| Abstract: | Young people living in rural areas lack opportunities for accessing health advice and care without reference to a parent, carer, or other adult. In this article Jane Harrison and Jane Bullock provide the rationale for the development in 1997 of Bodyzone, a school‐based health service to address this problem. Presented here as a case study, Bodyzone, twenty of which have been started in Oxfordshire, demonstrates the value of such a service to young people and teachers. The multi‐agency sessions are held once a week either on school premises or in youth or sports centres nearby. The service is accessed by self‐referral and the sessions are drop‐in. The provision of this service enables young people to begin to take responsibility for their health and to meet health professionals on their own territory, rather than that of the agency. |
