TY - JOUR
T1 - Understanding school health environment through interviews with key stakeholders in Lao PDR, Mongolia, Nepal and Sri Lanka
AU - Park, Sohyun
AU - Lee, Eun Young
AU - Gittelsohn, Joel
AU - Nkala, Denis
AU - Choi, Bo Youl
N1 - Funding Information:
This work was supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations Office for South–South Cooperation of the United Nations Development Programme.
Funding Information:
The HSDP is part of the Facility for Capacity Development for Poverty Reduction through South–South and Triangular Cooperation supported by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology of the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This facility aims to expedite the country’s sharing of knowledge in these sectors in support of countries aspiring to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals. Thus, the HSDP aims to develop school capacity for improving health among school members and the school environment through tailored school health programs in low-and middle-income Asian countries, particularly in Lao PDR, Mongolia, Nepal and Sri Lanka. The long-term goal of the HSDP is to improve education and to reduce poverty in these countries through improved health outcomes.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2014 The Author. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/4/14
Y1 - 2015/4/14
N2 - Studies on health promoting schools (HPS) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are scarce. To contribute to the development of HPS in these countries, we conducted formative research to understand the school environment in Lao PDR, Mongolia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Forty-three teachers, 10 government workers and 5 parents participated in three one-on-one interviews and 14 natural group interviews. Six themes emerged that centered on insufficient resources as reasons for suboptimal health conditions. At the individual level, participants mentioned the deficiency of personal resources to cope with cold weather and poor diet. At the school level, the lack of physical resources such as water purifiers and latrines was discussed. Interviewees also pointed out the schools' overdependence on external resources and therefore the lack of sustainability. Last, the shortage of health services at the school and community level was commonly mentioned. Based on these results, we believe that the basic concept of HPSs should also be applied when working with schools in LMICs. In conclusion, there was a lack of perception of the importance of policy and capacity development programs, which are important in developing HPSs. Therefore, future school health programs should stress improving these elements.
AB - Studies on health promoting schools (HPS) in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) are scarce. To contribute to the development of HPS in these countries, we conducted formative research to understand the school environment in Lao PDR, Mongolia, Nepal, and Sri Lanka. Forty-three teachers, 10 government workers and 5 parents participated in three one-on-one interviews and 14 natural group interviews. Six themes emerged that centered on insufficient resources as reasons for suboptimal health conditions. At the individual level, participants mentioned the deficiency of personal resources to cope with cold weather and poor diet. At the school level, the lack of physical resources such as water purifiers and latrines was discussed. Interviewees also pointed out the schools' overdependence on external resources and therefore the lack of sustainability. Last, the shortage of health services at the school and community level was commonly mentioned. Based on these results, we believe that the basic concept of HPSs should also be applied when working with schools in LMICs. In conclusion, there was a lack of perception of the importance of policy and capacity development programs, which are important in developing HPSs. Therefore, future school health programs should stress improving these elements.
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U2 - 10.1093/her/cyu069
DO - 10.1093/her/cyu069
M3 - Article
C2 - 25503378
AN - SCOPUS:84926459125
VL - 30
SP - 285
EP - 297
JO - Health Education Research
JF - Health Education Research
SN - 0268-1153
IS - 2
ER -