Analysis of expectations of parents of young school-age children towards school health education and health promotion activities in the teaching and upbringing environment, and health behaviours in the children’s families

Introduction Health education aims to provide healthy or sick people with the knowledge and skills required for health-friendly behaviour. School plays a special role in the implementation of health education because health education is the fundamental right of every child. Objective The aim of the study was an analysis of the expectations of parents of young school-age children in relation to school health education and health promotion activities in the teaching and upbringing environment, and examining the relationship between these expectations and health behaviours of the family. Material and methods The diagnostic survey method was applied. Research was conducted with author’s own questionnaire and the Health Behaviour Inventory (HBI) questionnaire by Juczyński. The study covered parents of young school-age children (6–9-years-old). Results Over half of the surveyed parents confirmed that the school implemented activities promoting health among its students. Almost 100% of parents expected that during talks on health promotion, they would raise the topics of: the principles of healthy eating, effects of using stimulants and addictions, regular visits to the doctor and dentist, and ways for coping with stress. The increase in the opinions of respondents about the implementation of active counselling in the field of nursing care was statistically related to the result in terms of proper eating habits, preventive behaviours and general assessment of health behaviours on the HBI scale. The more the respondents agreed with the statement that medical activities should not be carried out at school, the lower the result observed of health practices on the HBI scale. Conclusions The expectations of parents of young schoolage children regarding school medical care and healthy school activities are very high. The study demonstrated the existence of a relationship between parents’ expectations of health promoting activities in the teaching and upbringing environment and health behaviours in the child’s family.