Urban–Rural Differences in School Districts’ Local Wellness Policies and Policy Implementation Environments
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Participants
2.2. Needs Assessment #1
2.3. Needs Assessment #2
2.4. Demographic Characteristics
2.5. Data Analysis
3. Results
3.1. Study Sample
3.2. Wellness Policy Goals
3.3. Supports for Implementing Local Wellness Policies
4. Discussion
4.1. Implications for School Health Policy, Practice, and Equity
4.2. Strengths and Limitations
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Nutrition Promotion (NP) |
Goal NP1: The District’s food service staff, teachers, and other District personnel shall consistently promote healthy nutrition messages in cafeterias, classrooms, and other appropriate settings. Goal NP2: The District shall share educational nutrition information with families and the general public to promote healthy nutrition choices and positively influence the health of students. Goal NP3: The District shall ensure that food and beverage advertisements accessible to students outside of school hours on District property contain only products that meet the federal guidelines for competitive foods. |
Nutrition Education (NE) |
Goal NE1: The District shall deliver nutrition education that fosters the adoption and maintenance of healthy eating behaviors. Goal NE2: The District shall make nutrition education a District-wide priority and shall integrate nutrition education into other areas of the curriculum, as appropriate. Goal NE3: The District shall provide professional development so that teachers and other staff responsible for the nutrition education program are adequately prepared to effectively deliver the program. Goal NE4: The District shall establish and maintain school gardens and farm-to-school programs. |
Physical Activity (PA) |
Goal PA1: The District shall provide an environment that fosters safe, enjoyable, and developmentally appropriate fitness activities for all students, including those who are not participating in physical education classes or competitive sports. Goal PA2: The District shall provide appropriate staff development and encourage teachers to integrate physical activity into the academic curriculum where appropriate. Goal PA3: The District shall make appropriate before-school and after-school physical activity programs available and shall encourage students to participate. Goal PA4: The District shall make appropriate training and other activities available to District employees in order to promote enjoyable, lifelong physical activity for District employees and students. Goal PA5: The District shall encourage parents to support their children’s participation, to be active role models, and to include physical activity in family events. Goal PA6: The District shall encourage students, parents, staff, and community members to use the District’s recreational facilities, such as tracks, playgrounds, and the like, that are available outside of the school day. |
Other School-Based Activities (OSA) |
Goal OSA1: The District shall allow sufficient time for students to eat meals in cafeteria facilities that are clean, safe, and comfortable. Goal OSA2: The District shall promote wellness for students and their families at suitable District and campus activities. Goal OSA3: The District shall promote employee wellness activities and involvement at suitable District and campus activities. |
Characteristic | South Texas (n = 95) | North Texas (n = 239) |
---|---|---|
Rural (%) | 42.1% | 37.7% |
Students per School (M ± SD) | 605.1 ± 258.0 * | 428.8 ± 233.8 * |
Schools per District (M ± SD) | 16.6 ± 32.9 | 9.5 ± 21.2 |
Students per District (M ± SD) | 13,582.9 ± 28,391.3 * | 6109.7 ± 15064.1 * |
Students per Teacher (M ± SD) | 14.7 ± 1.8 * | 13.0 ± 2.2 * |
Revenue per Student (M ± SD) | 11,541.3 ± 1681.0 * | 12,788.7 ± 1995.1 * |
Student Demographics | ||
% Economically Disadvantaged (M ± SD) | 55.9 ± 17.0 | 54.1 ± 18.8 |
% Black/African American (M ± SD) | 12.4 ± 11.2 * | 8.0 ± 12.3 * |
% Hispanic/Latino (M ± SD) | 38.0 ± 18.1 * | 25.1 ± 16.0 * |
% White (M ± SD) | 44.7 ± 23.4 * | 60.9 ± 22.2 * |
% Other (M ± SD) | 4.9 ± 3.5 * | 6.1 ± 5.6 * |
Model 1 | Model 2 | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
B | p-Value | B | p-Value | |
Nutrition Promotion Goal | ||||
Rural | −0.316 * | 0.034 * | −0.265 | 0.139 |
Covariates | ||||
Percent economically disadvantaged | 0.005 | 0.288 | ||
Revenue per student | −0.064 | 0.170 | ||
Students per school | 0.000 | 0.897 | ||
Nutrition Education Goal | ||||
Rural | −0.536 * | 0.006 * | −0.654 * | 0.005 * |
Covariates | ||||
Percent economically disadvantaged | −0.010 | 0.099 | ||
Revenue per student | −0.107 | 0.072 | ||
Students per school | 0.000 | 0.316 | ||
Physical Activity Goal | ||||
Rural | −0.830 * | 0.038 * | −0.687 | 0.150 |
Covariates | ||||
Percent economically disadvantaged | 0.003 | 0.836 | ||
Revenue per student | −0.246 * | 0.048 * | ||
Students per school | 0.000 | 0.991 | ||
Other School-Based Activity | ||||
Rural | −0.668* | <0.001 * | −0.675 * | 0.001 * |
Covariates | ||||
Percent economically disadvantaged | −0.005 | 0.322 | ||
Revenue per student | −0.036 | 0.495 | ||
Students per school | 0.000 | 0.969 | ||
Total Number of Goals | ||||
Rural | −2.350 * | 0.003 * | −2.281 * | 0.014 * |
Covariates | ||||
Percent economically disadvantaged | −0.007 | 0.753 | ||
Revenue per student | −0.453 | 0.059 | ||
Students per school | 0.000 | 0.786 |
OR (95% CI) | p-Value | OR (95% CI) | p-Value | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wellness Plan | ||||
Rural | 0.520 (0.288–0.939) * | 0.030 * | 0.936 (0.396–2.211) | 0.880 |
Triennial Assessment | ||||
Rural | 1.029 (0.554–1.915) | 0.927 | 1.547 (0.603–3.969) | 0.364 |
School Health Advisory Council (SHAC) | ||||
Rural | 0.201 (0.113–0.357) * | <0.001 * | 0.461 (0.193–1.105) | 0.083 |
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Iyer, S.; Walker, T.J.; MacMillan Uribe, A.L.; Rethorst, C.D.; Seguin-Fowler, R.A.; Szeszulski, J. Urban–Rural Differences in School Districts’ Local Wellness Policies and Policy Implementation Environments. Nutrients 2024, 16, 801. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16060801
Iyer S, Walker TJ, MacMillan Uribe AL, Rethorst CD, Seguin-Fowler RA, Szeszulski J. Urban–Rural Differences in School Districts’ Local Wellness Policies and Policy Implementation Environments. Nutrients. 2024; 16(6):801. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16060801
Chicago/Turabian StyleIyer, Swati, Timothy J. Walker, Alexandra L. MacMillan Uribe, Chad D. Rethorst, Rebecca A. Seguin-Fowler, and Jacob Szeszulski. 2024. "Urban–Rural Differences in School Districts’ Local Wellness Policies and Policy Implementation Environments" Nutrients 16, no. 6: 801. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16060801
APA StyleIyer, S., Walker, T. J., MacMillan Uribe, A. L., Rethorst, C. D., Seguin-Fowler, R. A., & Szeszulski, J. (2024). Urban–Rural Differences in School Districts’ Local Wellness Policies and Policy Implementation Environments. Nutrients, 16(6), 801. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu16060801