Maternal and Child Health Library

This and past issues of the MCH Alert are available at http://www.mchlibrary.info/alert/archives.html

May 14, 2010

Multimedia Featured Resource: Child and Family Mental Health is a new section of the Frameworks Institute Web site that explores how communicators can best tell the scientific story of children's mental health and encourage public thinking about policies that address the issue. The site includes Models of the Mind, a multimedia presentation featuring the voices of research informants. The presentation demonstrates some of the ways in which lay understanding of children's mental health differs significantly from what experts know. The presentation also suggests ways in which expert knowledge might be more effectively conveyed to the public and policymakers. More information is available at http://www.frameworksinstitute.org/cmh.html

1. COLLABORATIVE RELEASES PLAN AIMED AT CREATING A NATIONAL CULTURE THAT SUPPORTS PHYSICALLY ACTIVE LIFESTYLES

The U.S. National Physical Activity Plan comprises a set of policies, programs, and initiatives to increase physical activity in all segments of the American population. The plan has been presented as a "living" document, with overall direction and guidance provided by a private-public sector collaborative that includes a coordinating committee, organizational partners, and working groups. The plan presents recommendations organized into eight societal sectors: (1) public health; (2) health care; (3) education; (4) transportation, land use, and community design; (5) parks, recreation, fitness, and sports; (6) business and industry; (7) volunteer and nonprofit organizations; and (8) mass media. Within each sector, the plan outlines strategies aimed at promoting physical activity, along with specific tactics that communities, organizations and agencies, and individuals can use to implement the strategy. Overarching strategies (those that encompass multiple sectors) are also discussed. More information about the plan, the partners, and how to get involved are available at http://www.physicalactivityplan.org

• Child care directors on average unnecessarily excluded 57 percent of children with mild illness in scenarios that did not require exclusion according to the national guidelines.
• The number of unnecessary exclusions decreased when the center was large and when the director had more experience. Centers that were located in areas with a greater percentage of female heads of households were also less likely to have children excluded, whereas centers with 10 percent or more of children on state assistance were associated with increased unnecessary exclusions.
• Self-reported knowledge of AAP-APHA guidelines was not associated with decreased exclusion rates; nearly half of all experienced directors reported that they were unfamiliar with AAP-APHA guidelines.
• The results did not show fewer exclusion decisions for centers with access to child health consultants; only 5 percent of all directors with access to health consultants reported using consultants to obtain information about exclusion decisions.

• In the 30-day period preceding the 12-year interview, nurse-visited children, compared with controls, were less likely to have used cigarettes, alcohol, or marijuana.
• Nurse-visited children reported fewer internalizing disorders than did controls.
• Nurse-visited children born to mothers with low psychological resources had higher scores in reading and math at age 12, higher grade point averages (GPAs) and group-based achievement test scores in reading and math in grades 1 through 6, and higher GPAs in reading and math in grades 4 through 6.
• No statistically significant program effects were found on children's sustained attention, externalizing, or total behavior problems, or on conduct grades.