A Public Health Approach Presented by: Kim Gamm RN BSN CDE

 Gain an understanding of the role of public health departments in bullying prevention and education  Learn how bullying prevention and education efforts were implemented in a small rural community  Learn barriers to bullying prevention and education and ways to address these barriers

 Wide spread in the U.S.  Causes long-term health issues both mentally and physically  Leads to increased risky behaviors and possible unintentional injuries  According to the Health Risk Behaviors among Middle and High School Students in 2013 – 45.1% of Missouri middle school students reported being bullying with 25.4 stated they were bullied electronically; 25.2 Missouri high school students reported being bullied on school grounds.

 Educate  Advocate  Active involvement  Support

 Recognition of the need and target populations  Promoted through an existing program- Hunter Behlmann Memorial Farm Safety for Just Kids chapter  Developed an outreach strategies using resources from “The Bully Project”-

 Letter to school administrators  Face to Face meetings with schools and potential partners  Provided the “Bully” DVD and educational curriculum for review to schools  Scheduled school presentation to view the movie and provide education  Partnered with local YMCA Afterschool Program  Offered community presentations for parents  Print and social media campaign

 Toolkit and resources available to reach our goal  Focused on our target group of middle and high schools  Nationally known program with accessible resources for schools to view

 BYHg BYHg  Viewed by local schools  Refusal by some schools  Stories from kids being bullied and familiy members of bullied children  2 versions available  Seen by over a million children  Trailer or the video at or youtube

 Partnership with school administration and staff  Principles, counselors and peers participated in the presentation prior to and after the movie  Take home points and positive encouragement provided by school staff  Peer leadership groups formed  Post presentation follow up done via school counselors

 Partnership with YMCA and YMCA afterschool program to reach parents  Presented to parents at the YMCA Healthy Kids Day  Offered community education presentation via the Megan Meier Foundation

 Parent presentation offered while kids enjoyed the activities for children  Educated parents what to look for and what to do about bullying and cyberbullying

 Community presentation free to the public  Funded by YMCA and health department  Tina Meier spoke to educate parents and community members 

 Bully education provided at school but only short term  Lack of parental or community education  Schools reluctant to let in outside help  School staff took offense to the “Bully” movie  Fear of causing “more issues” if movie was viewed  Lack of admittance to the problem  Parents not wanting to learn their child might be a bully

 Worked with schools to develop more long-term plans for bully prevention  Offered community presentation and linked parents and community members to resources  Allowed schools to develop the agenda for the presentation and take an active role in the program  Education provided on how to address an increase in bully reports after the movie- tips in “The Bully Project” toolkit  Encouraged schools to survey students to see if a real problem exists  Conducted parent programs on how to recognize if your child is a bully and what to do about it

  