Integration of health management in schools using the Balanced Scorecard as a strategic management instrument

Aim Organizational development is crucial to health promotion in different settings. The Learn to Live Healthy intervention [German: Gesund Leben Lernen (GLL)] is a new school health promotion strategy designed to develop schools into healthy environments for all those who work and study there. GLL focuses on strengthening available health resources and reducing negative and excessive health stresses. The Balanced Scorecard (BSC), a strategic management instrument designed to support change processes, is employed in this BMBF-funded study. This research will assess the suitability of the BSC as a management and evaluation instrument for schools. Subjects and methods GLL assists schools in implementing health management programs with the aid of school coaches. Besides setting up steering committees and health circles, goals and action measures are defined and operationalized using a participatory quality development and evaluation approach. The intervention focuses on project organization instruments to implement organizational change processes in schools, develop these processes in a goal-oriented, systematic and sustainable manner, and improve the quality of education in schools by means of health interventions. It uses the BSC as a supportive strategic management tool. The BSC provides the basis for the definition and prioritization of goals at the participating schools and facilitates the measurement of health promotion activities in schools. Structured telephone interviews were conducted for a post-workshop evaluation of methodology for the implementation process of the BSC. Results A preliminary evaluation of the implementation process revealed a fundamental need to integrate the Lower Saxon Policy Framework for School Quality. Therefore, the School-BSC no longer evaluates schools from four perspectives, but rather from six, pursuant to the Policy Framework. The health specialists expect the School-BSC to promote goal-oriented and structured work and transparency within schools. Considering the participatory approach, two health specialists were enlisted to optimize the training concept. Conclusions Evaluation of the School-BSC in schools makes it possible to assess its suitability as a management and evaluation instrument in these organizations. Newly developed school programs largely dispelled the initial reservations of the health specialists. The School-BSC is viewed as a useful tool for the creation of organizational structures and transparency a