Strength and Comprehensiveness of Drinking Water Language in California School District Wellness Policies

Abstract

Objective(s): Assess the quality of water language in California school district wellness policies and examine how language quality relates to school drinking water access.

Design: Cross-sectional study.

Participants: Random sample of 240 schools selected from all California public schools, stratified by geography and grades served.

Variables measured: Policies (2016-2018) were coded for quality (strength and comprehensiveness) using an adapted school wellness policy tool. School administrators completed phone interviews about drinking water access on their campus.

Analysis: Descriptive statistics (eg, means, standard deviations) summarized school-level characteristics and main outcomes. Mixed-effects linear regression models were used to examine the relationship between the strength and comprehensiveness of water policy language and water access.

Results: On a scale of 0-100, mean strength was 11.3 (SD, 5.7), and mean comprehensiveness was 28.8 (SD, 8.7). There was an inverse association between the quality of water language in policies and excellence in drinking water access in schools.

Conclusions and implications: The strength and comprehensiveness of water language in California school district wellness policies were low. Districts would benefit from improving the quality of water language in their wellness policies and examining challenges to implementing policies.

Keywords: child; drinking water; policy; schools.