Health Box – Integration of Health Issues in Adult Education

Adults who are socio-economically disadvantaged, with a low level of education and those with a migration background belong to the groups of adults most at risk of acquiring a physical or mental lifestyle disease. These adults are less likely to participate in traditional health education or to be reached by health information campaigns. A strategy designed to help them to acquire a healthier lifestyle and thus prevent illness must seek to address where these adults may be reached rather than expecting them to seek out health education seminars. Adult educators who work with the final beneficiaries of this project in different contexts need to be made aware of health issues and be provided with ready-to use training materials for health promotion which they can be easily integrate in classes on subjects other than health.

Health Box project target group

The project has four direct target groups:

• Adult educators working with the target groups
• Decision-makers and multipliers in adult education, government, social and labour market organisations
• Umbrella associations and networks in adult education at national and European level
• The public at large

Aims of the Health Box project

Health Box aims at

• Promoting health among European citizen
• Preventing lifestyle diseases
• Engaging disadvantaged adults in lifelong learning
• Developing key competences

The project Health Box promotes knowledge, attitudes and skills related to prevent lifestyle diseases and thus enhancing healthy lifestyle habits among socio-economically disadvantaged adults, migrants and adults with a low level of education who are the final beneficiaries of the Health Box project. This global aim will be pursued by developing, testing and disseminating a Health Box, a set of methodologies, tools, teaching and learning materials adult educators can use in their respective training practice.

Health Box project activities

The main activities of the Health Box project between January 2010 and December 2011 are

• In a desk research the state of the art in health education for adults will be investigated and good practice from which Health Box can learn will be identified. The results of which will lead to the description and analysis of a variety of learning settings.
  
• On the basis of the desk research the Health Box, i.e. teaching and learning materials on the prevention of lifestyle diseases will be developed.
  
• After a transnational induction seminar for the trainers involved in the Health Box will be tested in six participating countries, with a variety of target groups of disadvantaged learners to make sure the materials will be applicable in various contexts.
  
• The test results and experiences produced will contribute to the final design and production of the training materials.
  
• The project will be presented at diverse European dissemination conferences

Project partners

BUPNET
Germany
www.bupnet.de
Sabiene Wiemann

Århus social- og sundhedsskole
Denmark
www.sosuaarhus-international.com
Jan Gejel
Niels Christian F. Vestergaard

Yrkesakademin i Österbotten
Finland
www.yrkesakademin.fi
Carina Kekäle

Università delle LiberEtà del Fvg
Italy
www.libereta-fvg.it
Pina raso
Alessia Fabro

Fundatia Ecologica Green
Rumania
www.feg.ro
Irina Stanciu

Doncaster College
United Kingdom
www.don.ac.uk
Diane Lawson
Barbara Brodigan