National Public Health Week is Here

National Public Health Week is Here

There are many ways to get involved throughout the week and beyond, so be sure to check the NPHW website. Also, each morning of NPHW, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention will be creating a new #PHNerd graphic to go along with our daily themes! Plus don’t forget to use the hashtag #NPHW and follow @NPHW on Twitter and ‘like’ APHA’s Facebook page.

A Public Health Approach to Prescription Drug Overdose Prevention

Join APHA and CDC’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control for a dynamic panel presentation discussing the importance of prescription drug overdose prevention. Hosted by Emory University Rollins School of Public Health, the live presentation will take place Tuesday, April 8, at 12 p.m. EDT. Viewers will be able to log in the day of the event. 

Leading health indicators webinar

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and APHA will cosponsor a webinar on the leading health indicators on Tuesday, April 8, at 2 p.m. EDT. Join us to learn about progress in improving the leading health indicators, which are key components of the Healthy People 2020 initiative. The webinar will feature HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Howard Koh, MD, MPH, and APHA Executive Director Georges Benjamin, MD. We will also hear from a state agency that has incorporated the indicators into its state health improvement plans. 

New health reform tool for public health workers 

The first 40 people to register for a new health reform planning toolkit during NPHW (#NPHW) will receive a 1G flash drive with all of the materials they need to get started! “Leading Through Health System Change: A Public Health Opportunity” is a free toolkit that is already helping more than 600 users in 49 states to think more adaptively, engage in important conversations, and plan strategically with their colleagues and partners. Visit www.acaplanningtool.com to register and learn more.

Other NPHW events

• Twitter chat: Wednesday, April 9, at 2 p.m. EDT
• Chronic Disease, Air Pollution & Public Health: Wednesday, April 9, from 3:30-4:30 p.m. EDT
• Food Justice, Obesity & the Social Determinants of Health: Thursday, April 10, at 2 p.m. EDT
• NPHW Active Transportation Hangout on Air: Friday, April 11, at 2 p.m. EDT

The Right Prescription for Prevention

The problem of prescription drug misuse and abuse by adults has been growing for years, but its recent increase within the adolescent population is alarming.  According to a 2010 survey, one in four adolescents has abused a prescription medication at some point in their lives, which is up from one in five teens in 2009.

In growing numbers, more adolescents are abusing prescription drugs than they are illegal drugs.  With the exception of marijuana, prescription drugs are the drug of choice among 12-13 year olds.  The prescription drugs that teens most commonly abuse or misuse are painkillers, stimulants (like medications taken for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, ADHD) and depressants (like anti-anxiety medications).  These medications are often easily accessible, sometimes from a parent’s medicine cabinet.  In fact, 64% of teens (age 12-17) who abuse prescription pain relievers say they got them from friends or relatives.

Schools can play an important role in combatting this growing and dangerous trend.  All educators, particularly those who most frequently work with at-risk populations, should be aware of the changing patterns of prescription drug misuse and abuse within the school-age population.  Professional development around this topic should be made available within schools and school districts so that educators can be aware and knowledgeable about the problem, and better equipped to identify and/or prevent it in their students.  Specialized instructional support personnel (SISP), such as school nurses, school social workers, and school psychologists are among those more likely to detect or observe substance abuse or misuse, but all educators and caregivers should take a more active role in addressing the problem. 

A common assumption driving prevention efforts is that if youth can be helped to understand that experimentation with alcohol or other drugs is dangerous, they will abstain.  Of course, that isn’t usually the case.  Schools can help raise the awareness of students about the dangers of misusing and abusing various substances, but these efforts should be science and fact-based, so that students will take them seriously. Prescription drug education that is based on solid science will help prepare young people for lifelong decisions about the use of medications.  This might include information about appropriate dose levels, the potential for drug toxicity when overused, the effect of different drug combinations, and many other important pieces of information that will help students make proper future choices about taking medications.

Thanks to the support of an educational grant from Purdue Pharma L.P., the National Education Association’s Health Information Network (HIN) offers two resources to help educate young people about the misuse, abuse, and proper use of prescription drugs. 

1. Rx for Understanding: Be Smart About Prescription Drugs is a standards-based, cross-curricular teaching resource tailored for grade ranges 5-8, with 5 units and sequenced lessons. 
2. Rx for Understanding: Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse is focused on students in grades 9-12.  This resource contains 10 lessons that lead students through an inquiry-based, technology inspired project which provides an opportunity to apply key concepts learned about misuse, abuse and proper use of prescription drugs. 

These Educator Resource Guides include background information, lesson plans, reproducible student activity sheets, parent information and national academic standards charts delineating how the content aligns with the National Health Education Standards and the Common Core State Standards.

NEA HIN encourages you to take advantage of these free resources available at no charge at neahin.org/store. 

An accompanying handout written for parents and caregivers can be found here.

While it is critical that students become better educated to the facts and realities of the dangers involved in prescription drug misuse and abuse, it is imperative that adults get the proper education and guidance, as well.  Trusted adult influences like parents, school nurses, school mental health personnel, and other educators are key to helping reverse the trend of teen prescription drug abuse and misuse, and they must be educated themselves about the problem. 

Parents and educators must be mindful of the potential for prescription drug abuse with regard to students accessing parents’, grandparents’, or friends’ prescription medications right in their homes.  Similarly, school staff must be vigilant in their observations of students’ behaviors and should take note in daily encounters with students of any behavior changes they may notice. 

Staff should be aware of what medication(s) a student is taking, including after surgeries or hospitalizations when prescription drug use is common.  This would be an ideal time to remind them of the dangers and risks of using these medications in any way other than they have been prescribed. 

School leaders can take advantage of the following free resources to encourage ongoing professional development for their employees and to promote awareness and prevention in their schools and communities.  Get the Rx for Understanding and be smart about prescription drugs.

Looking at our Medicine Cabinets in a Different Light

When around young children, we are vigilant about keeping them away from dangerous substances, and rightfully so. We baby-proof cabinets and move cleaning supplies and other hazards well out of their reach. But can the same be said of our efforts with older children and teens? Do we think enough about the temptations and hazards in our homes, especially those found in our medicine cabinets?

As you may have heard, prescription drug misuse and abuse is a growing problem in the United States, and sadly, it is occurring more often with tweens and teens. But did you know that 65% of teens who report abuse of prescription drugs get them from friends and family?  As an educator, parent or caregiver would you know what to do if you suspected a teen was misusing or abusing prescription drugs?  If your answer was no, you are not alone.

With the holiday season upon us,  most tweens and teens will be out of school and have a lot of extra time on their hands, and for some that can lead to the temptation to experiment.  But this time is also a great opportunity to inform ourselves about prescription drug abuse and talk to young people about the dangers of prescription drug abuse and misuse. 

Perfect for educators, parents and caregivers, NEA HIN’s fact sheet, “What do you know about prescription drug abuse?” provides the facts about prescription drugs as well as key things youth should know.  Download it for free, and be sure to tell others about this important resource.

Educators now have an opportunity to download two free resource guides designed to teach students about prescription drug abuse and misuse. Aligned with the National Health Education Standards and Common Core State Standards, the lessons aim to equip students with the understanding and decision-making skills they need to recognize and avoid the dangers of misusing and abusing prescription drugs. To download a free copy of the Rx for Understanding guides for grades 5-8 and 9-12, visit http://www.neahin.org/rxforunderstanding.

Making sure tweens and teens are well informed is a vital step to keeping them safe and healthy. And arming ourselves with knowledge and information is the first step.

Wishing you a safe and healthy holiday season

Focus On Results And Policy That Enables Them:Educators and Their Partners Working for Safe and Healthy Schools

The School Health Systems Change Project at the State University of New York Cortland works to build the capacity of school health educators, school nurses, administrators, and others to create a school health system for New York that is efficient and effective.  More importantly, the Project aims to foster healthy, health-literate and academically successful youth. 

At the fourth Summer Institute, held on July 9, 2013, I joined educators from central and upstate New York to talk about what it takes to make that happen in a time of contracting budgets and heightened accountability. 

Our morning session focused on how staff in school health programs, services, and curriculum can be active participants in the rapidly changing world of school system reform.  With the links between heath status and academic achievement clear in areas like breakfast and behavioral health, the participants worked together to think about new messages for presenting the benefits of strong school health and nutrition services. 

They then worked on other beneficial areas, such as physical education and physical activity.  And they were full of great ideas!  They talked about building stakeholder support and engaging parents and families as allies in making sure that schools supported the whole child.  They also spent time brainstorming about how to ensure sustainability. 

Two ideas emerged here.  The first was to focus on RESULTS.  By demonstrating that these programs and services make a difference, we can show their value to the community.  The second was to focus on moving from the short-term of program to the sustainability of POLICY.  Rather than depend on the occasional well-connected champion of a program or the whims of annual finances, attendees recognizes that good practices can be sustained through good local or state policy.

Beyond quality programs and services, a thoughtful school health system includes instruction.  School health education can be supported by the National Health Education Standards (to which most states, including New York, align their standards).  The educators and their allies examined the standards and looked at a range of opportunities for alignment as well as discussing the benefits to students of this integrated approach.  I provided the participants received copies of NEA HIN’s newest teaching resources, Healthy Steps For Healthy Lives & Rx for Understanding.

By the end of our day, participants each developed a short-term action plan to implement aspects of the school health systems improvement in their districts. 

And, once again, I had seen the passion and dedication educators bring—after all, they did all this on their summer vacation!

Educators Explore Healthy and Safe Schools

The NEA Expo opened this morning in Atlanta, Georgia and the Hall of Health and Safety was soon humming with activity.  NEA educators coming to the hall were able to visit the booths of NEA HIN, our Bag the Junk project, and our Hall of Health and Safety partners.  

Among the highlights of the day were the over 1000 educators who learned about new NEA HIN resources like The Food Allergy Book, Healthy Steps for Healthy Lives (2013), and Rx for Understanding: Preventing Prescription Drug Abuse.  They also learned about our new online store.  Other visitors learned about our Crisis Guide and the new Jerald L. Newberry School Safety Fund.  

We had visits today from a number of NEA HIN Champions who are leading actions, large and small to create healthy and safe schools.  And visitors to the NEA HIN booth got the chance to spin our prize wheel where everyone is a winner!  

If you are in Atlanta at the Expo, please joins us on July 2 for the second and final day of the NEA Expo. We hope to see you there.