title: Enacting sustainable school-based health initiatives: a communication-centered approach to policy and practice.
abstract: Communication plays an important role in all aspects of the development and use of policy. We present a communication-centered perspective on the processes of enacting public health policies. Our proposed conceptual framework comprises 4 communication frames: orientation, amplification, implementation, and integration. Empirical examples from 2 longitudinal studies of school-based health policies show how each frame includes different communication processes that enable sustainable public health policy practices in school-based health initiatives. These 4 frames provide unique insight into the capacity of school-based public health policy to engage youths, parents, and a broader community of stakeholders. Communication is often included as an element of health policy; however, our framework demonstrates the importance of communication as a pivotal resource in sustaining changes in public health practices.
authors.affiliation: Department of Communication Studies, University of North Carolina at Greensboro, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170, USA. melegrec@uncg.edu
authors.forename: Marianne
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: LeGreco
authors.forename: Heather E
authors.initials: HE
authors.lastname: Canary
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D003142:Communication; D019988:Children with Disabilities / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D005522:Food Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D011640:Public Policy; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D015206:Southwestern United States