Health Promotion Perspective Research Articles

Sexual health communication targeting adolescents in public service Media: the case of Finland

Abstract Background Given the substantial time adolescents spend online, sexual health promotion and education through online media constitute a promising public health action. However, monitoring of sexual health-related online media content is warranted, and considering the scope and aims of public service media, this forum can be regarded as being of particular interest. This study aimed to analyze how and to what extent sexuality and sexual health-related content targeting adolescents is communicated and portrayed in public service media in Finland, with a particular interest in health promotion perspectives and participatory practices. Methods Based on predetermined inclusion criteria and guidance from professionals at the Finnish public service company Yle, podcasts were specified as the media format of interest. Three Finnish podcasts (a total of 66 episodes) produced during the years 2021-2023, targeting young people and focusing on sexual health, were included in this study and subject to critical content analysis. Results Most podcast episodes focused equally on the sexual health resource and risk perspectives, while a third emphasized a resource perspective. Concerning participatory practices, adolescents participate in only five episodes in total, and most often, the podcast hosts’ own experiences are at the center of the episodes. Conclusions The findings highlight how sexuality and sexual health content is communicated in public service media podcasts targeting adolescents in Finland, as well as how the communication aligns with health education and promotion guidelines. The study sheds light on participatory practices, emphasizing a lack of stakeholder involvement, i.e., dialogue between podcast hosts and listeners. Results carry implications for developing sexual health promotion through public service media targeting young people in Finland and other European countries alike. Key messages • The findings highlight how sexuality and sexual health content is portrayed in public service media podcasts in Finland and how the communication aligns with health promotion values and principles. • The findings show a lack of participatory practices in Finnish public service media podcasts targeting adolescent sexual health - a health promotion concern also pertinent to other countries.

Culturally-relevant physical activity for public health promotion: global evidence synthesis

Abstract Background The WHO has noted the importance of cultural insights for health. Culturally-relevant physical activity has a growing evidence base in many regions and specific populations, but the scope and scale for global health promotion is underexplored. Methods A multinational expert team used a critical literature review method to: (1) define culturally-relevant physical activity; (2) delineate relevant characteristics supporting inclusion in population-level health promotion and surveillance; and (3) provide agenda setting in research, policy, and practice from a global public health promotion perspective. The critical review method, which evaluates rather than summarizes literature, was chosen as the research evidence is complex, broad, and has not been synthesized previously from this perspective. Results Culturally-relevant physical activity was defined as practices that include physical activity based on a population’s cultural customs. These can be Indigenous (e.g., hula, an Indigenous dance of Native Hawaiians) or regional (e.g., Shota (Shotë), an Albanian folk dance). Practices have shared characteristics that support multi-dimensional value for health, engagement, and healing. These include a collectivist, intergenerational component, passed from elders and shared forward with children as part of a community. Many have foundations in nature, a strength for health and wellbeing in green and blue spaces. Many include traditional art, clothing, accessories, and music with deep significance, including care for the tools and location of practice (e.g, drums, boats, land). Many practices would not be captured in harmonized public health surveillance systems despite their value. From this synthesis, research hypotheses were created and next steps proposed. Conclusions This evidence synthesis supports engagement, planning, uptake, policy, surveillance, and study of culturally-relevant physical activity for public health promotion locally and globally. Key messages • An important strength of culturally-relevant physical activity is that it is context and population specific. However, this may hide the scope and scale of the existing evidence supporting this work. • This evidence synthesis confirms how culturally-relevant physical activity is valuable globally across shared assets in research and practice, supporting next steps for public health promotion.

Improving diabetes mellitus care in Nigeria – health promotion and education perspectives

Improving diabetes mellitus care in Nigeria – health promotion and education perspectives

Revisiting the conceptualization of social sustainability from a health promotion perspective: a scoping review.

Both social sustainability and health promotion emphasize the development of local communities that satisfy human needs and enhance health and well-being. This scoping review aimed to identify frameworks, components, and operationalizations of social sustainability described in peer-reviewed articles and systematize the results from a health promotion perspective. Six databases were searched for relevant articles following the JBI methodology and PRISMA guidelines. Articles were included if they provided a unique framework for social sustainability, that is, a conceptual model outlining the essential components of this concept. Information concerning the components of social sustainability and their operationalizations was analyzed through a six-step narrative synthesis. The final step involved categorizing the operationalizations of social sustainability into distinct levels by employing a socio-ecological model as an analytical tool. This review identified 22 articles presenting a social sustainability framework. The frameworks covered 11 components, of which social equity, safety, and neighborhood quality were the most frequent, while only five included health and well-being. The frameworks commonly provided practical interpretations of the concept with limited theoretical considerations. Furthermore, the identified operationalizations revealed a diverse understanding of social sustainability, encompassing all levels of the socio-ecological model applied. Health promotion research can offer theoretical and empirical insights that enhance the understanding of social sustainability, especially how societal, physical, and social determinants of health and well-being interact to create socially sustainable places. Likewise, the social sustainability literature may provide valuable knowledge underscoring the importance of contextual factors of health and well-being within the field of health promotion.

A Grounded Theory of Walking for Health Promotion in Older Urban Adults.

Walking enhances the health, quality of life, and independence of older adults. However, a global decline in urban walking necessitates a re-evaluation of segmented, quantitative approaches to policies and theoretical frameworks in geriatric medicine for promoting walking among older adults. This study conceptualized the perceptions, experiences, and behaviors regarding walking, from a health promotion perspective, among older urban adults. Pedestrian-friendly communities were explored for older adults in Seoul, South Korea, using a grounded theory. Thirty-eight older adults actively engaged in walking were recruited between July and December 2020. A qualitative multimethod approach was used, and the collected data were analyzed using open, axial, and selective coding, with axial coding integrating textual and spatiobehavioral information. The open-coding process yielded 92 concepts, 47 subcategories, and 19 categories. Using axial and selective coding principles, a conceptual framework was developed to explain how walking shaped the daily lives of older urban adults and provided multidimensional health benefits. Walking perception attributes were characterized by "embodied subjectivity as a healthy older adult," "autonomy of movement," and "walking as a way to enrich or sustain life." Active walking facilitated interactions between older adults and their neighborhood environment within the context of compact and accessible urban living. A healthy and age-friendly community encourages interactions between older adults and their neighborhood environment by providing opportunities for daily walking for several purposes, such as providing a sense of autonomy, increasing health-promoting behaviors, and creating a sense of community.

The Improving of Sky Gardens’ Environmental Quality from a Health Promotion Perspective

The Improving of Sky Gardens’ Environmental Quality from a Health Promotion Perspective

Impact of Chronic Disease Self-Management Program on the Self-Perceived Health of People in Areas of Social Vulnerability in Asturias, Spain.

The Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) focuses on a health promotion perspective with a salutogenic approach, reinforcing the pillars of self-efficacy. The aim of this study was to assess the impact of the CDSMP on Self-perceived Health (SPH) in disadvantaged areas of Asturias, España. The study included vulnerable adults with experience of chronic diseases for over six months, along with their caregivers. The intervention consisted of a six-session workshop led by two trained peers. SPH was evaluated by administering the initial item of the SF-12 questionnaire at both baseline and six months post-intervention. To evaluate the variable "Change in SPH" [improvement; remained well; worsening/no improvement (reference category)], global and disaggregated by sex multivariate multinomial logistic regression models were applied. There were 332 participants (mean = 60.5 years; 33.6% were at risk of social vulnerability; 66.8% had low incomes). Among the participants, 22.9% reported an improvement in their SPH, without statistically significant sex-based differences, while 38.9% remained in good health. The global model showed age was linked to decreased "improvement" probability (RRRa = 0.96), and the "remaining well" likelihood drops with social risk (RRRa = 0.42). In men, the probability of "remaining well" decreased by having secondary/higher education (RRRa = 0.25) and increased by cohabitation (RRRa = 5.11). Women at social risk were less likely to report "remaining well" (RRRa = 0.36). In conclusion, six months after the intervention, 22.9% of the participants had improved SPH. Age consistently decreased the improvement in the different models.

A health promotion perspective on One Health

The One Health concept has acquired increasing attention due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We argue for a health promotion perspective that frames One Health in terms of positive health for people, animals, and ecosystems and includes a spiritual-cosmological dimension. This would enhance policy, research, and practice across disciplines and sectors for a more resilient and harmonious planet.

Need of integrated care model for positive childbirth experience in Indian maternity care services.

Integrated care (IC) models are an emerging trend in healthcare reforms worldwide, especially in the maternal healthcare system. This research focuses on the scope of an integrated model for intrapartum care of women and explores the experience of birth under two intrapartum care models-biomedical and midwifery models, respectively. The term positive childbirth experience (PCE) is a concept defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) in the recommendations on intrapartum care for a PCE. This study is convinced to employ a qualitative approach to explore how birth is experienced by women under maternity healthcare services in Kerala. A semi-structured interview was conducted to tap into the lived reality of birthing of sixteen first-time mothers (primipara) aged between 20 and 30 years under these two models. Furthermore, five participants have been specifically interviewed after their vaginal birth after a C-section (VBAC) experience. To achieve a systematic cross-case thematic analysis, systematic text condensation (STC) has been employed as a data analysis method. Four main categories were identified through the analysis as follows: (1) information and knowledge, (2) confidence, (3) quality of care, and (4) health-promoting perspective. These central themes evolved from 11 subthemes. The data analysis reveals both negative and positive experiences under two care models. It emphasizes the urgent need to reframe the biomedical-focused care model and adopt an integrated approach that aligns with the global intrapartum care model proposed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2018 and the definition of IC mentioned in the paper.

Levels of work stress among information technology professionals during COVID-19 pandemic in an Indian metropolis.

Amid the ongoing Non-Communicable Disease and COVID-19 pandemic, understanding prevalence and characteristics associated with work stress is vital from a health and economic perspective, more so among information technology (IT) professionals. To estimate the prevalence and factors associated with work stress among IT professionals during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Bengaluru, India. A cross-sectional study was undertaken on a convenient sample of 356 IT professionals in Bengaluru, India, between September 2020 and March 2021 to assess work stress. The weblink to TAWS-16 (Tool to Assess and classify Work Stress) was provided for IT employees to self-report their experience of work-related stressors and coping abilities in the past 6 months. The prevalence and specific prevalence of work stress were calculated. Multi-variate logistic regression was conducted to identify factors associated with work stress. Ethical clearance was obtained from the Institutional Ethics committee, National Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences, Bengaluru. Informed consent was obtained from study subjects. The prevalence of work stress among IT professionals was 17.7% during the COVID19 pandemic, with higher rates among employees aged 31 years and above, among female employees, and among employees with 4-7 years of work experience. More than 80% of the professionals experienced deadline pressures, long working hours, regular multi-tasking, and difficulty in maintaining work-life balance. Based on the results, it is recommended to integrate work-stress assessment in periodical medical examination of IT employees from a health promotion and productivity improvement perspective.

Collective health and health training: analysis based on pedagogical course projects

The training of health professionals has been the object of restructuring, transcending the idea of the closed curriculum. The new model, integrator, considers Collective Health as a field of knowledge and practices for the promotion and protection of health. This study aims to investigate, in the Pedagogical Projects of Courses (PPCs) of a private Higher Education Institution, approaches that direct training from the perspective of Collective Health. This is a documentary research with a qualitative approach, carried out in 2022. Ten Pedagogical Projects of specific undergraduate courses in the Greater Health Area were analyzed. The locus was a university center located in the city of Sobral-CE. The relationship between the professional profile of graduates and the availability of menus that addressed Collective Health in the formation of the graduate were researched. Data analysis was contemplated with legislation relevant to Public Health. Collective Health was perceived in the proposal of generalist graduate profile and disciplines directly or indirectly mentioned as Collective Health. It is concluded that the PPC analyzed approach Collective Health as an important field of knowledge that articulates knowledge and practices from the perspective of health promotion, but mainly rescues the importance of understanding the collective dimension as part of the subject's development.

The "Planning Health in School" Programme (PHS-pro) to Improve Healthy Eating and Physical Activity: Design, Methodology, and Process Evaluation.

Few interventions have successfully promoted healthy eating and active living among children with effective changes in anthropometric health outcomes. Well-designed interventions involving multiple strategies to convert the knowledge already available into action are needed for preventing childhood obesity. In this study, an educational programme called "Planning Health in School" (PHS-pro) was designed, implemented and evaluated to contribute to the prevention of obesity in childhood. The PHS-pro aimed at improving the eating behaviours and lifestyles of Portuguese grade-6 children towards healthier nutritional status. This paper describes and evaluates the PHS-pro concerning: (i) the research design within the theoretical framework grounded on "The Transtheoretical Model" and the stages of change; (ii) the educational components and the application of the participatory methodology to engage children to meet their needs, as active participants in their change process; and (iii) the process evaluation of the intervention. The implementation of the PHS-pro took into account the views and inputs of the participants for evaluating the educational components that should be considered in the designing of interventions aiming to be effective strategies. From the health promotion perspective, this study is important because it examines new approaches and pathways to effectively prevent overweight and obesity in children.

3.O. Workshop: Students avoiding school toilets: a universal, unrecognized & rarely discussed public health issue

Abstract Based on recent statistics, access to school toilets can be considered no more an issue in the European region (UNICEF, 2020). However, presence is not equivalent to use. Four complementary perspectives will illustrate this universal yet unrecognised and underdiscussed public health issue: the avoidance of school toilets by children and adolescents. The workshop will be introduced by a presentation about WHO initiatives, perspectives and recommendations on sanitation and handwashing facilities in schools. Putting the European specificities in a global context will allow us to understand the difference between access and use that will drive the other presentations. The next presentation, will question Youth popular culture regarding school toilets. For many adolescents, popular culture is the primary way in which they learn about people's experiences, therefore, the way toilets are pictured in popular culture such as books or films may influence adolescents’ use of school toilets, even if they are not aware of that. This presentation will analyse some examples of how school toilets are presented in Young Adults’ fictions and popular films. This will help finding ways to talk about and alleviate concerns about the use of toilets in school by adolescents. The next presentation will give a Dutch insight: in 2023, master students under the supervision of a health sociologist and a paediatrician conducted an online survey on school toilets use by secondary pupils and reasons not to use them. The findings aim at advising schools on how they can adapt so that pupils use school toilets more often, but as well they may serve to advocate the topic to general practitioners, paediatricians, and youth health care physicians about health issues related to this public health problem. The last presentation will be driven by a health promotion and pedagogical perspective, through the example of the training of French school doctors. Since 40 years they have periodically addressed the issue of underuse of school toilets by children and adolescents, with the same negative findings. In 2022, 24 school doctors have worked again on the topic with health promotion's methods. Overall, their health priority stood as: “School toilets, a place of challenges and a reflection of the well-being of each and every pupil”. From there, some have built a tool to assess toilets in schools and the readiness of the staff to act upon the findings in a health promotion perspective. In conclusion, our perspectives, based on findings from different EU countries are rather complementary and coherent: children and adolescents underuse school toilets, despite their presence, leading to medical problems, lower well-being at school with the risk to endanger their learning availability. This confirms, if needed, that this is still a true public health issue. Some of the findings around the issue of safety (environmental as well as psychological) seem to be universal and will be discussed with the audience. Key messages • Underuse of school toilets by pupils is a true yet under-addressed public health issue even in Europe. • Safety (environmental and psychological), could be a lever to improve the use of school toilets by pupils.

School toilets use: the perspective of French school doctors

Abstract Background Access to school toilets, seems no more an issue in France. However, presence does not mean use. We will illustrate the underuse of school toilets by pupils from the perspective of school doctors (SD). In France, prior being in post, SD are trained for a year, during which they have to work on a relevant school health topic, here school toilets. Results Almost 40 years ago, visiting over 500 rural primary schools, a SD found 14% of toilets in an << intolerable state >>. Children complaints were in accordance. Twenty years later, in a questionnaire (126 girls; urban secondary school), another SD found that 31% do not use school toilets, 45% do not feel secure, 91% find them dirty and smelly, 9,5% experience bladder weakness. Daily observations of toilets revealed a conflict between disciplinary rules and students’ fundamental needs. In 2018, 2119 questionnaires of parents about their children's behaviours and perceptions about school toilets found an overall use of 87% while 69% of pupils had an appropriate use for urine. The main obstacles reported to use were lack of hygiene and comfort (51%), lack of security or privacy (33%) and limited accessibility (28%). Last, in 2022, 24 SD conducted a collaborative project on school toilets. In a health promotion perspective, they collected data from 164 adults and 225 pupils. They agreed on one global aim: “School toilets, a place of challenges and a reflection of the well-being of each and every one”; one health priority: “Ensuring appropriate and respectful access for pupils’ needs”, and one general objective: “Mobilize all actors to ensure access to toilets and uses that respect the basic needs of pupils”. Currently two SD are developing a questionnaire assessing the state of schools toilets. Conclusions still and even in France, pupils underuse school toilets, causing medical problems, lowering school well-being with the risk to endanger learning availability, confirming that this is a true public health issue.

How healthy are employee-related CSR initiatives: a mapping and discussion of applying health-related employee benefits as part of companies' CSR programs

PurposeThe aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence of corporate health initiatives as part of CSR, and how and to what extent these initiatives are communicated in CSR reports.Design/methodology/approachThe study comprises two strands. First, a mapping of the extent and nature of health-related CSR initiatives among 11 selected Danish companies is developed, based on a qualitative email questionnaire. Next, the mapping serves as the framework for coding and analyzing CSR reports from 2018 to 2020 from 15 companies (45 in total).FindingsThe study provides a typology of the extent and nature of such CSR initiatives consisting of more than 50 types of health-related initiatives. Analysis of the CSR reports illustrates an increase in the explicit communication of employee health initiatives as well as the number of different categories applied over the three years.Practical implicationsThe study provides CSR managers with awareness about the extent and usage of employee health as part of corporate communication on CSR, including how such initiatives can be communicated in the CSR report. It also gives rise to carefully considering the potential negative implications for employees when planning health initiatives.Originality/valueThe study is the first of its kind to combine the perspectives of CSR and workplace health promotion to discuss the potential institutionalization of employee health as part of the corporate CSR program.

Live bedside music for hospitalized older adults: A qualitative descriptive interview study.

Hospitalization may have a major impact on older patients as it is often a period of psychosocial vulnerability. Music is one of the most described art forms used in healthcare. Applied in clinical settings, it can affect a patients' emotional and psychosocial well-being. Incorporating a wider perspective of health promotion that aims to advance not only physical health, but a patients' overall well-being, is part of a person-centred approach to care. We developed an innovative participatory music practice in which professional musicians and music therapists visited patients at their bedside for 10-15 min in a Dutch and Austrian hospital. This qualitative study explores the added value of live bedside music practice for older hospitalized patients in Austria and the Netherlands. Semi-structured interviews were conducted between October 2020 and February 2022 with 23 hospitalized patients aged ≥60 years. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the music sessions in Austria were facilitated by establishing a live connection between musicians and patients using a tablet. Data were transcribed verbatim and performed qualitative content analysis following the steps of thematic analysis. The COnsolidated criteria for REporting Qualitative research (COREQ) checklist was applied to report data collection, analysis and results. Four themes emerged from the data analysis. Participants described the perceived influences of live bedside music in terms of (1) emotional release, (2) positive distraction, (3) alterations in contact and (4) shared humanity. Overall, participants positively valued the live bedside music practice and expressed a desire for its continuation. This study explores the experiences and the added value of live bedside music for older hospitalized patients. By facilitating distraction and emotional release and enhancing nurse-patient interactions, live bedside music can significantly improve hospital experiences for older patients. Results reveal that live bedside music provides a positive patient experience and can be part of integrative and holistic care for hospitalized older patients. Live bedside music can attend to the emotional needs of older patients which are often under addressed in clinical settings but are crucial for enhancing their well-being.

Research on Urban Furniture Design in Communities from a Health Promotion Perspective

Research on Urban Furniture Design in Communities from a Health Promotion Perspective

"Intensive-Home-Rehabilitation" Intervention for Older Persons: A Follow-Up Study of Team Members' Perceptions.

Reablement as a concept includes a health-promoting perspective with the goal of strengthening health and the ability to perform and participate in daily activities, a broader perspective than in general home care and rehabilitation. Reablement interventions have shown to be both more effective and to a greater extent improve the function and health-related quality of life of older persons when compared to traditional home-based care. Success factors for intensive-home-rehabilitation (IHR), an intervention based on the reablement concept, have been described earlier; however, there is a lack of knowledge about why some persons do not recover despite receiving IHR. The aim was to shed light on the older persons' conditions during IHR from the perspective of the rehabilitation team members and to describe obstacles to recovery. Qualitative analysis of health and care records of persons (65+) who received IHR (n=19) performed by an interprofessional team. The analysis revealed various problematic situations, dilemmas, that occurred in the older persons' lives during IHR, as well as their consequences and the strategies employed by the older persons as a result. IHR aspects perceived as successful by the older persons also emerged, as well as differences in experiences of the physical and mental aspects of the IHR. Analysis also revealed reasons why the IHR might be experienced as broadly successful. The older persons seemed to be satisfied with IHR and achieved their goals; however, some seemed to need more time to reach their goals. Background factors such as having additional diagnoses and living alone might affect the rehabilitation process. The study provides knowledge regarding the importance of IHR for the recovery process for the increasing numbers of older persons, which might also be useful in other patient groups requiring otherwise long-term rehabilitation and recovery such as after covid-19 infection.

Correlation of Hemoglobin Levels with Nutritional Status in Adolescent Girls: A Health Promotion Perspective

Background: Women during pregnancy, childbearing age, and adolescents are prone to anemia. The prevalence of anemia in adolescents in Indonesia in 2018 reached 32%. The objectives of this study were to determine the correlation between nutritional status with the incidence of anemia in adolescent girls.Method: Describe briefly the main methods or treatments applied. This study is an analytical survey with a cross-sectional design. The population in this study was student girls in Padang City in 2022.The instrument used to measure hemoglobin was a digital Hb measuring instrument. The nutritional status in this study used the measurement of the nutritional status of adolescents with the indicator of BMI according to age. Correlative analytic test with ordinal scale data used the Kendall's tau test.Results: Based on the results of this study, was known that most of the 71.9% of adolescent girls whose nutritional status is normal. Most of the adolesce girls (87.5%) had normal hemoglobin levels, and as many as 12.5% adolensce girls had anemia who were not menstruating. Nutritional status (BMI/age) and hemoglobin levels were not correlated. Nutritional status is not a factor causing anemia in adolescent girls. It is necessary to investigate the prevalence of anemia in adolescent girls during menstruation as a comparison.

Adaptation of first-year students to the conditions of the educational environment by means of physical culture and sports

The process of adapting students to the learning and educational environment of a higher education institution is an area of extremely close attention, as it is viewed from the perspective of student health promotion. Physical education and sport occupy an important place in the paradigm of health-preserving function. Given the socially conditioned orientation of the physical education and sport continuum, part of its tasks contribute to solving the issues of adaptation of the student population. The subject orientation of physical education and sport considers the mental processes and the physical state of the attending students’ organisms in the format of the adaptation capabilities of the said people. Due to the peculiarities of the adaptation process, what remains an important condition is the initial period of learning, which has a significant impact on the process of self-determination of students in the learning community. A special role is assigned to the process of physical upbringing with enhanced opportunities for specific communication in learning and sportsmanship in this context. The personal factors that stimulate the adaptability of the trainees – the presence or absence of sports experience, the level of physical fitness – are tested in the course of the study. A comparative analysis of the performance of the attestation requirements in the subject "Physical Education & Sport" in the 1st semester of 3 categories of students – with high, medium & low levels of physical fitness – is conducted. The lack of goal-oriented practice in the use of physical education and sport for the above-mentioned purpose is revealed in the study of 1st year students' adaptation to the conditions of the educational environment. This is the proposed in this study to consider the problematic of 1st-year students' adaptation through the analysis of the interacting components of the above-mentioned activity – motor training, motivational aspects, mental reactions. What served as evaluation tools in the process of extracurricular activities, included the motivational side of the conducted experiment, including personal sports achievements.