The Association between Organizational Factors of Health Promoting Schools and Teachers' Health Lifestyles: A Multilevel Analysis.

BACKGROUND

Schools are both learning environments for students and workplaces for faculty. Recognizing the role of organizational factors in staff health in school environments, the study aimed to explore which factors, including transformational leadership, teachers' perceived management support and HPS accreditation awards, were most associated with promoting a healthy lifestyle for teachers.

METHODS

A cross-sectional study was undertaken of 137 elementary schools in 2014, involving 433 directors and 2090 teachers. Data were collected using an anonymous structured questionnaire. Hierarchical linear modeling was used to analyze both teacher- and school-level factors associated with health-promoting lifestyles.

RESULTS

There was a significant positive correlation between teachers' overall health-promoting lifestyle profile (HPLP-II) scores and both perceived management support (coefficient = .98, p < .001) and transformational leadership (coefficient = .38, p = .039). All 6 HPLP-II subscales also showed significant positive correlations with perceived management support (coefficients .12-.24, p < .001).

CONCLUSION

Supporting a healthy working atmosphere and strong principal transformational leadership are keys to enhancing teachers' health-promoting lifestyles. Future research could explore how transformational leadership and management support influence teachers' health behaviors and identify effective strategies and interventions.