The Hong Kong Healthy Schools Award Scheme, school health and student health: An exploratory study

Abstract

Objective: The Hong Kong Healthy Schools Award Scheme (HKHSA) developed an assessment and monitoring system to examine the status of Health Promoting Schools (HPS). This study made use of the HKHSA programme to investigate the school health ‘profile’ and student health status of four gold award schools following 3–4 years’ participation in the scheme. Design: Repeated cross-sectional student health surveys of the same year level (Secondary 3) were conducted over different time periods, and achievement of HKHSA was assessed by repeated assessments of the school health profile using HPS indicators. Setting: This study included four schools with the Healthy School gold award in Hong Kong, together with students from three of the four schools. Methods: School performance in the six HPS key areas were analysed using radial plot graphs, and students’ health behaviours were measured by means of repeated cross-sectional student health surveys. Results: The four gold award schools demonstrated various degrees of achievement in different HPS key areas with student health behaviours markedly improving in these schools. Further analyses revealed how certain HPS key area components were associated with sustained positive health behaviours among students. Conclusion: The ongoing implementation of HPS impacts on schools’ environment and students’ health behaviours. The HKHSA is designed for formative and summative assessment of school health promotion. Findings provide insight into an HPS assessment process, signalling future directions for the development of school health promotion.