Valid community-based data on the prevalence of chronic diseases in adolescents (12-18 years) with intellectual disability (ID-adolescents) are scarce. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence rates and the nature of chronic diseases in a population of ID-adolescents and to compare them with the rates among adolescents in the general…

This article presents a story of a little girl's courage, a mother's determination, and the healing power of oxygen. Grace was born on March 6, 1999 at full term, and Shannon says her pregnancy and delivery were uncomplicated. Within days of arriving home, however, Grace's condition took a serious turn. At an ophthalmologist visit when Grace was…

"Adventures in Parenting", an informational booklet published by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, offers five principles that parents can use to develop a mental model of parenting: Responding, Preventing, Monitoring, Mentoring, and Modeling (RPM3). The current study was designed to assess the differential impact of…

As many as 325,000 school-age children, ages 5-14, have epilepsy in the U.S. Thankfully, with medication, surgery, a special diet or vagus nerve stimulation, most go to school and fully participate in school activities. Children who continue to have seizures, however, may run into problems. Many of these problems can be overcome or prevented…

The list of issues confronting education leaders today seems to be growing longer, with school wellness being pushed to the forefront by the surge in childhood obesity rates. Whether walking the halls of the schools or the local shopping mall, it is easy to see why society needs to adopt healthier lifestyles. That is why more community leaders,…

In the 1998 reauthorization of Head Start, Congress mandated that the US Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) determine, on a national level, the impact of Head Start on the children it serves. As noted by the Advisory Committee on Head Start Research, this legislative mandate required that the impact study address two main research…

This booklet is in response to commonly asked questions from parents about preparing for, and entering kindergarten. Some questions parents ask are about district policy. Nebraska has over 200 individual school districts, each having their own board, superintendent, and policies. The Nebraska Department of Education provides guidance and…

"The State of the World's Children 2014 In Numbers: Every Child Counts" highlights the critical role data and monitoring play in realizing children's rights. Credible data, disseminated effectively and used correctly, make it possible to target interventions that help right the wrong of exclusion. Data do not, of themselves, change the…

Medicaid and CHIP are crucial parts of the social safety net, providing health insurance coverage to more than half of all children ages 0-21 in D.C. and a third of children nationally. Without these two programs, more than 97,000 children in the District would have been uninsured in 2010. New research indicates that compared with the uninsured,…

The determinants of youth health disparities include poverty, unequal access to health care, poor environmental conditions, and educational inequities. Poor and minority children have more health problems and less access to health care than their higher socioeconomic status cohorts. Having more health problems leads to more absenteeism in school,…

This article tracks the trajectory and impact of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita on the communities of Houston/Harris County, Texas, USA, the schools, children, and families; along with the community partnerships that addressed the trauma and upheaval. Following the influx of individuals and families who were displaced by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita…

Objective: To review the literature, identifying proposed recommendations for school-based nutrition interventions, and evaluate kindergarten through 12th grade school-based nutrition interventions conducted from 2000-2008. Design: Proposed recommendations from school-based intervention reviews were developed and used in conducting a content…

A study was conducted to identify the norms, values, and perceptions of urban immigrant Mexican American (MA) parents of school children relative to physical activity, healthy eating, and child risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Investigators facilitated five focus groups in an urban elementary school setting and analyzed data using qualitative…

Knowledge and skills for global health program design, implementation and monitoring is an expectation for practicing public health professionals. Major health education professional organizations including American Association for Health Education (AAHE), Society of Public Health Education (SOPHE) and International Union for Health Promotion and…

This water safety study was both descriptive and exploratory in nature. The purpose was for middle school students to assess their own water safety experiences and to help school decision-makers determine the extent of drowning/water accidents. In July 2009, a water safety survey was administered to 122 students participating in the local Summer…