Metode og Data nr. 86 - DDA Samfund - Dansk Data Arkiv

DDA-1653 „Health Behaviour of
School Children, 1984-1985“
(Bjørn E. Holstein and Hirobumi Ito)
It is an essential health political objective in
many countries – and a central element in the
WHO programme „Health for all by the year
2000“ – to „pilot“ people’s behaviour in a
more health-promoting direction.
Health behaviour is formed in childhood
and adolescence, and as it may be very
difficult to change this behaviour later in life,
it is very important that children and young
people learn good health behavioural patterns.
Improved knowledge of how health behaviour
is developed in the early years is of vital
importance for future health information
programmes and other health-promoting
measures. In 1982 the WHO therefore
initiated (and has since then co-ordinated)
an international research project on health
behaviour of 11 to 15-year-old school
children, „Health Behaviour in School
Children“.
The purposes of this research project are 1)
to gain increased knowledge of the health
behaviour of the 11 to 15-year-olds, 2) to
gain knowledge of how health behaviour
changes over time, and 3) to gain knowledge
of the factors on which health behaviour is
based (e.g. the children’s experiences, life
styles, and material and cultural living
conditions).
Health behaviour is usually defined as the
individual’s behaviour regarding the
promotion of health and the prevention of
diseases. Furthermore, the definition includes
abstention from health-damaging behavioural
patterns. In consequence, the purpose is to
examine health-promoting (e.g. physical
exercise, healthy dietary habits) as well as
health-damaging behaviour (e.g. smoking
and unhealthy dietary habits) and to locate
groups with these behavioural patterns.
The fact that the survey is carried out in
many countries increases, among other things,
the understanding of the significance of
national and cultural factors. The research is
based on nationwide, representative, crosssectional
surveys of health behaviour of 11 to
15-year-old school children at intervals of
about three years. The data collection takes
place in school according to carefully
specified, standardized criteria. So far the
survey has been carried out twice, the first
time in ten countries in 1983-1985 (where the
Danish part is this survey) and the second time
in twelve countries in 1986-1988 (where the
Danish part is filed at the DDA as DDA-
1654: Physical Exercise and Health Behaviour
of School Children, 1988).
For this Danish survey all the pupils who
were present in the selected classes completed
a questionnaire containing questions about the
children’s social situation, health, health
behaviour, spare time activities, financial
conditions, contact with parents and friends,
attitude to school attendance, future perspectives,
and self-assessment.
File dimensions: 682 cases, 117 variables.
DDA-2259 „User Survey in Odense
1995: Home-Help Recipients“
DDA-2260 „User Survey in Odense
1995: Nursing Home Residents“
(Odense Municipality)
The purpose of these surveys is to ensure
that the help and assistance offered by Odense
municipality to its citizens is of the best
possible quality. The care and nursing
department of the municipality sent out
questionnaires to all home-help recipients
(DDA-2259) and to all nursing home residents
(DDA-2260) in February 1995.
At the same time questionnaires were sent
to the staff groups, and the groups were asked
to assess how they expected that the users
would answer the questions. The results of this
part-survey are found in the reports, but the
data is not included in this data material.
DDA-2259:
The responses were to form part of an assessment
of the help offered at the time by Odense
municipality and also of an assessment of
future efforts in the field.
In this context home-help means the help
received by for instance home-helps, assistant
nurses, social and health workers, social and
health assistants and nursing home assistants.
DDA-2260:
The residents were asked to assess the help
and assistance in a number of fields.
File dimensions:
DDA-2259: 4555 cases, 43 variables.
DDA-2260: 492 cases, 46 variables.
Metode & Data nr. 86 – 2002 side 56