelling case for strengthening policies, practices and programs to improve health during adolescence and young adulthood; as stated in an article published in the July 2009 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health. During adolescence, young people are increasingly independent, taking greater responsibility for habits and initiating adult behaviors that influence health and entails significant transition. Many navigate this transition successfully, but those who rely heavily on institutional support face greater risk of poor outcomes. Given the complex health issues of these transitional ages and their implications for long-term health, it is critical to monitor adolescent and young adult health. The article presents a profile of national health trends for adolescents and young adults (ages 10-24) and updates data from a 2006 review of young adult health. The abstract is available at www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(09)00124-4/abstract.
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