Evaluation of a school-based health promotion programme for adolescents aged 12–15 years with focus on well-being related to stress

Haraldsson, Katarina S.; Lindgren, Eva-Carin M.; Fridlund, Bengt G.A.; Baigi, Amir M.A.E.; Lydell, Marie C.; Marklund, Bertil R.G.

doi:10.1016/j.puhe.2007.04.016

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Volume 122, Issue 1 , Pages 25-33, January 2008

Evaluation of a school-based health promotion programme for adolescents aged 12–15 years with focus on well-being related to stress

Katarina S. Haraldsson
- General Practice and Public Health, Halland County Council, Falkenberg, Sweden
- Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden
- Corresponding author. Research and Development Unit, Box 113, SE-311 22 Falkenberg, Sweden. Tel.: +4634656292; fax: +4634658966.
Eva-Carin M. Lindgren
- General Practice and Public Health, Halland County Council, Falkenberg, Sweden
- Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden
Bengt G.A. Fridlund
- Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden
- School of Health Sciences and Social Work, Växjö University, Växjö, Sweden
Amir M.A.E. Baigi
- General Practice and Public Health, Halland County Council, Falkenberg, Sweden
- Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden
Marie C. Lydell
- General Practice and Public Health, Halland County Council, Falkenberg, Sweden
- Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden
Bertil R.G. Marklund
- General Practice and Public Health, Halland County Council, Falkenberg, Sweden
- Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Göteborg University, Göteborg, Sweden

Received 18 October 2006; received in revised form 12 March 2007; accepted 6 April 2007.

Summary

Objective

The aim of this study was to evaluate a school-based adolescent health promotion programme with focus on well-being related to stress.

Study design

Interventional and evaluative with tests before and after the intervention. The study was performed in two secondary schools in a town on the west coast of Sweden.

Methods

A health promotion programme comprising massage and mental training was implemented for a single academic year in one school (intervention school, 153 participants) in order to strengthen and maintain well-being. No intervention was implemented in the other school (non-intervention school, 287 participants). A questionnaire was developed and tested, resulting in 23 items distributed across the following six areas: self-reliance; leisure time; being an outsider; general and home satisfaction; school satisfaction; and school environment.

Results

A pre- and postintervention comparison of the six areas was made within each school. In the intervention school, the boys maintained a very good or good sense of well-being related to stress in all six areas, while the girls’ sense of well-being was maintained in five areas and deteriorated in one area. In the non-intervention school, the boys maintained a very good or good sense of well-being related to stress in four areas and deteriorated in two areas, while the girls’ sense of well-being was maintained in two areas and deteriorated in four areas.

Conclusion

Massage and mental training helped to maintain adolescents’ very good or good sense of well-being related to stress. A questionnaire with acceptable validity and reliability was developed and tested in order to evaluate the health promotional approach. However, there is a need for further study to develop both the intervention and the questionnaire for young people.

Keywords: Adolescence, Health promotion, Intervention, Stress, Sweden Well-being