Chapter 1 Health Promotion and Public Health
Chapter Overview
Key Issues and Learning Outcomes
Key issues within this chapter:- Health promotion is a key element of public health practice.
- Health promotion involves a combination of Health Education, Service Improvement and Advocacy.
- Many health workers, professional groups, community-based workers and volunteers have a role in health promotion.
- Health promotion is an evolving discipline with many ongoing debates concerning principles and practice including: the balance between health education and legislation; the role of individualistic and structuralistic approaches; the levels at which to operate; the nature of the core values/ethical principles; and the balance between coercive, persuasive and health empowerment approaches.
- A systematic approach to planning health promotion needs to take into account assessment of needs and influences on health, and involves decisions on target groups, methods, settings and timing of activities.
- understand the history of prevention, public health and the evolution of health promotion.
- define health promotion and its component parts - health education, service improvement and advocacy.
- have considered the debates in health promotion including approaches, core values/ethical principles and assessed your own personal approach.
- apply principles of health promotion to planning a health promotion intervention.
Test your Knowledge
Having read the chapter can you now answer the following questions?- Why is the Ottawa Charter important and what are its central themes?
- What is the difference between health education and health promotion?
- What role does 'advocacy' play in health promotion? Give an example from your experience.
- Identify at least five people who could be involved in health promotion explaining the potential roles they could play.
- What is the rainbow model and why is it important?
- Which do you think are the two most important current debates in health promotion and why?
- Identify the different stages in the health promotion planning process.
Internet Links
Introduction to health promotion
The Ottawa Charter can be downloaded from the WHO website at: http://www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/ottawa_charter_hp.pdf
Health promotion glossary. For a useful set of definitions of key concepts in health promotion including sources see: http://www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/hp_glossary_en.pdf
World Health Organization health promotion home page. http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/en/
The Department of Health home page a useful starting point for finding out about health issues in UK with a large number of documents available for downloading http://www.dh.gov.uk/
WHO (1988) Adelaide Recommendations on Healthy Public Policy. WHO/HPR/HEP/95.2. Geneva. http://www.who.int/hpr/NPH/docs/adelaide_recommendations.pdf
The Bangkok Charter for health promotion in a globalized world. http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/6gchp/bangkok_charter/en/index.html
NHS EQUIP (Electronic Quality Information for Patients) website on health promotion with many useful links to resources. http://www.equip.nhs.uk/HealthTopics/health_promotion.aspx
Agenda 21 is a comprehensive plan of action to be taken globally, nationally and locally by organizations of the United Nations System, Governments, and Major Groups in every area in which human impacts on the environment. http://www.un.org/esa/sustdev/documents/agenda21/index.htm
BUBL is a links site servicing higher education in UK with many valuable links to UK organizations involved in health promotion. http://bubl.ac.uk/link/h/healthpromotion.htm
The Communication Initiative provides a useful entry point to the world of health communications/social marketing - with links, lists of consultants, resources, PowerPoint overheads on communication planning models. The focus is strongly oriented towards mass media and social marketing.
http://www.comminit.com
Health Communication Unit at the Centre for Health Promotion, University of Toronto has an extensive listing of websites as well as a range of resource documents on planning of health promotion and health communication programmes.
http://www.thcu.ca/infoandresources.htm
Institute of Health Promotion Research. University of British Columbia, Canada. Contains documents on the PRECEDE model and other health promotion topics and links to other health promotion sites.
http://www.ihpr.ubc.ca/
Inequalities, poverty and social exclusion/inclusion
A thoughtful discussion of social inclusion by the Canadian Public Health Association. http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/ph-sp/phdd/overview_implications/03_inclusion.html
Black report Full text from http://www.sochealth.co.uk/history/black.htm
Various government policy documents on public health
'Our Healthier Nation: A Contract for Health.' Green paper. London: TSO, 1998. http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/doh/ohnation/title.htm
'Saving Lives: Our Healthier Nation.' London: TSO, 1999. http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm43/4386/4386.htm
'The Health of the Nation: A strategy for health in England.' London: UK Parliament, 1992. http://www.archive.official-documents.co.uk/document/cm43/4386/4386.htm
'Towards a Healthier Scotland.' - A White Paper on Health http://www.scotland.gov.uk/library/documents-w7/tahs-00.htm
Health Promotion Settings
The Healthy Settings Development Unit is a useful resource on the settings movement in health promotion.
http://www.uclan.ac.uk/facs/health/hsdu/index.htm
