Abstract:
Based on the Comprehensive School Health framework, Ontario's Foundations
for a Healthy School (2009) outlines an integrated approach to school health promotion.
In this approach the school, community and partners (including public health) are fully
engaged With a common goal of youth health. With the recent introductions of the
Ontario Public Health Standards (2009) and the revised elementary health and physical
education curriculum (2010), the timing for a greater integration of public health with
schools is ideal. A needs assessment was conducted to identify the perceived support
required by public health professionals to implement the mandates of both policy
documents in Ontario. Data was collected for the needs assessment through facilitated
discussions at a provincial roundtable event, regional focus groups and individual
interviews with public health professionals representing Ontario's 36 public health units.
Findings suggest that public health professionals perceive that they require increased
resources, greater communication, a clear vision of public health and a suitable
understanding of the professional cultures in which they are surrounded in order to
effectively support schools. This study expands upon these four categories and the
corresponding seventeen themes that were uncovered during the research process.
