Bernie Marshall

Finding a Place for Health in the Schooling Process: A Challenge for Education

It is common in schools for health and education goals to be seen as agendas that are in competition. However schools do attempt to find time in crowded curriculums to cover health issues as part of their responsibility towards advancing the health of their students. A qualitative approach was used in this study to explore perceived outcomes of a Health Promoting School intervention project. The project schools targeted for in-depth study were purposefully sampled to include diversity based on location, level, system and specific health activities. The results showed that the schools involved were moving beyond oppositional constructions of health and education towards approaching health as an element of effective schooling. It is concluded that in any effective health promotion activity in schools, the agenda needs to be driven primarily by an education sector that has demonstrated it can embrace holistic approaches to health, with the health sector acting as partner and facilitator.

Mental Health Promotion in Childcare Centres: Childcare Educators' Understanding of Child and Parental Mental Health

Abstract Early childhood educators have an important role to play in the development of young children’s mental health yet rarely has their understanding of mental health and mental health promotion been researched. This study aims to explore childcare educators’ and managers’ understanding of child and parental mental health and the early signs of mental health problems. Participants (N = 19) were sampled from low socioeconomic status areas. Semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore their perceptions and experiences of child and parental social and emotional wellbeing. Results suggested that childcare staff were able to explain child wellbeing but were somewhat limited in their knowledge of risk and protective factors for child and parental mental health. They identified a need for additional training. There is a need to match understandings and practice in mental health promotion to existing early childhood frameworks which inform the work of early childhood educators.

Perceptions of nutrition transition problems: a qualitative study of Vietnamese health and education professionals

The nutrition transition (The transition towards higher levels of economic development in developing countries brings with it several other transitions: demographic [rural to urban, younger to older population distribution], technological [low to high mechanisation and motorisation] and nutritional and epidemiological [infectious diseases to NCDs]. The nutrition transition relates to a large shift in a population’s dietary and activity patterns, which are characterised by less physically active lifestyles and increased consumption of processed and energy-dense foods [and fewer traditional foods and cuisines]. These changes are reflected in nutritional and health outcomes, especially the rapid increases in levels of obesity and non-communicable diseases in many low- and middle-income countries’ populations.) presents critical challenges for population health in low- and middle-income countries. The implementation of health policies and programmes to mitigate the negative effects of the nutrition transition requires the engagement of schools and health service institutions in addition to government nutrition organisations to enhance awareness about health risks in the broad community. University education is the foundation for later professional practice. However, insufficient preparation of lecturers and outdated and static curricula have been claimed to contribute to the poor preparation of health and education graduates to respond nutrition transition. Thirty interviews were conducted to examine health and education professionals’ and nutrition lecturers’ perceptions of the nutrition transition in Vietnam and its drivers. The informants correctly understood the impact of the nutrition transition on their clients and the population, and their perceptions of the underlying drivers of these health conditions were identified. The education professionals claimed that it is easier to control undernutrition than to manage obesity and stressed the urgent need for programmes to control obesity. Economic improvement was viewed as a core driver contributing to the rise in the prevalence of obesity and chronic diseases. Family influences were perceived to be responsible for children’s poor eating patterns and obesity. Environmental influences were claimed to hasten the changes, including poor food safety, aggressive food marketing and the attractiveness of ‘new’ (Western) food in an emerging market economy. These findings suggest the need for more education for health and education professionals to respond to the nutrition transition.

Awareness of nutrition problems among Vietnamese health and education professionals

Professionals who provide nutrition education and consulting to the public are encouraged to take into account the health, environmental and social contexts that influence health-related attitudes and behaviours in the population. This paper examined the awareness of shifts in population health outcomes associated with the nutrition transition in Vietnam among university nutrition lecturers, health professionals and school education professionals. Most of these professionals held accurate views of the current population health issues in Vietnam. However, they differed in their awareness of the seriousness of overweight and obesity. Although the majority indicated that the prevalence of obesity and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) had increased, nearly half believed that the government should complete its attempts to control undernutrition before trying to control obesity. More health professionals believed that food marketing was responsible for the growing prevalence of childrens obesity, and more of them disapproved of the marketing of less healthy food to children. In contrast, the university nutrition lecturers were least aware of food marketing and the seriousness of obesity. Of the three groups, the university nutrition lecturers held less accurate perceptions of nutrition transition problems and their likely drivers. There is an urgent need for greater provision of public nutrition education for all three groups of professionals.