If you think that news and information about health seems more
and more in evidence on television and in newspapers and magazines, you are
right. With the proliferation of news channels on cable television and the
explosion of audience-specific, targeted "niche" (specialty) magazines, we
are being informed about health matters now more than ever before. In 1991,
for example, NEW YORK magazine ran a well-researched 2-part article on the
best doctors and the best hospitals in the New York City area which elicited
a flood of mail and kudos from readers. And the combination of the maturing
of the health and environment conscious baby boomers with the arrival of the
still-mysterious AIDS virus makes health communication an ever more vital issue.
Comprehensive school health education is a planned, sequential
curriculum of experiences presented by qualified professionals to promote the
development of health knowledge, health-related skills, and positive attitudes
toward health and well-being for students in preschool through grade 12. Comprehensive
school health education is one facet of the comprehensive school health program,
which includes school health services and a healthful school environment, as
well as health instruction. This Digest will focus on the instructional component
of the comprehensive school health program.