School Health Services

MOCHA defines school health services as those that exist due to a formal arrangement between educational institutions and primary health care. School health services are unique in that they are designed exclusively to address the needs of children and adolescents in this age group and setting. We investigated school health services have been provided to schools, and how they contribute to primary health care services for school children. We did this by mapping the national school health systems against the standards of the World Health Organization, and against a framework measuring the strength of primary care, adapting this from an existing, adult-focused framework. We found that all but two countries in the EU and EEA have school health services. There, however, remains a need for much greater investment in the professional workforce to run the services, including training to ensure appropriateness and acceptability to young people. Greater collaboration between school health services and primary care services would lead to better coordination, and the potential for better health (and educational) outcomes. Involving young people and families in the design of school health services and as participants in its outputs would also improve school health.