National Public Health Week: April 3-9, 2006

Designing Healthy Communities, Raising Healthy Kids

National Public Health Week is a time for the public health community to focus on issues that are important to improving the public's health. This year's theme, Designing Healthy Communities: Raising Healthy Kids, will aim to improve the understanding of the relationship between built environments- such as homes, schools, parks, and community design- and the health and safety of children by promoting solutions that families, communities, and policy-makers can use to improve children's health in their communities. Each day will focus on the relationship between the built environment and a core children's health issue.

Monday: Designing Healthy Communities: Raising Healthy Kids

Community planning efforts that incorporate bike/pedestrian paths, publicly accessible green spaces, and community parks promote physical activity and make every community member healthier. Take part in this process by reviewing policy changes, such as zoning amendments, to ensure that your town or city is supporting active living through physical design.

Take a walk and check your neighborhood's walkability by answering the following questions:

• Did you have room to walk? (i.e. On designated sidewalks or paths)
• Was it easy to follow safety rules such as crossing at cross streets, crossing with the light, and walking on sidewalks or shoulders facing traffic?
• Did drivers behave well?
• Was your walk pleasant? Was there grass, flowers, or trees present? Were dogs on leash? Did you feel safe? Was the path well lighted? Was there a lot of litter or trash? Was the air dirty due to automobile exhaust?
  

Rate your neighborhood based on these factors and work with your local government or neighborhood organizations to improve identified problem areas.

Take this pop quiz to see if your community is healthy for kids: Is your community healthy for kids?

Tuesday: Surrounding Our Kids with Equal Opportunities

Many urban and low-income communities lack nearby grocery stores with a good selection of healthy, fresh foods. If this is a problem in your community, consider planning a community grocery-shopping event. Residents can gather and visit the local store together, inventory the fresh food selection and create a "shopping list" of the healthy foods that are not available. Residents can then deliver the shopping lists and/or grocery bags full of unhealthy food to city hall in order to highlight the need for a community solution to a lack of healthy food options.

Wednesday: Surrounding Our Kids with Physical Activity

Across the country, a lack of safe walking paths has left many children unable to walk to school and has contributed to rising child obesity rates. Walking to school can be an important opportunity for incorporating physical activity into an otherwise busy day.

To incorporate physical activity in your child's day:

• Visit the Safe Routes to School Web site and start planning a Walk to School Day in your community.
  
• Participate in a fun classroom activity called "Walk and Bike Across America".
• NPHW is the perfect time to take the "President's Challenge"- a program of the President's Council on Physical Fitness that encourages all Americans to make being active part of their everyday lives.

Thursday: Surrounding Our Kids with Safety

Lead poisons and mold in homes and schools pose a threat to children's safety and health. In addition, pedestrian fatalities are the leading cause of injury death to children.

For more information about poison prevention, review Collin County's Health Focus article on National Poison Prevention Week

For more information to prevent accidental childhood injury, visit the Safe Kids Worldwide website.

To keep your family safe, it is also important to prepare for emergency situations.

1. Create an emergency plan.
   
   • Mark two escape routes from each room of your house.
   • Pick one out-of-state and one local friend or relative for family members to call if separated during a disaster (it is often easier to call out-of-state than within the affected area).
   • Pick two emergency meeting places. One place near your home in case of a fire and one place outside your neighborhood in case you cannot return home after a disaster.
2. Assemble a Disaster Supplies Kit or 72 Hour Kit. If you need to evacuate your home or are asked to "shelter in place," having some essential supplies on hand will make you and your family more comfortable. For more information about creating a family emergency plan and assembling a disaster supplies kit, please visit Ready.gov
3. Get trained and volunteer. Register to volunteer and get the necessary training before an emergency strikes.

American Red Cross

Community Emergency Response Teams (CERT)

Medical Reserve Corp (MRC)

Register as a Collin County MRC Volunteer

Friday: Surrounding Our Kids with Clean Air

Increased automobile traffic leads to higher levels of air pollution and more children with chronic diseases like asthma. Participate in a "Park Your Car Day" that encourages everyone in the community to walk, bicycle or take public transit to get to work, school and community events. For more information about Clean Air review Collin County's Health Focus article on Clean Air Month.

Sign a Smoke-Free pledge during National Public Health Week. Pledge not to smoke, or allow others to smoke, around children. Exposure to secondhand smoke causes serious health effects in children, including bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections, worsened asthma and even sudden infant death syndrome. For more information about quitting smoking, review Collin County's Health Focus article for The Great American Smokeout.