Grant: Doctoral: Vanier Canada Graduate Scholarships

A Health Promoting Schools (HPS) approach is being increasingly adopted to address the concern of childhood obesity. The province of Nova Scotia provides a unique opportunity to evaluate the impact of policies and programs that relate to HPS as the Provincial Government has recently invested significant related funding and resources. The impact of this investment is unknown as there have been different levels of implementation across School Boards and schools. The purpose of this research will be to examine how Provincial and School Board policies and programs, relating to HPS, have influenced school practices in Nova Scotia. First, a policy scan will be conducted to describe the HPS policy environment in Nova Scotia. Based on this scan, a framework will be developed to characterize the critical components of HPS in Nova Scotia. Next, a school survey will be developed and administered in all Nova Scotia elementary schools to measure the extent of current HPS practices. Finally, interviews will be conducted with a sample of schools to describe the experiences of schools relating to the implementation of Provincial and School Board policies and programs. This research will provide insight into the effectiveness of current Provincial and School Board HPS policies and how schools could be better supported to facilitate the implementation of a HPS approach. Understanding the impact of Provincial and School Board investments will help to inform future policy decisions in Nova Scotia and across Canada. This study will also provide a wealth of practical information about "best practices" that will help to support future implementation of HPS. Improved policies and practices to support HPS will create more supportive healthy environments for children and decrease their chance of becoming overweight or obese.