Source: Health Policy Institute of Ohio
The Health Policy Institute of Ohio (HPIO) has released Connections Between Education and Health No. 4: School-Based Drug and Violence Prevention and Mental Health Promotion.
As thousands of Ohioans struggle to recover from opiate addiction, policymakers are increasingly aware of the importance of stopping addiction before it starts. Many school-based drug prevention approaches also improve other outcomes of interest to policymakers and educators such as:
- Increased on-task behavior, school engagement, and high school graduation
- Decreased school behavior problems and disciplinary incidents
- Decreased depression, anxiety, and suicide
- Decreased school violence and bullying.
This fourth and final policy brief in HPIO’s Connections Between Education and Health series focuses on policies and programs that support foundational protective factors for children, such as health literacy, impulse control, communication skills, school engagement and opportunities for positive social involvement including:
- Prevention education
- Social-emotional learning and positive behavior programs
- School climate improvement initiatives.
The brief describes the extent to which Ohio is implementing these approaches and presents policy options to improve education and health outcomes through school-based prevention.