(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service) Farm to school nutrition programs are emerging in many countries as the next innovative approach to healthy eating. Three articles in Issue #4, 2012 of Childhood Obesity provide excellent analyses, along with others on school salad bars, school gardens and the elimination of processed foods by cooking from scratch in schools. All of these are good but in this commentary, we want to illustrate how narrow our focus can become, even when we use evidence-based logic models and behaviour theory. One article in this journal issue presents an excellent linear logic model that correctly depicts the multiple inputs, processes, outputs and outcomes associated with FtoS programs. As well, the model correctly seeks to take local context and feedback loops within the social system of the school and community into account. In summary, the paper presents one of the better linear logic models that we have seen. But here is the rub: what about the complexity of the school-neighbourhood-family setting and the competition from the many, many other school programs also entering that same context? If we do consider these things, then program innovations like this can become pretty academic pretty quickly. Read more

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service) As with many other behaviours, healthy eating is a social construction that is built differently by different people. As we design education and information campaigns, we need to address those different understandings and perceptions. An article in Issue #4, 2012 of the Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior draws from several qualittative research sources to describe how people perceive and act upon the idea of healthy eating.  The researchers found studies emphasized a social constructionist approach, and most used focus groups and/or individual, in-depth interviews to collect data. Study participants explained healthy eating in terms of food, food components, food production methods, physical outcomes, psychosocial outcomes, standards, personal goals, and as requiring restriction. Researchers described meanings as specific to life stages and different life experiences, such as parenting and disease onset. Identity (self-concept), social settings, resources, food availability, and conflicting considerations were themes in participants’ explanations for not eating according to their ideals for healthy eating. The researchers noted that the implications of these findings are that people interpret healthy eating in complex and diverse ways that reflect their personal, social, and cultural experiences, as well as their environments. Their meanings include but are broader than the food composition and health outcomes considered by scientists. The rich descriptions and concepts generated by qualitative research can help practitioners and researchers think beyond their own experiences and be open to audience members’ perspectives as they seek to promote healthy ways of eating. Read more.. 

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #3, 2012 of Educational Administration Quarterly provides advice that many of us should take to heart before we re-invent yet another model or framework on school health promotion. Using meta-analytic review techniques, this study synthesized the results of 79 unpublished studies about the nature of transformational school leadership (TSL) and its impact on the school organization, teachers, and students. This corpus of research associates TSL with 11 specific leadership practices. These practices, as a whole, have moderate positive effects on a wide range of consequential school conditions. They also have moderately strong and positive effects on individual teachers’ internal states, followed by their influence on teacher behaviors and collective teachers’ internal states. TSL has small but significant positive effects on student achievement. Now here is the kicker...The authors also state that: "Among the conclusions arising from the study is that several of the most widely advocated models of effective educational leadership actually include many of the same practices. Conclusions: More attention by researchers, practitioners, and researchers needs to be devoted to the impact of specific leadership practices and less to leadership models"  Read More..

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service) Another example of the use of an evidenced-based implementation plan appears in Issue #4, 2012 of Preventing School Failute, where it is used to assess implementation quality in the application of the Positive Behavior Support approach and multi-intervention program. This article describes the procedures and utility of the Benchmarks of Quality as part of a comprehensive evaluation plan to assess the universal level of implementation fidelity of behavior support for a school. However, results can also be examined to determine the level of implementation fidelity across a district or state for ongoing behavioral training and technical assistance planning. A recent factor analysis and validation of various administration techniques has changed the content of the instrument and are discussed. The purpose of this article is to describe how practitioners can use the Benchmarks of Quality from administration to analysis and eventually to corrective action planning in addressing behavior successfully across individual schools and districts.  Read more..

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service) An article in the July 2012 issue of the Canadian medical Association Journal provides an update on the reforms being considered by the World Health Organization in regard to its programs, funding and structures. The need for WHO to become more transparent, focused on results, accountable and effective was agreed upon by delegates to the 65th annual meeting of the World Health Assembly from May 21–26 in Geneva, Switzerland. The governing body also laid out five priorities for future WHO activity: communicable diseases; noncommunicable diseases; health through the life-course; health systems; and preparedness, surveillance and response. “All delegates emphasized that WHO should increase its focus on the social, economic and environmental determinants of health,” states a summary of discussions forwarded to CMAJ by WHO. Read More..

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service)  An article from Issue #3, 2012 of the Journal of School Violence describes the lessons learned from recent school shootings in the US. This article describes a crisis response framework based on the authors' first-hand experience following three Colorado school shootings. During each crisis response, one or more of the authors joined school and/or district crisis teams, providing direct assistance and leadership. The authors' experiences helped guide subsequent responses and assisted teams in better meeting the impacted school's needs. Lessons learned are shared with the intent of organizing and improving school-based crisis response to extreme acts of school violence. Read more..

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service)  Despite the fact that health education, along with "personal and social development" education is most often combined with career or economic education in most secondary school curricula, the health journals and web sites are often devoid of any discussion about career and life planning education. Several articles in Summer 2012 Issue of New Directions for Youth Development could help to fill that void. the articles present a framework for understanding the development of career aspiration in students, the implications of part time work while still ion school, the current state of the art of career education, various program models, partnerships with local businesses, research issues and more. Read more.. 

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service)  A study reported in Issue #4, 2012 of the Journal of Alcohol & Drug Studies examined municipal policies as well as community norms and perceived norms on adolescent alcohol use. Eight policies (conditional use permit, social host ordinance, window/billboard advertising) were rated for each city. Local enforcement was based on grants received from the California Control agency for enforcement of underage drinking laws. Outlet density was based on the number of on- and off-premise outlets per roadway mile. Level of adult alcohol use was ascertained from a survey of 8,553 adults and underage drinking (frequency of past-year alcohol use and heavy drinking) from surveys of 1,312 adolescents in 2009 and 2010. Mediating effects of adolescents' perceived ease of obtaining alcohol, perceived enforcement, and perceived acceptability of use also were examined. None of the eight local alcohol-policy ratings were associated with adolescent drinking. Funding for underage drinking enforcement activities was inversely related to frequency of past-year alcohol use. Outlet density and adult drinking were positively related to both past-year alcohol use and heavy drinking. These relationships were attenuated when controlling for perceived ease of obtaining alcohol, enforcement, and acceptability of alcohol use, providing evidence for mediation. Conclusions: Adolescent alcohol use and heavy drinking appear to be influenced by enforcement of underage drinking laws, alcohol outlet density, and adult alcohol use. These community-level influences may be at least partially mediated through adolescents' perceptions of alcohol availability, acceptability of alcohol use, and perceived likelihood of getting in trouble with local police. The results indicate that school programs should include a focus on normative beliefs about alcohol. Read more..

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service)  An article in the August 2012 Issue of Harm Reduction is part of a new gtrend in the research to examine indigenous culture and family life as a protective factor in youth risk behaviours. The authors of this study found that the key cultural factors that contributed to whether Pacific youth participants were abstinent or responsible drinkers were: significant experiences within Pacific family environments (e.g. young person directly links their decision about alcohol consumption to a positive or negative role model); awareness of the belief that their actions as children of Pacific parents affects the reputation and standing of their Pacific family and community (e.g. church); awareness of traditional Pacific values of respect, reciprocity and cultural taboos (e.g. male-female socialising); commitment to no-alcohol teachings of church or religious faith; having peer support and experiences that force them to consider negative effects of excessive alcohol consumption; and personal awareness that being part of an (excessive) drinking culture may seriously affect health or impede career aspirations. Read more..

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service)  An article in Issue #5, 2012 of the Journal of Community Psychology reports on a framework to guide and monitor the development of sustainable school-based prevention programs and approaches. School-based prevention and promotion interventions (SBPPI) improve desirable outcomes (e.g., commitment to school and attendance) and reduce undesirable outcomes (e.g., suspensions and violence). Unfortunately, our understanding of how to effectively implement and sustain SBPPI outside of well-controlled conditions is lacking. To bridge this science/“real world” practice gap, a system of sustainable implementation, which merges implementation strategies and sustainability strategies, is proposed in this article. Ecological levels and phases are part of this new concept. This conceptualization is supported by analyses from a diverse sample of 157 schools implementing Social-Emotional Character Development. The authors used the system of sustainable implementation that was measured using the Schools Implementing Towards Sustainability (SITS) scale, which was designed to be “user-friendly” in field settings by being viable and scalable. The SITS demonstrated strong reliability as well as promising concurrent and construct validity. Read more..

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service)  Most of the discussion about organizational change in school mental health promotion focuses on school systems, so it is refreshing to read an article in Issue #8, 2012 of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry that reports on an intervention or strategy to improve the Availability, Responsiveness and Continuity of child/youth mental health services. Evidence-based Practice (EBP) implementation is likely to be most efficient and effective in organizations with positive social contexts (i.e., organizational culture, climate, and work attitudes of clinicians). The study objective was to test whether an organizational intervention labeled Availability, Responsiveness and Continuity (ARC) could improve the organizational social contexts of community-based mental health programs for youth. The study randomly assigned 26 community-based mental health programs for youth to ARC or control conditions. Hierarchical linear models (HLM) analyses indicated that organizational culture, climate, and work attitudes were significantly improved in the ARC condition after 18 months. Clinicians in programs assigned to ARC reported less rigid, less centralized and less apathetic organizational cultures, more engaged and functional organizational climates with less role conflict, and work attitudes with improved morale, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Read more..

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service)  An article in Issue #8, 2012 of the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry reports on an analysis of teacher interactions with about 9000 sets of twins. Internalizing and externalizing problem behavior at school can have major consequences for a child and is predictive for disorders later in life. Teacher ratings are important to assess internalizing and externalizing problems at school. Teacher ratings of 3,502 7-year-old, 3,134 10-year-old and 2,193 12-year-old twin pairs were analyzed with structural equation modeling. About 60% of the twin pairs were rated by the same teacher. Twin correlations and the heritability of internalizing and externalizing behavior were estimated, separately for pairs rated by the same and different teachers. Socioeconomic status and externalizing behavior at age 3 were included as covariates. Twin correlations and heritability estimates were higher when twin pairs were in the same class and rated by the same teacher than when pairs were rated by different teachers. These differences could not be explained by twin confusion or rater bias. Exposure to different teachers during childhood may affect the heritability of internalizing and externalizing behavior at school. This finding points to gene–environment interaction and is important for the understanding of childhood problem behavior. In addition, it could imply an opportunity for interventions at school.  Read more..

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service)  Several articles in August 2012 Issue of Public Health Nutrition critically examine national policy-making on nutrition and healthy eating. One article examines the eventual policy options selected by the New Zealand government and found that government policy favoured the food industry position (vs the public health position in all realms except when it came to schools, where sales were regulated. Another article noted the absence of research on how food is sold and marketed to children in sports venues. A third article documents how television food commercials target children in Germany, despite an industry pledge to the contrary. A fourth article suggested that a 20% tax on the sales of sugar-sweetened beverages would affect consumer purchasing practices. Another paper suggests that advocates need to address underlying social norms, as was done in regard to cigarettes, if public policy on beverage sales is to change. Finally, an analysis of national healthy eating policies and strategies in Europe notes that of the 107 strategies, only 27 were being evaluated for an effect on consumption, only 16 on the basis of improved health status and only three were using a cost-benefit analysis. The authors also noted the lack of comparability of these European evaluations. Read more..

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service) An article in the June 2012 Issue of the International Journal of  Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity shows the value of using an evidence-based and experience-tested implementation model to improve both the effectiveness and sustainability of a school nutrition program in a tough, low income environment. .Read More 

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service) An article in Issue #4, 2012 of the Journal of School Nursing reports on the experiences of several stakeholders in using elementary schools as the place for influenza vaccinations. study examined the initiation and logistics, funding, perceived barriers and benefits, and disruption of school activities by school-located influenza vaccination (SLIV) programs conducted during the 2008–2009 influenza season. Seventy-two interviews using a structured protocol were conducted with 26 teachers, 16 school administrators, and 30 health care professionals from 34 schools in 8 school districts. Most respondents (96%) reported minimal school-day disruptions. The perception of most stakeholders is that SLIV programs can be relatively easy to initiate, minimally disruptive and can become more efficient with experience, especially with feedback from all stakeholders. Readers may also want to review the articles we collected as we monitored this issue during the H1N1 outbreak a year ago, where we cited studies showing that school-based vaccinations were also significantly more cost effective and efficient. Read more..

An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service)  The health and social needs of gifted students are often overlooked, partly because of their success of potential for success in school. Issue #7, 2012 of Psychology in Schools helps us to focus some of our attention on this sub-population. Articles on perfectionism and the value of service learning for these students are particularly noteworthy  Read more..

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service)  Issue #3, 2012 of Advances in School Mental Health suggest ways in which various interventions can be integrated and implemented. The articles include a rational for multi-intervention approaches, programs and strategies, how behaviour support services can be linked to instruction, an expansion of the Positive Behaviour Supports model (inc=to a PBSPlus model), combining two types of parent programs and more.In the introductory article, the guest editors cite research supporting an "integrated approach" that "fuses interventions", either vertically (linking universal, targeted and indicated programs) or horizontally (linking interventions aimed at students experiencing the same levels of risk of MH problems. They suggest integrated prevention models offer potential additive effects and a broader reach, helping to overcome some of the problems experienced by single intervention programs. Sound familiar?   Read More. 

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service) The Transforming Public Health project, funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and convened by RESOLVE, tasked a small group of public health thought leaders with developing guidance for public health officials and policy-makers in prioritizing vital public health functions in a shifting political and fiscal landscape. The resulting document stresses the need for health departments to develop policy goals; use integrated data sets; communicate with the public and other audiences to disseminate and receive information; mobilize the community and forge partnerships; cultivate leadership along with organization, management, and business skills; and protect the public in the event of an emergency. These emerging concepts are intended for consideration by governmental health practitioners to help guide difficult resource allocation decisions while also trying to adapt to ever changing challenges, demands, and opportunities. There is much to agree with in this paper but I want to isolate and debate a key contradiction or competition within the report that dramatically affects how public health systems work with schools. Read More

(An item taken from the daily/weekly/monthly ISHN Member information service)  With one of the highest participation rates of schools in an extensive school accreditation program, a dedicated team at the national level and a range of highly focused and evidenced-based programs, Singapore is among the leaders of national school health programs. This summer, they have extended the SH approach to pre-schools and universities in the most extensive set of programs found around the world. News Story (Jul 26-12) Singapore School Health CHERISH Award extended to pre-schools & universities Read more

(From the UCLA Centre on School Mental Health)  The state standards movement for education in the US clearly is speeding along. Almost all states already have adopted common core standards for English and math. And while still under discussion, facets of the model core teaching standards generated by the Council of Chief State School Officers already are reflected in various policy actions. There are, of course, ongoing debates about the common core standards. At this juncture, we set these aside to stress what’s missing in the state standards movement. Stated directly, the movement ignores the need to provide a unified and comprehensive system of student and learning supports to enable all students to benefit from the upgraded curriculum.  This perpetuates a long-standing documented failure of school improvement planning and many blueprints for education reform (e.g., see Center for Mental Health in Schools, 2012). The implications seem clear: Given the accelerating policy attention to core standards, it is imperative to move forward quickly to develop a set of standards for student and learning supports and integrate them into the state standards movement for education. Read more...