American International Journal of Social Science

Health-Related Behaviour and School Health Promotion in Estonian School children
Diva Eensoo, Ph.D; Jaanika Piksööt, M.Sc; Juta Jaani, M.A; Natalja Lepik, Ph.D; Margo Klaos, M.A; Katrin Rüütel, M.A; Inga Villa, Ph.D; Ingrid Kalev, Ph.D;

Abstract
Purpose: The aims of this study were to: give an overview of health related behaviour in Estonian sixth grade schoolchildren; clarify how different domains of health related behaviour are associated with individual (gender, location, and ethnicity) and school-related (application of a Health Promoting Schools approach (HPSA) and health topics covering in school subjects) factors. Methods: Health-related behaviour of randomly selected Estonian 1033 sixth grade students (aged 12.77, S.D. .38 years) were evaluated using web-based questionnaires. Results: Studied factors, like gender, location, ethnicity, health topics covering in lessons were more persistent than HPSA in predicting high risk-taking behaviour in different health related domains by multiple logistic regression analysis. Conclusion: Full implementation of the principles of HPSA, more often covering health topics in lessons, and taking into account factors such as gender, location, and ethnicity when planning health promotion, should increase the efficiency of health promotion in schools.

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