From Covering Kids & Families of Indiana Newsletter 3.4.21
Dr. Dalton Conley of Princeton University and Dr. Diane Whitmore Schanzenbach of Northwestern University recently authored an article advocating for the need to expand school-based health centers (SBHCs). The authors noted that although youth have less direct health repercussions due to COVID infections than adults, they face many issues such as food insecurity, mental health crises and the loss of educational progress at an alarming rate.
The authors further cited examples in which school-based health centers have proven that they can target the wide-ranging issues faced by youth:
- According to some studies, SBHCs may reduce teen pregnancy rates.
- SBHCs have been linked to reduced depression and suicide risk in students.
- SBHCs have also been shown to improve academic measures such as GPAs.
- Attendance rates are higher and suspension rates are lower in schools with SBHCs.
Despite the evidence supporting SBHCs, the authors observe that only 6.3 million students have access to an SBHC. This amounts to roughly 11% of the total number of U.S. students. Expanding the number of SBHCs, they argue, will help more children get the care they need while also promoting academic and health equity. |
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