Health Promotion Interventions In Schools Research Articles

Increasing Physical Activity in Schools: Strategies for School Health Practitioners.

Background. Colorado passed House Bill 11-1069 in 2011 requiring all public elementary schools to provide students with a minimum of 30 minutes of physical activity (PA) per school day (Physical Activity Expectation in Schools, 2011). The purpose of this article is to describe the results of a 3-year initiative to increase opportunities for PA and to provide recommendations for school health practitioners implementing similar programming. Intervention. In 2014, 13 school districts were funded to increase student PA during school hours and before and after school hours. Intervention activities spanned all components of the Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program framework. An evaluation was conducted to estimate the number of schools providing at least 30 minutes of PA a day. A mixed methods evaluation design was implemented that included tracking the number of minutes of PA provided before, during, and after school and semistructured interviews with school health coordinators. Results. In Year 1, an average of 48 minutes of PA were provided per day. By the end of year 3, the average minutes of PA doubled to 90 minutes per day. Teachers and staff identified professional development and administrator support as key components to incorporating more PA throughout the school day. Conclusions. Health promotion interventions in schools can increase access to PA opportunities for students. Sustainability of PA efforts in schools is dependent on funding to support professional development for teachers and staff and building administrative support for school-based PA.

Effect of school eye health promotion on children’s eye health literacy in Vietnam

Health promotion intervention in schools is a useful strategy to improve students' health awareness. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of eye health promotion interventions on eye health literacy in school children in Vietnam. A piloted questionnaire was administered to 300 children from five secondary schools in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Vietnam at baseline and re-administered after the eye health promotion interventions. McNemar chi-square and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. A total of 300 children aged 12-15 years (mean, 13.3 ± 1.3 years; 60% female) participated in the baseline survey. The participation rate in the post-health promotion survey was 94.7%. After the health promotion interventions, number of children who had correct eye health knowledge increased by 10-20% (60-75% to 70-95%), more children reported having had an eye examination (63.3% to 84.7%; p < 0.001) and more reported wearing spectacles (36.1% to 43.4%; p = 0.04). Children in urban schools were twice as likely to have improved knowledge of vision loss compared with children in rural schools (odds ratio, 2.1-4.1; p = 0.01 to p < 0.001). Children from rural schools had significantly higher odds of visiting doctor after the eye problems worsened (odds ratio, 4.5; p < 0.001). These results imply that eye health promotion interventions significantly improve eye health knowledge, attitudes and practices of school children. Additionally, participation of parents and teachers as change agents may further improve children's health literacy.

Home Brewed Alcohol use Among High School Students in a Rural South African Community

This study investigates the use of home brewed alcoholic beverages among adolescents in high schools in a rural community in South Africa. There is much concern about alcohol misuse among young people and very little information exists on alcohol produced by the informal liquor industry in South Africa. A total of 1600 high school students participated in the study. The prevalence rates for past year use of home brewed alcohol was 22.2%. There was association between home brewed alcohol use and correlates such as “lived in city”; “raised by both parents”; “repeating school year”; “poor scholastic progress”; “absenteeism” “getting into trouble”, “arguing with parents/friends”; “neglecting homework”; and “recreation/leisure”. The prevalence rates for home brewed alcoholic beverages use in this rural schools calls for more research that focuses on home brews which could lead to the development of appropriate health promotion intervention in schools.

Theory-based survey analysis of well-being in secondary schools in Finland

Frameworks concerning school health and well-being, like the Health Promoting School and the Coordinated School Health Programme, have been available for some time. However, the indicators of well-being studies and the comprehensive frameworks have not met. The main aim of the present study was to test the use of the theoretically based School Well-being Profile to clarify the aspects of well-being in schools and to test if the Profile could be used to identify differences in well-being between classes in school. The data were collected in connection with the Koulumiete Project in Finland; 1346 pupils and 69 classes from grades seven to nine were included in the present data. In the school conditions category, the physical conditions that most needed improvement were ventilation, toilet facilities and temperature. Time pressure was also reported widely. Concerning social relationships, teachers' interest in how pupils are doing and teachers' fair treatment were the aspects calling for attention. In the means for self-fulfillment category pupils' participation in school development was a key area for reform. The most prevalent psychosomatic symptoms in the health status category were headache and feeling tired or weak. The School Well-being Profile seemed to work well when evaluating well-being differences between classes. By utilizing the results locally, the school personnel can act to develop their own school. The Profile could be used as a tool when planning and evaluating well-being and mental health promotion interventions in schools.

Cost-effectiveness of health promotion in Chile. Experience with "Mirame!" program

"Mirame!" program was launched in Chile in 1993, to promote a healthy life style at school age. To evaluate cost-effectiveness of this program. Fifth and sixth grade school children, from 5 selected municipalities of the Metropolitan Region were studied. The design was a quasi-experiment with an intervention (IP, 1,435 children) and reference population (RP, 1,246 children). Tobacco (T-C) and alcohol (OH-C) consumption were the indicators. A baseline survey was done in 1993 and repeated in 1996 in both groups. The criterion of Net Change was applied to assess effectiveness. For cost evaluation, an institutional perspective was considered. Direct municipal administration and "Mirame!" program costs were analyzed and incremental costs were calculated, using reference municipalities as controls. A univariate sensitivity analysis was done based on the beneficial discount rate and cost discount rate. Cost effectiveness coefficient was calculated. The incremental cost per each boy and girl prevented from OH-C was 112 US dollars (103.6-114.3) and 132 US dollars (129.9-133.3) respectively. The figures for each boy and girl prevented from T-C was 154 US dollars (142.7-157.4) and 130 US dollars (122.5-135.2) respectively. The program caused an additional cost per child, for the city hall of 11.7 US dollars in two years. It is possible to apply health promotion interventions in schools with a good cost effectiveness in the short run.

Provision of emergency contraception in general practice and confidentiality for the under 16's: Results of a postal survey by general practitioners in Avon

ObjectiveTo describe the provision of emergency contraception and confidentiality for the under 16's by general practitioners (GPs) in Avon, in order to inform the development of a health promotion intervention...