A student health advocate program.
School nurses are in a unique position to influence health education in the school system. However, it is likely that school nurses have varying opportunity, due to staffing patterns, to effectively use their health education background to reach large numbers of students. This article explores the benefits of providing a school nurse-facilitated student health advocate program. The student health advocate program is a creative approach, designed to access a greater audience of students for health education and health promotion activities. It also cites research supporting the choice of peer education as a health education/health promotion strategy. The initiation of a student health advocate program, the role of the school nurse, student activities, program evaluation, and nursing implications are discussed. Positive benefits accrued for both the student health advocate and the mentored student.
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D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D006266:Health Education / Q000379:methods*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D009516:New Mexico; D010379:Peer Group; D015397:Program Evaluation; D011641:Public Relations; D012573:School Nursing