Principles of health promotion

Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. This perspective is derived from a conception of "health" as the extent to which an individual or group is able to realize aspirations and satisfy needs and change or cope with the environment. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. To promote health the key principles determined by WHO are as follows:

• Health promotion involves the population as a whole in the context of their everyday life, rather than focusing on people at risk of specific diseases. It enables people to take control over, and responsibility for their health as an important component of everyday life. This requires full and continuing access to information about health and how it might be required for by all the community.
• Health promotion is directed towards action on the determinants or cause of health. This requires a close co-operation between different sectors. Health promotion, therefore, requires a close cooperation of sectors beyond health services, which influence health.
• Health promotion aims, particularly at effective and concrete public participation. This requires the further development of problem-defining and decision-making life skills, both individually and collectively, and the promotion of effective participation mechanisms. (You will learn more about community participation in sessions 4 of this module)
• Health promotion combines diverse, but complementary methods or approaches including communication, education, legislation, fiscal measures, organisational change, community change, community development and spontaneous local activities against health hazards.
• Health promotion is primarily a societal and political venture/activity and not medical service, although health professionals have an important role in advocating and enabling health promotion. (You will learn more about advocacy in sessions 4 of this module)