Integrating oral health in school health programs in Alberta, Canada: perspectives of health promotion professionals

Oral health is linked to children's well-being and academic performance, yet its integration into school health programs remains limited. This study explored perspectives of school health promotion professionals in Alberta, Canada, on challenges and enablers to integrating oral health into existing school health programs. Using a qualitative description methodology, semi-structured interviews were conducted with 18 health promotion professionals, which included health promotion facilitators and oral health team, through four virtual focus groups. All focus groups were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using manifest, inductive content analysis. Enablers of adoption included school interest, ongoing oral health activities in schools, prioritization of oral health, gatekeeper trust, and health promotion professionals' influence, while challenges involved low prioritization and limited interest holder support. Implementation enablers included resource availability, partnerships and collaborations, existing programs in schools, and targeted strategies, while barriers included limited resources, overburdened staff, linguistic diversity, low parental engagement, inconsistent school support, lack of implementation guidelines, and uneven program delivery. Participants emphasized the following key factors as crucial to long-term sustainability-a comprehensive school health approach; early program initiation; resource provision; alignment with existing priorities, school curricula, and culture; and leveraging partnerships. Addressing identified challenges and drawing on existing strengths can support the development of holistic, sustainable school health programs that include oral health as a key component. These findings offer practical insights for policymakers, educators, and public health practitioners.