The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA

Abstract #47654

Cushing Hurd, BA, Health Communications Graduate Program, Emerson College, Gallery Voices, 56 Lyman Street, Waltham, MA 02452, 7818947698, churd@galleryvoices.com

Morality, politics and reality: This study takes a look back in time and relates it to current movements, attitudes and behaviors. What hundreds of Englishman left their homeland for is in resurgence today with a gigantic economic and social cost. Puritanism is life without reality, or as some describe it, a “tethered life devoid of pleasure, fun and social interaction. Sadly it is that same prevailing attitude governing the development and implementation of school health policy. Ongoing research, thorough review of current literature and analysis of data drawn from studies I am currently concluding, should establish the need for attitudinal adjustment in adopting school health policies. Part of an ongoing online project, I evaluate religion’s impact on school health policy. Many accomplishments have been sited in recent years, yet, several barriers limiting the development and growth of school based health clinics(SBHC) and other programs still persist. Perhaps the most important barriers include consistent and continuous funding, and the politically controversial nature of some recommended services, especially the provision of reproductive health services for teens. Because of this controversy, clinics often encountered grassroots resistance, and scholars considered the emerging conflicts as yet another example of "culture war" issues confronting schools. As we forge ahead in a new era, we can only hope the puritanical hypocrisy of yesteryear will give way to realism and practicality. America, the year is 2002; Thomas Edison gave us the light bulb years ago; it’s time to turn it on. Your daughter could be next.

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