ABSTRACT The purpose of this qualitative case study was to gain an informed understanding of the views of elementary school staff about the characteristics of the Nutrition Positive incentive program including: program development, implementation strategies used by individual schools, and challenges and related concerns associated with program implementation. As an initial step in a process evaluation, knowledge was gained through document analysis, site observations and 14 semi-structured interviews with principals, teachers and nutrition coordinators in 4 Greater Saskatoon Catholic, and 4 Saskatoon Public, Saskatchewan schools. Findings were then compared and contrasted with three models for best practice from the scientific literature and related to school health, education, and promotion. <p>The results led to the following conclusions. Nutrition Positive serves as an entry point for health promotion in Saskatoon elementary schools. While providing principals, teachers and other school staff with the necessary supports to enable children to learn critical life and health skills, it is also practical and realistic. The program can easily be adapted to different age and developmental levels, and a variety of cultures. The Advisory Committee and the program manual provide multiple resources to facilitate implementation. Schools may adapt the program for use across curricula, within school timetables, and concurrent with other health-related programs. Nutrition Positive schools attempt to provide healthy, serve most often foods for student mealtimes, special events, fundraising activities, vending machines and classroom rewards. While the program appears to be sustainable, it needs to specify measurable objectives and requires a better design for its assessment, monitoring and evaluation components. It is recommended that schools include all stakeholders, including parents and students, when forming a school-based program committee. Committee members need to participate in developing written school policies and guidelines, as well as learning about healthy eating themselves. School activities and foods offered need to more consistently and uniformly compliment the curriculum and program goals and objectives. In order to expand, program materials need to be widely publicized, communicated in a timely manner, culturally relevant, and available in languages in addition to English.

High school youth in Grades 9-12 who are in public schools without comprehensive sexual health education (CSHED) are more likely to engage in high-risk sexual behaviors and have higher rates of HIV and sexually transmitted diseases than are their peers in schools with CSHED. The purpose of this correlational study was to explore the statistical relationship between the consistent implementation of CSHED, before and after the enactment of the Chicago Public Schools' (CPS) sexual health education policy, and the sexual risk behaviors of Chicago high school youth in Grades 9-12. The study was based on Antonovsky's salutogenic model of health and wellbeing. CPS students' sexual risk behaviors were analyzed using data obtained from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) for the years of 2007 and 2013. Logistic regression was used to estimate prevalence and odds ratios of each sexual risk behavior. The findings showed a complex pattern of and variances across the sexual risk behaviors analyzed. The prevalence of sexual behaviors among all students remained relatively stable. The prevalence estimates for students who drank alcohol or used drugs before the last sexual encounter and who were never taught about AIDS or HIV increased from 2007 to 2013. The likelihood of not using birth control pills before the last sexual intercourse encounter decreased among Black students; the likelihood that Hispanic/Latino students ever had sex, and had sex with 4 or more people in their life, decreased. The decrease of sexual risk behaviors indicates a positive influence by CSHED, while the increases indicate continuing challenges to the promotion of healthy sexual behaviors. These findings show the need for legislators and school administrators to increase support for the enactment of CSHED policy to help mitigate the sexual risk behaviors of high school youth.

Adolescents who are subjected to adverse health risks which limit school attendance and academic performance, is a national as well as an international recognised problem considering healthy youth to be productive members of society. The South African Department of Health has introduced a re-engineering program for primary health care of which school-health is one of three main areas of the primary health care services focusing on, but not limited to immunization, teenage pregnancy, education about HIV/Aids, and screening for health problems such as poor eyesight and hearing impairment. During October 2012 the new school-health program was piloted in very poor schools in KwaZulu Natal, Gauteng and Limpopo and will over the next four years be implemented in poor Secondary Schools. The aim of this research was to explore and describe comprehensive school-health services in two selected secondary schools in the North West province in order to propose recommendations to enhance adolescents' quality of life. The researcher used an explorative, descriptive, holistic multiple case study to gather rich data from two separate institutions (secondary schools) to reach the following objectives: * To identify and describe the demographic profile from existing records/documents available at each selected secondary school. * To explore and describe how comprehensive school-health services are experienced by key stakeholders, in two selected secondary schools in the North West province. * To explore and describe the perceptions of key stakeholders on how comprehensive school-health services should be rendered in two selected secondary schools in the North West province to enhance the quality of life of the adolescent. A description of the demographic profile was possible by means of a demographic data sheet completed by the principal to understand the background of each school included in the research. Rich information of key stakeholders' experiences and views about comprehensive school-health services was gained by four focus group interviews. Results of the data analysis showed a lack of comprehensive school-health services to adolescents in two secondary schools. The findings included adolescents' health problems as well as physical and emotional challenges educators are not equipped for and/or have not sufficient time to manage. Conclusions made from the research findings, contributed to recommendations for the nursing practice, nursing education and nursing research to enhance the quality of life of adolescents through comprehensive school-health services in selected secondary schools in the North West province. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014

Adolescents who are subjected to adverse health risks which limit school attendance and academic performance, is a national as well as an international recognised problem considering healthy youth to be productive members of society. The South African Department of Health has introduced a re-engineering program for primary health care of which school-health is one of three main areas of the primary health care services focusing on, but not limited to immunization, teenage pregnancy, education about HIV/Aids, and screening for health problems such as poor eyesight and hearing impairment. During October 2012 the new school-health program was piloted in very poor schools in KwaZulu Natal, Gauteng and Limpopo and will over the next four years be implemented in poor Secondary Schools. The aim of this research was to explore and describe comprehensive school-health services in two selected secondary schools in the North West province in order to propose recommendations to enhance adolescents' quality of life. The researcher used an explorative, descriptive, holistic multiple case study to gather rich data from two separate institutions (secondary schools) to reach the following objectives: * To identify and describe the demographic profile from existing records/documents available at each selected secondary school. * To explore and describe how comprehensive school-health services are experienced by key stakeholders, in two selected secondary schools in the North West province. * To explore and describe the perceptions of key stakeholders on how comprehensive school-health services should be rendered in two selected secondary schools in the North West province to enhance the quality of life of the adolescent. A description of the demographic profile was possible by means of a demographic data sheet completed by the principal to understand the background of each school included in the research. Rich information of key stakeholders' experiences and views about comprehensive school-health services was gained by four focus group interviews. Results of the data analysis showed a lack of comprehensive school-health services to adolescents in two secondary schools. The findings included adolescents' health problems as well as physical and emotional challenges educators are not equipped for and/or have not sufficient time to manage. Conclusions made from the research findings, contributed to recommendations for the nursing practice, nursing education and nursing research to enhance the quality of life of adolescents through comprehensive school-health services in selected secondary schools in the North West province. / MCur, North-West University, Potchefstroom Campus, 2014