Health promotion in school – what does it mean, and how can the effect of health promoting efforts be evaluated?
1
1 NORCE Research AS, Kristiansand, Norway
2
2 Lillesand Upper Secondary School, Lillesand, Norway
3
3 University of Agder, Kristiansand, Norway
Popul. Med. 2026;8(Supplement Supplement 1):A2378
ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION:
Increased mental health issues among children and young people have led to the implementation of health promoting initiatives in Norwegian schools. Finding the right tools to evaluate these measures has been a challenge. The Norwegian Public Health Institute has pointed out that knowledge summaries often concern mental health problems, rather than health promotion and positive end indicators. A framework for health promoting practice in school has been developed based on Antonovsky’s (1) salutogenic theory, pointing out three crucial factors, comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness, which contribute to a strong sense of coherence and wellbeing. In addition, scales have been developed and validated, measuring school employees’ health promoting competence and practice and students’ experience of sense of coherence-support in the learning environment.
METHODS:
Following DeVellis and Thorpe’s (2) recommendations for scale development, the scales have been piloted in six primary schools, three lower secondary schools, one upper secondary school and five adult learning centres, and validated through factor analyses. The student sample (n =1336) was split in two for exploratory and confirmative analyses. A second piloting (n=851) was conducted in secondary school, and the validated scale Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents was included to check for concurrent validity. Exploratory and confirmative analyses were also conducted on the scale for school employees (n=318).
RESULTS:
The factor analyses of the student scale confirmed the validity of the three factors comprehensibility-support, manageability-support and meaningfulness-support, and the overall phenomenon of sense of coherence-support. Correlation analyses indicated satisfactory concurrent validity. Preliminary factor analyses of the employee scale confirmed the factors 1) competence, with the subfactors attitude, knowledge and skills, and 2) practice.
CONCLUSIONS:
The framework for health promotion in school and the validated scales may be useful tools to work with developing a health promoting practice and learning environment, and support prioritization and professional development in schools.
Increased mental health issues among children and young people have led to the implementation of health promoting initiatives in Norwegian schools. Finding the right tools to evaluate these measures has been a challenge. The Norwegian Public Health Institute has pointed out that knowledge summaries often concern mental health problems, rather than health promotion and positive end indicators. A framework for health promoting practice in school has been developed based on Antonovsky’s (1) salutogenic theory, pointing out three crucial factors, comprehensibility, manageability and meaningfulness, which contribute to a strong sense of coherence and wellbeing. In addition, scales have been developed and validated, measuring school employees’ health promoting competence and practice and students’ experience of sense of coherence-support in the learning environment.
METHODS:
Following DeVellis and Thorpe’s (2) recommendations for scale development, the scales have been piloted in six primary schools, three lower secondary schools, one upper secondary school and five adult learning centres, and validated through factor analyses. The student sample (n =1336) was split in two for exploratory and confirmative analyses. A second piloting (n=851) was conducted in secondary school, and the validated scale Self-Perception Profile for Adolescents was included to check for concurrent validity. Exploratory and confirmative analyses were also conducted on the scale for school employees (n=318).
RESULTS:
The factor analyses of the student scale confirmed the validity of the three factors comprehensibility-support, manageability-support and meaningfulness-support, and the overall phenomenon of sense of coherence-support. Correlation analyses indicated satisfactory concurrent validity. Preliminary factor analyses of the employee scale confirmed the factors 1) competence, with the subfactors attitude, knowledge and skills, and 2) practice.
CONCLUSIONS:
The framework for health promotion in school and the validated scales may be useful tools to work with developing a health promoting practice and learning environment, and support prioritization and professional development in schools.
| eISSN: | 2654-1459 |
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