Mental health and physical activity in vocational education and training schools students: a population-based survey.

BACKGROUND: The prevalence of young people not adhering to the World Health Organization (WHO) physical activity guidelines is high, especially among students in vocational education and training, compared to fellow peers. Also, low levels of mental health have been found in this group, however, to a lesser degree than peers in general education. As positive mental health aspects have more generally been found to be associated with increased likelihood of physical activity in young people, this study examined the association between mental health and physical activity among Danish students in vocational education and training. METHODS: Students in vocational education and training (N = 5277, mean age 24.3 years, range 15.8-64.0 years) responded to a national representative survey assessing four aspects of mental health (well-being, self-efficacy, self-esteem and life satisfaction) and physical activity. Physical activity was dichotomized as adherence to the WHO minimum guidelines or not. Logistic regression was used to examine if each mental health aspect was associated with physical activity in crude and adjusted models. RESULTS: A positive dose-response association was found between all aspects of mental health and adherence to WHO physical activity guidelines. However, the association between self-esteem and physical activity was modified by gender, with a dose-response relationship found only among males. CONCLUSIONS: Higher levels of positive mental health were associated with better odds of achieving WHO physical activity guidelines in a dose-response-manner. Prospective studies are needed to further elucidate the causal relationship between mental health and physical activity. Future interventions must pay attention to differential gender effects.

Associations between previous sport and exercise experience and physical literacy elements among physically inactive Danes.

BACKGROUND: Physical inactivity is recognized as a leading global public health threat. Physical Literacy, a concept describing an individual's prerequisites to participate in and adhere to physical activities, has been suggested to be a key concept in understanding physical activity in various populations. The aim of this study was to describe the prerequisites for physical activity among inactive adults in terms of their physical literacy and previous experience with sport and exercise and how these are interrelated. METHODS: Sample: 1033 physical inactive Danes. MEASURES: BREQ-3, ESES, the Levels of knowledge questionnaire and the physical self-confidence scale. RESULTS: Inactive Danish adult's physical literacy scores are generally low compared to samples in other studies. Inactive adults with no or little previous experience with sport and exercise had lower levels of competences, self-efficacy and autonomous motivation for exercise and sport than the inactive with more experience. Previous sport and exercise experience was positively associated to the physical and affective domain of PL. CONCLUSION: Previous experience with sport and exercise is very important to consider when developing sport and exercise activities for currently inactive adults as individuals with low previous experience have lower competences and autonomous motivation and therefore need lower challenges and other important attention to the motivational climate in order to ensure that the activities are motivating enough to secure continued engagement.

Smoke-free-school-hours at vocational education and training schools in Denmark: attitudes among managers and teaching staff - a national cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Tobacco is the main cause of non-communicable disease and premature death globally. Implementing restrictive school tobacco policies such as smoke-free-school-hours (SFSH) may have the potential to reduce smoking among Vocational Education and Training (VET) school students. To be effective, school tobacco policies that largely involve strict and consistent enforcement by both managers and teaching teaching staff must be implemented. This study investigated the attitudes towards the implementation of SFSH among the managers and teaching staff at Danish VET schools. METHODS: The analyses were based on cross-sectional survey data collected with an online survey among managers and teaching staff at Danish VET schools. The data was collected from March to June 2017. RESULTS: Managers and teaching staff (n = 571) from 71 out of 87 Danish VET schools (81.6%) took part in the survey. In the adjusted analysis, teaching staff were twice as likely as managers to have a favourable attitude towards SFSH. Furthermore, being female and of increasing age correlated with having a favourable attitude. A trend towards schools in favour of SFSH having more health promotion facilities, policy and practice, was identified. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Existing health promotion facilities and activities at the schools were associated with a favorable attitude among the management towards implementing SFSH. Thus, implementing other health promotion activities and policies might be an important first step to establish readiness to implement SFSH.

Developing and Evaluating a Data-Driven and Systems Approach to Health Promotion Among Vocational Students: Protocol for the Data Health Study.

BACKGROUND: Vocational school students exhibit significant risk behaviors in terms of poor diet, frequent use of nicotine products, inadequate fruit and vegetable intake, low levels of physical activity, and poor mental health. This makes vocational students vulnerable to the development of noncommunicable diseases. Therefore, effective health promotion programs targeting vocational students are required. OBJECTIVE: The Danish study "Data-driven and Systems Approach to Health Promotion Among Vocational Students" (Data Health) aims to develop, implement, and evaluate a systems approach to support vocational schools, municipalities, and local communities in implementing locally relevant health promotion actions among and for vocational students. This paper describes the Data Health program and how implementation and preliminary effectiveness will be evaluated. METHODS: The Data Health program offers an iterative 5-step process to develop changes in the systems that shape health behavior and well-being among vocational students. The program will be implemented and evaluated in 8 Danish vocational schools in 4 municipalities. The implementation of the process and actions will be explored using a systems-based evaluation design that assesses contextual differences and the mechanisms through which the program leads to changes in the systems. Preliminary effectiveness at the individual level (students' self-reported health behavior and well-being) and organizational level (school organizational readiness reported by school staff) will be assessed using a quasi-experimental design, and cross-sectional data will be collected at all 8 schools simultaneously 4 times during the 2-year study period. RESULTS: This study was launched in 2021, and data collection is expected to be completed in June 2024. The first results are expected to be submitted for publication in January 2024. CONCLUSIONS: We expect that the Data Health study will make significant contributions to complex intervention research by contributing to the paucity of research studies that have used systems approaches in school settings. The study will also provide evidence of successful elements for systems change and effectiveness to determine whether a national scale-up can be recommended. TRIAL REGISTRATION: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05308459; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05308459. INTERNATIONAL REGISTERED REPORT IDENTIFIER (IRRID): DERR1-10.2196/52571.