We face an unprecedented period of history during which COVID-19 is clustered with other global conditions, such as obesity, undernutrition, an infodemic, and climate change. This syndemic (synergy of epidemics) calls for the development of children’s and youth’s health literacy and socioemotional skills, support for behavioural hygiene (e.g. washing hands, wearing masks), and adults’ responsibility and caring. Moreover, it calls for creating conditions for healthy living and learning for all and paying extra attention to inequalities that have increased during the pandemic. Today, more than ever, there is an essential demand for schools to create environments that maintain and promote health for all. Within this commentary, we argue that whole-school approaches, such as the health promoting school, are essential to fight against the pandemic and to prepare schools for future challenges.
Background: The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has influenced educational systems worldwide. School principals coped with numerous significant challenges regarding school management during the epidemiological crisis that could generate a lot of work-related stress. Thus, the presented study examines Polish school principals’ perceived stress and its association with exhaustion and psychosomatic complaints as burnout risk indicators. Principals’ gender and age as sociodemographic control variables were also considered in this paper. Methods: A cross-sectional online study was conducted in eight provinces of Poland from June to December 2021. The study was part of a global COVID-HL school principal survey under the global COVID-Health Literacy Research Network Two subscales of the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) (perceived helplessness [PH]and perceived self-efficacy [PSE]) were considered independent variables in relation to school principals’ mental and physical exhaustion and psychosomatic complaints. Regression models consisting of two equations were used to test the relationship between variables. The first equation consists of the control variables (age, gender), and in the second equation, the independent variables (PH and PSE) were included in addition to the control variables. Results: Almost 50% of school principals experienced a lack of control that caused anger and stress. Mental and physical exhaustion during the pandemic was often or always felt by 30% of respondents. Nearly half of Polish school principals experienced psychosomatic complaints in the form of muscle pain and headaches. PH, to a greater extent than PSE, was associated with mental and physical exhaustion and psychosomatic complaints. With age, the level of psychosomatic complaints and mental and physical exhaustion decreases, but it was higher among women. Regression analysis revealed significant associations between exhaustion and mental health outcomes, even after controlling for demographic variables Conclusion: This study showed that almost half of Polish school principals indicated a high frequency of perceived stress during the pandemic. PH was more substantially associated with mental and physical exhaustion in younger female principals than PSE. Younger female school principals reported more exhaustion and psychosomatic complaints. This finding should be the baseline information for policymakers to improve the wellbeing of Polish school principals and prevent the risk of burnout.
Governments all over the world have taken unparalleled measures to combat the spread of the co[1]ronavirus. Severe restrictions have been imposed, reducing face-to-face contact where possible. This situation seems to be particularly acute for children and youth, who may not understand the orders and bans. Many studies analyzed in this paper have provided evidence that children’s and adole[1]scents’ health has been negatively affected within the last months due to school closures and the need for social and physical distancing because of the coronavirus. Adults should be aware of children’s and adolescents’ difficulties and support them during this unique time. In the face of serious threats currently emerging due to COVID-19, health promotion is essential, as people regain control of their health, protect themselves and manage the potential consequences of the disease. The schools are faced with a huge task of promoting health, preparing students to cope with difficult and uncertain situations, including strengthening their health literacy. Health literacy, which is a set of skills, varies from individual to individual, which means that interventions in this area should focus on improving people’s skills and capacities through educational activities, discussed in this article.
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