Reframing school dropout as a public health issue.

Full Abstract

Good education predicts good health, and disparities in health and in educational achievement are closely linked. Despite these connections, public health professionals rarely make reducing the number of students who drop out of school a priority, although nearly one-third of all students in the United States and half of black, Latino, and American Indian students do not graduate from high school on time. In this article, we summarize knowledge on the health benefits of high school graduation and discuss the pathways by which graduating from high school contributes to good health. We examine strategies for reducing school dropout rates with a focus on interventions that improve school completion rates by improving students' health. Finally, we recommend actions health professionals can take to reframe the school dropout rate as a public health issue and to improve school completion rates in the United States.

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Author information

Author/s: Freudenberg, Nicholas (N); Ruglis, Jessica (J);

Affiliation: Hunter College School of Health Sciences, City University of New York, 425 E 25th St, New York, NY 10010, USA. nfreuden(-atsign-)hunter.cuny.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article

Journal: Preventing chronic disease (Prev Chronic Dis), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2007-Oct; vol 4 (issue 4) : pp A107

Dates: Created 2007/09/18; Completed 2007/10/10; Revised 2008/04/17;

PMID: 17875251, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

Sourced from the National Library of Medicine. Abstract text and other information may be subject to copyright.

Comments and Corrections

CommentIn: Prev Chronic Dis. 2008 Apr;5(2):A67; author reply A69. (PMID: 18341802)

CommentIn: Prev Chronic Dis. 2008 Apr;5(2):A68; author reply A69. (PMID: 18341803)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Preventive Health Services - organization & administration
Risk Factors
Social Problems
Student Dropouts - statistics & numerical data
United States

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