Incorporating a health team as part of a disadvantaged high school’s interconnected community learning model

Abstract

Child poverty rates in Australia remain consistently high, with one in six children living in poverty. High levels of disadvantage result in compounding effects over the life trajectory and include adverse adult health vocational outcomes, increased premature morbidity and mortality and an intergenerational effect. Access to and the availability of services, including health, are restricted due to a complex mix of reasons that include a disconnection between an enabling strategic intent and action. Many young people begin life (including prenatal) with undiagnosed or poorly managed health issues, which subsequently affect the full range of developmental milestones throughout their school years. To counter these gaps in young people’s educational outcomes, a disadvantaged public high school in south-west Sydney introduced, over 10 years, a seven-member school health team employed directly by the school as part of an interconnected model of learning. The focus of this study was to determine the view of staff about the effectiveness and impact of the team as it connects to this holistic model of learning. The comments by staff are very positive and the universal view is that the introduction of a comprehensive interconnected school health team to the high school setting is proving highly beneficial.