Standards Of Practice For Health Promotion In Higher Education

OCTOBER 2019ACHA GuidelinesStandards of Practice for Health Promotion inHigher EducationFourth EditionThe Standards of Practice for Health Promotion inHigher Education (Standards of Practice) serve as aguiding document for professionals who conduct, support, supervise, or have oversight over departmentsfacilitating health promotion processes on theirrespective campuses. Entry and mid-level healthpromotion professionals can use the Standards ofPractice to assess and stimulate development of theirown health promotion competencies; senioradministrators can assess the rigor of their services;and supervisors of health promotion departments cancommunicate the purpose and function of healthpromotion to students, faculty, staff, and other campusconstituencies. The Standards of Practice are notintended to be a prescriptive formula; rather, they offera goal for which health promotion professionals inhigher education can strive. The purpose of thisdocument is to serve as a framework for the practice ofhealth promotion in higher education in order tosupport student success and well-being.The Field of Health PromotionHealth promotion is a field that focuses on “the processof enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health” (World Health Organization, 1986,para. 3). It involves more than sharing information ormaterials, “health promotion requires a positive, proactive approach, moving ‘beyond a focus on individualbehaviour towards a wide range of social and environmental interventions’” (Okanagan Charter, 2015, p. 4)aimed at addressing the root causes of various healthconditions (World Health Organization, 2016).Historically, health promotion efforts have focused onpreventing common conditions through an emphasis onprimary prevention by “taking action before a problemarises in order to avoid it entirely, rather than treatingor alleviating its consequences” (Cohen & Chehimi,2010, p. 5). Currently the field of health promotionfurther divides prevention to focus on universal,selected, and indicated populations as appropriate. Asthe field of health promotion continues to advance,professionals should focus on the processes that aim toexpand protective factors and campus strengths, andreduce personal, campus, community, andenvironmental health and well-being risk factors. Byusing evidence to identify and address the factors thatcontribute to a community’s well-being, such asphysical facilities, policies, traditions, demographics,geography, etc., health promotion professionals areable to prioritize the well-being of all members of thecommunity (Council for the Advancement of Standardsin Higher Education, 2016).Health Promotion Is Critical for StudentSuccessThe purpose of health promotion in higher education,as a field, is to support student success. Colleges anduniversities have a duty to help members of theircommunity develop skills to optimize their well-beingand establish environments where health and wellbeing are recognized as critical components ofstudents’ ability to learn, work, enjoy, and contribute tothe community. According to the American CollegeHealth Association (ACHA)’s Framework for aComprehensive College Health Program, healthpromotion enhances student success and is a vitalaspect of college health programs (American CollegeHealth Association, 2016). As such, it should beprioritized at the institutional level when determiningwhere to focus resources.Health Promotion Professionals LeadCoordinated InitiativesHealth promotion is a recognized field of study, inwhich professionals undergo specialized training tounderstand and practice effective population-basedprevention efforts. This collective work is best led byhealth promotion professionals who are appropriatelytrained and credentialed to serve as leading voices forhealth promotion processes in higher education. Toensure the best qualified professionals are hired intohealth promotion positions, hiring managers canreference the ACHA Guidelines for Hiring Health

Standards of Practice for Health Promotion in Higher Education / page 2Promotion Professionals in Higher Education(American College Health Association, 2014).Health promotion in higher education cannot be donesolely by an individual or a health promotion office,rather it requires the collective effort of the campuscommunity. According to the Okanagan Charter(2015), “health promotion is not just the responsibilityof the health sector, but must engage all sectors to takean explicit stance in favour of health, equity, socialjustice and sustainability for all, while recognizing thatthe well-being of people, places and the planet areinterdependent” (p. 4).Guiding Principles for the Standards ofPracticeThe Standards of Practice are written with the understanding that health promotion in higher education, as afield, is guided by the following principles:Ethical PracticeIt is critical that health promotion professionals inhigher education conduct their work in an ethicalmanner and expect and encourage the same of theircolleagues. Ethical practice is often broadly defined;as such, health promotion professionals shouldconsult their associations, accrediting bodies andinstitutional policies to understand their obligations.Ethical principles to consider include (Greenberg,Bruess, & Oswalt, 2017; Ryan et al., 2014): Nonmaleficence: Do no harm Beneficence: Do good; kindness Autonomy/Liberty: Ensure an individual’sability to make decisions about their own wellbeing Justice/Fairness: Strive for equity that is freefrom bias Social Utility: Consider the greatest good forthe largest number of people Respect: Respect others, including opinionsand beliefs that differ from your ownCultivating Well-Being and Student SuccessBy working to prevent the development of personaland population-level health concerns, healthpromotion professionals contribute to a culture ofwell-being. While there is no agreed upon definitionof well-being, the promotion of well-being shouldincorporate factors beyond physical health, such aspositive emotions, interaction with others and theenvironment, and additional factors that impact astudent’s ability to succeed.College health provides students with access tohealth and wellness services and programs that arevital to the retention, progression, and graduation ofstudents (American College Health Association,2016). All aspects of student health and well-beingare critical and “students must receive appropriateand reactive care when needed, [however] there arelarge scale benefits to proactive, upstreamapproaches [unique to health promotion] that willallow increasing numbers of students to flourish andthrive” (Health and well-being in higher education,2019, p. 1).Community-Based ApproachInstitutions of higher education are communities.Members of this community may share physicalspaces but may also engage with each other insatellite or digital spaces. Students, staff, faculty,alumni, and surrounding populations work, live, andengage with the institution, and thus have a sharedidentity as members of this community. Through this“collective identity” a community can facilitatechange. As such, institutions of higher educationshould use a community-based approach topopulation health and well-being, building upon therelationships and interdependencies of their membersand structures.History of the Standards of PracticeIn 1996, ACHA appointed the Task Force on HealthPromotion in Higher Education to study the scope ofpractice of health promotion in a higher educationsetting and develop professional standards of practice(Zimmer, Hill, & Sonnad, 2003). ACHA first publishedthe culmination of that research as the Standards ofPractice for Health Promotion in Higher Education in2001. The ACHA Health Promotion Section tasked asubcommittee to revise and publish updated editions in2005, 2012, and 2019.

Standards of Practice for Health Promotion in Higher Education / page 3Standard 1: Alignment with the Missions ofHigher EducationEffective practice of health promotion in highereducation requires professionals to facilitate processesthat cultivate a healthy community so students canthrive and reach their fullest potential.1.1 Ensure the health promotion strategic plan is inmutual alignment with the mission of theinstitution.1.2 Implement health promotion as a critical processthroughout the institution.1.3 Create a supportive environment that empowersthe community to develop and maintain lifelongwell-being.1.4 Advocate for the health and well-being of thecommunity as a priority for the institution.Standard 2: Socioecological-Based PracticeEffective practice of health promotion in highereducation requires professionals to address campus andcommunity health and well-being at all levels of thesocioecological model.Standard 3: CollaborationEffective practice of health promotion in highereducation requires a shared responsibility of all campusand community members to enhance health and wellbeing.3.1 Identify and collaborate with interdisciplinarypartners, including students, faculty, staff,administrators, and community partners.3.2 Utilize campus and community assets to createhealth promoting environments.3.3 Engage with campus and community coalitions tomaximize the reach and effectiveness of healthpromotion initiatives.3.4 Utilize purposeful collaboration as a tool to achievehealth and well-being goals and objectives.Standard 4: Inclusive PracticeEffective practice of health promotion in highereducation requires professionals to demonstratecultural humility and inclusivity.4.1 Design health promotion initiatives that are drivenby the values of inclusion, respect, and equity.2.1 Advocate for the use of the socioecological modelas the foundation for efforts promoting campushealth and well-being.4.2 Collect and utilize quantitative and qualitativedata to establish equitable practices formarginalized populations.2.2 Use quantitative and qualitative campus andcommunity data to better understand theinfluences on health and well-being at all levels ofthe socioecological model.4.3 Plan, implement, and evaluate health promotioninitiatives that are informed by the unique needsof a diverse and changing population.2.3 Plan, implement, and evaluate initiatives thataddress the intrapersonal, interpersonal, andpopulation-level influences on health and wellbeing.4.4 Advocate for inclusive policies that impact thehealth and well-being of diverse populations.Standard 5: Theory-Based Practice2.4 Prioritize population-level initiatives as part of acomprehensive health promotion approach thatincorporates intrapersonal, interpersonal, andpopulation-level efforts.Effective practice of health promotion in highereducation requires professionals to understand andapply accepted interdisciplinary theoretical frameworksand planning models that address the well-being of thecommunity.2.5 Advocate for or against campus, local, state, andnational policies that influence campus andcommunity health and well-being.5.1. Review professional resources and literature frominterdisciplinary sources on theoreticalframeworks and planning models.5.2. Design, implement, and evaluate health promotioninitiatives that are guided by accepted theoreticalframeworks and planning models.5.3. Assess the degree to which theories aresuccessfully applied to program initiatives andmodify as necessary.