Health promotion in higher education

The American College Health Association Standards of Practice for Health Promotion in Higher Education provides measurable guidelines for enhancing the quality of prevention, health promotion, and wellness services at colleges and universities.[1]

The Council for the Advancement of Standards in Higher Education creates and delivers a dynamic and credible Book of Professional Standards and Guidelines and Self-Assessment Guides that are designed to lead to a host of quality-controlled programs and services and promotes standards in student affairs, student services, and student development programs for the ultimate purpose of fostering and enhancing student learning, development, and achievement and in general to promote good citizenship. CAS updated all functional area standards, including CAS for Health Promotion in Higher Education in 2012.[3]

The National Commission for Health Education Credentialing (NCHEC) works to improve the practice of health education and to serve the public and profession of health education by certifying health education specialists (also known as the CHES credential), which promotes professional and career development of health care education, preparation, and practice, all ideals thought to promote the delivery of health care. NCHEC develops and administers the CHES exam in the United States, a competency-based test for health education specialists. The CHES credential is renewable every five years, requiring a baseline of continuing education credits for recertification. This is akin to the requirements and practices of many other health professions, including physicians (ACCME), pharmacists (ACPE), and nurses (ANCC).[4]

The Okanagan Charter exists to lead post-secondary institutions across Canada and the rest of the world to embed health and well-being into all aspects of campus culture and lead to collaborative health promotion action within the campus community. The Charter was established in 2015 at the University of British Columbia and includes common language, principles, and a framework to help institutions become “health and well-being promoting campuses” and outlines two main calls to action; to embed health into all aspects of campus culture across the institution, and to lead health promotion action and collaboration locally and globally.

The “National Standard of Canada for Mental Health and Well-Being for Post-Secondary Students”[5] was developed in 2018 and is a voluntary guideline to help post-secondary institutions support the mental health and well-being of students, including the promotion of mental health and well-being. The Standard [5] aims to support the following key outcomes:

• Raise awareness about mental health and decrease mental illness-related stigma,
• Provide healthier and safer institutional environments,
• Improve opportunities for student success and flourishing, and
• Promote life and resiliency skills that students can use at school, at work, and in daily life

The Canadian Association of College & University Student Services (CACUSS) co-developed the Post-Secondary Student Mental Health: Guide to a Systemic Approach with the Canadian Mental Health Association.[6] This guide aims to act as a resource and a framework to support the creation of communities on campus that are conducive to transformative learning and mental well-being through a systemic approach. CACUSS also includes several communities and networks dedicated to health promotion in higher education including campus mental health, student health & wellness, and student peer support programs.

In Ontario, many post-secondary institutions belong to the Ontario University & College Health Association (OUCHA) which allow them to share best practices for health services and promotion across institutions. OUCHA works to develop and pursue all which will preserve and improve the health of University and College students and their community. The overall goal of the organization is to promote and ensure optimum health services to the student population while also providing effective health education in both prevention and management of health issues.

All post-secondary institutions in Ontario also have access to the Centre for Innovation in Campus Mental Health (CICMH), which seeks to support post-secondary institutions in Ontario in their commitment to student mental health. CICMH works with institutions to build knowledge and skills of institutions, foster innovation in collaborative response, and develop partnerships to leverage community knowledge in order to address the mental health needs of students.