How can critical incidents be used to describe health promotion in the Finnish European Network of Health Promoting Schools?

The purpose of this study was to elicit critical incidents that illustrate the reality in which health promotion processes take place in the Finnish European Network of Health Promoting Schools (ENHPS). In this study, critical incidents were used as a data collection method. The data were collected by asking representatives (n = 30) of the schools to describe in writing both positive and negative critical incidents related to health promotion in their school community. Altogether 48 critical incidents were analysed using qualitative content analysis. The results show that collaboration in a network of participants from inside and outside the school community to plan and implement a special school health day was the most commonly described positive critical incident. In addition, the organizational culture of the schools seemed to improve in a positive way. The reorganization of resources for health promotion resulted in positive progress, whereas a lack of resources had a frustrating and negative effect. The most commonly described negative critical incident was a failure to discourage smoking by pupils.