While the theoretical and conceptual literature surrounding health education has remained relatively constant and unchanged over the last decade or so, the same cannot be said for the health promotion literature. The evolving dominance of socio-political action in health promotion has overtaken individualistic and behaviourally-related forms. While the recent nursing literature addresses and acknowledges the place of socio-political activity as the mainstay of health promotion interventions, this is largely from a theoretical stance and is not applied in practice.

A plethora of anecdotal evidence, supported by the findings in this study, suggests that most nursing students' struggle with the demands placed upon them when writing academic assignments. The need for greater emphasis and support throughout the whole period of training are highlighted in the findings of this study. It is known that nursing loses large numbers of its students to the academic rigors of its educational programmes. Where this is the case, the findings of this study support the need for nurse educationalists and curriculum planners to revise and reform the way that they approach and deliver the demands of an academic style of writing with their students.

If health professionals wish to be at the forefront of current health-promoting school strategies they must embrace the radical health promotion reforms that are emerging from the current literature and put forward in this article. Building such group capacity, through developing social interaction, cohesion, participation and political action can only benefit the community at large and further emphasize the health promotion role of nursing. The health-promoting school movement is truly an international concept and, as such, deserves a concerted nursing representation and resourcing well beyond its current commitment.

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The World Health Organization's (WHO) Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion in 1986 provided the catalyst from which the Health Promoting Workplace movement emerged. Here, an extensive review of the available workplace-related health literature provides the basis for critical discussion and recommendations for health care managers. The findings suggest that health care managers, who practice in all health service settings, should be aiming to initiate and promote radical health promotion reform as set out in the WHO settings-based movement. Developing and implementing sustainable health promotion-orientated and organization-wide healthy workplace policy initiatives represent the most effective way for health care managers to directly benefit from the desirable outcomes that come from creating and maintaining a healthy workforce.