Suchergebnisse

Objective To investigate student, parent/carer, and secondary school staff attitudes towards school Covid-19 mitigation measures. Methods Recruitment used school communication, community organisations and snowball sampling in South West England. Audio recorded online or phone individual/group semi-structured interviews were conducted in July-Sept 2020 and lasted 30-60 minutes. Interviews focused on views towards social distancing, hand-hygiene and testing. Framework analysis was performed on interview notes/transcripts. Results Participants were 15 staff, 20 parents and 17 students (11-16 years) from 14 diverse schools. Concerns about Covid-19 risk at school, especially to vulnerable individuals, were outweighed by perceived risks of missed learning. Some staff felt guilt around being a potential "spreader" by teaching multiple classes. Findings highlighted a wide variety of school covid-19 mitigation measures being deployed due to ambiguous government guidance. Participants generally saw mitigation measures as an acceptable and pragmatic solution to the perceived impossibility of social distancing in crowded schools, although anticipated challenges changing habitual behaviour. Participants supported school Covid-19 testing but identified the need to consider data security and stigma around Covid-19 diagnosis. Staff were concerned about unintended consequences of risk-reduction strategies on student behaviour, learning, and pastoral care, particularly for those with Special Educational Needs or mental health issues who may find the measures especially challenging, and resultant widening inequalities. Conclusion Families and staff supported Covid-19 mitigation measures in schools and would welcome the roll out school Covid-19 testing. Clear messaging and engendering collective responsibility are important for compliance and success of Covid-19 mitigation measures. However, schools and policymakers should consider unintended consequences of measures, providing extra support for vulnerable students and those with additional needs, and consider ways to avoid widening educational and health inequalities. Findings demonstrate the acceptability of school Covid-19 infection control measures is likely to be influenced by the balance of risks and benefits to students.

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 children's basic health needs. Intervention theories are insufficiently complex, often ignoring upstream determinants of health. Few studies provide evidence on intervention sustainability or cost-effectiveness, nor in-depth contextual or process data. We set out an agenda for future school health promotion research, considering implications for key stakeholders, namely, national governments, research funders, academics, and schools.