Aika Välittää! - Preventive health education lessons in Peltola upper comprehensive school

The aim of the thesis was to carry out nine functional health education lessons to 7th graders in Peltola upper comprehensive school during 17th November 2009 – 27th January 2010. The theme of the lessons was an intervention called Vantaa Välittää! which is part of a substance abuse prevention project in the City of Vantaa. The intervention consisting of pre-work tasks and actual health education lessons was carried out in all Vantaa upper comprehensive schools in 2007 – 2009. After the intervention the pupils gave feedback on the lessons. An enquiry concerning the parents’ opinions on substance education and co-operation between school and home was also made. According to the enquiry 80% of the parents felt that the school should have more sub-stance education and 47% felt that there is much to improve in the co-operation between school and home.

Intervention is often defined as interference or an action in which a person or a group tries to influence an individual’s or a group’s health status. Its aim is to give new operation models to individuals. The objective of the health education lessons was to emphasize the importance of self care and caring for others, to get the pupils interested of non intoxicant options, and also to provide tools to the pupils to detect and interfere in school bullying and increase the ability to accept differences in people.

The youth live in an environment that has very positive views of alcohol and many young people start experimenting with intoxicants when they enter upper comprehensive school. Open communication in families and youth oriented work support the idea that not everyone has to try sub-stance abuse. School bullying is a very common phenomenon and when it continues over a pro-longed period of time, it can cause psychological and physical health problems both to the bully and victim. When working against bullying, people should be more aware of the motives of bullying and create conversation among the pupils on how to prevent and stop bullying.

The most important aim of health promotion is to increase the individual’s possibilities to influence his/her own health behaviour. School healthcare and teaching personnel have a great possibility to influence the young people’s attitudes. Health education should provide appropriate knowledge and avoid moralizing. Instructing is teaching, focusing on interaction. Student-oriented methods like functional lessons have been reported to advance learning and enhance decision making abilities.