The leading cause of preventable disease, disability, and death in the United States is tobacco product use. The 2022 National Youth Tobacco Survey, which was completed in 2022, showed that the e-cigarette epidemic among youth continues to remain a public health threat. The survey revealed that over 2.5 million middle and high school students…

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had a devastating and long-lasting effect on most of the world. In an attempt to slow the spread of the virus, public health authorities instituted guidelines for schools regarding social distancing, mask wearing, and quarantining, and the U.S. educational system was forced to adjust. This…

Education professionals lead curricular environments that encompass opportunities to enrich organizational health. The problem is that leadership barriers obstruct comprehensive school health prioritization and program implementation as elementary school leaders in a Metro Atlanta school district occupy the space to alter and improve comprehensive…

Physical education curriculum challenges students to experience a series of physical movements, degrees of flexibility, increased stamina, and components of strength that provide multiple opportunities to achieve a high level of individual fitness. Curricula that are used to achieve these areas of physical education vary from Health-Related…

The rates of death by suicide and the prevalence of mental health conditions in children and youth are a world-wide crisis. Education and school health promotion have a key role in supporting children, however initiatives and interventions are siloed and provide supports to only a few students. In this qualitative study with quantitative…

This study explored the issues surrounding adolescent sleep (middle school students in grades 7-8) in a suburban school district in Columbus, Ohio. This study assessed the effects of a KidsHealth.org sleep education program through middle school physical education class to potentially improve daytime sleepiness as measured by the Epworth…

This study examines the influence of teaching digital resources of MyPlate on the nutrition knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) related to healthy eating habits among first and second-grade students. A pre-and post-assessment of this quasi-experimental research study measured the baseline KAP levels of 45 participants regarding healthy…

Obesity is an issue that negatively effects the health and wellbeing of children across the U.S. The problem addressed by this study was the increasing percentage of obesity among elementary students in a southeastern school district. Guided by Bandura's social learning theory, the purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore the…

Children in Hawai'i demonstrate the highest rates of oral caries in the nation due to multitude of factors, such as a lack of appropriate funding or education, absence of fluoridation in water systems, no local dental schools, and racial/ethnic/socioeconomic disparities. This quality improvement project aimed to increase confidence and knowledge…

Background: Youth from low-income, racially and ethnically diverse families are at increased risk for academic challenges and nutritionally inadequate diets. Summer programs offer an opportunity to foster interest and engage students in science, technology, engineering, art, and math (STEAM) education while addressing summer learning loss.…

The purpose of this thesis was to write a grant for Paramount Unified School District in California to implement a curriculum on child abuse prevention for students in grades kindergarten through 5th grade (K-5) based upon the evidence-based HealthSmart curriculum. This educational initiative will focus on child sexual abuse prevention and will be…

This dissertation revealed several problems on the analysis of influenza propagation by indicating how agent-based modeling can be employed to measure the effectiveness of control measures and assist in improving health policy to decrease absenteeism among elementary students. The primary question posed was as following: "What is the effect…

This study examined differences in grade school students' BMI percentiles before and after the "Healthy, Hunger Free Kids Act" of 2012 and factors that may have influenced those differences. Using publically available data from the Pennsylvania Departments of Health and Education, a comparative analysis of BMI percentiles, ethnicity,…

The health and wellness of children is a growing concern as the number of children that are unhealthy continues to increase. Schools can play a pivotal role in promoting wellness among children and teenagers through implementing school-wide wellness initiatives that provide students multiple opportunities to learn and use healthy behaviors (Center…

The purpose of this bounded case study was to explore beliefs and strategies of incorporating physical activity during the school day as perceived by third and fourth grade elementary school teachers in one Texas school district. Third and fourth grade teachers with a minimum of one year of experience from six different elementary schools…