Implementing a State‐Adopted High School Health Curriculum: A Case Study

Abstract

BACKGROUND The Michigan Model for Health™ (MMH) is the official health curriculum for the State of Michigan and prevailing policy and practice has encouraged its adoption. Delivering evidence-based programs such as MMH with fidelity is essential to program effectiveness. Yet, most schools do meet state-designated fidelity requirements for implementation (delivering 80% or more of the curriculum). METHODSWe collected online survey (N = 20) and in-person interview (N = 5) data investigating fidelity and factors related to implementation of the MMH curriculum from high school health teachers across high schools in one socioeconomically challenged Michigan county and key stakeholders. RESULTSWe found that 68% of teachers did not meet state-identified standards of fidelity for curriculum delivery. Our results indicate that factors related to the context and implementation processes (eg, trainings) may be associated with fidelity. Teachers reported barriers to program delivery, including challenges with adapting the curriculum to suit their context, competing priorities, and meeting students' needs on key issues such as substance use and mental health issues.CONCLUSIONS Multiple factors influence the fidelity of health curriculum delivery in schools serving low-income students.Investigating these factors guided by implementation science frameworks can inform use of implementation strategies to support and enhance curriculum delivery. component of overall school health education efforts that have tremendous potential to improve students' health and well-being, and reduce the likelihood of poor health outcomes. [2][3][4] In addition, school health education curricula can provide a critical opportunity to reach youth underserved by other settings and aid in

Digital citizenship among Appalachian middle schoolers: The common sense digital citizenship curriculum

“…Health education curricula, when presented within or through schools, have the potential to impact student health and academic success (Eisman et al, 2020). School health education may be especially important in low-income, at-risk communities, by providing youth with opportunities that are otherwise not accessible due to financial challenges and competing demands on resources (Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development [ASCD], 2012).…”

Michigan Model for HealthTM Learning to Enhance and Adapt for Prevention (Mi-LEAP): protocol of a pilot randomized trial comparing Enhanced Replicating Effective Programs versus standard implementation to deliver an evidence-based drug use prevention curriculum

“…Yet, similar to other EBIs, MMH is infrequently delivered with fidelity [ 28 ]. A statewide study found that 58% of educators failed to meet state-designated MMH fidelity standards [ 27 ] (i.e., delivering 80% or more of the curriculum); this is even higher among schools in economically challenged communities, with 73% not meeting state fidelity standards [ 29 ].…”

“…The secondary aims are to evaluate the potential effectiveness of Enhanced REP versus standard implementation on youth outcomes including student drug use, drug use risk perceptions, quality-adjusted life years, and student-level fidelity (e.g., satisfaction, curriculum engagement). We will also assess fidelity to the MMH curriculum using a teacher dose delivered measure, consistent with previous MMH implementation research [ 27 , 29 , 45 ].…”

The Dragon, the Knight and the Princess: Folklore in Early Childhood Disaster Education

“…In Indonesia, it is integrated into science, social studies, language, mathematics or even religious studies (Rahiem, 2018). Thirty-nine states in the USA, using the Michigan Model for Health, are integrating disaster preparedness curricula into their School Health Program (Eisman et al, 2020). Natural disasters are addressed in geography lessons in Australia and New Zealand (Duffy, 2014).…”