Rationale for schoolsite health promotion

Comprehensive school health promotion has become an integral component of the nation's health agenda. Comprehensive school health education includes a combination of educational, organizational, and environmental activities promoting healthier lifestyles for students, staff, and the local community. A principal component is schoolsite health promotion, programs targeted at faculty, staff and administrators. Establishing health-promoting policies, procedures, and activities at schoolsites can produce benefits, including: reduced national health care costs, increased morale, reduced turnover rates, reduced insurance claims, improved health, increased energy, increased productivity, decreased absenteeism, and decreased burnout. The purpose of this paper is to present a rationale for schoolsite health promotion programming for all of the nation's schools. Successful programs and documented benefits make schoolsite health promotion an effective and efficient means of attaining Healthy People 2000 goals and objectives.