From Practice to Publication: The Promise of Writing Workshops.

Practitioners in health departments, university extension programs, and nonprofit organizations working in public health face varied challenges to publishing in the peer-reviewed literature. These practitioners may lack time, support, skills, and efficacy needed for manuscript submission, which keeps them from sharing their wisdom and experience-based evidence. This exclusion can contribute to literature gaps, a failure of evidence-based practice to inform future research, reduced ability to educate partners, and delays in advancing public health practice.

Results of evaluability assessments of local wellness policies in 6 US school districts.

Background: A US federal mandate that school districts devise and implement local wellness policies (LWPs) has potential widespread impact on the nutritional content of foods and beverages available in schools and on the amount of physical activity that students engage in; however, evidence concerning the mandate's effectiveness is limited. This study describes the content of LWPs of 6 US school districts and steps taken toward their implementation and evaluation.

Methods: During visits to 6 school districts, we interviewed 88 school and community representatives about the content of their district's LWPs and how the LWPs were being implemented and evaluated.

Establishing a baseline measure of school wellness-related policies implemented in a nationally representative sample of school districts.

The Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 required school districts to establish a local school wellness policy by the first day of the 2006-2007 school year. To provide a baseline measure of the extent to which wellness-related policies were implemented in school districts nationwide in 2006, this study analyzed data from the 2006 School Health Policies and Programs Study (SHPPS). SHPPS used a cross-sectional design to measure policies and practices among a nationally representative sample of 538 public school districts.

Nutrition services and foods and beverages available at school: results from the School Health Policies and Programs Study 2006.

Background: Schools are in a unique position to promote healthy dietary behaviors and help ensure appropriate nutrient intake. This article describes the characteristics of both school nutrition services and the foods and beverages sold outside of the school meals program in the United States, including state- and district-level policies and school practices.

Methods: The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention conducts the School Health Policies and Programs Study every 6 years.