Influence of participation in multiple school-based health promotion programmes on students' health

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of experiencing diverse, multi-dimensional health promotion programmes in school on students' self-reported health status. Design: Cross-sectional design. Methods: We surveyed 2,568 students from 15 middle schools and 15 high schools in Korea between August 2014 and January 2015. Self-reported information related to health status, attendance at physical, social, mental or spiritual health promotion programmes, and socio-demographics was collected and analysed. Results: Male students, students aged 15 and below, and students living in rural areas were more satisfied with their health status. Regardless of programme type, the number of health promotion programmes attended correlated positively with better overall health status (p < .001-.032). Attending physical health promotion programmes was significantly associated with physical, mental, spiritual and overall health (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.28-1.40). Attending mental health programmes was significantly related to all aspects of health status (aOR = 1.49-2.17), and participating in social health programmes was significantly related to all aspects of health status except physical and social health (aOR = 1.36-1.67). Participation in spiritual health programmes was related to spiritual and overall health (aOR = 1.33, 1.58). In hierarchical regression analyses, health promotion programme attendance was independently associated with subjective health status after controlling for differences between schools. Conclusion: Participation in health promotion programmes was found to be related not only to the targeted health status but also to other aspects of subjective health.