Saturday 30th June 2007
According to a new scientific statement issued by the American Heart Association (AHA), school nurses have an important role to play in increasing awareness about heart health among school children and youth.
In the statement, AHA recommends the participation of school nurses in behavioural skill training and heart-health education of children. The statement calls upon nurses to push for heart-healthy school policies and the joint involvement of both the school and the community in screening for heart disease risk. They should also motivate children to eat a healthy diet, take sufficient exercise and avoid smoking.
Laura Hayman, head of the statement writing group and a professor of nursing in the Department of Nutrition, Food Studies and Public Health at New York University feels that efforts for reducing cardiovascular disease risk should start during childhood for them to play a role in preventing the disease.
??Identifying risk factors for cardiovascular disease is a key component of primary prevention; thus, schools, preschools and other community-based settings where child care is provided are important places to begin educating children and families about cardiovascular disease risk,? she said.
According to the authors of the AHA statement, school nurses can be key players in helping children and youth steer clear of heart disease risk by making them more aware about the causing factors. ??Because they??re knowledgeable about resources in their communities, school nurses are well-positioned to provide appropriate referrals for children and their families once a risk factor is identified,? said Hayman.
The statement not only highlights the important role nurses can play in preventing heart disease but also stresses on the fact that healthy lifestyle behaviours and a change to a therapeutic lifestyle can help prevent heart disease and promote life long heart health in children.
Studies have already shown that children too can display markers of cardiovascular disease and that they also face risk factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, physical inactivity, smoking and obesity. ??Prevention needs to begin early in life, with the adoption and maintenance of healthy lifestyle behaviors,? Hayman said.
