Applying Salutogenesis in Schools

The chapter addresses the health of children and young people in the school setting with a special focus on experiences from Health Promoting Schools (HPS) and selected health promotion projects in schools. On the basis of brief definitions of the salutogenic orientation and the health promoting school model, comparisons will be conducted with regard to key concepts and principles of the two approaches to children’s health. A brief literature overview on the use of salutogenic concepts in relation to schools and health-promoting schools also is presented and discussed.

Integration of Oral Health Interventions in the Health Promoting Schools Program in Iran: A Multi-Stakeholder Feasibility Assessment

Objectives: Based on the recommendations of the World Health Organization, we investigated the feasibility of oral health interventions (OHIs) as part of Health Promoting Schools (HPS) program in Karaj city elementary schools. Materials and Methods: OHIs were accepted to be integrated into the components of HPS program by using the nominal group technique (NGT) and semi-structured interviews. Three NGT meetings were held with the faculty members of the School of Dentistry, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, and Karaj elementary school health care providers. Semi-structured interviews were held with school health executives of the Ministry of Health and Medical Education. The expert panel edited the OHIs and corrected the fragmentations, overlaps, and duplications. OHIs were sent to 24 individuals in six multi-stakeholder groups (faculty members of pediatric dentistry and community oral health departments, elementary school administrators, executive managers of Ministry of Health and Medical Education, elementary school dean and school healthcare providers). They were asked to score the feasibility of each intervention on a scale of 0 to 10. Results: Based on the mean score of feasibility (threshold: 8) the OHIs were divided into two groups of feasible and infeasible. Eighty-six interventions were feasible, with a total mean score of 8.83±0.59 out of 10. The highest feasibility score was related to “comprehensive school health education”. Conclusion: Integration of OHIs in HPS program is acceptable and feasible. The results can help policy-makers support the integration of OHIs in HPS program and encourage them to implement the program at the national level.

Health Dialogue Experiences of Students, Teachers and School Nurses in Swedish Health-promoting Schools

According to Swedish law, all students are to be offered health dialogues with a school nurse, which helps to promote students’ health literacy. However, research shows that the health dialogues are not being used to their fullest potential. To explore how health dialogues are experienced by school actors – students, teachers and school nurses. The 93 participants from 14 municipalities in northern Sweden wrote open letters sharing their experiences with health dialogues. Phenomenological analysis resulted in two themes with three sub-themes each that describe well-functioning health-promoting schools in which health promotion was seen as a shared practice among staff. In contrast, the participants expressed frustration or resignation with the challenges connected to health dialogues. When given a voice, school actors paint an informative collective picture of health dialogues. Based on our findings, we argue that health dialogues can \promote students' health literacy and enable collaboration between different actors within educational systems. Furthermore, promoting health in school must be viewed as a common assignment for all school staff, and support from school leadership is needed to systematically use the results from health dialogues to inform effective health promotion practice.

Understanding the Environment for Health-Promoting Schools Policies in Nova Scotia: A Comprehensive Scan at the Provincial and Regional School Level

The World Health Organization has identified the school community as a key setting for health promotion efforts, laying out its priorities in the Health-Promoting Schools (HPS) framework. This framework offers a comprehensive approach that has been adopted in countries around the globe, with defining characteristics focused around the school curriculum and environment. Nova Scotia (NS) adopted the HPS framework at a provincial level in 2005, but it has been variably implemented. We aimed to identify, categorize, and broadly describe the environment for HPS policies in NS. Four iterative steps were employed: (1) a scan of government and regional school websites to identify publicly available policies; (2) consultations with provincial departments with respect to policy relevance and scope; (3) cross-comparison of policies by two reviewers; (4) compilation of policies into an online database. Seventy policies at the provincial level and 509 policies across eight public school regions were identified. Policies focusing on a ‘safe school environment’ were most common; those addressing mental health and well-being, physical activity, nutrition and healthy eating, and substance use were among those least commonly identified. This scan provides a comprehensive overview of HPS-relevant policies in NS, along with relative proportions and growth over time. Our findings suggest areas of policy action and inaction that may help or hinder the implementation of HPS principles and values.

Evaluating the health promoting schools in Iran: across-sectional study

PurposeHealth-promoting schools have been associated with improvements in the health status of students globally. This study is a secondary analysis study assessing Iranian HPSs.Design/methodology/approachThis was a cross-sectional study on routinely collected data using an external audit 63-item checklist, which was utilized to evaluate 440 HPSs between 2014 and 2017. The mean score for each of the checklists' components was calculated. Nonparametric tests were conducted to investigate the association between the presence of a school caregiver, students' educational level and the school's score.FindingsWhile the number of five- and four-star schools increased significantly, one- to three-star schools declined. Providing clinical and counseling services had negative growth. Despite the steady growth of the staff's health, this category still had the lowest score among; on the contrary, physical activity had the highest score in 2017. The presence of a full-time school caregiver and middle schools were both significantly correlated with achieving higher scores (p < 0.005).Originality/valueIt seems that in addition to developing school facilities to promote physical activities, measures should be taken to promote access to counseling services, considering health issues of students and staff and finally increasing the number of full-time school caregiver