Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 6, 2025

Breakfast Habits among Schoolchildren in the City of Uruguaiana, Brazil
Published on: July 29, 2020
Use of School Wellness Policy Templates in One Texas Public Health Region: A Mixed-Methods Analysis
Jacob Szeszulski1, Timothy J Walker2, Sheryl A McCurdy3
1The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Center for Health Promotion and Prevention Research and the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, 7000 Fannin St #2528, Houston, TX, 77030., USA.
Background:
Federal law requires most school districts to develop school wellness policies (SWPs), which state agencies assist in by providing templates. Templates provide standard language, which districts may edit for numerous reasons. We aimed to identify the frequency/consistency of template usage and identify the types of edits districts make when using SWP templates.
Methods:
We identified SWPs (N = 117) and templates (N = 2) from districts in 1 Texas public health region. We developed template specific coding guides, which allowed us to examine the frequency SWPs used template text within multiple areas (eg, nutrition goals, reporting). We also collected/categorized SWP edits from the template text and conducted a thematic analysis of locally developed SWPs and SWP templates.
Results:
Of 117 SWPs, 81.2% used a 2020 template, 13.7% used a 2005 template, and 5.1% created their own SWP. Across template-based SWPs, 44 content edits (0.4 per policy) occurred in 9 categories. Thematic analysis revealed: (1) locally developed SWPs created an informed mission statement linked to their goals; (2) Locally developed SWPs provided details that the current template includes in wellness plans.
Conclusions:
Most districts used exact template language when writing their SWP. Adding spaces where districts can specify details could improve SWP content.
More Related Videos
10:45A Community-based Stress Management Program: Using Wearable Devices to Assess Whole Body Physiological Responses in Non-laboratory Settings
Published on: January 22, 2018
13:44Project-Based Learning Guidelines for Health Sciences Students: An Analysis with Data Mining and Qualitative Techniques
Published on: December 9, 2022
Related Concept Videos
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention II
The agent-host-environment model states that disease results...
Models of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention I
The health belief model (HBM) attempts to predict health-related behavior in specific belief patterns. According to the HBM, a person's...
Levels of Health Promotion and Illness Prevention
In primary prevention, actions taken before disease onset prevent the disease from...
Primary Healthcare Services
In 1978, international leaders convened in Alma-Ata, Kazakhstan, for what would be a pivotal event in global health. The Alma-Ata Declaration was the first to call...
Stress Prevention and Stress Management Techniques VI
Motivation and Self-Determination
Motivation, the driving force behind behavior, plays a pivotal role at every stage of the change process. The research...
Statistical Methods for Analyzing Epidemiological Data