Situation Analysis for Health Promoting Schools Intervention with School District Tshwane North, South Africa

The Health Promoting Schools (HPS) concept has been shown to be a powerful tool for schools to address the challenges they face; however, little has been published about HPS experiences in developing contexts. In September 2005, School District Tshwane North (SDTN) approached the University of Pretoria for assistance in initiating an HPS intervention with several schools facing a wide variety of health and education challenges (i.e. discipline, violence, HIV/AIDS, professional stagnation, general 'toxicity'). To this end, a cadre of SDTN district officials was trained in HPS principles; a situation analysis of several pilot schools was carried out using focus groups and a modified version of the Reddy & Swart HPS Evaluation Tool; and, based on the data collected and the researchers' experience, recommendations were made to guide further HPS implementation in the pilot schools and SDTN. This report summarizes the initial phase of the HPS project in SDTN and the lessons learned during the process. The capacity of the HPS Evaluation tool combined with focus group interviews to accurately describe a school's starting point, identify possible HPS entry points, and initiate the HPS process is also assessed. From this experience, the researchers put forth recommendations for the future of HPS in SDTN and lay out several preconditions that should be met before school districts initiate HPS interventions. These lessons learnt are presented and analyzed in an effort to uncover best practice during the first phase of a HPS intervention and guide future HPS implementation in South Africa and abroad.