Coordinated School Health

Amid a nationwide effort to promote healthier eating, participation in the nonprofit National Farm to School Program is increasing, USA Today reports. The program, which aims to bring locally grown produce to school cafeterias, has grown from six local efforts in 1997 to nearly 2,000 programs in 39 states today, involving roughly 11,000 of the nation's 124,000 public and private K-12 schools. For the full USA Today article, check out the following link
http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2008-03-23-farm-food-schools_N.htm

The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports last week launched its National President's Fitness Challenge, the Washington Post reports. Targeting Americans six and older, the new challenge calls on residents to be active at least 30 minutes per day, five days per week. For the full Washington Post article, check out the following link http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/20/AR2008032001027.html?sid=ST2008032401117

Coordinated School Health Programs and Academic Achievement: A Systematic Review of the Literature

Paper by Murray, Low, Cross, Davis, Hollis, Adetunji (Journal of School Health, November 2007). This report examines how school health program interventions that fit within the eight Coordinated School Health Program (CSHP) components improve academic success among students. The authors conclude that school health programs hold promise for improving academic outcomes for students.

Please visit the following link for the full text article: http://www.cdc.gov/Healthyyouth/health_and_academics/publications.htm

CDC Launches Health Education Web Tool for Schools

CDC's Centers and Divisions have developed a wide variety of science-based and other instructional materials that can help schools enhance existing health education curriculum and instruction. CDC's School Health Education Resources (SHER) is a unique, user-friendly web tool that consolidates these resources in one convenient location. SHER helps Pre-K-12 classroom teachers, school nurses, counselors, curriculum directors, and school administrators easily locate CDC's instructional resources. For more information on SHER, visit http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/SHER Attn: Non-MDH link

2006 School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS)

The School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS) 2006, conducted by CDC and published in the October 2007 issue of the Journal of School Health, is the largest and most comprehensive study of health policies and programs in the nation's schools. SHPPS is a national survey conducted every six years to assess school health policies and programs at the state, district, school, and classroom levels. For more information about SHPPS 2006, including fact sheets that summarize study highlights and a summary of state education agency policies, visit www.cdc.gov/SHPPS Attn: Non-MDH link

New HIV Resource Guides Available

This latest edition of the MAP AIDSLine HIV Resource Guide helps you find the information you need when:

You want to reduce your or your partner's risk of getting HIV
You are newly diagnosed with HIV, and you want to know what help is available in Minnesota
You have been diagnosed for a while, but you are just now
looking for services, or you are needing services you did not need in the past
You need HIV or STD testing and need to know where to get teste
You are a care provider who works with people needing HIV
prevention, health care or social services

You can order the new edition of the MAP AIDSLine HIV Resource Guide online at MAP's homepage http://www.mnaidsproject.org Attn: Non-MDH link

2005 Report on Minnesota Adolescents: STD, HIV, and Pregnancy

This report examines sexual behavior, contraception use, bacterial STDs, HIV/AIDS, teen pregnancy, disparities and risk and protective factors as they relate to the health of Minnesota's adolescent population. [more...]