COD E R E D

Policy Reports Recommendations (Total studies = 75)● Provide up-to-date information and linguistically and culturally competent trainingson environmental risks related to asthma/diabetes in children, prevention anddisease management, and on best practices guidelines to health care providers.Academic Performance-relatedClaimsmedication side effects may alterconcentration and performance.● Promote a team-based approach to the delivery of care to individuals with diabetesand members of their families, and a better alignment of services to needs, at bothlocal and state levels.● Develop and maintain an internet-based clearinghouse of asthma best practicemodels. Develop an information clearing house for diabetes referral services andcontinuing professional education opportunities in Texas.● Safety and good health areprerequisites to better academicperformance.● School administrators, teachers,and PTA members should beeducated on the positive relationshipbetween nutrition, physical activity,and academic performance.● Disease and case management are strongly recommended (a) as diabetessecondary & tertiary prevention. Self-management education at home isrecommended (b) for children and adolescent with Type-I diabetes but insufficientevidence (c) is provided for effectiveness in Type-II.Public health infrastructure● Sustain support and funding for state and local public health action inasthma/diabetes prevention and management.● Enhance legislative and regulatory advocacy at state and at local levels.Industry● Industry should make obesity prevention in children and youth a priority bydeveloping and promoting products, opportunities, and information that willencourage healthful eating behaviors and regular physical activity.● Restrict marketing and advertising of unhealthful foods and beverages to children.● Require chain restaurants to provide nutrition information on display boards andmenus, and reduce their number in the low-income neighborhoods and work with therestaurants to add healthy options to their menus.Coordination● Build partnerships and dialogue between family, students, school staff, boards ofeducation, disease specialists, health care providers, community groups and healthexperts and food providers to develop plans that address issues like asthma,diabetes, nutrition and physical activities.● Local governments, public health agencies, schools, and community organizationsshould collaboratively develop and promote programs that encourage healthfuleating behaviors and regular physical activity, particularly for populations at high riskof childhood obesity. Community coalitions should be formed to facilitate andpromote cross-cutting programs and community-wide efforts.● Enable state education and health departments to work together to help schoolsimplement quality, daily physical education and other physical activity programs.● Collaborate with EPA and other programs and institutions to develop, support, andimplement environmental conditions/exposure policies to reduce the impact ofasthma in schools, homes, and low-income communities.Research and surveillance● Conduct research on distributions of disease prevalence, morbidity, mortality, anddisease management locally and nationally. Establish coordinated and systematiclocal, state and national systems for asthma/diabetes surveillance to monitorgeographic, temporal, and demographic trends in asthma/diabetes/overweight,health outcomes related to interventions and their cost-effectiveness evaluation,population at risk and the underserved.E-41