Health Promotion and Disease Prevention

An "ounce of prevention" is the best way to promote good health outcomes for children and adolescents. Three-fourths of children's illnesses and deaths are due to individual or community behaviors, a statistic that will persist into adulthood.

Health Promotion

This section provides information on health literacy, action-oriented steps to healthier behaviors, and a kid-targeted healthy behaviors section. Specific topics include sleep, tobacco, nutrition, physical activity, and environmental issues.

Disease Prevention

These pages include descriptions of effective prevention programs that can be implemented in schools as well as links to prevention resources. In addition to the Eisen et al. paper described below, see the Childhood Obesity Fact Sheet for specific school interventions to the childhood obesity challenge.

An important paper included in this section, Eisen M, Palletto C, Bradner C. Problem Behavior Prevention and School-Based Health Center Programs and Prospects, The Urban Institute, December 1999, provides a checklist to assist educators and health professionals assess a school and a school-based health center’s readiness to undertake prevention initiatives.