title: The effects of the school environment on student health: a systematic review of multi-level studies.
abstract: Health outcomes vary between schools and it is theorised that this may be partly attributable to variation in the school environment. Existing systematic reviews have not drawn authoritative conclusions because of methodological limitations in the review or studies available. We identified 42 multi-level studies, ten of which were judged of sufficient quality to narratively synthesize. There was consistent evidence that schools with higher attainment and attendance than would be expected from student intake had lower rates of substance use. Findings on the influence of smoking/alcohol policies were mixed. Three studies examined the health effects variously associated with school campus area and observability, year structure, school size and pupil-to-teacher ratio with mixed findings. The studies reviewed support the potential influence of the school environment on student health.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford, 32 Wellington Square, Oxford OX1 2ER, United Kingdom. christopher.bonell@spi.ox.ac.uk
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bonell
authors.forename: Will
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Parry
authors.forename: Helene
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wells
authors.forename: Farah
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Jamal
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Fletcher
authors.forename: Angela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Harden
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Thomas
authors.forename: Rona
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Campbell
authors.forename: Mark
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Petticrew
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Murphy
authors.forename: Margaret
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Whitehead
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Moore
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004522:Educational Status; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D012572:School Health Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012574:Schools / Q000592:standards / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013334:Students / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D019966:Substance-Related Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology