School health and nutrition services
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School-based health and nutrition services are provided through the school system to improve the health and well-being of children and in some cases whole families and the broader community. These services have been developed in different ways around the globe, but the fundamentals are constant: the early detection, correction, prevention or amelioration of disease, disability and abuse from which school aged children can suffer.
Background
It was shown by
It the UK, the post-war
Unesco Tools
Unesco published a set of tools, to support the
United States
School health services are well developed in the United States. Central guidelines are provided by Making Health Academic but each state and within that each
Making Health Academic
This is a five-year project funded by CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health (DASH) designed to enable all schools to be part of a co-ordinated school health program. The project is built around the fact that six preventable behaviours, mainly learned in childhood and youth, account for most of the serious illnesses and premature deaths in the United States.
Examples of existing services
- Massachusetts. An example from a maritime state is [1] where a typical mission statement starts "School Health Services fosters the growth, development and educational achievement of Massachusetts' students by promoting their health and wellbeing ... "
- New Mexico. An example from a southern state is [2] where an interesting "yucca model of coordinated school health" is used to help visualize the inter-relationship of the services.
Relevant US Wikipedia links
- National Assembly on School-Based Health Care
- American School Health Association
United Kingdom
The health of children and youth in the UK is the responsibility of the NHS rather than schools, for example child health screening [3] and advice for parents of overweight children [4]. Free school meals are provided for infants and for children whose families are eligible for many benefits.[3]
Examples of existing services
Morocco
Indicators of school health in Morocco are troublesome. An article by the European Institute of Health Sciences (Institut Européen des Sciences de la Santé) in Casablanca noted that:
- 15% of school children in Morocco (1.25 million) live with chronic medical conditions such as bronchial asthma, allergies, diabetes mellitus, anemia, epilepsy, congenital diseases and cancer.
- 10% to 25% of injuries to children occur while they are in school.
- 85% of infections occurring in school children are transmitted in school.
- 15% of school children develop an emotional or behavioral problem. One third of them will have serious dysfunction.
- Statistics about engagement of Moroccan youth in risky behaviors are alarming.[4]
School health services are traditionally provided by school nurses, but there is a severe shortage of qualified school nurses. The Institute therefore proposes both a one-year specialization program in school nursing designed for registered general nurses and a one-year program for qualifying teachers in providing school health services.
Other countries
School health systems are expanding in low- and middle-income countries. Information on school health in these countries is collated on the Schools and Health website [8] maintained by the Partnership for Child Development. A database of School Health and Nutrition (SHN) Programmes in low and middle income countries can be found on the site:
Examples of existing services
- Australia [9]
- Canada [10]
- Republic of Ireland [11]
- adolescents.[12]
- Singapore [13]
- Pakistan [14]
- India has a non-profit SHARP NGO dedicated to improving the health of Indian school students [15]
History
References
- ^ a b c Reynolds, Francis J., ed. (1921). Collier's New Encyclopedia. New York: P. F. Collier & Son Company. .
- ^ "Focusing Resources on Effective School Health: a FRESH start to enhancing the quality and equity of education - World Education Forum 2000, Final Report". UNESDOC - UNESCO Digital Library. 2001.
- ^ "Apply for free school meals". UK Government. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ Institut Européen des Sciences de la Santé. "Facts about school health in morocco". IESS Maroc. Retrieved 1 August 2014. (not in cited reference)
- ISBN 978-0-8135-6239-1.