TY - JOUR
T1 - Danish ‘add-in’ school-based health promotion
T2 - Integrating health in curriculum time
AU - Bentsen, Peter
AU - Bonde, Ane Høstgaard
AU - Schneller, Mikkel Bo
AU - Danielsen, Dina
AU - Bruselius-Jensen, Maria
AU - Aagaard-Hansen, Jens
N1 - © The Author(s) 2018. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.
PY - 2020/2/1
Y1 - 2020/2/1
N2 - Schools provide an important setting for health promotion and health education. In countries where health education is not a specific subject, it is typically undertaken by teachers in health-integrating subjects such as biology, home economics or physical education. More ambitious and holistic frameworks and whole school approaches such as health promoting schools have been considered best practice for the past three decades. Recently, more attention has been given to policy initiatives integrating health activities into school curriculum time. This paper discusses potentials and challenges of school-based health promotion applying an ‘add-in’ approach, that integrates health activities into teachers’ curricular obligations without taking time away from them, based on a presentation of three Danish cases. This may serve as a supplement to health promotion activities that have been initiated over and above the day-to-day teaching (add-on). We contend that an ‘add-in’ approach to school health promotion provides a potential win–win situation where both health and core education stand to gain; makes it possible to reach a wider range of schools; mobilizes additional resources for health promotion; and leads to more sustainable activities. However, potential limitations including not addressing structural aspects of health promotion and reliance on a relatively limited evidence base should also be considered.
AB - Schools provide an important setting for health promotion and health education. In countries where health education is not a specific subject, it is typically undertaken by teachers in health-integrating subjects such as biology, home economics or physical education. More ambitious and holistic frameworks and whole school approaches such as health promoting schools have been considered best practice for the past three decades. Recently, more attention has been given to policy initiatives integrating health activities into school curriculum time. This paper discusses potentials and challenges of school-based health promotion applying an ‘add-in’ approach, that integrates health activities into teachers’ curricular obligations without taking time away from them, based on a presentation of three Danish cases. This may serve as a supplement to health promotion activities that have been initiated over and above the day-to-day teaching (add-on). We contend that an ‘add-in’ approach to school health promotion provides a potential win–win situation where both health and core education stand to gain; makes it possible to reach a wider range of schools; mobilizes additional resources for health promotion; and leads to more sustainable activities. However, potential limitations including not addressing structural aspects of health promotion and reliance on a relatively limited evidence base should also be considered.
KW - education
KW - health
KW - schools
KW - structural interventions
KW - health promotion
KW - health education
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85077690468&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1093/heapro/day095
DO - 10.1093/heapro/day095
M3 - Journal article
C2 - 30500915
AN - SCOPUS:85077690468
SN - 0957-4824
VL - 35
SP - e70-e77
JO - Health Promotion International
JF - Health Promotion International
IS - 1
ER -