Texas Child Health Status Report

What do we know about the status of health in Texas children?  How do Texas children compare to children in the U.S.? Although there are many state-level indicators of child health in the state, most of these data are not packaged and accessible. In addition, most information is only available at the state level, not by regional levels. 

The Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living is developing a series of user-friendly materials, including reports and one-pagers, to highlight the status of child health in Texas, with a focus on health disparities.  This series of reports, Healthy Children, Healthy State, can be used to raise awareness of child health risk factors in order to develop new programs and actions, and to build on current initiatives in Texas. Together we can play an early and impactful role in children's health. The earlier healthy habits are formed, the better for health long-term.

Data from the Texas School Physical Activity and Nutrition (SPAN) surveillance system is used for the Healthy Children, Healthy State reports.  Additional data from the state, such as Fitnessgram results, are also used. Texas SPAN data are available at the state level, as well as by Public Health Regions and border/non-border levels.

The development of the Healthy Children, Healthy State reports is led by the investigators and staff at the Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living at the UTHealth School of Public Health in Austin. An advisory committee of more than 20 different partner organizations has been convened to prioritize report topics and provide input on material design and dissemination. 

Other components of the Healthy Children, Healthy State reports include toolkits for addressing priority health issues and an interactive database for SPAN 2015-2016 data.

Texas Child Health Status Report Topics:

Specific one-page child health status report topics include:

1. Child Obesity Crisis in Texas
2. Child Nutrition
3. Child Physical Activity
4. Child Screen Time
5. Child Sleep Quality
6. Child Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption
7. Teen Vaping
8. Vaping Advertisements and Teens
9. Vaping with Flavors
10. Child Eating Away From Home Behaviors
11. Breakfast Consumption

Research Team:

Deanna M. Hoelscher, PhD, RDN, LN, CNS, FISBNPA, Principal Investigator
Alexandra van den Berg, PhD, MPH, Co-Investigator
Nalini Ranjit, PhD, Investigator
Steven Kelder, PhD, MPH, Investigator
Tiffni Menendez, MPH, Co-Project Director

Advisory Committee Organizations:

• American Heart Association
• CATCH Global Foundation
• Children at Risk
• Children's Optimal Health
• Cornerstone Government Affairs
• Hogg Foundation for Mental Health
• IT'S TIME TEXAS
• SHAPE America
• St. David's Foundation
• Texana Public Affairs
• Texans Care for Children
• Texas Action for Healthy Kids
• Texas Department of State Health Services
• Texas Health Institute
• Texas Hunger Initiative
• Texas Pediatric Society
• Texas Public Health Association
• The Cooper Institute
• UTHealth Equity Collective
• UT System

Funding:

Funding for the Texas Child Health Status Report project provided by the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.

Contact:

Tiffni Menendez, MPH
Sr. Program Manager
Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living
Phone: (512) 391-2512
Email: [email protected]