The Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) research network is an international alliance of ~350 researchers, from 51 countries, who collaborate on the cross-national survey of school students: the HBSC study. Every four years, for the past 30, we have collected data on 11-, 13- and 15-year-olds’ health and well-being, social environments and health behaviours.
In doing so the HBSC study provides a rich source of data that shows how young people’s health changes as they move from childhood, through adolescence into adulthood. Members of the HBSC research network and stakeholders at national and international levels, use our data to monitor young people’s health, understand the social determinants of well-being, and determine effective health improvement interventions. Those working in child and adolescent health view HBSC as an extensive databank and source of multidisciplinary expertise, which can: support and further their research interests, lobby for change, inform policy and practice, and monitor trends over time.
The history of the study in North Macedonia
Republic of North Macedonia has joined the HBSC study in 2002, after piloting it in 1998. Since then, a research cycle has been conducted every four years by a team of researchers, coordinated by Lina Kostarova-Unkovska, the PI for North Macedonia, director and founder of the Center for Psychosocial and Crisis Action. Each cycle of the study has been planned on a national representative sample of around 5000 students age 11, 13 and 15 years (up to 1800 students of each age group), in two languages of instruction – Macedonian and Albanian.
The HBSC is a school-based survey with data collected through questionnaires administered in the classroom. Preparation for the field work and the data administration is carried out over a period of ten-twelve months. The last HBSC survey has been carried out in the course of September, 2013 – September, 2014.
The study aims at increasing the understanding of the patterns of health in Macedonian school children placed in an international context through comparisons with other countries in Europe and North America, as well at presenting the trends in youth health in North Macedonia. It also aims to disseminate findings on national priority health issues to key end-users. It also contributes to the information base and to policy decisions on Macedonian school-children’s health and well-being, especially under conditions of increasing social, economic and political instability in the society.