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www.healthyuniversities.ac.uk

Health Promoting Universities: Developments and Networking in Europe

Dr Mark DoorisUniversity of Central Lancashire

Developing Leadership and Governance


Presentation Contents


Addressing Health in Higher Education: Why Health Promoting Universities?

Health Promoting Universities: Background & Conceptual Underpinnings

Developing & Networking Health Promoting Universities in Europe: Overview


Health Promoting Universities: Background and Conceptual Underpinnings


Why Health Promoting Universities?


“Health is created and lived by people within the settings of their everyday life; where they learn, work, play and love.”

WHO (1986) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion

Universities represent an important and largescale setting: in the UK alone, there are 164 Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) with 2.5million students and 382,000 staff

HESA, 2010/11 www.hesa.ac.uk

Healthy Universities builds on experience of Healthy Schools and adds consistency across the education spectrum



Investing in health and wellbeing is a ‘win-win’ situation:

Healthy students and healthy staff will increase levels of achievement, performance and productivity.

Universities have potential to make significant contribution to long-term health of the population, through: improved student & staff wellbeing wider organisational impacts longer-term influence.



Universities are large and complex systems that do not have health as their main aim or ‘raison d’être’.It can therefore be very challenging to introduce and integrate health and wellbeing – and in ‘making the case’, it is essential to argue in terms of impact on ‘core business’ (e.g. student/ staff recruitment, retention, experience & performance).Little research on Health Promoting Universities, but possible to draw on learning/evidence from health promoting schools and other settings, suggesting that effective programmes adopt a sustained ‘whole system’ approach addressing a range of factors and involving activity across domains (Stewart-Brown, 2006)

Health Promoting Universities: Approach


‘Health Promoting Universities’ is one application of the healthy settings approach, which is well-established in other settings e.g. Schools; Cities; Hospitals

The approach reflects an appreciation that:“many risk factors are interrelated and can be best tackled through comprehensive, integrated programmes in appropriate settings where people live, work and interact”

Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety, 2002

Health Promoting Universities: Approach


The approach also reflects:Ecological Model: health and well-being determined through interplay of environmental, organisational and behavioural factors; human and ecosystem health (‘people’ and ‘planet’ ) essentially interlinked.Systems Perspective: interconnected inputs, processes, outputs and impacts within, outside and beyond the university.Whole System Thinking: beyond ‘interventions in the setting’ – emphasis on introducing and managing change across whole institution: multi-factorial, multi-stakeholder, multi-domain.

Health Promoting Universities – In the Context of Other Settings


Health Promoting Universities: Context


In applying the settings approach to higher education, we must recognise that a university is a complex system…

a centre of learning and developmenta focus for cross-disciplinary creativity and innovationa business, concerned with performance and productivity a partner and player in local/national/global communities a setting in which students undergo transition – facing challenges; and exploring, experimenting and developing independence and lifeskillsa context that ‘future shapes’ students – to have influence and impact through roles in families, communities, workplaces, policy-making etc.

Health Promoting Universities: Vision


“A Health Promoting University aspires to create a learning environment and organisational culture that enhances the health, wellbeing and sustainability of its community and enables people to achieve their full potential.”

www.eurohpu.aau.dk[www.healthyuniversities.ac.uk]

Health Promoting Universities: How?


Underpinning Values


students

lecturers

caterers & venue operators

wider community

families

support services

…connecting between people



formal curriculum

inter-personal relationships

student finance

transport infrastructure

students’ union

campus design

…connecting between components of the system



sexual health

alcohol & substance use/misuse

physical activity

advertising & sponsorship

mental wellbeing

food and diet

…connecting between issues


1994/5 Initiatives established at two English universities (UCLan and Lancaster) following 1993 International Settings Symposium

1998 WHO book ‘Health Promoting Universities’ Tsouros et al, 1998No subsequent international programme or WHO leadership‘Intra-country’ activity and network development in range of countries and regions (e.g. Germany, England, Spain, Latin America, Asia Pacific)International conferences

Health Promoting Universities: History

2007 IUHPE GWG on Healthy Settings2010 Virtual European Network established,

UniHealth 2020 vision statement agreed & meetings held at conferences (no funding, but contact points in 15 countries)

German Health Promoting University Network



English Healthy Universities Network


English Healthy Universities Network has grown from just 8 universities in 2006 – and has expanded by around 50% since this project started in 2009.It now has representation from: 69 universities 27 other stakeholder organisations Welsh Assembly Scottish, Welsh and Irish HEIs.




http://www.healthyuniversities.ac.uk/

http://www.healthyuniversities.ac.uk/


www.healthyuniversities.ac.uk/toolkit

http://www.healthyuniversities.ac.uk/toolkit

http://www.healthyuniversities.ac.uk/toolkit

1994/5 Initiatives established at two English universities (UCLan and Lancaster) following 1993 International Settings Symposium

1998 WHO book ‘Health Promoting Universities’ Tsouros et al, 1998No subsequent international programme or WHO leadership‘Intra-country’ activity and network development in range of countries and regions (e.g. Germany, England, Spain, Latin America, Asia Pacific)International conferences

Health Promoting Universities: History

2007 IUHPE GWG on Healthy Settings2010 Virtual European Network established,

UniHealth 2020 vision statement agreed & meetings held at conferences (no funding, but contact points in 15 countries)

Strengthen role of European universities in addressing key 21st century public health issues

Enhance and build on good occupational safety and health management as cross-cutting issues

Forge strong and visible connections between public health and sustainable development agendas

Develop evidence base for effectiveness of university-focused health promotion interventions and of the whole system Health Promoting Universities approach

European Health Promoting Universities: Network Objectives

Identified Priorities and AspirationsEuropean conference(s)‘How to’ (20 steps) guideQuality standards and handbookLink to CSR (ISO26000) and sustainable developmentGuidance for integrating health into other disciplines

Key Challenges Retaining and building interest, enthusiasm and momentumSecuring funding for co-ordination and development

Ways ForwardLiaise and meet with WHO, IUHPE and other organisations‘Locate’ work within context of wider settings development

Health Promoting Universities: Moving Forward


Health Promoting Universities: Developments and Networking in Europe

Dr Mark DoorisUniversity of Central [email protected]


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