Health education needs assessment : a beginning process for comprehensive health education programme planning at post-secondary level

Abstract

This dissertation describes the health education needs of Maltese post-secondary school pupils in an attempt to provide the necessary data for the development of an effective Comprehensive Health Education programme in Malta. Through qualitative and quantitative research strategies, pupils', headteachers', teachers', health promoters' and parents' views have been gathered. The study also includes a review of current epidemiological data regarding the health problems of Maltese youths. Findings reveal the complexity of identifying health education need areas since these vary according to different characteristics of the learning populations as well as the providers. The results of this study highlight many areas of agreement between the main stakeholders but also other areas where pupils' priorities do not match those of adults who chose what goes into the health education curriculum. Gender and school differences in health education needs were investigated and yielded statistical significant results in relation to pupils' definitions of health, their perception of personal health status and health knowledge, their current health education preparation as well as their preferred educational styles and method of delivery for Health Education. Based on the findings, specific recommendations are proposed in terms of legislation and health education policies, school health education curriculum development and delivery, and community involvement for effective health education programme planning at post-secondary level.