Health advocacy and promotion in a Vancouver inner-city elementary school: lessons from the HealthstART program

Abstract

HealthstART is an after-school program developed to address the healthcare needs of vulnerable elementary school children. Partnered with Writers’ Exchange, the program utilized creative arts projects and positive mentorship to promote healthy living in students at a Vancouver inner-city school. An assessment of the HealthstART program determined that while participants and volunteers enjoyed the program and there was solid transfer of health knowledge, the lack of parental engagement and the delay in translation of health promotion research into practice, especially in mental-health education, posed as barriers to health advocacy in this population.