Upgraded Cooperation Between Educators and Health Authorities for Promoting the Concept of Healthy Schools
The 10th annual Public Health Workshop, held on October 8 and 9, 2024, has concluded.
8 October 2024
MAIN RESULTS (in summary)
• The need to strengthen cooperation between the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Education, Sports and Youth on children’s health issues at school has emerged
• Government, education system and public health professionals, the main equation for healthy schools in Cyprus
• Popular unhealthy behaviours among adolescents in Cyprus: sedentary lifestyles, cannabis use, e-cigarettes, and sexual health issues.
• Serious health challenges for children in Cyprus: obesity, cancer, and mental health issues
• Association between increased consumption of sweets and alcohol in adolescents in Cyprus
• The exposome concept integrates life course exposure data (internal, external) and complements genomic data to provide a holistic view of health
• There is a critical need for standardized research protocols, data integration, and stakeholder involvement (public, policymakers, healthcare, industry)
• Climate change increases the risk of heat stress for children playing sports outdoors and protective measures should be taken in the training area
Main topic was the health of children in relation to the concept of healthy schools in Cyprus. This is a public health event that has been organized for 10 years by the Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health (CII), of the Faculty of Health Sciences at the Cyprus University of Technology under the auspices of the Minister of Health, Mr. Michalis Damianos, who declared the opening of the conference, while Mr. Panagiotis Zymaridis represented the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Dr. Athena Michaelides.
The Honourable Minister of Health Mr. Michael Damianos stressed the importance of children’s health and the need to further strengthen school health services. The Ministry fully supports the efforts being made to improve the school environment and the health of children. The representative of the Minister of Education, Sports and Youth, Mr. Zymaridis, stressed the importance of cooperation between the two relevant Ministries for the benefit of students’ health.
The Special Representative & Head of Office of WHO Country Office in Cyprus, Dr. Irshad A Shaikh emphasized that the school environment is the perfect place for adopting better health choices and creating healthy lifestyles from the beginning. He concluded that the WHO supports Cyprus in the healthy schools initiative.
This was followed by speeches from international and national speakers, such as Ms Trinette Lee, who presented the World Health Organization (WHO) global “Health Promoting Schools” programme.
The primary mission of the Cyprus International Institute for Environmental and Public Health of the CUT is to continue to provide reliable, high quality educational programs for new and existing public health professionals, as well as to collect research data to answer critical public health questions posed by Cypriot society.
9 October 2024
In the first part of the conference, presentations were made by experts from Cyprus and other European countries on various environmental factors that may reduce the cognitive function and learning ability of students in schools, such as high air temperatures and noise. The issue of mobile phone usage in schools and the potential risks associated with it were also discussed. Specifically, the need for a balance regarding children’s screen time for entertainment versus screen time for learning was emphasized.
A series of studies from various countries around the world regarding prolonged high temperatures in ambient air and in indoor classroom air were also presented. The studies indicated a decrease in learning ability as air temperature increased beyond certain thresholds, depending on the country where the study was conducted. The participating experts agreed that children respond to and adapt to thermal load and noise quite differently than adults do. For example, a child’s body can reach a specific high temperature (e.g., 30-35 degrees Celsius) much more quickly than that of an adult (such as a teacher or parent) in the same environment, creating an uncomfortable thermal load for children long before adults feel similar discomfort.
Moreover, the experts concurred on the existing relationship between increased air temperatures and decreased learning ability in schools, suggesting the intervention measure of air conditioning, provided that adequate ventilation is maintained in the classroom. This can be ensured with relevant ventilation sensors available on the market, which would monitor the ventilation measures and their proper functioning. If air conditioning units are operating without satisfactory ventilation, increased levels of carbon dioxide will be observed, which unfortunately negatively affects the cognitive function and learning ability of students. Additionally, “split unit” air conditioners, which merely recycle indoor air, are not suitable for schools. Continuous monitoring of these parameters during the pilot phase of an intervention, such as the installation and use of air conditioning units in classrooms, is necessary to ensure the effective operation of the intervention for the benefit of students’ cognitive function.
In the second part of the conference, a consultation took place among academics, officials from government agencies such as the Ministry of Education, Sports, and Youth, the Ministry of Health, educators’ associations, and experts from the World Health Organization (WHO) who traveled to Cyprus from Geneva and the WHO office in Athens specifically to participate in this important institutional Conference. The public health academics involved in the consultation were from universities and research organizations based in the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Slovenia, Israel, and Slovakia. The consultation occurred in the form of working groups focusing on the main topic of children’s health concerning the concept of healthy schools in Cyprus. The expert participants were divided into three groups. The first group focused on mapping existing health education programs and relevant health and environmental policies for children. The second group addressed the needs and gaps concerning children’s health issues in schools, while the third group examined children’s health programs operating in other countries and the potential for their implementation in Cyprus.
Participants agreed to prepare the final text of the declaration for the implementation of the healthy schools strategy in Cyprus and Greece, based on the relevant global WHO strategy, which will be published and sent to the relevant ministries in Cyprus and Greece, with the contribution of WHO experts.
