Quebec Researchers, Government Develop new SH Model to Integrate within Education Systems

A team of Quebec researchers and government officials has been working to develop a new model for school health promotion that results in better integration with the goals and mandates of school systems and effective interventions based on sound theoretical foundations and essential knowledge gleaned from many years of experience. An interim report and synthesis, published in French, is titled " For integrated and effective promotion and prevention interventions in the school context: theoretical foundations, model and essential knowledge". In order to improve the compatibility of health promoting and prevention interventions with the mission of the school, its policies and operations, the National Institute of Public Health (INSPQ ) was given the following mandate .
Working from the synthesis of expert recommendations in the report Success , health and well -being: to act effectively in the school context produced by the INSPQ in 2010 ( Palluy et al , 2010. ), the INSPQ is to: 

• Identify the essential elements common to all health topics youth from a model that incorporates the determinants of health and educational success according to the phases of development of young people - from preschool to grade 5 secondary - and intervention (youth, school, family, community) levels; 
• Identify best practices in relation to these common essential elements; 
• Confirm with experts and key players of the two networks (health and social services , and education) model, essential to all health topics common elements among youth and best practices related thereto .

This interim report and synthesis presents the results of the first part of the work or the development of a model for integrated and effective interventions for promotion and prevention in the school context and the identification of essential common elements of the Youth section of the primary and Youth secondary synthesis of expert recommendations ( Palluy et al. , 2010). The first chapter focuses on the background and objectives of the work . The second chapter presents the theoretical foundations underlying the development of a model for integrated and effective interventions for the promotion and prevention in schools as well as the dimensions of the model context. The third chapter presents the methodology used to analyze, from the model , the recommendations of the Youth and Young primary school section . Must more than one health topic emerging from this analysis are described common elements . A fourth chapter discusses the implications of a competency-based approach to educational interventions to deploy youth .
A second report will include a distribution of objectives of educational interventions depending on the stage of development of young people and their reality, identification and prioritization of essential elements common to all the themes in the recommendations section school, family, community ( objects of environmental interventions).
A process of co-construction is underway to improve the model , identify ways of achieving promotion interventions and prevention better integrated in the school context and produce tools tailored to the needs of managers and players on both networks (health and education ) . This process is being conducted jointly with the Ministry of Health and Social Services and the Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sport. This process will take place from September 2012 to June 2014 , in collaboration with actors in the health and education at three levels of intervention ( national, regional and local). With the coming of the process, the enhanced model will become a common reference for effective interventions for promotion and prevention in school context for managers and stakeholders on both networks. Planning tools and intervention will be made available to stakeholders .
Read the interim report (Published in French)