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Abstract

Defining healthy schools remains largely discipline specific. Design disciplines ground discussions in a “green building” framework. Public health approaches healthy schools through programmatic interventions for physical activity and nutrition. This article presents a more systemic approach to healthy schools via health impact assessment (HIA). It reviews literature on health determinants in school environments, focusing on physical design. Existing school HIAs are reviewed with other decision support tools that provide guidance on the operation and design of healthy schools. The paper examines current use of HIAs in schools and develops a screening matrix for using HIA in creating healthy schools.

Keywords

public health neighborhood planning education

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Health Impact Assessments and Healthy Schools

Abstract

Keywords

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