Abstract:

The aim of spatial policy is both to protect specific values of space and to rationally shape it by stimulating social and economic processes. Protective activities include striving to maintain a balance between economic, social and environmental elements. For spatial planning to be an effective public policy tool, it must cover all aspects of socio-economic life. In the social stream, one of the most important are decisions in the field of health by reducing differences in access to health and education services in regions, including health education. This education can contribute to shaping correct health attitudes and eliminate the diversity in this area between young people living in urban and rural areas. In order to determine the spatial (urban-rural) differentiation in shaping health attitudes, a field study of young adults of various types of secondary schools, i.e. vocational schools, technical schools and general schools in the Mazowieckie voivodship has been carried out. In the light of the study, the thesis on the existence of the differentiation in health behaviours between young people living in cities and those living in villages has not been confirmed. Big differences in these youth behaviours have not been revealed. However, differences appeared between types of schools. It turned out that the studied youth from the Mazowieckie Voivodeship learning in vocational schools, to a lesser extent than young people attending general schools and technical schools, recognize situations threatening their health in the form of weaker nutrition, e.g. eating fewer vegetables or frequent contacts with psychoactive substances. A general conclusion from the research is that the most important seems to be promoting and spreading the knowledge about health through lifestyle education, with an emphasis on the youth attending vocational schools, as those in need of the strongest substantive and infrastructural support.

Keywords: