IN-PERSON Prague Research & Teaching Conference

Abstract

Initiatives such as the Healthy Minds/Healthy Campuses and Healthy Universities/Campuses programs were established to support health promotion on North American and European campuses. Furthermore, individual campuses have crafted wellness strategies or mental health strategies to guide wellbeing work on campuses. Unfortunately, many of these frameworks identify pockets of initiatives and programs, often aligned with the health colleges and student services (Newton et al., 2016). Relatedly, the connection among health promotion, sustainability, equity, diversity, inclusion, food and financial insecurity are not commonly understood; rather these issues ae seen as discreet challenges (Dooris et al., 2014). Breaking down the siloed delivery system and building ‘joined up’ approaches is necessary, given that wellbeing should be conceived of as holistic. One systems approach that is gaining significant traction in North America is the Okanagan Charter (2015), a health promotions framework co-constructed by professionals, academics, campus leaders and organizations focused on health and wellbeing. The Okanagan Charter outlines commitments and calls to action to support the health of people and the planet. Campuses and other organizations can sign on to the Charter; signatories are responsible for articulating their goals and actions that will address the commitments and calls to action. Student support services can work collaboratively with students, faculty, staff, colleges, and central administrative units to develop a holistic approach to health promotion and wellbeing. Implementing these joined up approaches can result in campus coalitions that are more effective in achieving health and wellbeing.