Saturday, March 14, 2009
EDUCATION ON HEALTH ISSUES
Although the issues of obesity, nutrition and vaccinations have not been traditionally considered within the jurisdiction of the role of schools, I feel that schools need to be educating our children on these issues.
On the issue of vaccinations, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, 20 states allow philosophical exemptions for those who object to immunizations because of a personal, moral or belief (Samuels, 2008). Legally, I agree with these states. Parents should have the right to withhold vaccinations from their children if they have concerns. There is controversy over many vaccinations, particularly the current HPV vaccination. Morally, it would be wrong for schools, or the government to make these types of vaccines mandatory. However, as with other communicable diseases, would a parent who denies vaccines for their children, be putting others at risk? Charlotte Vandervalk, an assembly woman for the state of New Jersey, says that many diseases have been eliminated through proper sanitation. She also says that it would be the child that does not have the vaccination who would be at risk for a disease, not the vaccinated child (Samuels, 2008). Her point is that if a parent chooses to take this risk, then that should be their legal right. I agree! Schools, however, could educate parents and children about the risks of not being vaccinated.
As for the nutrition and obesity issue being taken as the responsibility of schools, I would state that to some extent, these issues need to be addressed while children are in the care of schools. Proper nutritious food should be provided in schools, with junk food eliminated. However, it is not up to schools to police what food parents send with their children. This would violate their rights. However, schools can teach proper nutrition with the hope that educating children will lead to a change in behaviors. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, the first way to help obese kids manage their weight is to meet with them once or twice a week, for six to 12 months, and to teach them about nutrition and exercise (Bell, 2009).
Finally, I am vehement about the rights of parents and their role as primary educators. As for those parents that usurp this responsibility, well, the only thing that schools can do is educate on these important issues.
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Mary, I agree with you on the vaccination issue and I think that some of those newly recommended ones,as Ria listed like HPV, will cause strong reactions if young girls are required to get it.
ReplyDeleteI'm guessing that religious objections and perhaps some new ones will be created.
I also agree that parents should have the right to refuse vaccinations due to philosophical or religious reasons; especially the HPV vaccine, since HPV is so new and adverse health effects may not be known yet. The Akron Beacon Journal recently had an article about a girl from Stow whose parents feel her health problems are linked to the HPV vaccination. Dr. Congeni of Akron stated in the article that his office has reported the symptoms to the CDC, so that they can include them with any other findings across the nation.
ReplyDeleteThe article “Preschool Vaccines Upset N.J. Parents” focused on parents fighting to prohibit making the flu vaccination mandatory for pre-school children. My children have almost always gotten the flu shot, but I feel this is a personal, family decision, not a governmental one. The government needs to let families make their own choice with regards to the flu vaccination. I wonder how much lobbying was done by the companies who make the flu vaccination, since the flu vaccination is an annual vaccination and would be quite profitable for pharmaceutical companies, especially if the legislation went nation-wide.
The article also mentioned the controversy with the alleged link between childhood vaccinations and autism. Parents of children with autism have long made this claim, because their children seem to be born quite normal, but around 18 months to three years old start to exhibit the symptoms of autism. What could cause this change? Recent studies have not been able to make this link. My heart goes out to these parents, because as a parent you want to know “Why?”, and if it is something as simple as eliminating or changing a vaccination then we would certainly want to make that change.
Vaccinations have made childhood much safer for most children, though, as Ria pointed out. Polio has been eradicated in the U.S., as well as, small pox. Free clinics are available for the vaccinations required for school. Ria mentioned that some parents still do not get their children vaccinated. I remember getting a small pox vaccination at my kindergarten registration. Maybe vaccinations could be available at registration time now, too.
I agree that the vaccine question is a tricky one. Thanks for the recent info re: the HPV vaccine, Jenny. As far as them (like the flu shot) being a matter of parental choice, I think the same could have been said for the polio vaccine, couldn't it? But it was seen as a community health issue--and I think the flu scare is being viewed by some as a similar situation...?
ReplyDeleteAs a school nurse I feel it is my job to assure the health of every teacher, child and staff member in my building. I understand that some people may have religious objections to immunizations, however, it really bothers me when I have provided resources to the parents and they just "refuse" to cooperate! I know parents hate when I call and send home notice after notice but it is my job to keep people safe and healthy. There have been so many health achivements made in the 20th century due to the success of vaccinations, I would find it hard not to comply with state laws regarding immunizations if I were a parent. The government usually doesnt make laws just because! As I stated laws and requirements are set in place based on outcomes of scientic based research. Because some parents are skeptical about immunizations it is important for health care providers to determine the learning need of the parent and provide information the parent can understand. Its funny because I know in some of my schools, the same parents that give me grief about following up with shot records are the same ones who will start "drama" if an outbreak occurs.
ReplyDelete"The government usually doesnt make laws just because!" (But they have been known to make some bad ones..) Still, I agree with you, Ria--you (and the government) are looking at the "big picture" and it must be terribly frustrating to deal with so many unnecessary obstacles. Interesting sociological observation concerning the types of parents who cause the most problems...
ReplyDeleteAs stated in Ria's presentation in class, the ultimate goal of immunizations is to eliminate and prevent illness. As a parent and knowing that so many childhood illnesses have been eradicated through the promotion of vacinations...why would you opt not to prevent and protect? As Ria shared with us, the CDC in each state does have school laws for immunizing. As nurses we are told that if a child is not up on their immunizations, they should then be excluded from school. May sound harsh, byt just possibly, if we start to enforce this rule, parents may take the issue a little bit more seriously. Currently, I have issued already two rounds of notices, since Novembor of 2008, informing parents that their childrens' immunization needed to be updated. I've had less than 30% response or feedback. Technically, these children could be excluded. What more can we do?
ReplyDelete