Implementation of a health promotion programme: a ten-year retrospective study

2017 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 252-279 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Joan Darlington ◽  
Carine Simar ◽  
Didier Jourdan

Purpose Implementing health promotion programmes in schools is key to improving children’s health and well-being but difficulties in achieving expected results are often reported in the research literature. Discrepancies between expected and achieved outcomes can originate from differences in contexts. Understanding how interactions between contexts and programmes generate variable outcomes is, therefore, critical. The purpose of this paper is to explore the outputs of a programme implemented in different school contexts. The focus is to pinpoint outputs, understand the involvement of combinations of contextual factors and identify recurrences in these combinations. Design/methodology/approach This retrospective study covers a period from 2006 to 2016. Data collection includes two sets of data in eight high schools in the Rhône-Alpes Region in France: written documents and interviews with school staff. Realist evaluation is used to attempt to pinpoint outputs and relating contextual factors. Findings Results highlight the limited outputs of the programme. Differences between schools appear to originate from existing school policy prior to participation, existence of a project team, identification of the issue as priority and staff turnover. Analysis of contextual factors led to considering the implementation process as enabling health capacity building and enhanced the capacity of settings and communities to promote health. Research limitations/implications The data provided remain partial as there was high staff turnover, reluctance to participate due to failure to implement the project, and schools being over burdened with other requests. Originality/value Previous research suggests that top-down implementation of a standard programme is not an efficient strategy for all schools to engage in the development of suitable health promotion policies. A potential way forward is to base support for the local development of health promotion in schools on a better understanding of the contexts in which implementation occurs.

2015 ◽  
Vol 115 (3/4) ◽  
pp. 357-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roy Chilton ◽  
Mark Pearson ◽  
Rob Anderson

Purpose – Schools are an important setting for a wide variety of activities to promote health. The purpose of this paper is to map the different types of health promotion programmes and activities in schools, to estimate the amount of published evaluations of health promotion within UK schools, and to identify any provisional “candidate programme theories” to inform a planned theory-driven systematic review. Design/methodology/approach – Review of reviews: in total, 67 published systematic reviews of health promotion in schools were identified, from which a sub-sample of 28 systematic reviews (on 14 health topics) were retrieved for more detailed reading. Findings – Key dimensions of programme design and delivery fell mainly under the following categories: the problem and age-group of children targeted, who delivers the programme and how, and the scale and theoretical underpinning of the programme. Candidate programme theories spanned both effectiveness factors and aspects of programme implementation. Research limitations/implications – Few detailed “candidate theories” emerged for explaining how and why health promotion can more successfully implemented in different schools. Practical implications – There are five or more systematic reviews of studies of health promotion programmes in schools which target: smoking prevention; physical activity; sexual health; emotional and behavioural health and well-being; mental health; substance abuse; obesity/overweight. This suggests probable duplication of health problem-specific systematic reviews. Originality/value – The findings highlight the considerable diversity of health promotion in schools, and specifies key dimensions of this diversity. They underline the need to understand better how, why, and in what circumstances health promotion can be successfully implemented in different schools and education systems.


2020 ◽  
Vol 34 (6) ◽  
pp. 523-534
Author(s):  
Darunnee Limtrakul ◽  
Krongporn Ongprasert ◽  
Pisittawoot Ayood ◽  
Ratana Sapbamrer ◽  
Penprapa Siviroj

PurposeChildcare is an essential part of early life environment that has a significant influence on lifelong physical and mental health. This study aimed to examine the relationship between development, growth and frequency of illness in different types of care.Design/methodology/approachThis cross-sectional study recruited 177 children aged 30–36 months and their caregivers. Of these 66 were being cared for at home and 111 were attending out-of-home day-care facilities. An interview form, growth measurement and the Denver Developmental Screening Test II were collected. The association between child developmental, growth and illness variables was analyzed with Chi-square, Fisher's exact and Mann–Whitney U tests.FindingsThis study found that the development and growth results did not show statistically significant differences between the home-care and day-care groups. The number of minor illnesses was significantly lower in home-care children than in day-care children (OR = 0.33, 95% CI = 0.15-0.72).Research limitations/implicationsThis study indicated that the risk of infection is increased in the children attending day care. Provision of a healthy and safe childcare environment needs to be an essential health promotion strategy to improve family and child well-being.Originality/valueAs the number of women's participation in the labor market has increased rapidly over the past decades, so did the number of children in nonparental care. The study findings reflect that the development of a day-care center for children was unclear, whereas the risk of infection was increased. Therefore, provision of a healthy and safe childcare environment needs to be an essential health promotion strategy to improve family and child well-being.


2019 ◽  
Vol 22 (2) ◽  
pp. 113-137 ◽  
Author(s):  
Antonio Cobaleda Cordero ◽  
Maral Babapour ◽  
MariAnne Karlsson

Purpose This paper aims to investigate employee well-being in relation to office landscapes in a post-relocation context. The aims are to identify spatial attributes of the office landscape that influence employee well-being and underlying contextual factors that explain employee well-being post-relocation. Design/methodology/approach A mixed-method approach was adopted. The data collection involved 16 semi-structured interviews with employees, an interview with the leading architect of the office renovation, study of a dossier on the renovation project and observations. Findings Most of the informants experienced the new office landscape positively despite few shortcomings. Spatial attributes were identified that influenced the informants’ well-being positively in terms of affects, satisfaction, social relations and environmental mastery. Conversely, negative influences on well-being were also reported regarding affects, satisfaction and environmental mastery. Conflicting views on some of the spatial attributes and contextual factors related to the planning process and the former office landscape were identified. Originality/value The value of this paper lies in investigating the office landscape at the spatial attributes level, despite office type, and their influence on hedonic and eudaimonic components of employee well-being. The research approach adopted proved its usefulness for in-depth studies of the interrelations between office landscapes and employee well-being.


2017 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 260-274 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca Loudoun ◽  
Keith Townsend

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to identify possible agents and levers to trigger the development and implementation of work place health promotion programs (WHPPs) in the Australian construction industry. Unlike most large workplaces and most high-risk workplaces, these programs are rarely found in the construction sector. Design/methodology/approach Qualitative interviews with 80 trades workers and site-based and off-site construction managers are used to reveal perceptions of the impact of WHPPs and ill-health and poor health behaviors on site activities with a view to identifying leverage points to introduce WHPPs in construction. Findings Unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are seen as impacting on sites in three main ways: productivity (broadly defined), safety and interpersonal relations. Results also reveal specific roles and levers for different actors in the supply chain and a clear desire for a collective, industry-based response to identified health problems. Practical implications High levels of chronic diseases in the construction industry means firms within the sector must make a concerted attempt to change patterns of behavior or face significant long-term health implications for their workforce. Reducing levels of health and longevity of the workforce, mean work performance, productivity and participation is likely to decline. Originality/value Although construction workers are recognized as one of the workforces at most risk for life limiting diseases such as Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, relatively little work has investigated health and well-being considerations for construction workers. This study contributes by investigating possible levers and agents to create healthier workplaces in construction.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tamara Fuller ◽  
Abid Hasan ◽  
Imriyas Kamardeen

PurposeThe construction industry has a poor reputation for an unhealthy lifestyle and a high prevalence of health problems such as obesity, stress and hypertension among construction workers. The review examines the factors influencing the design and delivery of health promotion programs implemented by construction organisations to educate workers and promote a healthy lifestyle. It also identifies gaps in research and practices and proposes directions for future research.Design/methodology/approachA systematic review of 51 relevant journal articles published during 2010–2019 was undertaken to achieve the aim of the study.FindingsThe review reveals 46 different factors grouped into four major themes related to individuals, organisations, industry and the program, influencing the successful implementation of health promotion programs. The top ten most cited factors are cost, time, facilities and resources, transient workforce, delivery method, influence from managers, long working hours, masculine culture, production pressure and interest. The review also found a noticeable lack of studies on implementing health promotion programs in the context of developing countries, small and medium-sized construction organisations, residential sector workers, and construction professionals and female workers.Research limitations/implicationsThe review's scope is limited to research on health promotion programs, and it did not investigate the factors affecting the health of construction workers in construction projects.Practical implicationsA better understanding of various influencing factors present at different decision levels will inform the future implementation of targeted workforce health promotion strategies to foster construction workers' health and well-being.Originality/valueThe review reveals bottlenecks that need to be addressed to successfully implement health promotion programs in the construction industry. It provides new insights that can improve existing health and workplace policies and health promotion programs in the construction industry. Finally, it identifies new research directions in a neglected but crucial area of workers' health and safety management.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Teresa Burdett ◽  
Joanne Inman

PurposeDue to the need for the development of person-centred integrated models of care with a population health approach, this paper explored contemporary literature in this arena.Design/methodology/approachA systematic literature review was conducted using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses. Papers included in this review focused upon person-centred integrated care and a health promotion/public health approach (January 2018–October 2020). Papers were excluded due to not being written in English, not fitting the age criteria and not being peer reviewed.FindingsEight studies met the inclusion criteria and three overarching themes were identified with regards to person-centred integrated care as a health promotion/public health approach: Core components; Development, implementation, and evaluation of models of care and relationship to population health and wellbeing outcomes.Research limitations/implicationsThe need for person-centred integrated care as a health promotion/public health approach, to enhance population health and well-being outcomes requires further research to continue to develop, implement and evaluate models of care.Originality/valueThe international scope of this contemporary review brought together the three concepts of person-centred integrated care and public health, exploring the translation of policy into practice (WHO, 2016). The juxtaposition of public health approaches in the background/consequential or foreground/active agent demonstrates how promotion, prevention and population health can be re-valued in integrated people-centred health services (WHO, 2016).


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Bernard G. Hounmenou ◽  
Fabrice D. Degbedji

Purpose This paper aims to study the impact of municipalities’ own resources on their investments‘ expenditure. Design/methodology/approach Panel data analysis. A sample of 34 municipalities in Benin. Econometrics tests for the panel data models – estimation of the fixed-effect and random-effect models. Hausman test to identify the best model to explain the impact of the explanatory variables on local investments’ expenditures. Heteroskedasticity, normality and autocorrelation tests. Findings The results establish a positive and significant impact of own resources, state transfers and demographic variables on local investments’ expenses. Research limitations/implications As an implication, the results show the importance of local resources’ mobilization for the municipalities’ investment capacity building. They also show that the central government transfers continue to play a major place in local investments’ finance, even in a decentralization context. Limitation: Available data do not allow to well evaluate the impact of the electoral variable on municipalities’ investments’ expenditure. This situation does not allow to well analyze the public choice considerations in local authorities’ behaviors. Practical implications Local mobilization of financial resources must be encouraged to raise municipalities’ investments’ capacities. Strategies must be developed to reinforce local capacities in local resources mobilization. Social implications The results show the importance of local resources in local investments. They show the importance of citizens’ participation in their well-being construction, through local resource mobilization (ex: local fiscality). Originality/value Many authors assert in the literature that financial autonomy has a real impact on local development. However, empirically, it was not demonstrated. This paper contributes to correct this lack.


2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (1) ◽  
pp. 50-59 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillaume Chantry ◽  
John Norton

Purpose Vietnam is historically hit by extensive disasters. However, the most vulnerable populations are far from being backed by national/local programmes to reduce disaster impacts on their well-being. In practice, political and socio-economic top-down organisation, channels efforts and limited resources into wealthier parts of the country. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach Learning from 30 years work in Vietnam, this paper presents how “horizontal” solidarity and networking should be promoted and reinforced to really target the needs of vulnerable poor communities. Findings on conditions and challenges are based on practical experience, from family/village level to provincial/national administration, in promoting safe housing and safer communities and in evaluating the barriers for extending and sharing such practices. Findings Political environments in South East Asian countries become similar to Vietnamese systems, and share a common attitude towards DRR (and CCA): official statements reaffirm the need for DRR at all levels, and the CC threats for local development. But year after year, the situation of marginalised or low-income poor facing disasters does not really see progress. Originality/value New data collecting methods and technologies are proposed, resilience is quoted as criteria for development, but the major issue remains: how could communities be “at the frontline” when receiving so little “backline” support and resources, compared to benefits from capitalist development shared by only richer parts of society – not concerned in the same way by disasters? The SFDRR in encouraging non-compulsory Civil Society involvement will remain inadequate faced with the increased vulnerability by Vietnam and South East Asian inhabitants.


2014 ◽  
Vol 14 (3) ◽  
pp. 318-332 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kerry Renwick

Purpose – The propositional knowledge about the Health Promoting School (HPS) and how it privileges the health sector, and research through intervention and behaviour change rather than gaining an understanding of how social bases of health impact and influence individuals and the wider school community. The purpose of this paper is to explore how bricolage offers opportunity for understanding complexity, thick description and inter- and multi-disciplinary work. The experience of health promotion and what it looks like at the school level and provides epistemological considerations for reframing research about HPSs for purposes of social justice and equity through bricolage. Design/methodology/approach – An introduction reveals the challenges of health promotion settings, and schools in particular to achieve social justice and equity. Bricolage is discussed with reference to complexity, thick description and inter- and multi-disciplinary work. Considerations are given to bricolage as research to gain understanding and to contribute to social change. Findings – As a setting the HPS is a complex site of social interaction and where there is interplay of multiple, casual factors that influence health and well-being. The potential for social justice and equity remains latent and new approaches to investigating and researching are required. Bricolage offers substantial possibilities as it recognises the value of researching social contexts but with a deliberate intent to engage with participants. Practical implications – This paper considers how bricolage can re-focus ontological and epistemological positions to engage in health promotion as a social action. Originality/value – This paper raises questions about the ability of the HPS model to deliver on social justice under current compliance regimes.


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