The Application of Salutogenesis in Universities

Abstract

This chapter focuses on how health can be created, maintained and supported in university settings. It first explores the higher education context and introduces key concepts that underpin ‘healthy universities’ and the application of a settings approach within this sector. While it can be argued that there are semantic differences between terms such as ‘health promoting settings’ and ‘healthy settings’, the reality is that they have often been used interchangeably. For the purposes of this chapter, the term ‘Healthy Universities’ is used throughout, even though the discussion draws on literature that has used a diversity of terminology, including ‘Health Promoting Universities’ and ‘Healthy Campus’. It then presents a summary of key developments and of theoretical and empirical research in the field, reflecting on the relationship to salutogenesis, before discussing key themes emerging and outlining challenges for the future.