【Purpose】 This study was conducted with Yogo teachers of junior high school to reveal the degree of importance and practice regarding health counseling―one of their main duties.
【Methods】 One hundred eighty two Yogo teachers answered questionnaires on health counseling of 21 items prepare in previous researchs.
【Results】 The main results were as follows:
1) As a result of factor analysis, the following five factors were identified: psychological assistance, organized correspondence, intra-school partnership, school counselor (SC) and external partnership, and physical assistance.
2) One-way ANOVA on their importance revealed that intra-school partnership and psychological assistance were the highest, followed by organized correspondence, SC and external partnership, and physical assistance.
3) One-way ANOVA on their practice revealed that intra-school partnership was conducted the most often, followed by psychological assistance and physical assistance, while SC and external partnership and organized correspondence were conducted the least often.
4) Furthermore, a discrepancy between importance and practice was not observed when it comes to physical assistance, whereas the remaining four factors showed a discrepancy.
【Conclusion】 Yogo teachers carry out health counseling, making use of the functions of school infirmaries and dealing with both body and heart―which is the specificity of their duties. Such nature of their work was reflected in the results of this study. While they focus their attention on one-on-one partnerships with other teachers in the school, it is required to clarify what school systems will do with respect to the future health consultation activities conducted by Yogo teachers and seek partnerships with relevant resources and organizations.
