RESUMO
Low-income children and adolescents continue to bear a heavy burden of untreated pain and complications from dental disease. To explore why proposals to remediate this problem have not gained traction, the authors interviewed experts involved in efforts to improve the oral health status of low-income and minority children during the past decade. Key informants believe that success requires addressing both consumer demand and provider supply factors. They especially cite the lack of public outcry for more accessible oral health care and the undervaluing of oral health, relative to medical care. Informants were cautiously optimistic that strategies such as health literacy and outreach campaigns, which have helped increase children's physical activity and improve their diets, offer unexplored opportunities for progress.
Assuntos
Atenção à Saúde/estatística & dados numéricos , Acesso aos Serviços de Saúde , Saúde Bucal , Criança , Humanos , Entrevistas como Assunto , Áreas de Pobreza , Estados UnidosAssuntos
Asma/prevenção & controle , Serviços de Saúde Escolar , Poluição por Fumaça de Tabaco/prevenção & controle , Asma/tratamento farmacológico , Broncodilatadores/uso terapêutico , Comportamento Cooperativo , Aconselhamento , Terapia Diretamente Observada , Humanos , Atenção Primária à Saúde , Ensaios Clínicos Controlados Aleatórios como Assunto , Estados UnidosRESUMO
There is growing recognition that health and health care at school can significantly impact children's health. From childhood obesity interventions to new immunization mandates, schools are at the forefront of child health discussions. The 2008 presidential campaign and the renewed focus on health-care reform raise the possibility that in 2009 school health will play a larger role in health policy conversations than previously. This article explores the proposition that both school health and national health policy will benefit from closer attention to the role of school health within the U.S. health system. It offers a Maryland case study to suggest both the opportunities and operational challenges of linking school health to the larger community health system.
Assuntos
Atenção à Saúde/organização & administração , Reforma dos Serviços de Saúde , Serviços de Saúde Escolar/organização & administração , Instituições Acadêmicas , Estudantes , Adolescente , Criança , Proteção da Criança , Feminino , Política de Saúde , Acesso aos Serviços de Saúde , Humanos , Masculino , Prevenção Primária , Prevenção Secundária , Estados UnidosRESUMO
A vast array of child health professionals-99,000 counselors; 56,000 nurses; 30,000 school psychologists; 15,000 social workers; and smaller numbers of dental hygienists, dentists, physicians, and substance abuse counselors-provide care to children and adolescents at school. However, most thought leaders in child health know little about this "hidden" system of care or are skeptical about its capacity to contribute to children's well-being. Increased interest in prevention and chronic disease management, powered by escalating concern about childhood overweight, might end the isolation of school health programs and link them more effectively to community-based prevention programs and health care services.