P0158 - Development of a Global School Based Health Toolkit

Background:
A growing body of evidence suggests that school-based health interventions can have a positive impact on the health, nutrition, and educational outcomes of children. While many such initiatives have successfully been implemented in low and middle-income countries, there is a lack of readily available, consolidated resources that can be used by pediatric providers to collaborate with stakeholders in resource-limited settings looking to implement school-based health programs.

Objective:
Develop a “Global School Health Toolkit” - a comprehensive online resource for healthcare providers, for the purpose of collaborating with stakeholders in resource-limited countries looking to develop school based health programs.

Methods:
After performing a literature search confirming the absence of a school health toolkit of resources for pediatricians working globally, we designed a brief online survey which we sent to listserv members of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Section on International Child Health (SOICH) and the Council on School Health, (COSH). This survey served as a needs assessment to understand which school health topics were most prioritized by respondents. Our working group then divided into subgroups to focus on specific topics, conducted extensive literature reviews on each topic, and then drafted modules that focused on strategies for implementing school based health interventions based on best practices found in the literature. The framework of the modules was built around offering resources which focus on sustainability and collaboration with local stakeholders.


Results:
We have developed modules of the most prioritized issues:
• Needs assessment
• Reproductive health
• Nutrition and water/sanitation status
• Screening of vision/hearing/dentition
• Immunizations
• Injury prevention

Each module includes key facts, resources, and ideas on how to collaborate with the on-site school health team.

Conclusion
The toolkit will be reviewed by experts in their respective fields through the Section on International Child Health. For our next steps, we hope to collaborate with the AAP’s information technology staff to develop the toolkit online as a resource. We anticipate that this online toolkit will be updated periodically and will be expanded to include other issues in the future.