title: School health promotion providers' roles in practice and theory: results from a case study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Implementation is critical to the success of health promotion (HP) in schools, but little is known about how schools can best be assisted during this process. This article focuses on Austrian HP providers and aspects their roles incorporate.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To investigate the providers' role in the practice of HP implementation and how it differs from its official description. On the basis of these findings, implications are suggested.
  
  
  METHODS
  The data were gathered within the framework of an explorative case study of complex HP interventions. We draw on four interviews with HP organisation staff, five documents from the providers' organisations and seven interviews with school staff from three schools.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In practice, providers took up different responsibilities, e.g., acting as emotional support to school staff and supporting the documentation of projects, guided more by the schools' needs than by the programmes they are helping to implement. Providers focused mostly on the implementation of single activities and did little to emphasize the necessity of organisational change.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings suggest that providers' background in health should be complemented by a deeper understanding of the importance of organisational change to further support HP implementation.
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute Health Promotion Research, Untere Donaustraße 47, 1020 Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: friedrich.teutsch@lbihpr.lbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Friedrich
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Teutsch
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute Health Promotion Research, Untere Donaustraße 47, 1020 Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: lisa.gugglberger@lbihpr.lbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Lisa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Gugglberger
authors.affiliation: Ludwig Boltzmann Gesellschaft, Ludwig Boltzmann Institute Health Promotion Research, Untere Donaustraße 47, 1020 Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: wolfgang.duer@lbihpr.lbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Wolfgang
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Dür
mesh_terms: D001317:Austria; D002648:Child; D006801:Humans; D017146:Models, Organizational; D019982:Organizational Case Studies; D024382:Professional Role; D016730:Program Development; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012572:School Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*
keywords: Health promotion; Healthcare providers; Organisational innovation; Schools