Networking: Functions of School Health Committee in Japan

1
Networking Functions of School Health Committee
in Japan

• Takashi Eto, M.D., Ph.D.
• Professor, Department of Physical and Health
  Education
• Graduate School of Education
• The University of Tokyo

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What is School Health Committee?

• A meeting in order to discuss health and safety
  matters in school and to promote health.
• Coordination among school, families, and
  community
• Once per every term is ideal.
• Notification No. 55 in 1958 by Director, Ministry
  of Education
• Kindergarten, Elementary School, Junior High
  School, Senior High School

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What you can expect to do by holding SHC?

• Leading a well-regulated life and lifestyle
• Coping with smoking, alcohol drinking, and drug
  abuse
• Providing sound and safe environment
• Understanding the importance of aftercare of
  health examination
• Understanding of the prevention of infectious
  diseases and food poisoning
• Others

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History of School Health Committee(SHC)

• 1940s SHC in the model school
• 1949 Health Plan Guide in high school by
  Ministry of Education
• 1958 School Health Law, Notification No. 55
• 1972, 1997 The Council announced strengthening
  SHC.

5
Establishing Rate of SHC in 2001/2002
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How many times is SHC held?(2001/2002)
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Establishing Rate of SHC in 1950s

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School System in Japan
9
School System and Education Rate in Japan (1999)
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National Education Rate
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School Year

• From April to March, the same to fiscal year
• Terms (most of school), Semester (universities, a
  part of high schools and elementary school)
• Three vacations, basically
• Summer, from around July 20 to August 31
• Winter, from around December 25 to January 7
• Spring, from around March 25 to April 7
• Minor variation in each municipal

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Who joins in SHC?

• Schoolmaster or Principal
• School Health Manager, who is a teacher or a
  nurse teacher (Yogo teacher)
• Nurse teacher (Yogo teacher)
• School Doctors
• School Dentist

• School Pharmacist
• School Dietician
• Parents
• With or without pupils or students
• Occasionally
• Public Health Nurse
• Community representative

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Style and Frequency

• Roundtable or Square table discussion (upper)
• In gymnasium with whole school including pupils
  or students (lower)
• The directors order said Once per every term.
• Once a year is dominant.

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Subjects, as examples

• Diseases Prevention
• Mental Health
• Tobacco, Alcohol, and/or Drugs
• Health of eyes, ears, or noses
• Safety and Injury Prevention

• Dental and Oral Health
• Environment
• Eating habit
• Life, Gender, and/or AIDS/HIV
• Others

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Pupils or Students may report their study.

• Pupils or Students studied the particular subject
  such as eating snacks or watching television, and
  they summarize their data by showing tables or
  figures.
• School doctors, dentist, or pharmacist may make
  some comments.

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Example of the subject in SHCDental Health,
Lets chew food well!

• Todays subject is the importance of chewing.
  -Schoolmaster
• Pupils with irregular teeth are increasing,
  though those with dental caries are decreasing.
  -Nurse teacher
• Fishes and cooked vegetables are apt to be left
  in dishes these days. -School Dietician
• It is rather rare to have dinner with all
  members of family these days. -Parent

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The schoolmaster asked in SHCWhy chewing is so
important?

• Chewing helps us to digest and to prevent
  obesity. -School Doctor
• Chewing stimulates our brain. It works off our
  frustration. -School Pharmacist
• Chewing habit from childhood contributes to
  develop the jaws. -School Dentist
• How many times should we chew per one dose of
  food? -Parent
• Eating hard food is troublesome. I like to eat
  soft and creamy food. -Pupil
• Pupils with straightening of irregular teeth are
  increasing. -Teacher

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What happened after SHC?

• Opening food tasting party -PTA
• A short course for handmade snacks -PTA
• Having a lecture in school health meeting about
  Chewing. -School Dentist
• Creating a menu focusing on chewing -School
  Dietician
• Keeping enough time to eat in school lunch
  -Teachers
• Planning an additional study of chewing habit and
  making posters -Members of related committee
  (pupils)

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Evaluation

• Checkpoints
• Planning, Members, Management, Outcome
• Who is in charge?
• School health manager usually sets viewpoints and
  contents of evaluation, evaluates, and analyzes
  the results of evaluation with a nurse teacher,
  or Yogo teacher.

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Checkpoints in Evaluation (1)

• Planning
• Was SHC placed in the School Education Plan or
  Annual School Health Plan?
• Was the schedule appropriate?
• Members
• Suitability for the subject to be solved
• Mobilization of community manpower

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Checkpoints in Evaluation (2)

• Management
• Was the subject reflected by current problems of
  the school? Did it have possibility to
  contribute the problem solving?
• Did the participants understand the purpose of
  the meeting?
• Suitability of Material and Place
• Was the meeting invented to draw autonomy of
  audience?
• Outcome
• Did each attendance find own proper activities
  after the meeting?
• Did they put the after-activity into practice?
• Do they look different in view of the purpose?

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Function of SHC

• Participants can share particular health problems
  in their daily or school lives.
• If there are some misunderstandings among them,
  it is easy to solve them in SHC.
• By having SHC again and again, thinking of
  members must deepen.
• It is possible to coordinate a school, families,
  and the community.
• SHC may have functions to promote peoples health
  not only in school but in the community.

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Integrated School Health Committee(ISHC) in
Community

• Discussion among each SHC in the same community
• Kindergarten, Elementary School, Junior High
  School, Senior High School, Schools for Special
  Education
• Aim To promote childrens health and school
  health activities. To realize sound and safe
  school lives and to contribute to accomplish the
  objectives of school education

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Through ISHC, what we can obtain?

• Knowing many activities in other schools
• Useful to activate their own school
• Growing communication in the community
• Making it easy to coordinate with the
  organizations in the community
• Increasing the chances of training for school
  health
• Expanding each participants horizon concerning
  school health

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Participants in ISHC

• School doctors, dentists, and pharmacists in each
  school
• Schoolmasters and principals
• School health managers and nurse teachers
• Representatives of PTAs

• Representative of school dietician
• Representatives of community or organizations
• Personnel from the Board of Education in the
  community
• Member of the Health Center
• With or without pupils or students

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Problems to be solved in SHC

• Discrepancy between the establishment rate and
  the opening rate.
• Understanding of the importance by schoolmasters
  and principals is essential.
• Participation of school doctors, dentists, or
  pharmacists is not always easy.
• Linkage with community health worker such as
  public health nurses is not always successful.
• To motivate the school health manager is
  important. They are not always well motivated.

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Conclusion (1)

• To solve todays health and safety problems in
  youth, educational approach plays an important
  role.
• We need to discuss and share the understandings
  each other. In order to realize these objects,
  SHC is effective.
• To activate SHC is one of the major concern for
  those who are committed in health education and
  promotion

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Conclusion (2)

• To accomplish these process, there still exists
  some barriers.
• Advocacy and the establishment of legislation
  might be helpful.