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Health programmes for school employees: improving quality of life, health and productivityIndiana University 1025 E. 7th Street, Room 116 Bloomington, Intdiana 47408, lkolbe{at}indiana.edu
National Association of Secondary School Principals 1904 Association Drive Reston, Virginia 20191 United States of America, Tirozzig{at}principals.org
School Health Consultant 16 Howe Street Hingham. Massachusetts 02043 United States of America, tomneva{at}supportlab.com
Office of Healthy Carolinians Department of Health and Human Raleigh, North Carolina 27699 United States of America, mary.bobbitt-cooke{at}ncmail.net
School Health Programme Manager 1101 15th St. NW Suite 601 Washington, DC 20005 United States of America, sriedel{at}dhpe.org
Department of Chronic Diseases and Health Promotion World Health Organization 20 Appia Way Geneva, CH-1211 Switzerland, jonesj{at}who.int
Division of Adolescent & School Health Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 4770 Buford Highway, NE, MS K-12 Atlanta, Georgia 30341 United States of America, MSchmoyer{at}cdc.gov School health programmes in the 21 century could include eight components: 1) health services; 2) health education; 3) healthy physical and psychosocial environments; 4) psychological, counselling, and social services; 5) physical education and other physical activities; 6) healthy food services; and 7) integrated efforts of schools, families, and communities to improve the health of school students and employees. The eighth component of modern school health programmes, health programmes for school employees, is the focus of this article. Health programmes for school employees could be designed to increase the recruitment, retention, and productivity of school employees by partially focusing each of the preceding seven components of the school health programme on improving the health and quality of life of school employees as well as students. Thus, efforts to improve the quality of life, health, and productivity of school employees may be distinct from, but integrated with, efforts to improve the quality of life, health, and education of students. School employee health programmes can improve employee: 1) recruitment; 2) morale; 3) retention; and 4) productivity. They can reduce employee: 5) risk behaviours (e.g., physical inactivity); 6) risk factors (e.g., stress, obesity, high blood pressure); (7) illnesses; 8) work-related injuries; 9) absentee days; 10) worker compensation and disability claims; and 11) health care and health insurance costs. Further, if we hope to improve our schools' performance and raise student achievement levels, developing effective school employee health programmes can increase the likelihood that employees will: 12) serve as healthy role models for students; 13) implement effective school health programmes for students; and 14) present a positive image of the school to the community. If we are to improve the quality of life, health, and productivity of school employees in the 21st Century: school administrators, employees, and policymakers must be informed about the need and the means to do so; school employee health programmes must become part of the culture of education and the expectation of educators; and colleges that prepare school administrators and other school employees must provide the pre-service and in-service training, research, development, and leadership to make it happen. This article outlines ten actions that can be taken by school districts to build or improve school employee health programmes, and a list of websites that provides more detailed information about such programmes.
Key Words: school • employee • health • wellness • workforce
Promotion & Education, Vol. 12, No. 3-4,
157-161 (2005) |
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