Health promotion in primary and secondary schools in Denmark:time trends and associations with schools' and students' characteristics

BACKGROUND: Schools are important arenas for interventions among children as health promoting initiatives in childhood is expected to have substantial influence on health and well-being in adulthood. In countries with compulsory school attention, all children could potentially benefit from health promotion at the school level regardless of socioeconomic status or other background factors. The first aim was to elucidate time trends in the number and types of school health promoting activities by describing the number and type of health promoting activities in primary and secondary schools in Denmark. The second aim was to investigate which characteristics of schools and students that are associated with participation in many (≥3) versus few (0–2) health promoting activities during the preceding 2–3 years. METHODS: We used cross-sectional data from the 2006- and 2010-survey of the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study. The headmasters answered questions about the school’s participation in health promoting activities and about school size, proportion of ethnic minorities, school facilities available for health promoting activities, competing problems and resources at the school and in the neighborhood. Students provided information about their health-related behavior and exposure to bullying which was aggregated to the school level. A total of 74 schools were available for analyses in 2006 and 69 in 2010. We used chi-square test, t-test, and binary logistic regression to analyze time trends and differences between schools engaging in many versus few health promoting activities. RESULTS: The percentage of schools participating in ≥3 health promoting activities was 63% in 2006 and 61% in 2010. Also the mean number of health promoting activities was similar (3.14 vs. 3.07). The activities most frequently targeted physical activity (73% and 85%) and bullying (78% and 67%). Schools’ participation in anti-smoking activities was significantly higher in 2006 compared with 2010 (46% vs. 29%). None of the investigated variables were associated with schools’ participation in health promoting activities. CONCLUSION: In a Danish context, schools’ participation in health promotion was rather stable from 2006 to 2010 and unrelated to the measured characteristics of the schools and their students

Does the Association between Workplace Bullying and Post-Traumatic Stress Symptoms differ across Educational Groups?

The aim of this study was to investigate whether the level of reported post-traumatic stress (PTSD) symptoms among targets of workplace bullying differ depending on their educational level. Exposure to workplace bullying was assessed by the behavioural experience method and the self-labelling method among 563 Danish employees. PTSD symptoms were assessed by the Impact of Event Scale – Revised. Educational level was measured as years of education. The results showed that workplace bullying was significantly associated with the reporting of PTSD symptoms. However, PTSD symptoms were not reported differently among those with experience of work-place bullying. Implementing bullying policies is an important step in promoting a healthy psychosocial working environment. All targets of workplace bullying would benefit from interventions aiming to reduce progression of PTSD symptoms

Is high aerobic workload at work associated with leisure time physical activity and sedentary behaviour among blue-collar workers? A compositional data analysis based on accelerometer data

ObjectiveThis study aimed to investigate the hypothesized negative association between duration of work time spent at a high relative aerobic workload and leisure time movement behaviours among blue-collar workers.MethodsThis was a cross-sectional study based on heart rate and accelerometer data from 803 blue-collar workers (447 men and 356 women). Relative aerobic workload was measured as percentage of heart rate reserve during work (%HRR). Leisure time movement behaviours were expressed in terms of leisure time spent in sedentary and active behaviours in uninterrupted bouts (i.e. 30 min). Compositional regression and isotemporal substitution models were used to assess the association between the predominance of work time spent at ≥40%HRR and leisure time spent in sedentary and active bouts. All analyses were stratified by sex.ResultsFor men, there was no statistically significant association between the predominance of work time spent at ≥40%HRR and leisure time movement behaviours. Among women, the predominance of ≥40%HRR at work was negatively associated with relative leisure time spent in ≥10 min bouts of active behaviour ([Formula: see text] = -0.21, p = 0.02) and a theoretical 15 min reallocation of work time from ConclusionOur result highlights the need for considering work-related barriers for an active leisure time in high-risk populations. Longitudinal studies are warranted to disentangle the relationship between physically demanding work characteristics and leisure time movement behaviours in such populations

The effects of the number of consecutive night shifts on sleep duration and quality

OBJECTIVES: The organization of night shift work affects sleep duration and quality. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of the number of consecutive night shifts on sleep duration and quality among police officers with night shift work as part of their normal schedule. METHODS: This quasi-experimental, within-subject crossover study included 73 police officers. All participants performed three work schedules: two, four and seven consecutive night shifts followed by the same number of recovery days, ie, day work or days off (2+2, 4+4, and 7+7). Sleep assessed through sleep diaries and actigraphy after all night shifts and recovery days (totaling 26 days) was compared by use of repeated measures analysis. RESULTS: Participants experienced shorter sleep duration (with and without naps), more premature awakening, less difficulty falling asleep, and more non-refreshing sleep after night shifts compared with recovery days. Sleep duration and quality did not change with increasing number of consecutive night shifts. Sleep was shorter and of poorer quality after the last night shift in the 2+2 and 4+4 work schedule compared with the second and fourth night shift, respectively, in the 7+7 schedule. CONCLUSION: Sleep duration was reduced after night shift work and did not increase with more consecutive night shifts, which leads to accumulated sleep debt. Sleep duration was shortest and sleep quality was poorest after the last night shift in a series of night shifts