Systematic review of the effects of schools and school environment interventions on health: evidence mapping and synthesis (original) (raw)
Related papers
The effects on student health of interventions modifying the school environment: systematic review
Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 2013
Background Owing to the limited effectiveness of traditional health education curricula in schools, there is increasing interest in interventions aiming to promote young people's health by modifying the school environment. Existing systematic reviews cannot determine whether environmental intervention is effective because they examine interventions combining environmental modifications and traditional health education. This gap is significant because schoolenvironment interventions are complex to implement and may be sidelined in underfunded and attainment-focused school systems without evidence to support such an approach. This systematic review examined the effectiveness of school-environment interventions without health-education components on student health and inequalities. Methods This was a systematic review of experimental/ quasi-experimental studies of school-environment interventions. Sixteen databases were searched, eliciting 62 329 references which were screened, with included studies quality assessed, data extracted and narratively synthesised. Results Sixteen reports of 10 studies were included, all from the USA and the UK. Five evaluations of interventions aiming to develop a stronger sense of community and/or improve relationships between staff and students suggested potential benefits particularly regarding violence and aggression. Two trials of interventions enabling students to advocate for changes in school catering and physical activity reported benefits for physical activity but not diet. Three evaluations of improvements to school playgrounds offered weak evidence of effects on physical activity. Conclusions School environment interventions show the potential to improve young people's health particularly regarding violence, aggression and physical activity. Further trials are required to provide a stronger and more generalisable evidence base.
BMC Public Health, 2011
Background: Schools may have important effects on students' and staff's health. Rather than treating schools merely as sites for health education, 'school-environment' interventions treat schools as settings which influence health. Evidence concerning the effects of such interventions has not been recently synthesised. Methods/design: Systematic review aiming to map and synthesise evidence on what theories and conceptual frameworks are most commonly used to inform school-environment interventions or explain school-level influences on health; what effects school-environment interventions have on health/health inequalities; how feasible and acceptable are school-environment interventions; what effects other school-level factors have on health; and through what processes school-level influences affect health. We will examine interventions aiming to promote health by modifying schools' physical, social or cultural environment via actions focused on school policies and practices relating to education, pastoral care and other aspects of schools beyond merely providing health education. Participants are staff and students age 4-18 years. We will review published research unrestricted by language, year or source. Searching will involve electronic databases including Embase, ERIC, PubMed, PsycInfo and Social Science Citation Index using natural-language phrases plus reference/citation checking. Stage 1 will map studies descriptively by focus and methods. Stage 2 will involve additional inclusion criteria, quality assessment and data extraction undertaken by two reviewers in parallel. Evidence will be synthesised narratively and statistically where appropriate (undertaking subgroup analyses and meta-regression and where no significant heterogeneity of effect sizes is found, pooling these to calculate a final effect size). Discussion: We anticipate: finding a large number of studies missed by previous reviews; that non-intervention studies of school effects examine a greater breadth of determinants than are addressed by intervention studies; and that intervention effect estimates are greater than for school-based health curriculum interventions without school-environment components.
The effects of the school environment on student health: A systematic review of multi-level studies
Health & Place, 2013
Health outcomes vary between schools and it is theorised that this may be partly attributable to variation in the school environment. Existing systematic reviews have not drawn authoritative conclusions because of methodological limitations in the review or studies available. We identified 42 multi-level studies, ten of which were judged of sufficient quality to narratively synthesize. There was consistent evidence that schools with higher attainment and attendance than would be expected from student intake had lower rates of substance use. Findings on the influence of smoking/alcohol policies were mixed. Three studies examined the health effects variously associated with school campus area and observability, year structure, school size and pupil-to-teacher ratio with mixed findings. The studies reviewed support the potential influence of the school environment on student health.
Negative health effects in school setting and collaborative efforts for improvement
The basic argument presented in this paper is that the teachers, parents and students together need to contribute to students’ health and their health is directly linked with the overall performance inside and outside of school. This health aspect also involves mental well being which is achieved by expression of personality and reduction of stress which is, in most cases, not recognized. STUDENT WELNESS THROUGH PHYSICAL ACTIVITY - American College of Sports Medicine, in its article named ‘Effects of a classroom-based program on physical activity and on-task behavior’ stated that regular physical activity improves brainpower. Integrating physical activity into the classroom may reactivate, engage, and energize students to focus on the classroom material. STUDENT WELNESS THROUGH MENTAL WELL BEING - A study Published on June 10, 2012 by Indian Pediatrics provides information about the mental health of school-going adolescents aged 13-15 years in India and the association between parental involvement and child mental well-being. It concluded that among all students, nearly one in four reported symptoms of depression. Older children reported lower levels of parental involvement and higher levels of poor mental health than younger students. STAFF WELLNESS – The landmark Whitehall Study I and II has drawn path breaking conclusions on the connection between the staff hierarchy, work stress and of the employees well being. In principals’ survey on the subject of stress around the globe, principals see the link between student and staff emotional/mental health and well-being. Principals also see serious issues of stress, anxiety, and depression among their teachers.
2003
Other documents in this series include: • Local Action: Creating Health-Promoting Schools (WHO/NMH/HPS/00.4) • Strengthening Interventions to Reduce Helminth Infections: An Entry Point for the Development of Health-Promoting Schools (WHO/HPR/HEP/96.10) • Violence Prevention: An Important Element of a Health-Promoting School (WHO/HPR/HEP/98.2) • Healthy Nutrition: An Essential Element of a Health-Promoting School (WHO/HPR/HEP/98.3) • Tobacco Use Prevention: An Important Entry Point for the Development of a HealthPromoting School (WHO/HPR/HEP/98.5) • Preventing HIV/AIDS/STI and Related Discrimination: An Important Responsibility of Health-Promoting Schools (WHO/HPR/HEP/98.6) • Sun Protection: An Important Element of a Health-Promoting School (WHO/FHE and WHO/NPH, 2002) • Creating an Environment for Emotional and Social Well-Being: An Important Responsibility for a Health-Promoting and Child-Friendly School (WHO/MNH and WHO/NPH, 2003) • Skills for Health: Skills-Based Health Education ...
The School as a Setting to Promote Student Health and Wellbeing
2009
The Health Promoting School (HPS) is s a model that advances both the health and learning needs of students. Yet there is a lack of consensus on student indicatorsthat reflect a HPS or a coherent understanding of what a HPS represents amongst,variousstakeholders. The goal ofthis research was to establish indicators of student health and wellbeing associated with policies and practices in schools, and to further our understanding of health promoting schools. The research proceeded in three phases. The first phase established a relationship betweenstudent health and academic achievement. The second phase examined,the associations amongst student health and wellbeing and student and school- level factors. The third phase involved case studies of two schools in Ontario to examine the organisational and structural elements associated with achieving a HPS, and the mechanisms by which these elements support student health and wellbeing. The association between students’ self-rated health a...
The Health Promoting Schools Framework: Known Unknowns and an Agenda for Future Research
Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education, 2017
The World Health Organization's Health Promoting Schools (HPS) framework is a whole-school approach to promoting health that recognizes the intrinsic relationship between health and education. Our recent Cochrane systematic review found HPS interventions produced improvements in a number of student health outcomes. Here we reflect on what this review was not able to tell us: in other words, what evidence is missing with regard to the HPS approach. Few HPS interventions engage with schools' "core business" by examining impacts on educational outcomes. Current evidence is dominated by obesity interventions, with most studies conducted with children rather than adolescents. Evidence is lacking for outcomes such as mental or sexual health, substance use, and violence. Activities to engage families and communities are currently weak and unlikely to prompt behavioral change. The HPS approach is largely absent in low-income settings, despite its potential in meeting child...