School Nurses, School-Based Health Centers and Childhood Overweight

In April 2006, a group of experts, including school nurses, administrators, and representatives of professional organizations that focus on school health issues, was convened by the Center for Health and Health Care in Schools at George Washington University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation to talk about the seriousness of child overweight and the potential for school nurses and school-based health centers to intervene to reduce the impact of overweight on children.

The following are documents from the April meeting, School Nurses and School-Based Health Centers: What Are Their Roles in Helping Children Maintain a Healthy Weight?:

1. School Nurses, School-Based Health Centers and Childhood Overweight: A report from a roundtable meeting to explore the role of school health professionals in preventing childhood overweight 

   PDF version 

2. Speaker Presentations (PDF versions)

   Framing the Issue of Childhood Overweight. Presenter: Terry Bazzarre, PhD, Senior Program Officer, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

   Health and Policy Challenges of Childhood Obesity. Presenter: Michael McGinnis, MD, MPP, Senior Scholar, Institute of Medicine, The National Academies

   SBHCs Helping School Children Maintain a Healthy Weight. Presenter: Bruce Guernsey, MSW, President, National Assembly on School-Based Health Care

   Time for Action – A School Nurse Perspective. Presenter: Donna Mazyck, MS, RN, NCSN, President-Elect, National Association of School Nurses

   Whitefoord and Coan Childhood Healthy Lifestyle Program. Presenter: Veda Johnson, MD, Medical Director, Whitefoord & Coan School-Based Health Clinics, and Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, Emory University School of Medicine

   School Boards Repond to Childhood Overweight. Presenter: Barbara Fish, MA, Member, West Virginia Board of Education

   State Actions on Childhood Overweight and Obesity – An Overview of Policy Options. Presenter: Amy Winterfeld, JD, Program Principal, Health Program, National Conference of State Legislatures

   Body Mass Index: The Arkansas Experience. Presenter: Joy C. Rockenbach, Program Director, Arkansas Center for Health Improvement

   A Legislative Approach to Obesity Awareness. Presenter: Vicki Taliaferro, RN, BSN, NCSN, Health Services Specialist, Maryland State Department of Education

   Norwood City Schools Responding to Childhood Obesity. Presenter: Kathy Strasser, RN, BSN, School Nurse, Norwood City School District, Ohio

   A Community-wide Weight Management Program. Presenter: Bob Murray, MD, Chair-Elect, School Health Council, American Academy of Pediatrics, and Director, Center for Healthy Weight and Nutrition, Columbus Children’s Hospital

   Resources for Parents and PTAs from the National Parent Teacher Association. Presenter: Debbie Ritchie, Council President, Ann Arundel County, Maryland PTA

3. Resources

   National Conference of State Legislatures
   Childhood Obesity – 2005 Update and Overview of Policy Options
   http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/ChildhoodObesity-2005.htm

   Childhood Overweight: What the Research Tells Us
   http://www.healthinschools.org/sh/obesityfs.asp