| Abstract: | Discussing the different strategies concerning school health programs in India, the author explains that the most successful are those that take a comprehensive approach, one which integrates the efforts of teachers, students, and health services, and the community. Considering that 86.7 million Indian children are currently enrolled in primary schools and that the school age group (6-14 years) makes up more that 1/4 of the total population, schools health programs offer a great opportunity for improving the health of the population. Examining case studies, the author reviews the following approaches: curative, outreach, educational, and comprehensive/integrated. Curative health services focus on tertiary prevention with the goal of reducing child morbidity and mortality. Marked by vertical organization and minimal community involvement, this approach is administered by the Department of Health, and it relies on medical personnel who perform sporadic checkups of children. Unfortunately, follow-ups and referral services are inadequate. A secondary level of prevention, outreach programs involve early detection, diagnosis, and treatment. Teachers and medical personnel comprise the primary vehicles for the program, and they have the option of involving the community. The educational approach focuses on primary prevention and healthy practices, and it relies on active involvement on the part of teachers and children. Finally, the comprehensive approach integrates the curative and preventive aspects of the previous approaches. This horizontal organization provides for community participation and allows for problem solving to take place within the sociocultural context of the school and community. |
