Public health researchers at TRU believe that the best way to promote health and prevent chronic disease, is through developing partnerships within the community — specifically, developing partnerships with schools. A comprehensive school health approach goes beyond health education to focus on how the health of a school community as a whole can be enhanced.
“Intervening in early life is the time to make a difference. If you can create healthy schools you can create healthy kids. They spend 25 to 30 hours per week there — the impact is not small,” says Faculty of Nursing Professor Dr. Susan Duncan.
Supported by a grant from Interior Health, Duncan is working with a team of researchers from TRU, Interior Health and the Kamloops-Thompson School District to implement comprehensive school health initiatives.
The research project, Public Health Nursing and Comprehensive School Health, will see researchers work in district elementary schools —rural and urban — to develop Healthy School Teams, which will then assess the health of each school, establishing unique health goals.
“There has been a gap in realizing the public health nurse’s full scope of practice as partners with schools and communities to advance health promotion and ultimately chronic disease prevention,” said Duncan.
Public health nurses have always been in schools offering essential public health programs such as immunizations and health screening, she said, explaining that while those programs remain important, the comprehensive school health approach situates nurses working with schools on their priorities for health.
“This research project will provide a new vision of what our role could be. It’s a community partnership approach.” Early findings indicate that relationships between the nurses and the schools are essential to the comprehensive school health approach.
The team, which began working on the research project in November, will involve participation from parents, teachers and school children. The research project aligns with Interior Health’s strategic research priorities, specifically, prevention, health promotion and access.
“We need information and ties with communities — especially in those rural and remote areas — to find out how we can best serve them,” said IH Scientific Director Dr. Yvonne Lefebvre.
“The overall aim of health research is to enhance patient care and wellbeing… and it all starts in the community,” she said.
Dr. Susan Duncan is part of a team of researchers presenting their findings during the Rural Health Research Conference at TRU, April 25-26, 2016. The symposium, Shifting our Lens — Learning from Indigenous Communities, takes place from 2 to 3 p.m. in the Mountain Room, CAC. Co-presenters include Sheila Blackstock, Tanya Sanders, Brittaney Katernick and Steven Ross.
More information
Dr. Susan Duncan
250-828-5476
sduncan@tru.ca
