Understanding implementation of whole-school health promotion

Schools can play an important role in promoting child and adolescent health. A whole-school approach, in which health is addressed in education, policy, and the physical and social environment of the school, is recommended worldwide. This dissertation examined, together with practice professionals, how Dutch elementary, secondary, special needs, and secondary vocational schools implement whole-school health promotion. This was done through questionnaires, school visits, and interviews.
Results show that implementation varies greatly between schools and that there is much room for improvement. Good implementation is possible with a combination of resources, positive school climate, external support, guidelines, coordinator(s) and parental support. Results also show that there are large differences between regions in the country in the degree of support. Many regions are unable to offer sufficient support to schools. This is mainly due to insufficient manpower at the regional Public Health Service, insufficient coordination between regional stakeholders, and lack of structural funding of whole-school health promotion.