Health-promoting policy in Belgorod State National Research University

Фотографии: 

ˑ: 

Dr.sc.pol., professor O.N. Polukhin
Dr.Hab., professor V.N. Irhin
Associate professor, PhD I.N. Nikulin
PhD T.V. Nikulina
Belgorod State National Research University, Belgorod

Keywords: health-promotion policy, university.

Introduction. Notwithstanding the fact that, over recent years higher education institutions in the Russian Federation have worked diligently on health support of the subjects of the educational process (establishment of health and wellness centers and services, implementation of health protection programs aimed at strengthening and protection of students’ and teachers’ health), the issue of health-promotion policy adoption remains unresolved so far. In particular, it is the analysis of content, directions, requirements and areas of health-promotion policy implementation within university that calls for special attention.

Objective of the paper was to define the content and directions of the health-promotion policy in Belgorod State National Research University (NRU ‘BelSU’).

Results and discussion. It is obvious that health, valeological competency level, health culture of students and university teaching personnel, provided health saving environment, advanced health-promoting attitude of pedagogical and executive personnel are the key factors constituting competitiveness of an educational institution, determining its prospects for development and entailing appropriate concentration on development and implementation of health-promoting policy in NRU ‘BelSU’.

In terms of university, health-promoting policy is an instrument of practical implementation of the valeological mission; effective attainment of the primary goal described as training a healthy, robust and sophisticated specialist who is able to meet competition; valeological competency improvement among the university teaching personnel; setting the orientation of all subjects of educational process towards primary goal attainment through introduction of a health-promoting pedagogical system in a university. Health-promotion policy is characterized by the principles of health protection, strengthening and development, health ideology, as well as a number of specific functions: socializing function (the necessity of a developing personality involvement into the process of acquisition and practical exercise of healthy values and lifestyle; socialization without stressful circumstances); culturological function (provision of positive educational environment for students to acquire science-based knowledge about health protection and promotion, for health culture formation); preventative function (prevention of ill-health, functional impairments and deviations in personality development); correctional and recreational function (establishment of the educational environment aimed at complex health recreation); function of health improvement (increase of the adaptive potential and physical reserve of a person). Health-promotion policy of the university is the pedagogical system consisting of a set of environments, such as intellectual and informational, communicative, subject-spatial, recreational, etc., which provides the future specialists with appropriate training and conditions for healthy personality development.

The policy determines the directions and areas for regulatory decisions making and strategic measures proposition aimed at primary goal attainment. University units (university administration, departments, faculties) are interrelated and interconnected and have authority to involve teaching personnel and students into cooperative healthy specialist training activities based on the principles of conformity to natural laws and health ideology (V.N. Irkhin). These principles require the new pedagogical mentality, specific arrangements and experience of the university teaching personnel. Health-promotion policy is reflected in the statute of Belgorod State National Research University, as well as in its complex development program. Indeed, the university’s health-promotion potential is great. The policy of the university administration is geared towards establishment of the educational environment which contributes to development of intelligence and morality in the future specialists.

The analysis of the health-promotion policy in NRU ‘BelSU’ revealed its basic directions, which are the following [1, 2]:

1. Health-promotion operations management carried out at public, administrative, pedagogical (vocational) and students’ levels.

2. Organization of health-promotion educational process, which implies implementation of health saving learning regimen and technologies; introduction of specialized programs that form health culture of the future specialists and prepare them for the further health-promotion professional activities. Students' health culture is formed through disciplinary framework and content, specifically biological, medical, psychological, pedagogical disciplines. During non-academic activities, students are introduced into healthy lifestyle and health values in the course of cognitive, sports, artistic, sociopolitical, organizational and other activities focused on health promotion. Currently, the most significant type of such activities is students’ participation in the All-Russian physical culture and sports complex “Ready for Labor and Defense” (VFSK GTO).

NRU ‘BelSU’ Academic Senate on physical culture and sports development was established in order to improve the students’ academic performance within the Physical Education discipline and to develop physical education, recreational and sports infrastructure in NRU ‘BelSU’. O.N. Polukhin, rector of the university, became the chairman of the Academic Senate. Adoption of the approach, focused on personality development of a student as a subject of physical education, required the pilot project “University Educational Process Improvement Within the Physical Education discipline on the Basis of Optional Sports and Recreational Activities” to be undertaken starting September 2014. On December 2013, NRU ‘BelSU’ Academic Senate embarked on the pilot project which consisted of two parts. 400 academic hours were allocated for the 1st and 2nd academic years of practical physical education classes, where 72 hours constituted the basic part (compulsory), while 328 hours were given for elective curriculum (areas of sport disciplines are chosen by students). The project was approved by the Scientific and Methodical Council under the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation.

The basic part is mostly based on the general education program and the physical education classes are scheduled within the course structure. Under this program, students are taught the skills needed in the following sports: volleyball, basketball, swimming, track-and-field athletics and gymnastics. Elective course allows for the students’ choice of motor activity types in view of their preferences and physical capabilities. Students are offered a large variety of sports mainly preferred in the university: volleyball, basketball, minifootball, table tennis, aerobics, weight training and strength sports, swimming, combat sports, shooting, sport tourism, multi-sport events of the GTO complex and corrigent gymnastics for special health groups. The content of elective course is optimized for physical education of students. The new structure of class organization contributed to positive changes in students’ attitude towards educational process. In 2015, the number of students satisfied with classes increased by 20.3 percent (total 83.8 percent), as compared to the statistics of 2014. The survey results, in which 700 students took part, showed that 11 percent of student respondents had been exercising more than 6 hours a week in 2014; in 2015, the percentage increased to 38.2 percent.

3. Formation of health-promotion educational structure includes development and modernization of education systems, disciplines, elective courses; introduction of new specialties, educational and methodical complex; implementation of technological means and equipment and its use in 22 specialties; advanced vocational training of the university teaching personnel; introduction of a horizontal network cooperation between educational institutes and agencies into the university educational process.

4. Establishment of health-promoting model, which improves the quality of personnel training (scientific research project), comprises: justification for diagnostic test evaluating health group of students and teaching personnel of NRU ‘BelSU’; development of technological means for health-promotion model implementation (particularly, developing variable and flexible complex of health-saving technologies in educational process: educational technologies and training of future specialists in the context of health-promotion activities; recreational technologies for subjects of educational process; technologies for management of health-promotion educational process); introducing future specialists into voluntary research activities (organization of voluntary student groups aimed at healthy lifestyle promotion; attracting students to scientific research activities on the issues of healthy living), etc.

5. Development of health-promotion lab complex in NRU ‘BelSU’ (research and production project): laboratory of human molecular genetics, laboratory of nanostructural studies in medicine, laboratory of immunohistochemical studies, laboratory of chronodiagnosis and chronophysiotherapy; development of the science and education complex “BelSU Pharmacy”, center of post-degree professional medical and pharmaceutical education, “Nezhegol” Health Complex, BelSU Health Clinic, Youth Cultural Center. Furthermore, the operation of all components within the system of geographically distributed health-saving infrastructure of university is organized.

A particular highlight of the university is Health and Recreation Center of Svetlana Khorkina. The complex building accommodates the 50-metre swimming pool, Gymnastics Sports Center, gyms, universal game room, chess club, athletics arena, rooms for choreography, tennis, kickboxing, and fitness.

The Youth Recreational Complex for Culture and Sports Tourism includes equestrian school providing educational, sports and recreational services. The school supports the programs of equestrian tourism, rehabilitation and social adaptation of children with impairments.

The university encompasses “Nezhegol”, the recreational area, which includes lawn tennis courts, football and volleyball fields, chess club, recreation areas with sports equipment and bikeways where art and sports events are held: BelSU International School of Project Management “Pegasus”, the Summer Language School, annual Health Day covering all university stuff.

6. Organization of health-promotion activities of the university health services, maintaining medical, psychological, social and pedagogical support during an educational process. BelSU Health Clinic offers qualitative medical services for university students, teachers, personnel and honorary long-time academic workers. Diagnostic Center under the BelSU Health Clinic comprises clinical and diagnostic laboratory, department of functional diagnostics, radiology and endoscopy departments, as well as the department of spiral computed tomography. The consistency and integrity of therapeutic process, opportunity to receive medical care during working and studying activities and subsequent operation of different structural subdivisions, delivering therapeutic medical care, maintain health of university students, teachers, personnel and honorary long-time academic workers.

Conclusion. The health-promotion policy of the university implies planning and implementing the environment which is favorable to health and covers all members of pedagogical process and subjects of the educational system. The necessary conditions for the students’ healthy personality development can be provided only through goal-oriented activities, which cohere educational, scientific research, disciplinary, preventative and correctional measures taken by university administration, students, teachers and medical specialists.

Implementation of health-promotion policy has put NRU ‘BelSU’ in the 2014 awardee list of the Open public All-Russian contest among institutions of higher education “Healthy Lifestyle University”.

References

  1. Polukhin O.N. Professionalizm i zdorov'e – glavnye sostavlyayushchie zhiznennogo uspekha (Professionalism and Health - the main components of success in life) / O.N. Polukhin. – Rektor vuza. – 2014. – № 4. – P. 4–6.
  2. Irhin, V.N., Irhina I.V., Nikulin I.N. University Sports and Recreation Activities System as a Factor of Ensuring the Students Health / V.N. Irhin, I.V. Irhina, I. N. Nikulin / World Journal of Medical Sciences 9 (3): 162-166, 2013.

Corresponding author: irhin@bsu.edu.ru

 

Abstract

The main objective of the present paper was to define the content and directions of the health-promoting policy of Belgorod State National Research University. The essence of the health-promoting policy as a tool for practical implementation of the university mission of health protection and strengthening and forming health of future specialists was revealed. There was presented the experience of implementation of such directions of the health-promoting university policy as management of health-promoting activities, organization of health-promoting educational process, creation of health-related educational structure, design of a health-promoting model (research project), development of health-promoting sets and organization of health-promoting activities of university health service.