Health Promotion International 

About: Health Promotion International is an academic journal published by Oxford University Press. The journal publishes majorly in the area(s): Health promotion & Public health. It has an ISSN identifier of 0957-4824. Over the lifetime, 2677 publications have been published receiving 92588 citations.

Health literacy as a public health goal: a challenge for contemporary health education and communication strategies into the 21st century

Abstract: SUMMARY Health literacy is a relatively new concept in health promotion. It is a composite term to describe a range of outcomes to health education and communication activities. From this perspective, health education is directed towards improving health literacy. This paper identifies the failings of past educational programs to address social and economic determinants of health, and traces the subsequent reduction in the role of health education in contemporary health promotion. These perceived failings may have led to significant underestimation of the potential role of health education in addressing the social determinants of health. A ‘health outcome model’ is presented. This model highlights health literacy as a key outcome from health education. Examination of the concept of health literacy identifies distinctions between functional health literacy, interactive health literacy and critical health literacy. Through this analysis, improving health literacy meant more than transmitting information, and developing skills to be able to read pamphlets and successfully make appointments. By improving people’s access to health information and their capacity to use it effectively, it is argued that improved health literacy is critical to empowerment. The implications for the content and method of contemporary health education and communication are then considered. Emphasis is given to more personal forms of communication, and community-based educational outreach, as well as the political content of health education, focussed on better equipping people to overcome structural barriers to health.

The salutogenic model as a theory to guide health promotion

Abstract: SUMMARY This paper provides a critical look at the challenges facing the field of health promotion. Pointing to the persistence of the disease orientation and the limits of risk factor approaches for conceptualizing and conducting research on health, the salutogenic orientation is presented as a more viable paradigm for health promotion research and practice. The Sense of Coherence framework is offered as a useful theory for taking a salutogenic approach to health research.

Health promotion glossary (1998)

Abstract: The views expressed in this document by named authors are solely the responsibility of these authors. This document is not issued to the general public and all rights are reserved by the World Health Organization (WHO). The document may not be reviewed, abstracted, quoted, reproduced, translated, in part or in whole, without the prior written permission of WHO. No part of this document may be stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means – electronic, mechanical or other – without the prior written permission of WHO. Acknowledgements Special thanks are due to Ursel Broesskamp-Stone for her support, advice, technical contributions and perseverance, and to Desmond O'Byrne for his input and advice in the preparation of the glossary, both of the Health Education and Health Promotion Unit, WHO, Geneva; to Ilona Kickbusch for her expert opinion and guidance throughout the process of preparation and revision of the glossary, Division of Health Promotion, Education and Communication, WHO, Geneva; and to the Regional Advisors for Health Promotion/Health Education of the WHO Regional Offices for coordination of the review of the early drafts and helpful suggestions. Health 1 Health promotion 1 Health for All 2 Public health 3 Primary health care 3 Disease prevention 4 Health education 4 Advocacy for health 5 Alliance 5 Community 5 Community action for health 6 Determinants of health 6 Empowerment for health 6 Enabling 7 Epidemiology 7 Equity in health 7 Health behaviour 8 Health communication 8 Health development 8 Health expectancy 9 Health gain 9 Health goal 9 Health indicator 9 Health literacy 10 Health outcomes 10 Health policy 10 Health promoting hospitals 11 Health promoting schools 11 Health promotion evaluation 12 Health promotion outcomes 12 Health sector 12 Health status 12 Health target 13 Healthy cities 13 Healthy islands 13 Healthy public policy 13 Infrastructure for health promotion 14 Intermediate health outcomes 14 Intersectoral collaboration 14 Investment for health 15 Jakarta Declaration on Leading Health Promotion into the 21st Century 15 Life skills 15 Lifestyle (lifestyles conducive to health) 16 Living conditions 16 Mediation 16 Network 16 Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion 17 Partnership for health promotion 17 Personal skills 17 Quality of life 17 Reorienting health services 18 Risk behaviour 18 Risk factor 18 Self help 19 Settings for health 19 Social capital 19 Social networks 19 Social responsibility for health 20 Social support 20 Supportive environments for health …

Health Promotion Glossary

Abstract: The first edition of this health promotion glossary of terms was published by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1986 as a guide to readers of WHO documents and publications. It met a useful purpose in clarifying the meaning and relationship between the many terms which were not in common usage at that time. This first edition of the glossary has been translated into several languages (French, Spanish, Russian, Japanese and Italian), and the terms defined have been widely used both within and outside WHO. The glossary was adapted and republished in German in 1990. Much has happened since the publication of the glossary a decade ago. Most notably, in October 1986 the First International Conference on Health Promotion was held in Ottawa, Canada, producing what is now widely known as the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. This conference was followed by others which explored the major themes of the Ottawa Charter on healthy public policy (in Adelaide, 1988), and on supportive environments for health (in Sundsvall, 1991). These conferences have added greatly to our understanding of health promotion strategies and their practical application, as well as more fully accounting for issues of relevance to developing countries. This was taken a step further at the 4th International Conference on Health PromotionÐNew Players for a New Era: Leading Health Promotion into the 21st Century, which was held in Jakarta, Indonesia in July 1997. Several WHO programmes and projects have been developed and implemented which have sought to translate health promotion concepts and strategies into practical action. These include: the `Healthy Cities, Villages, Municipalities' and `Healthy Islands' projects; the networks of `Health Promoting Schools' and `Health Promoting Hospitals'; the `Healthy Marketplaces and `Health Promoting Workplaces' projects; as well as WHO action plans on alcohol and tobacco, active living and healthy ageing. Recent developments in health systems around the world have given new prominence to health promotion approaches. The increasing focus on health outcomes reconfirms the priority placed on investment in the determinants of health through health promotion. Continually asking the question `where is health created?' links health promotion to two major reform debates: the formulation of new public health strategies, and the need to re-orient health services. The foresight shown in the Ottawa Charter has been adopted by many countries and organizations around the worldÐa process which was taken one step further through the 4th International Conference on Health Promotion in Jakarta, July 1997. This Conference adopted the Jakarta Declaration on Leading Health Promotion into the 21st Century. A number of terms that are HEALTH PROMOTION INTERNATIONAL Vol. 13, No. 4 # Oxford University Press 1998 Printed in Great Britain

The concepts and principles of equity and health

Abstract: In 1984, the 32 member states of the World Health Organization European Region took a remarkable step forward in agreeing unanimously on 38 targets for a common health policy for the Region. Not only was equity the subject of the first of these targets, but it was also seen as a fundamental theme running right through the policy as a whole. However, equity can mean different things to different people. This article looks at the concepts and principles of equity as understood in the context of the World Health Organization's Health for All policy. After considering the possible causes of the differences in health observed in populations--some of them inevitable and some unnecessary and unfair--the author discusses equity in relation to health care, concentrating on issues of access to care, utilization, and quality. Lastly, seven principles for action are outlined, stemming from these concepts, to be borne in mind when designing or implementing policies, so that greater equity in health and health care can be promoted.