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Health promotion

from Psychology, health and illness

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2014

By
Gerjo Kok
Edited by
Susan Ayers ,
Andrew Baum ,
Chris McManus ,
Stanton Newman ,
Kenneth Wallston ,
John Weinman  and
Robert West
Gerjo Kok
Affiliation:
University of Maastricht
Susan Ayers
Affiliation:
University of Sussex
Andrew Baum
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Chris McManus
Affiliation:
St Mary's Hospital Medical School
Stanton Newman
Affiliation:
University College and Middlesex School of Medicine
Kenneth Wallston
Affiliation:
Vanderbilt University School of Nursing
John Weinman
Affiliation:
United Medical and Dental Schools of Guy's and St Thomas's
Robert West
Affiliation:
St George's Hospital Medical School, University of London
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Summary

Health promotion, health education and prevention

Health promotion is any planned combination of educational, political, regulatory and organizational supports for actions and conditions of living conducive to the health of individuals, groups, or communities (Green & Kreuter, 2004). Involving the target individuals, groups, or communities in the development of programmes, is a prerequisite for effective health promotion. Three types of prevention are the goals of health promotion: (i) primary prevention; (ii) early detection and treatment; and (iii) patient care and support. Health education is one type of health promotion intervention. Health education is a planned activity, stimulating learning through communication, to promote health behaviour. Other health promotion instruments are resources and regulation. Health education is based on voluntary change, while regulation is based on forced compliance and will only be effective in combination with control and sanctions. In general, interventions that are directed at several levels and which use more means, will be more effective.

An example of this last statement is the prevention of drunk driving. There is regulation: most countries have laws against driving under the influence of alcohol. Often there is control: drivers are stopped by the police and may be tested, although countries differ in their commitment to these control activities. There are resources: public transport is available and, especially in the weekends and during the night, cheap taxis for adolescents.

Type
Chapter
Information
Cambridge Handbook of Psychology, Health and Medicine , pp. 355 - 359
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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