Models of Secondary School Health and Wellbeing Services

Adolescents, particularly those from socially disadvantaged backgrounds, frequently miss out on important health care due to barriers in accessing services. These barriers include fears about confidentiality, not knowing where to go, or not having parental/carer support to attend. For this reason many governments globally have developed school based health centres or services (SBHCs) to provide accessible primary care for low-income families to promote a healthy lifestyle and enable students to have a better start and path in life. The tradition is particularly established in the US where SBHCs have been operational for the last 40 years. By contrast, innovation and development of SBHCs in Australia remains an emerging area where further investment is needed. This evidence review aims to inform these efforts.

This report was derived using rapid review methodology, founded on a mix of peer-reviewed and grey literature sources.