Background: Schools are important contexts for preventing sexual violence (SV) among adolescents. Evaluating whether programming is effective requires surveying youth about SV experiences. However, school communities often have concerns about asking students, particularly those in middle school, about these experiences. This study sought to…

Background: Nutrition plays a vital role in children's physical and emotional health. More than half of school age children's calories are provided in the school food environment, making school interventions an opportunity to address child nutrition. Methods: The Creating Health Environments for Schools (CHEFS) program is designed to leverage…

Background: School-based health centers (SBHCs) fill critical pediatric health care access gaps but typically require parental consent for enrollment. Families' responses to SBHC consent form outreach efforts may reflect broader school engagement. This study investigated whether SBHC consent form return predicted subsequent chronic absenteeism and…

Background: Parental engagement in nutrition education programs often focuses on direct communication with parents. While this is an important component for the success of nutrition education, the role that students can play in connecting the program to their home is often overlooked. Methods: Feedback from students participating in a nutrition…

Background: The context in which school-based health-promoting interventions are implemented is key for the delivery and success of these interventions. However, little is known about whether school culture differs by school deprivation. Methods: Using data from PromeSS, a cross-sectional study of 161 elementary schools in Québec, Canada, we drew…

Background: In this study, we applied behavioral economics to optimize elementary school lunch choices via parent-driven decisions. Specifically, this experiment tested an optimal defaults paradigm, examining whether strategically manipulating the health value of a default menu could be co-opted to improve school-based lunch selections. Methods:…

Background: Early care and education settings (ECE) are potential venues for young children to develop healthy lifestyle habits. The study assesses training needs and associations with relevant practices of licensed ECE providers across Minnesota and Wisconsin. Methods: A random sample of 823 providers completed a 97-item survey assessing…

Background: Parents' involvement in their children's education is integral to academic success. Several education-based organizations have identified recommendations for how parents can best support their children's learning. However, executive functioning (EF), a high-ordered cognitive skill set, contributes to the extent to which parents can…

Background: Refugee background young people are at increased risk of mental health problems. In countries of refugee resettlement, schools are important sites where mental health difficulties can be identified and service access facilitated; however, little is known about how best to support these practices within schools. Methods: This article…

Background: Children from disadvantaged backgrounds are more apt to experience lower availability of nutritious foods, lack opportunities to exercise, and lack access to recreational facilities, and thus, are more likely to be obese and at greater risk for developing chronic diseases. We review school health education programs' impact on physical…

Background: This study examines school strategies to educate parents over time about physical activity and nutrition and how those strategies are related to adolescent health behaviors. Methods: Data from the Minnesota School Health Profiles Lead Health Education Teacher survey (2008-2012) and the Minnesota Student Survey (MSS, 2013) included…

Background: Health promotion policies targeting risk-taking behaviors are being implemented across schools in Israel. This study identified the most effective components of these policies influencing cigarette smoking and alcohol consumption among adolescents. Methods: Logistic hierarchical linear model (HLM) analysis of data for 5279 students in…

Background: It is important that collaborative relationships exist in a community to improve access to needed services for children. Such partnerships foster preventive services, such as immunizations, and other services that protect the health and well-being of all children. Methods: A collaborative relationship in Illinois involving an academic…

Background: Schools across the nation are increasingly implementing suicide prevention programs that involve training school staff and connecting students and their families to appropriate services. However, little is known about how parents are engaged in such efforts. Methods: This qualitative study examined school staff perspectives on parent…

Background: In approaches to health promotion in adolescents, unhealthy behaviors are no longer regarded as independent processes, but as interrelated. This article presents a systematic literature review of school-based interventions targeting multiple adolescent behaviors simultaneously. Methods: A systematic literature search was performed…