Health promotion in schools Best practice from Germany

Abstract

One of the most important elements of the strategies “Healthy Hungary 2014-2020” (EM, 2015) and “Healthy Hungary 2021-2027” (EM, 2017), which define the main public health goals and actions, is the comprehensive institutional/school health promotion, which focuses on healthy nutrition, daily physical education and other physical activity, education for mental health and the transfer of health knowledge and skills. The aim of our research is to investigate what good practices can be found in Germany, which, according to the 2022 survey of the German Federal Statistical Office, has the highest amount of money spent on school health promotion compared to EU Member States (DESTATIS, 2022). We are particularly interested in the topics, target groups and success rates of projects at national and province level. Our research shows that, in addition to emphasising the importance of a balanced diet and sufficient physical activity, they focus on strengthening resilience, effective stress management, effective prevention of addictions and the promotion of non-violence. The reports on the project results show that the effectiveness of each health promotion initiative depends on the participants’ sensitivity to the topic, their willingness to cooperate and their networking efforts. In order to ensure the effectiveness and sustainability of school health promotion programmes in Hungary, it is worth drawing on the experience of health promotion projects in Germany.