An Investigation into the Impact of Support from Action for Healthy Kids on School Health Index Module Scores

Abstract

The current study investigated the impact of funding and technical assistance from AFHK on schools implementation of school health policies and practices. The AFHK SHI was used to assess if schools improved their rates of implementation and if improvement occurred at similar rates across all 8 modules. Baseline and final SHI module percent scores of 601 elementary schools in the United States that received support from AFHK between the years of 2015 and 2018 were examined. Descriptive statistics were employed to assess which modules had the highest and lowest implementation rates at the final time point and to examine which module experienced the greatest and least growth in score. Paired samples t-tests assessed if changes in score from the baseline to the final time point were significantly different from each other. School Counseling, Psychological, and Social Services had the highest rates of implementation while Health Promotion for Staff had the lowest rates of implementation at the final time point. Family and Community Involvement experienced the greatest growth in score while School Counseling, Psychological and Social Services experienced the least amount of growth. All percent scores increased significantly from the baseline to the final time point. These findings inform AFHK of the impact of their support on schools implementation of health practices and policies as all areas of school health improved significantly. The findings can guide AFHK's future efforts regarding how to best support schools to address areas where schools need the greatest support to bolster school health.

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