WorldWideScience

Sample records for ebeltoft health promotion

  1. Proceedings, CAS - CERN Accelerator School: RF for Accelerators, Ebeltoft, Denmark, 8 - 17 Jun 2010

    CERN Document Server

    Bailey, R

    2012-01-01

    These proceedings present the lectures given at the twenty-fourth specialized course organized by the CERN Accelerator School (CAS). The course was held in Ebeltoft, Denmark, from 8-17 June, 2010 in collaboration with Aarhus University, with the topic 'RF for Accelerators' While this topic has been covered by CAS previously, early in the 1990s and again in 2000, it was recognized that recent advances in the field warranted an updated course. Following introductory courses covering the background physics, the course attempted to cover all aspects of RF for accelerators; from RF power generation and transport, through cavity and coupler design, electronics and low level control, to beam diagnostics and RF gymnastics. The lectures were supplemented with several sessions of exercises, which were completed by discussion sessions on the solutions.

  2. The impact of spirometry in the Ebeltoft Health Promotion Study (EHPS)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ørts, Lene Maria; Ottesen, Anders Løkke; Bjerregaard, Anne-Louise

    Background: It has been stressed that early detection of impaired lung function can be useful in prevention of lung diseases. It is unknown whether spirometry as an integrated part of preventive health checks including a questionnaire regarding risk factors and exposure, can be used for early...... detection of lung diseases.The aim of the study is to describe exposure characteristics and spirometry parameters 15 years ahead of a diagnosis of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD*)*Defined by FEV1/FVC ... (n=573), aged 30-49 years at baseline, attended in 1991 and 2006 a health check and a follow-up consultation at their own general practitioner. The characteristics of the citizens are described according to sex, age, smoking history, exposure, lung symptoms and spirometry values. Register information...

  3. Health Promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Povlsen, Lene; Borup, I.

    2015-01-01

    and Adolescent Health Promotion', Salutogenesis - from theory to practice' and Health, Stress and Coping'. More than half of all doctoral theses undertaken at NHV during these years had health promotion as their theme. As a derivative, the Nordic Health Promotion Research Network (NHPRN) was established in 2007......In 1953 when the Nordic School of Public Health was founded, the aim of public health programmes was disease prevention more than health promotion. This was not unusual, since at this time health usually was seen as the opposite of disease and illness. However, with the Ottawa Charter of 1986......, the World Health Organization made a crucial change to view health not as a goal in itself but as the means to a full life. In this way, health promotion became a first priority and fundamental action for the modern society. This insight eventually reached NHV and in 2002 - 50 years after the foundation...

  4. Perceptions of health promoters about health promotion ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2013-02-11

    Feb 11, 2013 ... regarding a health promotion programme for families with ... to contribute to high rates of not going to school (ibid. ... sector in order, amongst other objectives, to prevent health ... exercise and mental health promotion must be incorporated ..... (2009:141) identified ignorance and misconception about the.

  5. Health Promotion Education

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lehn-Christiansen, Sine

    The paper discusses the implications of health promotion in education. The paper is based on my PhD project entitled “Health promotion education seen through a power/knowledge and subjectification perspective” (in prep). The PhD project explores how professional health promotion skills are concei......The paper discusses the implications of health promotion in education. The paper is based on my PhD project entitled “Health promotion education seen through a power/knowledge and subjectification perspective” (in prep). The PhD project explores how professional health promotion skills...

  6. Promoting mental health as an essential aspect of health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sturgeon, Shona

    2006-12-01

    This paper advocates that mental health promotion receive appropriate attention within health promotion. It is of great concern that, in practice, mental health promotion is frequently overlooked in health promotion programmes although the WHO definitions of health and the Ottawa Charter describe mental health as an integral part of health. It is suggested that more attention be given to addressing the determinants of mental health in terms of protective and risk factors for both physical and mental conditions, particularly in developing countries. Examples of evidence-based mental health programmes operating in widely diverse settings are presented to demonstrate that well designed interventions can contribute to the well-being of populations. It is advocated that particular attention be given to the intersectorial cooperation needed for this work.

  7. Promoting Health in Early Childhood Environments: A Health-Promotion Approach

    Science.gov (United States)

    Minniss, Fiona Rowe; Wardrope, Cheryl; Johnston, Donni; Kendall, Elizabeth

    2013-01-01

    This paper investigates the mechanisms by which a health-promotion intervention might influence the health-promoting behaviours of staff members working in early childhood centres. The intervention was an ecological health-promotion initiative that was implemented within four early childhood centres in South-East Queensland, Australia. In-depth,…

  8. Health-promoting schools

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kwan, Stella Y L; Petersen, Poul Erik; Pine, Cynthia M

    2005-01-01

    Schools provide an important setting for promoting health, as they reach over 1 billion children worldwide and, through them, the school staff, families and the community as a whole. Health promotion messages can be reinforced throughout the most influential stages of children's lives, enabling...... them to develop lifelong sustainable attitudes and skills. Poor oral health can have a detrimental effect on children's quality of life, their performance at school and their success in later life. This paper examines the global need for promoting oral health through schools. The WHO Global School...... Health Initiative and the potential for setting up oral health programmes in schools using the health-promoting school framework are discussed. The challenges faced in promoting oral health in schools in both developed and developing countries are highlighted. The importance of using a validated...

  9. What do health-promoting schools promote?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simovska, Venka

    2012-01-01

    -promotion interventions. Directly or indirectly the articles reiterate the idea that health promotion in schools needs to be linked with the core task of the school – education, and to the values inherent to education, such as inclusion, democracy, participation and influence, critical literacy and action competence......Purpose – The editorial aims to provide a brief overview of the individual contributions to the special issue, and a commentary positioning the contributions within research relating to the health-promoting schools initiative in Europe. Design/methodology/approach – The members of the Schools...... for Health in Europe Research Group were invited to submit their work addressing processes and outcomes in school health promotion to this special issue of Health Education. Additionally, an open call for papers was published on the Health Education web site. Following the traditional double blind peer...

  10. Health promotion in globalization

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Álvaro Franco-Giraldo

    2012-10-01

    Full Text Available Objective: to unravel some theoretical and factual elements required to implement more effective health promotion strategies and practices in the field of health services whilst following the great challenges that globalization has imposed on the health systems, which are inevitably expressed in the local context (glocalization. Methodology: a narrative review taking into account the concepts of globalization and health promotion in relation to health determinants. The authors approach some courses of action and strategies for health promotion based on the social principles and universal values that guide health promotion, health service reorientation and primary healthcare, empowerment, social participation, and inter-sectoral and social mobilization. Discussion: the discussion focuses on the redirection of health promotion services in relation to the wave of health reforms that has spread throughout the world under the neoliberal rule. The author also discusses health promotion, its ineffectiveness, and the quest for renewal. Likewise, the author sets priorities for health promotion in relation to social determinants. Conclusion: the current global order, in terms of international relations, is not consistent with the ethical principles of health promotion. In this paper, the author advocates for the implementation of actions to change the social and physical life conditions of people based on changes in the use of power in society and the appropriate practice of politics in the context of globalization in order to achieve the effectiveness of the actions of health promotion.

  11. Health promotion competencies: providing a road map for health promotion to assume a prominent role in global health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shilton, Trevor

    2009-06-01

    Understanding of health and its determinants is rapidly expanding and changing. The emergence of chronic diseases as the leading cause of global disease burden and improved understanding of social determinants of health has brought greater focus to the role of prevention in health. The IUHPE has shown outstanding leadership through the Galway Consensus Statement. Its three recommendations appropriately focus on stimulating dialogue, developing global consensus and communicating the results to key stakeholders. The IUHPE can further enhance progress of the statement by developing participative processes to ensure engagement and ownership by its members. The Galway Consensus Statement can be used to advance professional standards in global health promotion by: (1) providing a common language by which health promotion and its meaning can be communicated to others; (2) providing a framework for building capacity in the health promotion workforce and in the health workforce in general; (3) providing international consensus for consistency in university health promotion courses; (4) providing a framework for credentialing in health promotion; (5) better informing health promotion engagement with other significant workforce sectors and advancing partnership as a key way of working. A vital further application of the Galway Consensus Statement is to inform advocacy. Advocacy is vital to ensure health promotion is better resourced and prioritized by policy makers. Advocacy and communication are vital tools to highlight the evidence, establish the policy fit and infrastructure requirements of health promotion, and present health promotion solutions based on evidence of effectiveness.

  12. Self-tracking as Health promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jelsøe, Erling

    Self-tracking has become widespread in many parts of the world and is understood by many of its proponents as a way to obtain bodily control and through that to improve healthy living. As such self-tracking can be understood as a particular approach to practicing individual health promotion (even...... though this is not the only incentive for self-tracking). Even though health promotion is often seen as an activity, which resonates with a focus on individual responsibility, such a conception of health promotion contrasts with a broader critical concept of health promotion that emphasize social...... an analysis of social and community oriented dimensions of self-tracking as a form of health promotion compared to the above mentioned broad critical approach to health promotion in order to identify the contradictions as well as common traits and discuss implications for health promoting initiatives...

  13. Assessing environmental assets for health promotion program planning: a practical framework for health promotion practitioners.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Springer, Andrew E; Evans, Alexandra E

    2016-01-01

    Conducting a health needs assessment is an important if not essential first step for health promotion planning. This paper explores how health needs assessments may be further strengthened for health promotion planning via an assessment of environmental assets rooted in the multiple environments (policy, information, social and physical environments) that shape health and behavior. Guided by a behavioral-ecological perspective- one that seeks to identify environmental assets that can influence health behavior, and an implementation science perspective- one that seeks to interweave health promotion strategies into existing environmental assets, we present a basic framework for assessing environmental assets and review examples from the literature to illustrate the incorporation of environmental assets into health program design. Health promotion practitioners and researchers implicitly identify and apply environmental assets in the design and implementation of health promotion interventions;this paper provides foundation for greater intentionality in assessing environmental assets for health promotion planning.

  14. A future task for health-promotion research: Integration of health promotion and sustainable development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jelsøe, Erling; Thualagant, Nicole; Holm, Jesper; Kjærgård, Bente; Andersen, Heidi Myglegård; From, Ditte-Marie; Land, Birgit; Pedersen, Kirsten Bransholm

    2018-02-01

    Based on previous studies and reflections collected from participants in a workshop at the 8th Nordic Health Promotion Research Network conference, we reveal current tendencies and discuss future challenges for health-promotion research regarding integration of sustainable development principles. Despite obvious interfaces and interactions between the two, our contention is that strategies for health promotion are not sufficiently integrated with strategies for sustainable development and that policies aimed at solving health or sustainability problems may therefore cause new, undesired and unforeseen environmental and health problems. As illustrated in previous research and as deliberated in the above-mentioned workshop, a number of barriers are identified. These are believed to be related to historical segregation, the conceptual understandings of health promotion and sustainable development, as well as the politics and implementation of policy goals in both areas. Three focal points are proposed as important challenges to address in future research: (a) the duality of health promotion and sustainability and how it can be handled in order to enhance mutually supportive processes between them; (b) the social dimension of sustainability and how it can be strengthened in the development of strategies for health promotion and sustainable development; and (c) exploring and identifying policy approaches and strategies for integrating health promotion and sustainable development.

  15. [Five paradoxes in health promotion].

    Science.gov (United States)

    López-Dicastillo, Olga; Canga-Armayor, Navidad; Mujika, Agurtzane; Pardavila-Belio, Miren Idoia; Belintxon, Maider; Serrano-Monzó, Inmaculada; Pumar-Méndez, María J

    The World Health Organization states that health promotion is a key strategy to improve health, and it is conceived as a global process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. Health promotion does not focus solely on empowering individuals dealing with their knowledge, attitudes and skills, but it also takes political, social, economic and environmental aspects influencing health and wellbeing into account. The complexity of applying these concepts is reflected in the five paradoxes in health promotion; these arise in between the rhetoric in health promotion and implementation. The detected paradoxes which are described herein involve the patient versus the person, the individual versus the group, disease professionals versus health professionals, disease indicators versus health indicators, and health as an expense versus health as an investment. Making these contradictions explicit can help determine why it is so complex to put the concepts related to health promotion into practice. It can also help to put forward aspects that need further work if health promotion is to put into practice. Copyright © 2017 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  16. Information technology in health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lintonen, T P; Konu, A I; Seedhouse, D

    2008-06-01

    eHealth, the use of information technology to improve or enable health and health care, has recently been high on the health care development agenda. Given the vivid interest in eHealth, little reference has been made to the use of these technologies in the promotion of health. The aim of this present study was to conduct a review on recent uses of information technology in health promotion through looking at research articles published in peer-reviewed journals. Fifteen relevant journals with issues published between 2003 and June 2005 yielded altogether 1352 articles, 56 of which contained content related to the use of information technology in the context of health promotion. As reflected by this rather small proportion, research on the role of information technology is only starting to emerge. Four broad thematic application areas within health promotion were identified: use of information technology as an intervention medium, use of information technology as a research focus, use of information technology as a research instrument and use of information technology for professional development. In line with this rather instrumental focus, the concepts 'ePromotion of Health' or 'Health ePromotion' would come close to describing the role of information technology in health promotion.

  17. Health promotion: An effective tool for global health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sanjiv Kumar

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available Health promotion is very relevant today. There is a global acceptance that health and social wellbeing are determined by many factors outside the health system which include socioeconomic conditions, patterns of consumption associated with food and communication, demographic patterns, learning environments, family patterns, the cultural and social fabric of societies; sociopolitical and economic changes, including commercialization and trade and global environmental change. In such a situation, health issues can be effectively addressed by adopting a holistic approach by empowering individuals and communities to take action for their health, fostering leadership for public health, promoting intersectoral action to build healthy public policies in all sectors and creating sustainable health systems. Although, not a new concept, health promotion received an impetus following Alma Ata declaration. Recently it has evolved through a series of international conferences, with the first conference in Canada producing the famous Ottawa charter. Efforts at promoting health encompassing actions at individual and community levels, health system strengthening and multi sectoral partnership can be directed at specific health conditions. It should also include settings-based approach to promote health in specific settings such as schools, hospitals, workplaces, residential areas etc. Health promotion needs to be built into all the policies and if utilized efficiently will lead to positive health outcomes.

  18. Health and health promotion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kingma, E.M.

    2012-01-01

    Much of our social and political effort, including a portion of the research in this university, is directed towards the promotion of one goal: health. But what is health? Or rather, how should we define health so that it is an identifiable goalpost for our social policies and technological

  19. Promoting Global Health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Margaret A. Winker, MD

    2015-11-01

    Full Text Available The Editor-in-Chief of the International Journal of MCH and AIDS (IJMA is a member of the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME. The Editorial Board of IJMA believes it is important that the statement on promoting global health and this accompanying editorial is brought to the attention of our readers. Medical journal editors have a social responsibility to promote global health by publishing, whenever possible, research that furthers health worldwide.

  20. Health promotion in the workplace

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sultan T Al-Otaibi

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available The objective of this review was to describe the scientific evidence for coordinating health promotion at the workplace and to discuss the required future research in this field. Literature review from March 1990 to November 2014 was performed. Using the keywords ′health, promotion, worksite and workplace′, literature was searched in the following databases: Medline, PubMed and Google Scholar; with no time limit. There is emerging evidence that workplace health promotion enhances the effectiveness of effort to promote and protect workers′ health. It proves both cost-effective and cost-beneficial to health promotion at the worksite and subsequently further reduces absenteeism. However, future research is needed to identify the impact of other factors such as age, gender and race on workers′ exposure. There is also a need to develop valid tests to measure the outcome of these programmes at the workplace. Health promotion should be central to workplace planning and should be recognised as an integral part of proactive occupational health. Indeed, the workplace is viewed as one of the most popular venues for promoting health and preventing diseases among employees.

  1. Promoting people's health: challenges and opportunities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heitkamp, P

    1998-01-01

    Promoting health underlines the right of each individual to the highest attainable standard of health. It stresses the importance of the participation of people and recognizes different sociocultural values and beliefs that are prevalent throughout the world. Working on health development has a sustainable effect only when done comprehensively: personal development, community development, organizational development, and political development. The international conferences that have marked the way of health promotion have been goal posts of an energetic movement to strengthen health worldwide. The Ottawa Charter on Health Promotion has been a worldwide source of guidance for health promotion through its five strategies: building health policy, creating supportive elements, strengthening community action, developing personal skills, and reorienting health services. Moreover, the Jakarta Declaration on "Leading Health Promotion into the 21st Century" identifies five priorities in the next millennium: 1) promote social responsibility for health; 2) increase investments for health development; 3) consolidate and expand partnerships for health; 4) increase community capacity and empower the individual in matters of health; and 5) secure an infrastructure for health promotion. Increasing the investment in health development calls for the need to find new mechanisms for funding as well as reorienting existing resources towards health promotion and health education.

  2. A future task for Health Promotion research: Integration of Health Promotion and sustainable development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jelsøe, Erling; Thualagant, Nicole; Holm, Jesper

    2018-01-01

    Based on previous studies and reflections collected from participants in a workshop at the 8th Nordic Health Promotion Research Network conference, we reveal current tendencies and discuss future challenges for health promotion research regarding integration of sustainable development principles....... Despite obvious interfaces and interactions between the two, our contention is that strategies for health promotion are not sufficiently integrated with strategies for sustainable development and that policies aimed at solving health or sustainability problems may therefore cause new, undesired...... and unforeseen environmental and health problems. As illustrated in previous research and as deliberated in the above-mentioned workshop, a number of barriers are identified: these are believed to be related to historical segregation, the conceptual understandings of health promotion and sustainable development...

  3. Health promotion: an ethical analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Stacy M

    2014-04-01

    Thinking and practising ethically requires reasoning systematically about the right thing to do. Health promotion ethics - a form of applied ethics - includes analysis of health promotion practice and how this can be ethically justified. Existing frameworks can assist in such evaluation. These acknowledge the moral value of delivering benefits. But benefits need to be weighed against burdens, harms or wrongs, and these should be minimised: they include invading privacy, breaking confidentiality, restraining liberty, undermining self-determination or people's own values, or perpetuating injustice. Thinking about the ethics of health promotion also means recognising health promotion as a normative ideal: a vision of the good society. This ideal society values health, sees citizens as active and includes them in decisions that affect them, and makes the state responsible for providing all of its citizens, no matter how advantaged or disadvantaged, with the conditions and resources they need to be healthy. Ethicists writing about health promotion have focused on this relationship between the citizen and the state. Comparing existing frameworks, theories and the expressed values of practitioners themselves, we can see common patterns. All oppose pursuing an instrumental, individualistic, health-at-all-costs vision of health promotion. And all defend the moral significance of just processes: those that engage with citizens in a transparent, inclusive and open way. In recent years, some Australian governments have sought to delegitimise health promotion, defining it as extraneous to the role of the state. Good evidence is not enough to counter this trend, because it is founded in competing visions of a good society. For this reason, the most pressing agenda for health promotion ethics is to engage with communities, in a procedurally just way, about the role and responsibilities of the citizen and the state in promoting and maintaining good health.

  4. Health by Design: Interweaving Health Promotion into Environments and Settings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Springer, Andrew E.; Evans, Alexandra E.; Ortuño, Jaquelin; Salvo, Deborah; Varela Arévalo, Maria Teresa

    2017-01-01

    The important influence of the environmental context on health and health behavior—which includes place, settings, and the multiple environments within place and settings—has directed health promotion planners from a focus solely on changing individuals, toward a focus on harnessing and changing context for individual and community health promotion. Health promotion planning frameworks such as Intervention Mapping provide helpful guidance in addressing various facets of the environmental context in health intervention design, including the environmental factors that influence a given health condition or behavior, environmental agents that can influence a population’s health, and environmental change methods. In further exploring how to harness the environmental context for health promotion, we examine in this paper the concept of interweaving of health promotion into context, defined as weaving or blending together health promotion strategies, practices, programs, and policies to fit within, complement, and build from existing settings and environments. Health promotion interweaving stems from current perspectives in health intervention planning, improvement science and complex systems thinking by guiding practitioners from a conceptualization of context as a backdrop to intervention, to one that recognizes context as integral to the intervention design and to the potential to directly influence health outcomes. In exploring the general approach of health promotion interweaving, we examine selected theoretical and practice-based interweaving concepts in relation to four key environments (the policy environment, the information environment, the social/cultural/organizational environment, and the physical environment), followed by evidence-based and practice-based examples of health promotion interweaving from the literature. Interweaving of health promotion into context is a common practice for health planners in designing health promotion interventions, yet

  5. Implementing health promotion tools in Australian Indigenous primary health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Percival, Nikki A; McCalman, Janya; Armit, Christine; O'Donoghue, Lynette; Bainbridge, Roxanne; Rowley, Kevin; Doyle, Joyce; Tsey, Komla

    2018-02-01

    In Australia, significant resources have been invested in producing health promotion best practice guidelines, frameworks and tools (herein referred to as health promotion tools) as a strategy to improve Indigenous health promotion programmes. Yet, there has been very little rigorous implementation research about whether or how health promotion tools are implemented. This paper theorizes the complex processes of health promotion tool implementation in Indigenous comprehensive primary healthcare services. Data were derived from published and grey literature about the development and the implementation of four Indigenous health promotion tools. Tools were theoretically sampled to account for the key implementation types described in the literature. Data were analysed using the grounded-theory methods of coding and constant comparison with construct a theoretical implementation model. An Indigenous Health Promotion Tool Implementation Model was developed. Implementation is a social process, whereby researchers, practitioners and community members collectively interacted in creating culturally responsive health promotion to the common purpose of facilitating empowerment. The implementation of health promotion tools was influenced by the presence of change agents; a commitment to reciprocity and organizational governance and resourcing. The Indigenous Health Promotion Tool Implementation Model assists in explaining how health promotion tools are implemented and the conditions that influence these actions. Rather than simply developing more health promotion tools, our study suggests that continuous investment in developing conditions that support empowering implementation processes are required to maximize the beneficial impacts and effectiveness of health promotion tools. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com

  6. Interactive online health promotion interventions : a “health check”

    OpenAIRE

    Duffett-Leger, Linda; Lumsden, Jo

    2008-01-01

    As an increasingly popular medium by which to access health promotion information, the Internet offers significant potential to promote (often individualized) health-related behavioral change across broad populations. Interactive online health promotion interventions are a key means, therefore, by which to empower individuals to make important well being and treatment decisions. But how ldquohealthyrdquo are interactive online health promotion interventions? This paper discusses a literature ...

  7. Health promotion practices in primary care groups.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heidemann, Ivonete Teresinha Schulter Buss; Alonso da Costa, Maria Fernanda Baeta Neves; Hermida, Patrícia Madalena Vieira; Marçal, Cláudia Cossentino Bruck; Antonini, Fabiano Oliveira; Cypriano, Camilla Costa

    2018-04-01

    This is a descriptive-exploratory study using a qualitative approach, conducted in ten municipalities in southern Brazil. Data were obtained by talking to 21 nurses from February to November 2012, through semi-structured interviews using questions to probe their health promotion practices. Data were analyzed through thematic analysis focused on health promotion concepts. We identified four themes about health promotion practices of family health nurses in Brazil: a) training of nurses for health promotion practice was weak; b) nurses formed health promotion groups around diseases and life stages; c) nurses formed groups to meet community needs; and d) nurses used health promotion techniques in group work. These family health nurses were somewhat aware of the importance of health promotion, and how to assist the population against various ailments using some health promotion strategies. The main weaknesses were the lack of understanding about health promotion concepts, and the difficulty of understanding the relevance of its practice, probably attributable to limitations in training. We conclude that primary care groups in Brazil's unified health system could do better in applying health promotion concepts in their practice.

  8. The invisibilization of health promotion in Australian public health initiatives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Hara, Lily; Taylor, Jane; Barnes, Margaret

    2018-02-01

    The field of health promotion has arguably shifted over the past thirty years from being socially proactive to biomedically defensive. In many countries this has been accompanied by a gradual decline, or in some cases the almost complete removal of health promotion designated positions within Government health departments. The language or discourse used to describe the practice and discipline of health promotion is reflective of such changes. In this study, critical discourse analysis was used to determine the representation of health promotion as a practice and a discipline within 10 Australian Government weight-related public health initiatives. The analysis revealed the invisibilization of critical health promotion in favour of an agenda described as 'preventive health'. This was achieved primarily through the textual practices of overlexicalization and lexical suppression. Excluding document titles, there were 437 uses of the terms health promotion, illness prevention, disease prevention, preventive health, preventative health in the documents analysed. The term 'health promotion' was used sparingly (16% of total terms), and in many instances was coupled with the term 'illness prevention'. Conversely, the terms 'preventive health' and 'preventative health' were used extensively, and primarily used alone. The progressive invisibilization of critical health promotion has implications for the perceptions and practice of those identifying as health promotion professionals and for people with whom we work to address the social and structural determinants of health and wellbeing. Language matters, and the language and intent of critical health promotion will struggle to survive if its speakers are professionally unidentifiable or invisible. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Local wisdom and health promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Demaio, Alessandro Rhyll

    2011-01-01

    The respectful, appropriate use of local wisdom (LW) in health promotion increases penetration and longevity of positive behavior change. Collaborations based on mutual respect, flexibility and trust between health program organizers, traditional and local practitioners, and the communities being...... served are the goal for public health physicians in our modern, globalized world. This meta-analysis reviewed literature from the past 18 years drawn from a wide range of sources. This investigations proposes a grassroots, material shift toward regarding health promotion interventions as partnerships...... when planning, executing, and evaluating health promotion projects. This holistic approach would be based on the premise that LW is equal to expert opinion. This article endorses the integration of LW at every stage of the health promotion process concluding that it is through empowerment...

  10. Stimulating innovative research in health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Larouche, Annie; Potvin, Louise

    2013-06-01

    The Global Working Group on Health Promotion Research (GWG HPR) of the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) presents a collection of four articles illustrating innovative avenues for health promotion research. This commentary synthesizes the contributions of these articles while attempting to define the contours of research in health promotion. We propose that innovation in research involves the adoption of a reflexive approach wherein consideration of context plays different roles. The reflexive process consists of questioning what is taken for granted in the conceptualization and operationalization of research. It involves linking research findings and its theoretical foundations to characteristics and goals of the field and observed realities, while orienting reflection on specific objects. The reflexive nature of the research activity is of paramount importance for innovation in health promotion. With the publication of this series, the GWG HPR wishes to strengthen health promotion research capacity at the global level and reaffirm health promotion as a specific research domain.

  11. Promoting employee health by integrating health protection, health promotion, and continuous improvement: a longitudinal quasi-experimental intervention study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    von Thiele Schwarz, Ulrica; Augustsson, Hanna; Hasson, Henna; Stenfors-Hayes, Terese

    2015-02-01

    To test the effects of integrating health protection and health promotion with a continuous improvement system (Kaizen) on proximal employee outcomes (health promotion, integration, and Kaizen) and distal outcomes (workability, productivity, self-rated health and self-rated sickness absence). Twelve units in a county hospital in Sweden were randomized to control or intervention groups using a quasiexperimental study design. All staff (approximately 500) provided self-ratings in questionnaires at baseline, and a 12- and 24-month follow-up (response rate, 79% to 87.5%). There was a significant increase in the proximal outcomes over time in the intervention group compared with the control group, and a trend toward improvement in the distal outcomes workability and productivity. Integration seems to promote staff engagement in health protection and promotion, as well as to improve their understanding of the link between work and health.

  12. Introduction to Global Health Promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Torres, Jennifer

    2017-03-01

    Global health education is becoming increasingly prominent in universities throughout the country especially in programs focused on health and behavioral sciences, law, economics, and political science. Introduction to Global Health Promotion is a book that can be used by both instructors and students in the field of global health. The book provides theories and models, human rights, and technology relevant to the field. In addition the book is designed to share best evidence for promoting health and reducing morbidity and mortality in a variety of areas. The book can be used by health educators, public health practitioners, professors, and students as a resource for research and practice in the field of health promotion and disease prevention.

  13. Health promotion in context:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liveng, Anne; Andersen, Heidi Myglegård; Lehn Christiansen, Sine

    2018-01-01

    Health promotion constitutes a complex field of study, as it addresses multifaceted problems and involves a range of methods and theories. Students in the field of health promotion can find this challenging. To raise their level of reflexivity and support learning we have developed the “context m...

  14. Health Promotion at the Ballpark.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hodges, Bonni C

    2017-03-01

    The arrival of a new summer collegiate baseball league franchise to a small central New York city was seen as an opportunity for health promotion. The initiative was set up to explore two overarching questions: (1) Are summer collegiate baseball events acceptable to local public health organizations as viable places for health promotion activities addressing local health issues? (2) Are summer collegiate baseball organizations amenable to health promotion activities built in to their fan and/or player experiences? Planning and implementation were guided by precede-proceed, social cognitive theory, social marketing, and diffusion of innovations constructs. Environmental changes were implemented to support healthy eating and nontobacco use by players and fans; four health awareness nights were implemented at home games corresponding to local public health priorities and included public service announcements, between inning quizzes, information dissemination at concession and team market locations, and special guests. Sales and fan feedback support mostly healthy concession offerings and a tobacco-free ballpark; postseason evaluations from team staff and public health partners support continuing the trials of this sports event as a venue for health promotion.

  15. Health promotion practice and its implementation in Swedish health care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brobeck, E; Odencrants, S; Bergh, H; Hildingh, C

    2013-09-01

    Health promotion practice is an important work assignment within the entire health and medical care sector. Nurses are important for the development and implementation of health promotion in clinical practice. The aim was to describe how district nurses view health promotion practice and how it was implemented in clinical practice following a training initiative. The study has a descriptive design and a qualitative method. The sample consisted of three focus groups with 16 participants. The interviews were conducted as a conversation with focus on the district nurses view of health promotion and its implementation in clinical practice. The data have been processed using manifest qualitative content analysis. Three categories, titled Training as motivation, Lack of grounding and Lack of scope were identified. The result demonstrated that training provides motivation, but also the importance of grounding in the organization and the need for scope in performing health promotion practice. Our results show that the training initiative has contributed positively to the district nurses' view of health promotion practice, but that they also feel that there are obstacles. The district nurses in our study suggest that health promotion practice should be more visible, and not something that is done when time permits. The district nurses feel motivated and have an enthusiasm for health promotion practice but more time and resources are required to design successful health-promoting initiatives. Before implementing a major training initiative for healthcare personnel in health promotion, it is essential to examine whether the conditions for this exist in the organization. © 2013 International Council of Nurses.

  16. Health-promoting schools: evidence for a holistic approach to promoting health and improving health literacy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Albert

    2009-01-01

    Chronic diseases are now the major causes of death and disability worldwide, and non-communicable diseases (NCD) account for the majority of the global health burden. About half of premature deaths are related to health-risking behaviours that are often established during youth and extend to adulthood. While these diseases might not be curable, they are preventable. Prevention is possible when sustained actions are directed at individuals and families, as well as at the broader social, economic and cultural determinants of NCD. A 'life-course' approach to promoting healthy behaviour should begin early in life. The aim of this article is to discuss the impact of the 'health-promoting school' (HPS) on improvements in youth health. HPS can be described as a holistic, whole-school approach in which a broad health education curriculum is supported by the environment and ethos of the school. HPS moves beyond individual behavioural change to consider organizational and policy change such as improving the physical and social environment of the school, as well as its curricula and teaching and learning methods. A positive culture for health would facilitate higher levels of health literacy by helping individuals tackle the determinants of health better as they build the personal, cognitive and social skills for maintaining good health. There is reasonable evidence to demonstrate that the whole-school approach using the HPS framework is effective in improving health, ranging from physical activities and healthy eating to emotional health. Schools adopting the HPS framework have demonstrated changes in culture and organizational practice to become more conducive to health improvement. These schools were reported to have better school health policies, higher degrees of community participation, and a more hygienic environment than non-HPS schools, and students in these schools had a more positive health behaviour profile. Health promotion and disease prevention is essential to

  17. Health promotion in the workplace

    OpenAIRE

    Sultan T Al-Otaibi

    2016-01-01

    The objective of this review was to describe the scientific evidence for coordinating health promotion at the workplace and to discuss the required future research in this field. Literature review from March 1990 to November 2014 was performed. Using the keywords ′health, promotion, worksite and workplace′, literature was searched in the following databases: Medline, PubMed and Google Scholar; with no time limit. There is emerging evidence that workplace health promotion enhances the effectiv...

  18. School health education and promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Leahy, Deana; Simovska, Venka

    2018-01-01

    Purpose - This Special Issue is the second in a series that aims to place the spotlight on educational research and its contribution to the field of school-based health and wellbeing promotion. The purpose of both special issues is to bring together scholars from across the world to consider...... current developments in research on curricula, interventions, policies and practices concerning health education and promotion and related professional development of teachers. Design/methodology/approach – As in the first Special Issue published in 2017 (School health education and promotion: Health...... and wellbeing promotion. Additionally, an open call for papers was published on the Health Education website and on the EERA website. There was considerable interest from those such as researchers, scholars and practitioners, and as a result, we have been able to publish a second Special Issue. Findings...

  19. The promotion of oral health within Health Promoting Schools in KwaZulu-Natal

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    M Reddy

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available Background. Oral health promotion is a cost-effective strategy that can be implemented at schools for the prevention of oral diseases. Theimportance and value of school-based interventions in children has been identified in South Africa (SA. Although oral health strategiesinclude integrated school-based interventions, there is a lack of published evidence on whether these strategies have been translated intopractice and whether these programmes have been evaluated.Objective. To assess the efficiency and sustainability of the toothbrushing programme implemented at health-promoting schools inKwaZulu-Natal Province, SA.Methods. A mixed-methods approach was used for this study, conducted at 23 health-promoting schools in KwaZulu-Natal using focusgroup discussions. Triangulation was used for evaluation.Results. The intervention implemented had created awareness of oral health for learners, educators and parents. Findings in this studyindicate that although there were benefits obtained from this school-based intervention, many challenges, such as time constraints, largeclasses and a lack of adequate resources and funding, affected the sustainability of the programme.Conclusion.The school setting has the potential to deliver integrated preventive and promotive programmes provided they are supportedby adequate funding and resources.

  20. Nurses and Teachers: Partnerships for Green Health Promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sendall, Marguerite C.; Lidstone, John; Fleming, MaryLou; Domocol, Michelle

    2013-01-01

    Background: The term "green health promotion" is given to health promotion underpinned by the principles of ecological health and sustainability. Green health promotion is supported philosophically by global health promotion documents such as the 1986 Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and the ecological public health movement. Green…

  1. Health promotion, environmental health and Agenda 21.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Scriven, A; Young, S

    1998-04-01

    In 1992, at the Rio Earth Summit, many governments, including our own, committed themselves to developing local strategies for sustainable development in the form of Local Agenda 21. Sustainable development is discussed, as is the philosophy and practice of health promotion and environmental health. Common approaches are identified and the links in relation to key areas of activities, strategies, values and principles are outlined. Finally, recommendations are made and conclusions drawn in relation to the overlap between environmental health action, Agenda 21 strategies and health promotion practice.

  2. What makes health promotion research distinct?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woodall, James; Warwick-Booth, Louise; South, Jane; Cross, Ruth

    2018-02-01

    There have been concerns about the decline of health promotion as a practice and discipline and, alongside this, calls for a clearer articulation of health promotion research and what, if anything, makes it distinct. This discussion paper, based on a review of the literature, the authors' own experiences in the field, and a workshop delivered by two of the authors at the 8th Nordic Health Promotion Conference, seeks to state the reasons why health promotion research is distinctive. While by no means exhaustive, the paper suggests four distinctive features. The paper hopes to be a catalyst to enable health promotion researchers to be explicit in their practice and to begin the process of developing an agreed set of research principles.

  3. AAHD's Health Promotion and Wellness, Part 2: Health Promotion Programs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Exceptional Parent, 2011

    2011-01-01

    This article is part 2 of a 4-part series on "Health Promotion and Wellness" from the American Association on Health and Disability (AAHD). According to the U.S. Census Bureau, more than 54 million people--one in five Americans--have a disability, and these Americans are more likely to report: (1) Being in poorer overall health; (2) Having less…

  4. Health promoting leadership - different views of the concept.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eriksson, Andrea; Axelsson, Runo; Axelsson, Susanna Bihari

    2011-01-01

    To describe and analyse different views of health promoting leadership among actors involved in workplace health promotion in eight Swedish municipalities. Twenty individuals were interviewed and their views were analysed according to the methodology of phenomenograpic research, exploring how health promoting leadership was described, what motives were expressed, and what critical conditions were perceived for developing such leadership. The informants described health promoting leadership in three ways: organising health promoting activities, having a supportive leadership style, and developing a health promoting workplace. The motives mentioned for developing health promoting leadership were instrumental motives and improved health. The critical conditions for health promoting leadership were organisational conditions, characteristics of individual managers, and support to managers. It seems that the concept of health promoting leadership was often used to link ideas about good leadership to the health of employees. Organisational goals and management trends may also have influenced the motives as well as the conditions for development of health promoting leadership.

  5. Social capital and health--implications for health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eriksson, Malin

    2011-02-08

    This article is a review of the PhD Thesis of Malin Eriksson, entitled 'Social capital, health and community action - implications for health promotion.' The article presents a theoretical overview of social capital and its relation to health, reviews empirical findings of the links between social capital and (self-rated) health, and discusses the usefulness of social capital in health promotion interventions at individual and community levels. Social capital, conceptualized as an individual characteristic, can contribute to the field of health promotion by adding new knowledge on how social network interventions may best be designed to meet the needs of the target group. The distinction of different forms of social capital, i.e. bonding, bridging, and linking, can be useful in mapping the kinds of networks that are available and health-enhancing (or damaging) and for whom. Further, social capital can advance social network interventions by acknowledging the risk for unequal distribution of investments and returns from social network involvement. Social capital, conceptualized as characterizing whole communities, provides a useful framework for what constitutes health-supporting environments and guidance on how to achieve them. Mapping and mobilization of social capital in local communities may be one way of achieving community action for health promotion. Social capital is context-bound by necessity. Thus, from a global perspective, it cannot be used as a 'cookbook' on how to achieve supportive environments and community action smoothly. However, social capital can provide new ideas on the processes that influence human interactions, cooperation, and community action for health promotion in various contexts. © 2011 Malin Eriksson.

  6. Health and the need for health promotion in hospital patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Oppedal, Kristian; Nesvåg, Sverre; Pedersen, Bolette

    2010-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Integrated health promotion improves clinical outcomes after hospital treatment. The first step towards implementing evidence-based health promotion in hospitals is to estimate the need for health promoting activities directed at hospital patients. The aim of this study was to identify...... the distribution and association of individual health risk factors in a Norwegian hospital population and to estimate the need for health promotion in this population. METHODS: We used a validated documentation model (HPH-DATA Model) to identify the prevalence of patients with nutritional risk (measurements...... drinking and smoking was sustained. CONCLUSION: Nearly all patients included in this study had one or more health risk factors that could aggravate clinical outcomes. There is a significant need, and potential, for health-promoting interventions. Multi-factorial interventions may be frequently indicated...

  7. School health promotion--international perspectives and role of health care professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prasla, Munira; Prasla, Shameer Ali

    2011-01-01

    Schools have great potential in health promotion; however, this is often neglected area and fewer efforts are done in exploring status of school health promotion in Pakistan. This paper attempts to outline brief historical background of school health promotion in Pakistan; presents critical review of some international school health promotion perspectives; and finally explore opportunities and role of healthcare professionals in Pakistan's context. A critical review of peer-reviewed literature divided into two broad themes of international perspectives on school health promotion, and role of healthcare professionals. Results are presented in cross-cutting themes and in narrative style. School health promotion is very diverse phenomenon, situated in respective cultural contexts. Programmes pesent a range of characteristics from focusing on integrated approach to health education to behavioural changes; and from involving youngsters to policy advocacy. Like the programmes, role of healthcare professionals is also varied and dynamic and without clearly defining their role, development of effective health promotion programmes is difficult. School health promotion could be facilitated by appropriate trainings for healthcare professionals and evidence-based policy changes.

  8. Community health workers in Lesotho: Experiences of health promotion activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Seutloali, Thato; Napoles, Lizeka; Bam, Nomonde

    2018-02-27

    Lesotho adopted primary health care in 1979, and community health workers (CHWs) were included in the programme to focus on health promotion, particularly to reach people in underserved rural areas. Although the CHW programme has been successful, the heavy burden of disease because of HIV and/or AIDS and tuberculosis shifted resources from health promotion to home-based care. The study explored the lived experience of CHWs in conducting health promotion activities in Lesotho. The study was conducted in four health centres in Berea district, Lesotho. A qualitative study was conducted using an interviewer guide translated from English into Sesotho for four CHW focus group discussions, four individual interviews of key informants and four semi-structured interviews with the health centre nurses. The roles of CHWs in health promotion ranged from offering basic first aid and home-based care to increasing access to health care services by taking patients to the facilities and promoting behaviour change through health education. Their perceived successes included increased access to health care services and reduced mortality rates. CHW challenges involved their demotivation to carry out their work because of lack of or inconsistent financial incentives and supplies, work overload which compromises quality of their work and limited community involvement. This study concludes that CHWs are beneficial to health promotion and its various activities. They had a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, although they did not fully comprehend that what they were describing was, in fact, health promotion. When it came to advocacy, CHWs did not fully understand it, nor did they consider it as part of their roles, although they acknowledged its importance. Their role of increasing access to health care services by accompanying patients to the facilities has increased considerably because of changes in disease burden. This is affecting their ability to practise other

  9. Association of health professional leadership behaviors on health promotion practice beliefs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stone, Jacqueline D; Belcher, Harolyn M E; Attoh, Prince; D'Abundo, Michelle; Gong, Tao

    2017-04-01

    Leadership is a process by which an individual influences a group or individual to achieve a common goal, in this case health promotion for individuals with disabilities. (1) To examine the association between the transformational leadership behaviors of the Association of University Centers on Disabilities (AUCD) network professionals and their practice beliefs about health promotion activities, specifically cardiovascular fitness and healthy weight, for people with disabilities. (2) To determine if discipline and/or years of practice moderate the association between transformational leadership behaviors and practice beliefs regarding health promotion. There is a positive association between transformational leadership behaviors and health professionals practice beliefs regarding health promotion activities for persons with disabilities. A quantitative cross-sectional web-based survey design was used to determine the association between leadership behaviors and practices beliefs regarding health promotion for people with disabilities. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire and an adapted version of the Role of Health Promotion in Physical Therapy Survey were used to measure leadership and practice beliefs, respectively. Multiple regression analysis was applied to determine the association of leadership behaviors with health promotion practice beliefs variables. Transformational leadership behaviors of the AUCD network professionals were positively associated with health promotion practice beliefs about cardiovascular fitness for people with disabilities. Years post licensure and discipline did not moderate the association between transformational leadership and practice beliefs regarding health promotion. Transformational leadership may facilitate health professionals' health promotion practices for people with disabilities. Further research and training in leadership is needed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  10. Workshop salutogenesis and the future of health promotion and public health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lindström, Bengt

    2018-02-01

    This presentation is a synthesis of a workshop on Salutogenesis and the Future of Health Promotion and Public Health at the Nordic Health Promotion Research Conference in June 2016. A brief historical review of Public Health and Health Promotion development in a Nordic perspective is included. However, the main thrust of the article is to present how the salutogenic theory and approach could strengthen society's organised efforts to prevent disease, promote health and prolong life. A critical view based on existing evidence is maintained through the presentation that arrives at the conclusion it would be worthwhile to invest in effective theory driven approaches to the development of Public Health and Health Promotion in the future.

  11. Securing funds for health promotion: lessons from health promotion foundations based on experiences from Austria, Australia, Germany, Hungary and Switzerland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schang, Laura K; Czabanowska, Katarzyna M; Lin, Vivian

    2012-06-01

    Worldwide, countries face the challenge of securing funds for health promotion. To address this issue, some governments have established health promotion foundations, which are statutory bodies with long-term and recurrent public resources. This article draws on experiences from Austria, Australia, Germany, Hungary and Switzerland to illustrate four lessons learned from the foundation model to secure funding for health promotion. These lessons are concerned with: (i) the broad spectrum of potential revenue sources for health promotion foundations within national contexts; (ii) legislative anchoring of foundation revenues as a base for financial sustainability; (iii) co-financing as a means to increase funds and shared commitment for health promotion; (iv) complementarity of foundations to existing funding. Synthesizing the lessons, we discuss health promotion foundations in relation to wider concerns for investment in health based on the values of sustainability, solidarity and stewardship. We recommend policy-makers and researchers take notice of health promotion foundations as an alternative model for securing funds for health promotion, and appreciate their potential for integrating inter-sectoral revenue collection and inter-sectoral funding strategies. However, health promotion foundations are not a magic bullet. They also pose challenges to coordination and public sector stewardship. Therefore, health promotion foundations will need to act in concert with other governance instruments as part of a wider societal agenda for investment in health.

  12. Cultural aspects of ageing and health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mariño, R J

    2015-03-01

    The emphasis of Australian Government policy is on the promotion of good health in later life and positive experiences with ageing. Conceptually, a new gerontology framework has replaced the study of disease, decline, loss and disability. Within this framework, health promotion offers a mechanism by which individuals can be assisted to create environments that offer better opportunities for continued participation in society and improved quality of health and self-care. Oral health is instrumental to older people's health, life satisfaction, quality of life and perception of self. Australia is culturally diverse, composed of numerous ethno-cultural groups coexisting within a larger, predominant culture, creating a multicultural and multiracial society. However, despite this cultural diversity, the well documented ageing profile of the Australian population and repeated calls for comprehensive geriatric assessment, the oral health of older adults remains a challenge for oral health providers and for society. A major challenge will be to translate existing knowledge and experience of disease prevention and health promotion into appropriate programmes for older adults. Health promotion is the key to improving oral health in later life as it encourages older adults to be proactive in regard to their health. Therefore, increased efforts should be directed towards identifying opportunities for health promotion activities and the development of community based models that encourage older people to improve and maintain their oral health. Ignoring opportunities for health promotion may increase inequalities in oral health and may lead to even greater demands for curative and oral rehabilitative services from these groups This article firstly provides a brief rationale for oral health promotion. Its second part explores the influence of culture on health beliefs, behaviours and outcomes in older adults and how oral health can relate to cultural background. The last section

  13. Promotion of oral health by community nurses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Garry, Brendan; Boran, Sue

    2017-10-02

    To explore the enablers and barriers perceived by community nurses in the promotion of oral health in an adult community trust directorate. Oral health care promotion in community care settings is being neglected. England and Wales have witnessed marked improvements in periodontal disease; however, no improvements have been seen in older people. A qualitative methodology was employed, where eight nurses from Band 5 to 7 were interviewed using a semi-structured approach. The data was analysed thematically. Data analysis was organised into four themes: professional self-concept and the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary in the promotion of oral health; the impact an organisation has on the promotion of oral health and an exploration of the enablers and barriers identified by the community nurses while delivering care; the relationships between the nurse and patient and the potential impact on oral health promotion; the concept of self-regard in relation to the promotion of oral health and its overall impact. A commitment to improving oral health and requests for additional educational input were apparent. Organisational enablers and barriers were identified, alongside the crucial role a positive self-regard for oral health care may play in the promotion of oral health. Nurses need relevant education, organisational support, adequate resources and support from a multidisciplinary team to deliver optimal oral health promotion.

  14. Nurses' perceptions, understanding and experiences of health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Casey, Dympna

    2007-06-01

    This paper presents an account of nurses' perceptions and understanding of health promotion in an acute setting. Health promotion is considered the remit of every nurse. To engage in health-promoting practice, however, nurses need to understand the term 'health promotion' clearly. A single qualitative embedded case study was used. Purposive sampling of eight nurses was employed. Initially, theses nurses were observed in practice and, following this, a semi-structured one-to-one interview was conducted with each observed nurse. Qualitative data analysis guided by work of Miles and Huberman was employed. The data revealed one main theme: health-promoting nursing practice and this consisted of six categories and five subcategories. The findings indicated that nurses struggled to describe their understanding of health promotion, their understanding was limited and the strategies described to conduct health promotion were narrow and focused on the individual. Their perceptions and descriptions of health promotion were more in keeping with the traditional health education approach. Overall health promotion was reported to occur infrequently, being added on if the nurse had time. Factors relating to education, organizational and management issues were identified as key barriers prohibiting health-promoting nursing practice. Nurses must recognize that health promotion is a broad concept that does not exclusively focus on the individual or lifestyle factors. Nurses must be educated to recognize health-promoting opportunities in the acute setting, as well as how to plan for and conduct health promotion so that it becomes integral to practice. A review of the methods of organizing and delivering nursing care is also advocated. Ward managers have an important role in supporting nurses, creating a culture for health promotion and sharing power in decision-making processes, so that nurses feel valued and empowered.

  15. Time series clustering analysis of health-promoting behavior

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Chi-Ta; Hung, Yu-Shiang; Deng, Guang-Feng

    2013-10-01

    Health promotion must be emphasized to achieve the World Health Organization goal of health for all. Since the global population is aging rapidly, ComCare elder health-promoting service was developed by the Taiwan Institute for Information Industry in 2011. Based on the Pender health promotion model, ComCare service offers five categories of health-promoting functions to address the everyday needs of seniors: nutrition management, social support, exercise management, health responsibility, stress management. To assess the overall ComCare service and to improve understanding of the health-promoting behavior of elders, this study analyzed health-promoting behavioral data automatically collected by the ComCare monitoring system. In the 30638 session records collected for 249 elders from January, 2012 to March, 2013, behavior patterns were identified by fuzzy c-mean time series clustering algorithm combined with autocorrelation-based representation schemes. The analysis showed that time series data for elder health-promoting behavior can be classified into four different clusters. Each type reveals different health-promoting needs, frequencies, function numbers and behaviors. The data analysis result can assist policymakers, health-care providers, and experts in medicine, public health, nursing and psychology and has been provided to Taiwan National Health Insurance Administration to assess the elder health-promoting behavior.

  16. Towards evidence-based, quality-controlled health promotion: the Dutch recognition system for health promotion interventions.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Brug, J.; Dale, D. van; Lanting, L.; Kremers, S.; Veenhof, C.; Leurs, M.; Yperen, T. van; Kok, G.

    2010-01-01

    Registration or recognition systems for best-practice health promotion interventions may contribute to better quality assurance and control in health promotion practice. In the Netherlands, such a system has been developed and is being implemented aiming to provide policy makers and professionals

  17. Health communication in primary health care -a case study of ICT development for health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmud, Amina Jama; Olander, Ewy; Eriksén, Sara; Haglund, Bo Ja

    2013-01-30

    Developing Information and Communication Technology (ICT) supported health communication in PHC could contribute to increased health literacy and empowerment, which are foundations for enabling people to increase control over their health, as a way to reduce increasing lifestyle related ill health. However, to increase the likelihood of success of implementing ICT supported health communication, it is essential to conduct a detailed analysis of the setting and context prior to the intervention. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of health communication for health promotion in PHC with emphasis on the implications for a planned ICT supported interactive health channel. A qualitative case study, with a multi-methods approach was applied. Field notes, document study and focus groups were used for data collection. Data was then analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Health communication is an integral part of health promotion practice in PHC in this case study. However, there was a lack of consensus among health professionals on what a health promotion approach was, causing discrepancy in approaches and practices of health communication. Two themes emerged from the data analysis: Communicating health and environment for health communication. The themes represented individual and organizational factors that affected health communication practice in PHC and thus need to be taken into consideration in the development of the planned health channel. Health communication practiced in PHC is individual based, preventive and reactive in nature, as opposed to population based, promotive and proactive in line with a health promotion approach. The most significant challenge in developing an ICT supported health communication channel for health promotion identified in this study, is profiling a health promotion approach in PHC. Addressing health promotion values and principles in the design of ICT supported health communication channel could facilitate

  18. Improving Health Promotion Using Quality Improvement Techniques in Australian Indigenous Primary Health Care

    Science.gov (United States)

    Percival, Nikki; O’Donoghue, Lynette; Lin, Vivian; Tsey, Komla; Bailie, Ross Stewart

    2016-01-01

    Although some areas of clinical health care are becoming adept at implementing continuous quality improvement (CQI) projects, there has been limited experimentation of CQI in health promotion. In this study, we examined the impact of a CQI intervention on health promotion in four Australian Indigenous primary health care centers. Our study objectives were to (a) describe the scope and quality of health promotion activities, (b) describe the status of health center system support for health promotion activities, and (c) introduce a CQI intervention and examine the impact on health promotion activities and health centers systems over 2 years. Baseline assessments showed suboptimal health center systems support for health promotion and significant evidence-practice gaps. After two annual CQI cycles, there were improvements in staff understanding of health promotion and systems for planning and documenting health promotion activities had been introduced. Actions to improve best practice health promotion, such as community engagement and intersectoral partnerships, were inhibited by the way health center systems were organized, predominately to support clinical and curative services. These findings suggest that CQI can improve the delivery of evidence-based health promotion by engaging front line health practitioners in decision-making processes about the design/redesign of health center systems to support the delivery of best practice health promotion. However, further and sustained improvements in health promotion will require broader engagement of management, senior staff, and members of the local community to address organizational and policy level barriers. PMID:27066470

  19. Improving health promotion using quality improvement techniques in Australian Indigenous primary health care

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nikki ePercival

    2016-03-01

    Full Text Available While some areas of clinical health care are becoming adept at implementing continuous quality improvement (CQI projects, there has been limited experimentation of CQI in health promotion. In this study, we examined the impact of a CQI intervention on health promotion in four Australian Indigenous primary health care centres. Our study objectives were to: (a describe the scope and quality of health promotion activities; (b describe the status of health centre system support for health promotion activities; and (c introduce a CQI intervention and examine the impact on health promotion activities and health centres systems over two years. Baseline assessments showed sub-optimal health centre systems support for health promotion and significant evidence-practice gaps. After two annual CQI cycles, there were improvements in staff understanding of health promotion and systems for planning and documenting health promotion activities had been introduced. Actions to improve best practice health promotion, such as community engagement and intersectoral partnerships, were inhibited by the way health centre systems were organized, predominately to support clinical and curative services. These findings suggest that CQI can improve the delivery of evidence based health promotion by engaging front line health practitioners in decision making processes about the design/redesign of health centre systems to support the delivery of best practice health promotion. However, further and sustained improvements in health promotion will require broader engagement of management, senior staff and members of the local community to address organisational and policy level barriers.

  20. Improving Health Promotion Using Quality Improvement Techniques in Australian Indigenous Primary Health Care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Percival, Nikki; O'Donoghue, Lynette; Lin, Vivian; Tsey, Komla; Bailie, Ross Stewart

    2016-01-01

    Although some areas of clinical health care are becoming adept at implementing continuous quality improvement (CQI) projects, there has been limited experimentation of CQI in health promotion. In this study, we examined the impact of a CQI intervention on health promotion in four Australian Indigenous primary health care centers. Our study objectives were to (a) describe the scope and quality of health promotion activities, (b) describe the status of health center system support for health promotion activities, and (c) introduce a CQI intervention and examine the impact on health promotion activities and health centers systems over 2 years. Baseline assessments showed suboptimal health center systems support for health promotion and significant evidence-practice gaps. After two annual CQI cycles, there were improvements in staff understanding of health promotion and systems for planning and documenting health promotion activities had been introduced. Actions to improve best practice health promotion, such as community engagement and intersectoral partnerships, were inhibited by the way health center systems were organized, predominately to support clinical and curative services. These findings suggest that CQI can improve the delivery of evidence-based health promotion by engaging front line health practitioners in decision-making processes about the design/redesign of health center systems to support the delivery of best practice health promotion. However, further and sustained improvements in health promotion will require broader engagement of management, senior staff, and members of the local community to address organizational and policy level barriers.

  1. Health and the need for health promotion in hospital patients

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Oppedal, Kristian; Nesvåg, Sverre; Pedersen, Bolette

    2010-01-01

    of waist and weight), self-reported physical inactivity, daily smoking and hazardous drinking. We used logistic regression to describe the associations between health risk factors and demographic characteristics. RESULTS: Out of 10 included patients, 9 (N = 1522) had one or more health risk factors......BACKGROUND: Integrated health promotion improves clinical outcomes after hospital treatment. The first step towards implementing evidence-based health promotion in hospitals is to estimate the need for health promoting activities directed at hospital patients. The aim of this study was to identify...... the distribution and association of individual health risk factors in a Norwegian hospital population and to estimate the need for health promotion in this population. METHODS: We used a validated documentation model (HPH-DATA Model) to identify the prevalence of patients with nutritional risk (measurements...

  2. Milestones in Nordic Health Promotion research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Haglund, Bo J A; Tillgren, Per

    2018-02-01

    Based on the storytelling tradition and analyses of conference material, this article provides an overview of the evolving Nordic Health Promotion Research Network (NHPRN) and its conferences over the last 20 years. The story goes from the planning of the first conference in Bergen, Norway, back in 1996 to the eighth conference in Jyväskylä, Finland, in 2016. There have been three phases of development. During the first phase, 1996-2007, the five first conferences were initiated and implemented by departments of public health in the Nordic countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) collaborative centres of Health Promotion in Bergen University and a group at Karolinska Institute, Department of Social Medicine, creating supportive environments for health in Stockholm played key roles in initiating and supporting NHPRN. During the second phase, 2007-2014, the network was strengthened and supported by the Nordic School of Public Health (NHV) in Gothenburg. The third phase started when NHV closed down in 2015 and networking activities were transferred to the European Office of WHO in Copenhagen. The Nordic Health Promotion Research Conference series has served several purposes and will continue to do so. They are important Nordic meeting places, stimulating Health Promotion research, as well as explicitly managing ongoing concerns in the international Health Promotion community. This is reflected in the shift of foci over time. The content of the conferences has been highly responsive to whatever challenges are particularly relevant at different points in time, while also contributing to developing Health Promotion as a discipline, given that every conference has built on the previous ones.

  3. [Workplace health promotion in public health policies in Poland].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puchalski, Krzysztof; Korzeniowska, Elzbieta

    2008-01-01

    In this paper the author analyses how far in Poland the idea of workplace health promotion (WHP) does exist in the area of public health understood in its broadest sense. The analysis encapsulates the following issues: (a) the national legislative policy, (b) strategies, programs and projects concerning health issues launched or coordinated by the state or local administration, (c) grassroots initiatives for health promotion supported by local and regional administration, (d) civic projects or business strategies for health. In addition, the author emphasizes the marginalization of workplace health promotion and lack of cohesive policy in this field as well as, the fact that health problems of the working population arising from current demographic, technological, economic and social changes that could be dealt with through developing and implementing WHP projects are not yet fully perceived by public health policy makers.

  4. Going for gold: the health promoting general practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watson, Michael

    2008-01-01

    The World Health Organization's Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion has been influential in guiding the development of 'settings' based health promotion. Over the past decade, settings such as schools have flourished and there has been a considerable amount of academic literature produced, including theoretical papers, descriptive studies and evaluations. However, despite its central importance, the health-promoting general practice has received little attention. This paper discusses: the significance of this setting for health promotion; how a health promoting general practice can be created; effective health promotion approaches; the nursing contribution; and some challenges that need to be resolved. In order to become a health promoting general practice, the staff must undertake a commitment to fulfil the following conditions: create a healthy working environment; integrate health promotion into practice activities; and establish alliances with other relevant institutions and groups within the community. The health promoting general practice is the gold standard for health promotion. Settings that have developed have had the support of local, national and European networks. Similar assistance and advocacy will be needed in general practice. This paper recommends that a series of rigorously evaluated, high-quality pilot sites need to be established to identify and address potential difficulties, and to ensure that this innovative approach yields tangible health benefits for local communities. It also suggests that government support is critical to the future development of health promoting general practices. This will be needed both directly and in relation to the capacity and resourcing of public health in general.

  5. Stress Managment and Health Promotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Asghar Dadkhah

    2004-09-01

    Full Text Available Health promotion approach is utilized to address the prevention, management and early intervention for stress management and also to promote positive mental and psychological health. Stress affects everyone and must be managed effectively to reduce its chronic and deleterious effects this study consists of two sections: in first section the principals of health promotion in different human existence levels, prevention of disease related to stress, the effect of stress on human well-being, and stress management were discussed. In second section the role of rehabilitation specialists (Medical technologist, nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists, respiratory therapists, and social workers in stress management were counted.

  6. The Nordic Health Promotion Research Network (NHPRN).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ringsberg, Karin C

    2015-08-01

    The Nordic Health Promotion Research Network (NHPRN) was established in 2007 at the Nordic School of Public Health (NHV). This article aims to describe the foundation of the NHPRN, the development and the present status of the work of NHPRN. The NHPRN consists of about 50 senior and junior researchers from all Nordic countries. It is a working network that aims to develop the theoretical understanding of health promotion, to create research cooperation in health promotion from a Nordic perspective and to extend the scope of health promotion through education. Network members meet biannually to discuss and further develop research within the field and are also responsible for the Nordic conference on Health Promotion, organized every 3 years. The NHV hosted the network between 2007 and 2014; and the World Health Organisation (WHO) will assume this role in 2015. © 2015 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

  7. Health promotion and young prisoners: a European perspective.

    Science.gov (United States)

    MacDonald, Morag; Rabiee, Fatemeh; Weilandt, Caren

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to assess the health promotion needs of vulnerable young prisoners and the existing health promotion activities in custodial settings in seven European Union (EU) Member States. The research comprised two components: the first involved identifying existing health promotion practices. The second involved mapping out young offenders' health promotion needs by carrying out a needs assessment. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were adopted. The quantitative element comprised surveys among young prisoners and prison staff and focused on the availability and perceived importance of health promotion activities in prison. The qualitative element comprised focus groups with young offenders and individual interviews with prison staff, field experts and NGO members. The findings from the research have identified a number of similar, but also some diverse areas of unmet need for health promotion activities in prison settings across these diverse seven EU countries. There is no consistency of approach within and between countries regarding health promotion policy, guidance, resources and programmes for young prisoners. In order to improve the health of young prisoners and to establish and increase sustainability of existing health promotion programmes, there is a need for the establishment of National and EU standards. Providing health promotion activities for young prisoners while in custodial settings is key to addressing their unmet health and well-being needs and to facilitate their reintegration back into the community. Despite the barriers identified by this research, health promotion is to some extent being delivered in the partner countries and provides a foundation upon which further implementation of health promotion activities can be built especially when the benefits of health promotion activities, like dealing with the common problems of alcohol and drug addiction, mental health and communicable diseases are linked to successful

  8. Ethics, equality and evidence in health promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Vallgårda, Signild

    2014-01-01

    Abstract Aim: The Danish National Board of Health has expressed its commitment to social equality in health, evidence-informed health promotion and public health ethics, and has issued guidelines for municipalities on health promotion, in Danish named prevention packages.The aim of this article...... is to analyse whether the Board of Health adheres to ideals of equality, evidence and ethics in these guidelines. Methods: An analysis to detect statements about equity, evidence and ethics in 10 health promotion packages directed at municipalities with the aim of guiding the municipalities towards evidence......-informed disease prevention and health promotion. Results: Despite declared intentions of prioritizing social equality in health, these intentions are largely absent from most of the packages.When health inequalities are mentioned, focus is on the disadvantaged or the marginalized. Several interventions...

  9. South Asia's health promotion kaleidoscope.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mukhopadhyay, Alok

    2007-01-01

    South Asia has 22 percent of the world's population but only 1.3 percent of the global income. Consequently 40 percent of the population is living in absolute poverty. However the health transition in some of its countries including India and Sri Lanka is a testimony to the fact that there are proven solutions to the problems of health and development within the region. The countries of the region have much in common, including a democratic political system, four major religions, a vibrant and living tradition of voluntarism and an extensive health infrastructure which is operating well below par. Despite the underlying unity, South Asia enjoys enormous cultural, linguistic and ethnic diversity. In this large, complex and vibrant region, health promotion is a challenging task, but it also holds the key to a dramatic change in the global health situation. Many of these solutions lie in wider areas of socio-political action. There are much needed shifts in the health promotion and development efforts, particularly in the area of poverty and social justice; gender inequity; population stabilisation; health and environment; control of communicable and non-communicable diseases; and urban health strategies. The principle of cooperation, partnership and intersectoral collaboration for health will be explored. Developing an appropriate, sustainable and people centred health and development strategy in the coming decades is an enormous challenge. There has been an attempt to focus on the emerging needs of the region, which call for health promotion, and involvement of civil society, private sector and the governments bestowed with the increased responsibility of ensuring health security for people. Strengthening the existing health systems, allocating adequate resources for health development and ensuring community participation are all prerequisites to the success of health promotion in the region.

  10. Health promotion training in dental and oral health degrees: a scoping review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bracksley-O'Grady, Stacey A; Dickson-Swift, Virginia A; Anderson, Karen S; Gussy, Mark G

    2015-05-01

    Dental diseases are a major burden on health; however, they are largely preventable. Dental treatment alone will not eradicate dental disease with a shift to prevention required. Prevention of dental diseases is a role of dental professionals, with most countries having formalized health promotion competencies for dental and oral health graduates. In spite of this, there may be minimal health promotion being undertaken in clinical practice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to conduct a scoping review to identify some published studies on health promotion training in dental and oral health degrees. Key search terms were developed and used to search selected databases, which identified 84 articles. Four articles met the inclusion/exclusion criteria and were included in the review. Of these studies, the type of oral health promotion tasks and instructions received before the tasks varied. However, for all studies the health promotion content was focused on health education. In terms of evaluation of outcomes, only two studies evaluated the health promotion content using student reflections. More good-quality information on health promotions training is needed to inform practice.

  11. Social capital and health – implications for health promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eriksson, Malin

    2011-01-01

    This article is a review of the PhD Thesis of Malin Eriksson, entitled ‘Social capital, health and community action – implications for health promotion.’ The article presents a theoretical overview of social capital and its relation to health, reviews empirical findings of the links between social capital and (self-rated) health, and discusses the usefulness of social capital in health promotion interventions at individual and community levels. Social capital, conceptualized as an individual characteristic, can contribute to the field of health promotion by adding new knowledge on how social network interventions may best be designed to meet the needs of the target group. The distinction of different forms of social capital, i.e. bonding, bridging, and linking, can be useful in mapping the kinds of networks that are available and health-enhancing (or damaging) and for whom. Further, social capital can advance social network interventions by acknowledging the risk for unequal distribution of investments and returns from social network involvement. Social capital, conceptualized as characterizing whole communities, provides a useful framework for what constitutes health-supporting environments and guidance on how to achieve them. Mapping and mobilization of social capital in local communities may be one way of achieving community action for health promotion. Social capital is context-bound by necessity. Thus, from a global perspective, it cannot be used as a ‘cookbook’ on how to achieve supportive environments and community action smoothly. However, social capital can provide new ideas on the processes that influence human interactions, cooperation, and community action for health promotion in various contexts. PMID:21311607

  12. Does workplace health promotion reach shift workers?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Garde, Anne Helene; Clausen, Thomas

    2015-01-01

    OBJECTIVES: One reason for health disparities between shift and day workers may be that workplace health promotion does not reach shift workers to the same extent as it reaches day workers. This study aimed to investigate the association between shift work and the availability of and participation...... in workplace health promotion. METHODS: We used cross-sectional questionnaire data from a large representative sample of all employed people in Denmark. We obtained information on the availability of and participation in six types of workplace health promotion. We also obtained information on working hours, ie......). RESULTS: In the general working population, fixed evening and fixed night workers, and employees working variable shifts including night work reported a higher availability of health promotion, while employees working variable shifts without night work reported a lower availability of health promotion...

  13. Understanding of Factors that Enable Health Promoters in Implementing Health-Promoting Schools: A Systematic Review and Narrative Synthesis of Qualitative Evidence

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hung, Tommy Tsz Man; Chiang, Vico Chung Lim; Dawson, Angela; Lee, Regina Lai Tong

    2014-01-01

    Health-promoting schools have been regarded as an important initiative in promoting child and adolescent health in school settings using the whole-school approach. Quantitative research has proved its effectiveness in various school-based programmes. However, few qualitative studies have been conducted to investigate the strategies used by health promoters to implement such initiatives. In this study, the researchers conducted a systematic review and narrative synthesis of the qualitative literature to identify important enablers assisting the implementation of health-promoting schools from the perspectives of health promoters. Five enablers have been identified from the review: (a) Following a framework/guideline to implement health-promoting schools; (b) Obtaining committed support and contributions from the school staff, school board management, government authorities, health agencies and other stakeholders; (c) Adopting a multidisciplinary, collaborative approach to implementing HPS; (d) Establishing professional networks and relationships; and (e) Continuing training and education in school health promotion. This highlights the importance of developing school health policies that meet local health needs, and socio-cultural characteristics that can foster mutual understanding between the health and education sectors so as to foster health promotion in children and adolescents. PMID:25264789

  14. Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    ... Health Literacy Health Care Quality Healthy People healthfinder Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Spotlight: This ... 16/2017 This site is coordinated by the Office of Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Office of ...

  15. Health promotion and the freedom of the individual.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taylor, Gary; Hawley, Helen

    2006-03-01

    This article considers the extent to which health promotion strategies pose a threat to individual freedom. It begins by taking a look at health promotion strategies and at the historical development of health promotion in Britain. A theoretical context is then developed in which Berlin's distinction between negative and positive liberty is used alongside the ideas of John Stuart Mill, Charles Taylor and T.H. Green to discuss the politics of health promotion and to identify the implications of conflicting perspectives on freedom. The final section looks at current health promotion policy in Britain and beyond and argues that, if freedom is seen in terms of empowerment, health promotion can enhance individual freedom.

  16. [Health-Promoting Schools Regional Initiative of the Americas].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ippolito-Shepherd, Josefa; Cerqueira, Maria Teresa; Ortega, Diana Patricia

    2005-01-01

    In Latin America, comprehensive health promotion programmes and activities are being implemented in the school setting, which take into account the conceptual framework of the Health-Promoting Schools Regional Initiative of the Pan American Health Organization, Regional office of the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO). These programmes help to strengthen the working relationships between the health and education sectors. The Health-Promoting Schools Regional Initiative, officially launched by PAHO/WHO in 1995, aims to form future generations to have the knowledge, abilities, and skills necessary for promoting and caring for their health and that of their family and community, as well as to create and maintain healthy environments and communities. The Initiative focuses on three main components: comprehensive health education, the creation and maintenance of healthy physical and psychosocial environments, and the access to health and nutrition services, mental health, and active life. In 2001, PAHO conducted a survey in 19 Latin American countries to assess the status and trends of Health-Promoting Schools in the Region, for the appropriate regional, subregional, and national planning of pertinent health promotion and health education programmes and activities. The results of this survey provided information about policies and national plans, multisectoral coordination mechanisms for the support of health promotion in the school settings, the formation and participation in national and international networks of Health-Promoting Schools and about the level of dissemination of the strategy. For the successful development of Health-Promoting Schools is essential to involve the society as a whole, in order to mobilise human resources and materials necessary for implementing health promotion in the school settings. Thus, the constitution and consolidation of networks has been a facilitating mechanism for the exchange of ideas, resources and experiences to strengthen

  17. Health promotion in connection to the health care students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    S. Kyuchukova

    2017-09-01

    Full Text Available The activities of health promotion for the students in health care specialties is organized and managed by the teacher process. During the training communication skills are acquired. It is the time for preparing students for work in counseling and patient education, collecting and providing health information - promotive function in the process of care (1. We assumed that these opportunities could be used in our work with children deprived of parental care. We set a goal to explore experiences, attitudes and ideas about students’ participation in health care in health promotion in the community of children and individuals. The study found that students are aware of the social importance of the knowledge acquired during the training and are convinced of the need to support adolescents to develop a responsible attitude towards their own health.

  18. Professional competences in school health promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carlsson, Monica Susanne

    2015-01-01

    shows that ‘a production logic’ and economic values are emphasized in the motivation of the project and in the knowledge base underpinning the competency-framework. The discussion of the responsiveness of the formulations in relation to school health promotion points out that there are matches between......The purpose of the study is to critically explore the formulations of competencies and standards in the European project “Developing Competencies and Professional Standards for Health Promotion Capacity Building in Europe”, and to discuss them in relation to school health promotion. The analysis...... these formulations, and essential values and approaches in school health promotion. However, by underemphasizing the potential of education and learning, and reducing changes at individual and group level to behavioral change, the formulations of competencies and standards are not in concert with essential values...

  19. Workplace Participatory Occupational Health/Health Promotion Program

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yuan; Flum, Marian; Kotejoshyer, Rajashree; Fleishman, Jane; Henning, Robert; Punnett, Laura

    2018-01-01

    Nursing home employees experience high physical and psychosocial workloads, resulting in poor health outcomes. An occupational health/health promotion program, designed to facilitate employee participation, was initiated in three nursing homes. The aim of the current study was to evaluate facilitators and barriers of the program after 3-year implementation. Focus groups with employees and in-depth interviews with top and middle managers were conducted. The Social Ecological Model was used to organize the evaluation. Facilitators and barriers were reported from both managers’ and employees’ perspectives, and were categorized as intrapersonal, interpersonal, institutional, and corporate level. Management support, financial resources, and release time for participation were identified as the three most important factors. Supports from multiple levels including both human and environment, and managers and employees, are important for a successful participatory occupational health/health promotion program. PMID:26977705

  20. People Create Health: Effective Health Promotion is a Creative Process

    OpenAIRE

    Cloninger, C. Robert; Cloninger, Kevin M.

    2013-01-01

    Effective health promotion involves the creative cultivation of physical, mental, social, and spiritual well-being. Efforts at health promotion produce weak and inconsistent benefits when it does not engage people to express their own goals and values. Likewise, health promotion has been ineffective when it relies only on instruction about facts regarding a healthy lifestyle, or focuses on reduction of disease rather than the cultivation of well-being. Meta-analysis of longitudinal studies an...

  1. 20 Years Health Promotion Research in and on settings

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Heiko Waller

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available In 2006 we celebrated the 20th anniversary of the Ottawa Charta for Health Promotion. During these 20 years health promotion became a very influential public health strategy. Let us - with reference to the WHO Health Promotion Glossary - recall some of the core elements of health promotion: “Health promotion represents a comprehensive social and political process, it not only embraces actions directed at strengthening skills and capabilities of individuals, but also actions directed towards changing social, environmental and economic conditions so as to alleviate their impact on public and individual health.Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over the determinants of health and thereby improve their health. Participation is essential to sustain health promotion action.” The Ottawa Charter identifies three basic strategies for health promotion. These are (1 advocacy for health to create the essential conditions for health indicated above; (2 enabling all people to achieve their full health potential; and (3 mediating between different interests in society in the pursuit of health. The Ottawa Charter identifies three basic strategies for health promotion. These are (1 advocacy for health to create the essential conditions for health indicated above; (2 enabling all people to achieve their full health potential; and (3 mediating between different interests in society in the pursuit of health.

  2. Early 20th century conceptualization of health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madsen, Wendy

    2017-12-01

    This historical analysis of the term 'health promotion' during the early 20th century in North American journal articles revealed concepts that strongly resonate with those of the 21st century. However, the lineage between these two time periods is not clear, and indeed, this paper supports contentions health promotion has a disrupted history. This paper traces the conceptualizations of health promotion during the 1920s, attempts to operationalize health promotion in the 1930s resulting in a narrowing of the concept to one of health education, and the disappearance of the term from the 1940s. In doing so, it argues a number of factors influenced the changing conceptualization and utilization of health promotion during the first half of the 20th century, many of which continue to present times, including issues around what health promotion is and what it means, ongoing tensions between individual and collective actions, tensions between specific and general causes of health and ill health, and between expert and societal contributions. The paper concludes the lack of clarity around these issues contributed to health promotion disappearing in the mid-20th century and thus resolution of these would be worthwhile for the continuation and development of health promotion as a discipline into the 21st century. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  3. Social capital and health – implications for health promotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Malin Eriksson

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available This article is a review of the PhD Thesis of Malin Eriksson, entitled ‘Social capital, health and community action – implications for health promotion.’ The article presents a theoretical overview of social capital and its relation to health, reviews empirical findings of the links between social capital and (self-rated health, and discusses the usefulness of social capital in health promotion interventions at individual and community levels. Social capital, conceptualized as an individual characteristic, can contribute to the field of health promotion by adding new knowledge on how social network interventions may best be designed to meet the needs of the target group. The distinction of different forms of social capital, i.e. bonding, bridging, and linking, can be useful in mapping the kinds of networks that are available and health-enhancing (or damaging and for whom. Further, social capital can advance social network interventions by acknowledging the risk for unequal distribution of investments and returns from social network involvement. Social capital, conceptualized as characterizing whole communities, provides a useful framework for what constitutes health-supporting environments and guidance on how to achieve them. Mapping and mobilization of social capital in local communities may be one way of achieving community action for health promotion. Social capital is context-bound by necessity. Thus, from a global perspective, it cannot be used as a ‘cookbook’ on how to achieve supportive environments and community action smoothly. However, social capital can provide new ideas on the processes that influence human interactions, cooperation, and community action for health promotion in various contexts.This article has been commented on by Catherine Campbell. Please follow this link http://www.globalhealthaction.net/index.php/gha/article/view/5964 – to read her Commentary.

  4. Meanings of care in health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Falcón, Gladys Carmela Santos; Erdmann, Alacoque Lorenzini; Backes, Dirce Stein

    2008-01-01

    The objective of the study is to understand the meaning built by students and professors on health promotion in the teaching and learning process of health care in Nursing. It is a qualitative study using ground theory as a methodological reference. Data was collected through interviews, with three samples groups, 13 students and four professors, by classroom observation, and through meetings with nursing professors. The central subject resulting from this analysis was: constructing teaching and learning in order, disorder and self organization for a new way of caring promoting health. The teaching/learning process directed at health promotion develops in a stage of crisis, going from a state of order to a state of disorder that is uncertain and contradictory regarding what society understands about health.

  5. Teachers' Ideas about Health: Implications for Health Promotion at School

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miglioretti, Massimo; Velasco, Veronica; Celata, Corrado; Vecchio, Luca

    2013-01-01

    Objectives: The study explores the relationships among teachers' health representations, their ideas about health promotion, their working conditions and their involvement in health-promotion activities at school. Methods: A questionnaire was administered to 107 teachers in 86 schools in Milan (Italy). The questionnaire was structured in four…

  6. An unlikely suitor: Industrial Engineering in health promotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hattingh, T. S.

    2013-05-01

    Full Text Available Primary healthcare forms the foundation for transforming healthcare in South Africa. The primary healthcare system is based on five pillars, one of them being health promotion. The principles of health promotion advocate that promoting health and wellness within communities will reduce the burden of disease at both primary and higher levels of the healthcare system. The challenge in South Africa, is that the factors affecting communities often inhibit their ability to control their health. In addition, the health promotion function within clinics is underresourced: each health promoter serves impoverished communities of up to 50,000 people. This study aims to identify how industrial engineering principles can be applied to assess and improve the impact of health promotion on communities, and ultimately on the health care system as a whole. An industrial engineering approach has analysed five clinics within the Ekurhuleni Municipality in Gauteng. The results show a distinct lack of consistency between clinics. Common issues include a lack of standard processes, structures, measures, resources, and training to support health promotion. The problems identified are commonly analysed and addressed by industrial engineering in organisations, and industrial engineering could be a useful method for evaluating and improving the impact of health promotion on communities. Recommendations for improvement and further work were made based on the findings.

  7. The Stellenbosch consensus statement on health promoting schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macnab, Andrew

    2013-03-01

    Health promotion uses a range of complementary approaches to provide individuals and communities with knowledge that will enable them to improve their own health and wellbeing. Encouraging children to adopt healthy lifestyle habits is a central objective, and health promotion at a community level, particularly through health promoting schools, may be an effective strategy. Health promoting schools are well within the capacity of even poor countries, as they focus on the school and its culture, and establishing health promoting schools requires a change in mindset and refinement of educational investment rather than the provision of major new resources, engagement of non-government organizations or obtaining international funding. A consensus of current evidence and essential concepts underlying health promotion in schools, principles that contribute to success or failure, and opportunities for implementation and engagement is presented, based on shared experience and dialogue at a 2011 international colloquium held at Stellenbosch University.

  8. The promotion of oral health in health-promoting schools in KwaZulu ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Background. Oral health promotion is a cost-effective strategy that can be implemented at schools for the prevention of oral diseases. The importance and value of school-based interventions in children has been identified in South Africa (SA). Although oral health strategies include integrated school-based interventions, ...

  9. Processes and outcomes in school health promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simovska, Venka

    2012-01-01

    This is the second special issue of Health Education which features research, theory and practice based perspectives on what counts as desirable outcomes of health promotion in schools in terms of health as well as education, and the effective processes in schools which lead to these outcomes....... The focus in the first special issue was on highlighting the argument that the question about the outcomes of the health-promoting schools should not be limited to narrowly defined health outcomes but needs to be closely linked with the core tasks and values of the school. Building further on this argument......, the papers in this issue feature a number of research issues of relevance for the effectiveness of the health-promoting schools approach, as well as a variety of research and evaluation methodologies contributing to the debate about what counts as reliable evidence within the health-promoting schools...

  10. Mental health promotion in comprehensive schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Onnela, A M; Vuokila-Oikkonen, P; Hurtig, T; Ebeling, H

    2014-09-01

    The purpose of this paper is to describe a participatory action research process on the development of a professional practice model of mental health nurses in mental health promotion in a comprehensive school environment in the city of Oulu, Finland. The developed model is a new method of mental health promotion for mental health nurses working in comprehensive schools. The professional practice model has been developed in workshops together with school staff, interest groups, parents and students. Information gathered from the workshops was analysed using action research methods. Mental health promotion interventions are delivered at three levels: universal, which is an intervention that affects the whole school or community; selective, which is an intervention focusing on a certain group of students; and indicated, which is an individually focused intervention. All interventions are delivered within the school setting, which is a universal setting for all school-aged children. The interventions share the goal of promoting mental health. The purposes of the interventions are enhancing protective factors, reducing risk factors relating to mental health problems and early identification of mental health problems as well as rapid delivery of support or referral to specialized services. The common effect of the interventions on all levels is the increase in the experience of positive mental health. © 2014 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  11. Health promotion in Swedish schools: school managers' views.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Persson, Louise; Haraldsson, Katarina

    2017-04-01

    Schools are recognized worldwide as settings for health promotion, and leadership has a bearing on schools' ability to be health promoting. School managers have a great influence on what is prioritized in school, which in turn affects students' school performance and health. There is lack of research into school managers' views on health promotion, and what they consider to be central to health promotion. The aim was therefore to examine school managers' views about what health promotion in schools include. An explorative design, qualitative content analysis, was performed. In-depth interviews were conducted with all 13 school managers of a middle-sized municipality in central Sweden. The analysis had both manifest and latent content and three categories: 'Organization and Collaboration', 'Optimize the arena' and 'Strengthen the individual', and 10 subcategories emerged. The theme, 'Opportunities for learning and a good life', describes the latent content of these categories. Taking into account the views of school managers are important because these views help form a more complete picture of how school managers work with health promotion and what is needed to enhance health promotion to improve students' opportunities for learning and a good life. The Ottawa Charter for Health promotion is thereby transformed into practice. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Practicing health promotion in primary care -a reflective enquiry.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pati, S; Chauhan, A S; Mahapatra, S; Sinha, R; Pati, S

    2017-12-01

    Health promotion is an integral part of routine clinical practice. The physicians' role in improving the health status of the general population, through effective understanding and delivery of health promotion practice, is evident throughout the international literature. Data from India suggest that physicians have limited skills in delivering specific health promotion services. However, the data available on this is scarce. This study was planned to document the current health promotion knowledge, perception and practices of local primary care physicians in Odisha. An exploratory study was planned between the months of January - February 2013 in Odisha among primary care physicians working in government set up. This exploratory study was conducted, using a two-step self-administered questionnaire, thirty physicians practicing under government health system were asked to map their ideal and current health promotion practice, and potential health promotion elements to be worked upon to enhance the practice. The study recorded a significant difference between the mean of current and ideal health promotion practices. The study reported that physicians want to increase their practice on health education. We concluded that inclusion of health promotion practices in routine care is imperative for a strong healthcare system. It should be incorporated as a structured health promotion module in medical curriculum as well.

  13. Health Promotion: A developing focus area over the years.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Povlsen, Lene; Borup, Ina

    2015-08-01

    In 1953 when the Nordic School of Public Health was founded, the aim of public health programmes was disease prevention more than health promotion. This was not unusual, since at this time health usually was seen as the opposite of disease and illness. However, with the Ottawa Charter of 1986, the World Health Organization made a crucial change to view health not as a goal in itself but as the means to a full life. In this way, health promotion became a first priority and fundamental action for the modern society. This insight eventually reached NHV and in 2002 - 50 years after the foundation - an associate professorship was established with a focus on health promotion. Nevertheless, the concept of health promotion had been integrated with or mentioned in courses run prior to the new post. Subsequently, a wide spectrum of courses in health promotion was introduced, such as 'Empowerment for Child and Adolescent Health Promotion', 'Salutogenesis--from theory to practice' and 'Health, Stress and Coping'. More than half of all doctoral theses undertaken at NHV during these years had health promotion as their theme. As a derivative, the Nordic Health Promotion Research Network (NHPRN) was established in 2007 with bi-annual meetings at NHV. © 2015 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

  14. In what direction should we go to promote health in mental health care?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Petra Svedberg

    2011-05-01

    Full Text Available There is a growing recognition of the need for health promotion interventions in all health care today. In spite of this, health promotion interventions among patients with mental illnesses have been scarce in research, practice, and policies. There is also an ambiguous interpretation of the definition of health promotion in the literature. The emphasis in this paper is thus to (1 discuss why we should pay attention to the interpretations of the concept of health promotion and (2 present a possible model for what nurses do when they intend to promote health in mental health care. This paper was presented at the Nordic Conference of Mental Health Nursing in Helsinki, Finland in 2010.

  15. Health promotion and schools: how to move forward

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Gardano Bucharles Mont’Alverne

    2013-09-01

    Full Text Available The health promotion action means, described by the 1986 Ottawa Charter, highlights the creation of supportive environments for health(1. Following this line of reasoning, several strategies have been adopted for implementing health promotion policies, including the Health Promoting School. In 1995, the Pan American Health Organization / Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO officially launched the Regional Health Promoting School Initiative. Since then, all the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have strengthened school health promotion actions, rethinking school health activities(2. To become a Health Promoting School, the institution must take a comprehensive view of human beings – especially children and adolescents – in their familiar, community and social environment. It must provide a healthy environment, building constructive and harmonious relationships and hence being able to awaken skills and attitudes within participants, fostering autonomy, creativity and participation of students and also the whole school community(3. Never before has so much been said about health and health promotion as today, i.e., there is a need for promoting health at school as an element for changing reality. The school plays an important political role within this context for being a place where ideology can be constructed, destroyed or perpetuated through the transmission of values and beliefs, besides being an environment that favors the development of health education actions. Childhood is the defining moment for the construction and solidification of habits and attitudes, hence the importance of school as an environment that enhances the development of a targeted, systematized and permanent work. “Through the Health Promoting School Initiative, school health has a chance to move forward and expand its conception and practices with a comprehensive and interdisciplinary view of the human being within a

  16. Health promotion and schools: how to move forward

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Daniela Gardano Bucharles Mont'Alverne

    2014-05-01

    Full Text Available The health promotion action means, described by the 1986 Ottawa Charter, highlights the creation of supportive environments for health(1. Following this line of reasoning, several strategies have been adopted for implementing health promotion policies, including the Health Promoting School. In 1995, the Pan American Health Organization / Regional Office for the Americas of the World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO officially launched the Regional Health Promoting School Initiative. Since then, all the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean have strengthened school health promotion actions, rethinking school health activities(2. To become a Health Promoting School, the institution must take a comprehensive view of human beings – especially children and adolescents – in their familiar, community and social environment. It must provide a healthy environment, building constructive and harmonious relationships and hence being able to awaken skills and attitudes within participants, fostering autonomy, creativity and participation of students and also the whole school community(3. Never before has so much been said about health and health promotion as today, i.e., there is a need for promoting health at school as an element for changing reality. The school plays an important political role within this context for being a place where ideology can be constructed, destroyed or perpetuated through the transmission of values and beliefs, besides being an environment that favors the development of health education actions. Childhood is the defining moment for the construction and solidification of habits and attitudes, hence the importance of school as an environment that enhances the development of a targeted, systematized and permanent work. “Through the Health Promoting School Initiative, school health has a chance to move forward and expand its conception and practices with a comprehensive and interdisciplinary view of the human being within a

  17. Health promotion and intellectual disability: listening to men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bollard, Martin

    2017-01-01

    Taking responsibility for your own health has been a central tenet of public health policy internationally for a number of decades. Governments in the UK and internationally continue to promote a plethora of health promotion strategies, encouraging individuals and communities to adopt healthy lifestyle choices. Although it is widely recognised that men are not as proactive in seeking out medical help or taking on health promotion advice as women, limited gender-sensitive research exists in the field of intellectual disability. Despite many health promotion policy and practice strategies targeted at this population, little research exists exploring whether men with intellectual disability acknowledge health promotion advice. The study aimed to explore how men with mild-to-moderate intellectual disability understood and perceived their health and what health promotion messages they acted upon. The study was based on a participatory approach which enabled 11 men with intellectual disability to contribute as steering group members and as participants through one-to-one interviews. Data were collected between September 2011 and July 2012. Thematic analysis was undertaken. The participants demonstrated a capacity to understand their own health. This was inclusive of a concern about associating being obese with being unhealthy. The participants reported good relationships with their general practitioners (GPs) and felt valued, in particular when the GP was prepared to offer specific intellectual disability and health promotion advice. More gendered research inclusive of the views of this male population is required and the study reiterates the importance of promoting the health of men and women with intellectual disability. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  18. Community health workers in Lesotho: Experiences of health promotion activities

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Thato Seutloali

    2018-02-01

    Conclusion: This study concludes that CHWs are beneficial to health promotion and its various activities. They had a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities, although they did not fully comprehend that what they were describing was, in fact, health promotion. When it came to advocacy, CHWs did not fully understand it, nor did they consider it as part of their roles, although they acknowledged its importance. Their role of increasing access to health care services by accompanying patients to the facilities has increased considerably because of changes in disease burden. This is affecting their ability to practise other health promotion activities which focus on disease prevention.

  19. Investigation of health promotion status in specialized hospitals associated with Hamadan University of Medical Sciences: health-promoting hospitals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hamidi, Yadollah; Hazavehei, Seyed Mohammad Mahdi; Karimi-Shahanjarini, Akram; SeifRabiei, Mohamad Ali; Farhadian, Maryam; Alimohamadi, Shohreh; Kharghani Moghadam, Seyedeh Melika

    2017-12-01

    The prophecy of health promoting hospitals (HPH) is bringing about a change and transition from treatment-oriented to health-oriented attitudes. In Iran, hospitals usually play the traditional roles. The present study was aimed at the evaluation of the health promotion status in specialized hospitals associated with Hamadan University of Medical Sciences (HUMS). This applied study was conducted in two Hamadan specialized hospitals in the Hamadan city. The health promotion status was evaluated using a self-assessment checklist designed by the World Health Organization's HPH. The evaluation was done in five standards including management policy, patient assessment, patient information and intervention, promotion of a healthy workplace and continuity and cooperation. The results showed that both the hospitals studied had a poor status in terms of promoting a healthy workplace (average = 31.24%) and management policy standards (average = 35.29%) in comparison with the other relevant standards: patient assessment (53.12%), patient information and intervention (62.5%), continuity and cooperation (65.78%)). The results of the standards and sub-standards status displayed better performance in the cardiovascular hospital (53.67%) compared to the women and parturition hospital (42.64%). The findings indicated that HPH standards are very low in the studied hospitals. The reason behind this wide gap might be due to the fact that hospitals in Iran are more treatment-oriented and patient-oriented and they do not play an active part in health promoting. It was found that management policy and promoting healthy workplace standards had the worst status and must be improved.

  20. Health promotion activities of sports clubs and coaches, and health and health behaviours in youth participating in sports clubs: the Health Promoting Sports Club study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kokko, Sami; Selänne, Harri; Alanko, Lauri; Heinonen, Olli J; Korpelainen, Raija; Savonen, Kai; Vasankari, Tommi; Kannas, Lasse; Kujala, Urho M; Aira, Tuula; Villberg, Jari; Parkkari, Jari

    2015-01-01

    Sports clubs form a potential setting for health promotion, but the research is limited. The aim of the Health Promoting Sports Club (HPSC) study was to elucidate the current health promotion activities of youth sports clubs and coaches, and to investigate the health behaviours and health status of youth participating in sports clubs compared to non-participants. The study design employs cross-sectional multilevel and multimethod research with aspirations to a prospective cohort study in the next phase. The setting-based variables at sports clubs and coaching levels, and health behaviour variables at the individual level, are investigated using surveys; and total levels of physical activity are assessed using objective accelerometer measurements. Health status variables will be measured by preparticipation screening. The health promotion activity of sports clubs (n=154) is evaluated by club officials (n=313) and coaches (n=281). Coaches and young athletes aged 14-16 (n=759) years evaluate the coaches' health promotion activity. The survey of the adolescents' health behaviours consist of two data sets-the first is on their health behaviours and the second is on musculoskeletal complaints and injuries. Data are collected via sports clubs (759 participants) and schools 1650 (665 participants and 983 non-participants). 591 (418 athletes and 173 non-athletes) youth, have already participated in preparticipation screening. Screening consists of detailed personal medical history, electrocardiography, flow-volume spirometry, basic laboratory analyses and health status screening, including posture, muscle balance, and static and dynamic postural control tests, conducted by sports and exercise medicine specialists. The HPSC study is carried out conforming with the declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was received from the Ethics Committee of Health Care District of Central Finland. The HPSC study is close-to-practice, which generates foundations for development work

  1. Health promotion activities of sports clubs and coaches, and health and health behaviours in youth participating in sports clubs: the Health Promoting Sports Club study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kokko, Sami; Selänne, Harri; Alanko, Lauri; Heinonen, Olli J; Korpelainen, Raija; Savonen, Kai; Vasankari, Tommi; Kannas, Lasse; Kujala, Urho M; Aira, Tuula; Villberg, Jari; Parkkari, Jari

    2015-01-01

    Introduction Sports clubs form a potential setting for health promotion, but the research is limited. The aim of the Health Promoting Sports Club (HPSC) study was to elucidate the current health promotion activities of youth sports clubs and coaches, and to investigate the health behaviours and health status of youth participating in sports clubs compared to non-participants. Methods and analysis The study design employs cross-sectional multilevel and multimethod research with aspirations to a prospective cohort study in the next phase. The setting-based variables at sports clubs and coaching levels, and health behaviour variables at the individual level, are investigated using surveys; and total levels of physical activity are assessed using objective accelerometer measurements. Health status variables will be measured by preparticipation screening. The health promotion activity of sports clubs (n=154) is evaluated by club officials (n=313) and coaches (n=281). Coaches and young athletes aged 14–16 (n=759) years evaluate the coaches’ health promotion activity. The survey of the adolescents’ health behaviours consist of two data sets—the first is on their health behaviours and the second is on musculoskeletal complaints and injuries. Data are collected via sports clubs (759 participants) and schools 1650 (665 participants and 983 non-participants). 591 (418 athletes and 173 non-athletes) youth, have already participated in preparticipation screening. Screening consists of detailed personal medical history, electrocardiography, flow-volume spirometry, basic laboratory analyses and health status screening, including posture, muscle balance, and static and dynamic postural control tests, conducted by sports and exercise medicine specialists. Ethics and dissemination The HPSC study is carried out conforming with the declaration of Helsinki. Ethical approval was received from the Ethics Committee of Health Care District of Central Finland. The HPSC study is

  2. Finding a balance: health promotion challenges of military women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agazio, Janice Griffin; Buckley, Kathleen M

    2010-09-01

    In this study, we explored what may determine, or predict, United States military women's health promotion behaviors. Using a descriptive correlational design grounded in Pender's Health Promotion model, 491 military women completed instruments measuring their demographic variables, perception of health, definition of health, self-efficacy, and interpersonal influences to determine the significant factors affecting participation in health promotion activities. The outcome indicated that self-efficacy and interpersonal influences were the most influential in determining health promotion. This research illuminates some of the challenges working women face in meeting health promotion activities and how best to support their ability to participate in healthy behaviors.

  3. Employer and Promoter Perspectives on the Quality of Health Promotion Within the Healthy Workplace Accreditation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tung, Chen-Yin; Yin, Yun-Wen; Liu, Chia-Yun; Chang, Chia-Chen; Zhou, Yi-Ping

    2017-07-01

    To explore the employers' and promoters' perspective of health promotion quality according to the healthy workplace accreditation. We assessed the perspectives of 85 employers and 81 health promoters regarding the quality of health promotion at their workplaces. The method of measurement referenced the European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP) quality criteria. In the large workplaces, the accredited corporation employers had a higher impression (P health promoters from different sized workplaces with or without accreditation (P > 0.05). It seems that employers' perspectives of healthy workplace accreditation surpassed employers from non-accredited workplaces. Specifically, large accredited corporations could share their successful experiences to encourage a more involved workplace in small-medium workplaces.

  4. Researching health promotion

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Platt, Stephen David; Watson, Jonathan

    2000-01-01

    ... the progress towards developing and implementing health promotion interventions that: * * * * are theoretically grounded, socio-culturally appropriate and sustainable involve the redistribution of resources towards those most in need reflect the principles of equity, participation and empowerment incorporate rigorous, methodologically ...

  5. [Agroecology and health promotion in Brazil].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Azevedo, Elaine de; Pelicioni, Maria Cecília Focesi

    2012-04-01

    Research how specialists in health promotion and agroecology understand the concepts in those areas of common guidelines and how the relationship between such concepts is conceived. METHODS. Qualitative research. Fourteen specialists in the two areas were interviewed about the relationship between the agrofood system and health, concepts of agroecology and health promotion, and the relevance of including agroecology in public health training courses and vice-versa. There is little dialogue between the fields of study that were considered similar, food quality being the main interface between the areas. agroecology appeared to be a system of healthy food production, but the study showed other connections: agroecology and empowerment, a spur to autonomy and quality of life, and better socioeconomic conditions for the farmer; agroecology and environmental health; agroecology and community involvement; agroecology, territoriality, and cultural rescue [translator's note: this is a term for measures taken to revitalize or preserve imperiled indigenous cultures]; and agroecology, local foods, and low costs of production. Health promotion already was linked in effect to practices oriented to healthy lifestyles. The specialists appeared favorable toward including knowledge about public health in agroecology and vice-versa. Agroecology and health promotion contribute to one another and are complementary, and bringing them closer together can lead to an enriched discussion about rural health and the concept of public policies that focus on this theme, thereby stimulating actions for improvement and intersectoral practices.

  6. Worksite health promotion programs in college settings

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hill-Mey, Patricia E.; Kumpfer, Karol L.; Merrill, Ray M.; Reel, Justine; Hyatt-Neville, Beverly; Richardson, Glenn E.

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to describe the multifaceted nature and benefits of worksite health promotion programs (WHPPs), with emphasis on the college setting. An assessment of the peer-reviewed literature was conducted of articles published since 2000. Several search engines were accessed and selected key words were used. Most studies examining WHPPs have focused on return on investment and productivity. Research that targets the softer side-benefits of health promotion programs in the workplace is less available. Although the college setting offers some advantages for implementing health promotion programs. They may also have unique challenges due to their large and diverse employee population. There is little research to show the effectiveness and unique challenges of college-based health promotion programs. PMID:25861657

  7. Social deprivation and exposure to health promotion. A study of the distribution of health promotion resources to schools in England.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chivu, Corina M; Reidpath, Daniel D

    2010-08-10

    Area deprivation is a known determinant of health. It is also known that area deprivation is associated with lower impact health promotion. It is less well known, however, whether deprived areas are less responsive to health promotion, or whether they are less exposed. Using data from a national, school-based campaign to promote vaccination against the human papilloma virus (HPV), the relationship between area deprivation and exposure was examined. Taking advantage of a health promotion campaign to provide information to schools about HPV vaccination, a cross sectional study was conducted to examine the relationship between area level, social deprivation, and take-up of (i.e., exposure to) available health promotion material. The sample was 4,750 schools across England, including government maintained and independent schools. The relationship between area deprivation and exposure was examined using bi- and multivariate logistic regression. It was found that schools in the least deprived quintile had 1.32 times the odds of requesting health promotion materials than schools in the most deprived areas (p = .01). This effect was independent of the school size, the type of school, and the geographic region. The relationship between area deprivation and the impact of health promotion may be due, at least in part, to differential levels of exposure. The study was limited in scope, pointing to the need for more research, but also points to potentially important policy implications.

  8. Reliability assessments in qualitative health promotion research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cook, Kay E

    2012-03-01

    This article contributes to the debate about the use of reliability assessments in qualitative research in general, and health promotion research in particular. In this article, I examine the use of reliability assessments in qualitative health promotion research in response to health promotion researchers' commonly held misconception that reliability assessments improve the rigor of qualitative research. All qualitative articles published in the journal Health Promotion International from 2003 to 2009 employing reliability assessments were examined. In total, 31.3% (20/64) articles employed some form of reliability assessment. The use of reliability assessments increased over the study period, ranging from qualitative articles decreased. The articles were then classified into four types of reliability assessments, including the verification of thematic codes, the use of inter-rater reliability statistics, congruence in team coding and congruence in coding across sites. The merits of each type were discussed, with the subsequent discussion focusing on the deductive nature of reliable thematic coding, the limited depth of immediately verifiable data and the usefulness of such studies to health promotion and the advancement of the qualitative paradigm.

  9. [Health education, patient education and health promotion: educational methods and strategies].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sandrin, Brigitte

    2013-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to help public health actors with an interest in health promotion and health care professionals involved in therapeutic education to develop and implement an educational strategy consistent with their vision of health and health care. First, we show that the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and the French Charter for Popular Education share common values. Second, an examination of the career and work of Paulo Freire, of Ira Shor's pedagogical model and of the person-centered approach of Carl Rogers shows how the work of educational practitioners, researchers and theorists can help health professionals to implement a truly "health-promoting" or "therapeutic" educational strategy. The paper identifies a number of problems facing health care professionals who become involved in education without reflecting on the values underlying the pedagogical models they use.

  10. Geographic information systems (GIS) for Health Promotion and Public Health: a review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nykiforuk, Candace I J; Flaman, Laura M

    2011-01-01

    The purpose of this literature review is to identify how geographic information system (GIS) applications have been used in health-related research and to critically examine the issues, strengths, and challenges inherent to those approaches from the lenses of health promotion and public health. Through the review process, conducted in 2007, it is evident that health promotion and public health applications of GIS can be generally categorized into four predominant themes: disease surveillance (n = 227), risk analysis (n = 189), health access and planning (n = 138), and community health profiling (n = 115). This review explores how GIS approaches have been used to inform decision making and discusses the extent to which GIS can be applied to address health promotion and public health questions. The contribution of this literature review will be to generate a broader understanding of how GIS-related methodological techniques and tools developed in other disciplines can be meaningfully applied to applications in public health policy, promotion, and practice.

  11. Health promotion capacity building in South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wills, Jane; Rudolph, Michael

    2010-09-01

    Health promotion in South Africa is in its early stages and while there is some institutional development and capacity building for managers, there has been relative disregard and lack of attention of the wider health promotion workforce who carry out community-based health promotion activities. This article describes one regional education and training programme for health promoters as well as the limited available evidence on the impact of the project on learners and organizations. Marked differences before and after the implementation of the training activities were reported in relation to behaviour change communication and project planning, in addition to self-reported positive change in knowledge, confidence and a high level of participant satisfaction. Investment in individual skills development needs to be accompanied by wider workforce development with organizational/institutional development and recognised competencies frameworks.

  12. Health promoting leadership practices in four Norwegian industries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skarholt, Kari; Blix, Elisabeth H; Sandsund, Mariann; Andersen, Thale K

    2016-12-01

    The aim of this article is to address health promoting leadership; what do leaders actually do to promote health at work? Leadership practice plays a crucial role in the workplace and greatly affects the working environment and working conditions. Through a theoretical and empirical approach, we seek to find characteristics/patterns of health promoting leadership. The definition of health promoting leadership is a democratic and supportive leadership style, where leaders seek to motivate and inspire their employees. The study in this article is based on qualitative research methods. We have investigated and compared leadership practice in four different organizations/industries in Norway: construction, oil and gas, health care and cleaning. These organizations and professions are quite different, and thus leadership must be understood and developed within its context. However, we found some generic characteristics of health promoting leadership: hands-on, accessible, supportive, inclusive and democratic. Current literature only rarely addresses how leadership affects health promotion at work. Consequently, more knowledge is needed about how leaders really succeed in creating healthy workplaces and healthy employees. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Midwives' perceptions and experiences of health promotion practice in Ghana.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Owusu-Addo, Ebenezer

    2015-09-01

    This research explores midwives' perceptions and experiences of health promotion practice in Ghana. A qualitative descriptive exploratory design was used in order to gain better insight into midwives' perceptions and experiences of health promotion practice. A total of 21 midwives took part in the study. Data were collected by individual in-depth semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the transcript. Five dominant themes emerged from the interview transcripts, namely: health promotion as education, health promotion activities, the value of health promotion, client participation, and midwives' barriers to promoting health. Although midwives underscored the importance of health promotion to their work, their reports indicated that, in practice, midwives mostly delivered health education and behaviour change communication rather than health promotion. The midwives expressed the view that by way of their close association with women, they were in a better position to influence women's health. Health promotion activities engaged by the midwives included weight management, healthy eating, infection prevention, personal hygiene, counselling on family planning, and screening for hazardous and harmful substance use such as alcohol and smoking. All the midwives mentioned that clients participated in their health promotion activities. Factors that were identified by the midwives to enhance client participation were trust, attitude of the midwife, building rapport, creating enabling environment, listening and paying attention to clients and using simple language. The barriers to health promotion identified by the midwives included time, stress, culture, lack of training and inadequate health educational materials. Midwives in this study had limited knowledge about health promotion, yet could play a significant role in influencing health; thus there is a need for on-going in-service training for midwives to focus on health promotion. © The Author

  14. Social deprivation and exposure to health promotion. A study of the distribution of health promotion resources to schools in England

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Reidpath Daniel D

    2010-08-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Area deprivation is a known determinant of health. It is also known that area deprivation is associated with lower impact health promotion. It is less well known, however, whether deprived areas are less responsive to health promotion, or whether they are less exposed. Using data from a national, school-based campaign to promote vaccination against the human papilloma virus (HPV, the relationship between area deprivation and exposure was examined. Methods Taking advantage of a health promotion campaign to provide information to schools about HPV vaccination, a cross sectional study was conducted to examine the relationship between area level, social deprivation, and take-up of (i.e., exposure to available health promotion material. The sample was 4,750 schools across England, including government maintained and independent schools. The relationship between area deprivation and exposure was examined using bi- and multivariate logistic regression. Results It was found that schools in the least deprived quintile had 1.32 times the odds of requesting health promotion materials than schools in the most deprived areas (p = .01. This effect was independent of the school size, the type of school, and the geographic region. Conclusion The relationship between area deprivation and the impact of health promotion may be due, at least in part, to differential levels of exposure. The study was limited in scope, pointing to the need for more research, but also points to potentially important policy implications.

  15. Health promotion funding, workforce recruitment and turnover in New Zealand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lovell, Sarah A; Egan, Richard; Robertson, Lindsay; Hicks, Karen

    2015-06-01

    Almost a decade on from the New Zealand Primary Health Care Strategy and amidst concerns about funding of health promotion, we undertook a nationwide survey of health promotion providers. To identify trends in recruitment and turnover in New Zealand's health promotion workforce. Surveys were sent to 160 organisations identified as having a health focus and employing one or more health promoter. Respondents, primarily health promotion managers, were asked to report budget, retention and hiring data for 1 July 2009 through 1 July 2010. Responses were received from 53% of organisations. Among respondents, government funding for health promotion declined by 6.3% in the year ended July 2010 and health promoter positions decreased by 7.5% (equalling 36.6 full-time equivalent positions). Among staff who left their roles, 79% also left the field of health promotion. Forty-two organisations (52%) reported employing health promoters on time-limited contracts of three years or less; this employment arrangement was particularly common in public health units (80%) and primary health organisations (57%). Among new hires, 46% (n=55) were identified as Maori. Low retention of health promoters may reflect the common use of limited-term employment contracts, which allow employers to alter staffing levels as funding changes. More than half the surveyed primary health organisations reported using fixed-term employment contracts. This may compromise health promotion understanding, culture and institutional memory in these organisations. New Zealand's commitment to addressing ethnic inequalities in health outcomes was evident in the high proportion of Maori who made up new hires.

  16. Review of mental health promotion interventions in schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Reilly, Michelle; Svirydzenka, Nadzeya; Adams, Sarah; Dogra, Nisha

    2018-05-11

    The prevalence of mental disorders amongst children and adolescents is an increasing global problem. Schools have been positioned at the forefront of promoting positive mental health and well-being through implementing evidence-based interventions. The aim of this paper is to review current evidence-based research of mental health promotion interventions in schools and examine the reported effectiveness to identify those interventions that can support current policy and ensure that limited resources are appropriately used. The authors reviewed the current state of knowledge on school mental health promotion interventions globally. Two major databases, SCOPUS and ERIC were utilised to capture the social science, health, arts and humanities, and education literature. Initial searches identified 25 articles reporting on mental health promotion interventions in schools. When mapped against the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 10 studies were included and explored. Three of these were qualitative and seven were quantitative. A range of interventions have been tested for mental health promotion in schools in the last decade with variable degrees of success. Our review demonstrates that there is still a need for a stronger and broader evidence base in the field of mental health promotion, which should focus on both universal work and targeted approaches to fully address mental health in our young populations.

  17. Psychosocial factors and mental health in cancer patients: opportunities for health promotion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Boer, Henk; Elving, Wim; Seydel, Erwin

    1998-01-01

    A first step in planning health promotion with respect to mental health is analysing the factors that influence mental health. Diagnosis of the relevant variables may contribute to the design of effective health promotion programmes. In this paper the relationship between psychosocial factors and

  18. [Economic analysis of health promotion conducted in an enterprise].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Zhi-chun; Yang, Xue-ying; Kang, Wen-long; Wang, Wen-jing

    2013-12-01

    To take intervention measures for health promotion after investigation of occupational health needs among employees, to analyze the economic input and output of the intervention measures, and to analyze the feasibility of health promotion through cost-effectiveness analysis and cost-benefit analysis. A survey was conducted in an enterprise using a self-designed questionnaire to investigate the general information on enterprise, occupational history of each employee, awareness of occupational health knowledge, awareness of general health knowledge, awareness of hypertension, acquired immune deficiency syndrome, etc., lifestyle, and needs for health knowledge. Intervention measures were taken in the enterprise according to the investigation results, and then investigation and economic analysis of investment in health promotion, economic benefit, and absence of employees were performed using the questionnaire. After intervention, the awareness rate of the Code of Occupational Disease Prevention increased from 4.5% to 15.3%, the awareness rate of the definition of occupational diseases increased from 4.5% to 73.5%, and the awareness rate of the prevention and control measures for occupational diseases increased from 38.4% to 85.8%. Before intervention, 25.4%of all employees thought salt intake needed to be reduced, and this proportion increased to 92.5% after intervention. After the control strategy for health promotion, the benefit of health promotion that results from avoiding absence of employees and preventing occupational diseases was more than ten times the investment in health promotion, suggesting a significant benefit of health promotion conducted in the enterprise. The return on health promotion's investment for enterprise is worth. Health promotion really not just contribute to improve hygienic knowledge but increase the economic benefit.

  19. Health Promotion Education in India: Present Landscape and Future Vistas

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pati, Sanghamitra; Sharma, Kavya; Zodpey, Sanjay; Chauhan, Kavita; Dobe, Madhumita

    2012-01-01

    Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over and to improve their health’. This stream of public health is emerging as a critical domain within the realm of disease prevention. Over the last two decades, the curative model of health care has begun a subtle shift towards a participatory model of health promotion emphasizing upon practice of healthy lifestyles and creating healthy communities. Health promotion encompasses five key strategies with health communication and education as its cornerstones. Present study is an attempt to explore the current situation of health promotion education in India with an aim to provide a background for capacity building in health promotion. A systematic predefined method was adopted to collect and compile information on existing academic programs pertaining to health promotion and health education/communication. Results of the study reveal that currently health promotion education in India is fragmented and not uniform across institutes. It is yet to be recognized as a critical domain of public health education. Mostly teaching of health promotion is limited to health education and communication. There is a need for designing programmes for short-term and long-term capacity building, with focus on innovative methods and approaches. Public health institutes and associations could play a proactive role in designing and imparting academic programs on health promotion. Enhancing alliances with various institutes involved in health promotion activities and networking among public health and medical institutes as well as health services delivery systems would be more productive. PMID:22980352

  20. Entrepreneurial Modes of Teaching in Health Promoting Interventions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Christensen, Marie Ernst; Thorø, Karsten

    2014-01-01

    , Department of Physiotherapy, Department of Nutrition and Health, VIA University College, Aarhus, Denmark. Background Previous studies have shown that the workplace is an ideal arena for health promotion interventions. Most studies focus on the ways in which health promoting interventions influence the health...

  1. Toward a post-Charter health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Labonté, Ronald

    2011-12-01

    The past 25 years have seen enormous shifts in the environmental, political, economic and social landscapes that condition people's abilities to be healthy. Climate change is now a reality. China, India, Brazil and other 'developing' countries are emerging as new axes of political and economic power. Global capitalism has become increasingly predatory and crisis ridden, a result of unregulated and irresponsible greed of unimaginable scale. The elite response has been the increased erosion of the health and other social protection policies of redistribution that characterized the first-world run-up to the Ottawa Charter. These new realities challenge health promoters in ways unforeseen a quarter century ago. It is imperative that local determinants of health, to which health promoters give their attention, be traced to broader, even global levels of determinants. Support for groups acting at these levels should become a fundamental practice tenet. So, too, should advocacy for the social state, in which progressive taxation and hefty social investment blunt the health inequalities created by unfettered markets. As environmental and economic insecurities and inequalities increase in many of the world's countries, so does the risk of xenophobia and conflict. The roots of racism are complex; but weeding them out becomes another health promotion practice of the new millennium. There are some hopeful signs of health promoting political change, much of it emanating now from countries in the global South; but the threat of a return to health behaviourism in the face of the new global pandemic of chronic disease is real and must be confronted.

  2. Open science initiatives: challenges for public health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Holzmeyer, Cheryl

    2018-03-07

    While academic open access, open data and open science initiatives have proliferated in recent years, facilitating new research resources for health promotion, open initiatives are not one-size-fits-all. Health research particularly illustrates how open initiatives may serve various interests and ends. Open initiatives not only foster new pathways of research access; they also discipline research in new ways, especially when associated with new regimes of research use and peer review, while participating in innovation ecosystems that often perpetuate existing systemic biases toward commercial biomedicine. Currently, many open initiatives are more oriented toward biomedical research paradigms than paradigms associated with public health promotion, such as social determinants of health research. Moreover, open initiatives too often dovetail with, rather than challenge, neoliberal policy paradigms. Such initiatives are unlikely to transform existing health research landscapes and redress health inequities. In this context, attunement to social determinants of health research and community-based local knowledge is vital to orient open initiatives toward public health promotion and health equity. Such an approach calls for discourses, norms and innovation ecosystems that contest neoliberal policy frameworks and foster upstream interventions to promote health, beyond biomedical paradigms. This analysis highlights challenges and possibilities for leveraging open initiatives on behalf of a wider range of health research stakeholders, while emphasizing public health promotion, health equity and social justice as benchmarks of transformation.

  3. Health Promotion Education Politics and Schooling: The Greek Case

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ifanti, Amalia A.; Argyriou, Andreas A.; Kalofonos, Haralabos P.

    2011-01-01

    This paper seeks to explore the politics of health promotion as a continual process of public health globally and locally. Our main objective in this study is to present the health promotion education initiatives taken by the World Health Organization (WHO) at an international level and also to examine the politics of health promotion in Greece,…

  4. Television and the promotion of mental health

    OpenAIRE

    Milošević Ljiljana

    2011-01-01

    Current media campaigns, realized within national campaigns and actions on mental health prevention and promotion, are considered in this paper, in the context of expert public relation, as well as the whole society, towards mental health. Mental health promotion is determined as a range of activities by which individuals, community and society are being enabled to take control over mental health determinants and to improve it, but also as an action for improvement of mental health posi...

  5. Integrating physical and mental health promotion strategies

    OpenAIRE

    Palma, Jessica Anne

    2010-01-01

    While health is defined as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being’, physical and mental health have traditionally been separated. This paper explores the question: How can physical and mental health promotion strategies be integrated and addressed simultaneously? A literature review on why physical and mental health are separated and why these two areas need to be integrated was conducted. A conceptual framework for how to integrate physical and mental health promotion st...

  6. Whole-school mental health promotion in Australia

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Phillip T. Slee

    2011-11-01

    Full Text Available Although there is increasing recognition internationally of the significance of social and emotional health and wellbeing for the healthy development of young people, the levels of support that governments provide for mental health policy and programme initiatives vary widely. In this paper, consideration is given to Australia's approach to mental health promotion from early years to secondary school, including specific reference to the KidsMatter Primary mental health promotion, prevention and early intervention initiative. Although it is now well established that schools provide important settings for the promotion of mental health initiatives, there are significant challenges faced in effectively implementing and maintaining the delivery of evidence-based practice in school settings, including concerns about quality assurance in processes of implementation, translation, dissemination and evaluation.

  7. Virtual worlds: taking health promotion to new levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Annang, Lucy; Muilenburg, Jessica L; Strasser, Sheryl M

    2010-01-01

    Health promotion strategies continue to evolve, with interventions using e-mail, text messaging, and Web sites becoming commonplace. The use of online virtual worlds is a less familiar venue for health promotion but offers numerous possibilities for wired citizens with health issues. The authors discuss three examples of virtual worlds--the River City Project, Whyville, and Second Life--and how health promotion strategies can be implemented in virtual worlds. They also address several challenges associated with implementing health interventions in virtual worlds, including questions of ethics, diffusion of health knowledge and logistics of intervening outside of the real world.

  8. The integration of health promotion and social marketing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griffiths, Jenny; Blair-Stevens, Clive; Parish, Richard

    2009-11-01

    The urgency and scale of contemporary health challenges are enormous. The review It's Our Health! published in 2006 found that social marketing had considerable potential to increase the effectiveness of health improvement work, with the intention that it should build on core health promotion principles and not replace them. Health promotion has, however, lost its focus and identity in recent years in some parts of the country, partly due to repeated organizational change, and it has suffered from a lack of proactive workforce development. Over the last year, the National Social Marketing Centre (NSMC) and the Shaping the Future of Health Promotion Collaboration (StFofHP), hosted by the Royal Society for Public Health (RSPH), have explored the relationship between social marketing and health promotion and led a debate with stakeholders. A Delphi consultation with an expert panel drawn from specialists and strategic leaders in several settings, and the academic community, is currently under way and will report in the autumn. Findings so far emphasize the wide variation in understanding and interpretation of the two skill sets, much confusion about definitions and what added value both health promotion and social marketing bring to health improvement. Some of the distinctive contributions of both are described in this paper.

  9. Workforce insights on how health promotion is practised in an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFarlane, Kathryn; Devine, Sue; Judd, Jenni; Nichols, Nina; Watt, Kerrianne

    2017-07-01

    Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Services deliver holistic and culturally appropriate primary health care to over 150 communities in Australia. Health promotion is a core function of comprehensive primary health care; however, little has been published on what enables or challenges health promotion practice in an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service. Apunipima Cape York Health Council (Apunipima) delivers primary health care to 11 remote north Queensland communities. The workforce includes medical, allied health, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander health workers and health practitioners and corporate support staff. This study aimed to identify current health promotion practices at Apunipima, and the enablers and challenges identified by the workforce, which support or hinder health promotion practice. Sixty-three staff from across this workforce completed an online survey in February 2015 (42% response rate). Key findings were: (1) health promotion is delivered across a continuum of one-on-one approaches through to population advocacy and policy change efforts; (2) the attitude towards health promotion was very positive; and (3) health promotion capacity can be enhanced at both individual and organisational levels. Workforce insights have identified areas for continued support and areas that, now identified, can be targeted to strengthen the health promotion capacity of Apunipima.

  10. Promoting LGBT health and wellbeing through inclusive policy development.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mulé, Nick J; Ross, Lori E; Deeprose, Barry; Jackson, Beth E; Daley, Andrea; Travers, Anna; Moore, Dick

    2009-05-15

    In this paper we argue the importance of including gender and sexually diverse populations in policy development towards a more inclusive form of health promotion. We emphasize the need to address the broad health and wellbeing issues and needs of LGBT people, rather than exclusively using an illness-based focus such as HIV/AIDS. We critically examine the limitations of population health, the social determinants of health (SDOH), and public health goals, in light of the lack of recognition of gender and sexually diverse individuals and communities. By first acknowledging the unique health and social care needs of LGBT people, then employing anti-oppressive, critical and intersectional analyses we offer recommendations for how to make population health perspectives, public health goals, and the design of public health promotion policy more inclusive of gender and sexual diversity. In health promotion research and practice, representation matters. It matters which populations are being targeted for health promotion interventions and for what purposes, and it matters which populations are being overlooked. In Canada, current health promotion policy is informed by population health and social determinants of health (SDOH) perspectives, as demonstrated by Public Health Goals for Canada. With Canada's multicultural makeup comes the challenge of ensuring that diverse populations are equitably and effectively recognized in public health and health promotion policy.

  11. Cardiovascular health promotion in aging women: validating a population health approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sawatzky, Jo-Ann V; Naimark, Barbara J

    2005-01-01

    Although cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in North American women, most cardiovascular research has focused on men. In addition, while there has been a recent trend toward population health promotion (PHP) and a consequent focus on the broad determinants of health, there is still a dearth of research evidence related to the promotion of cardiovascular health within this context. The purpose of this study was to explore and describe the interrelationships between the determinants of health and individual cardiovascular health/risk behaviors in healthy women, within the context of a framework for PHP. A comprehensive inventory of factors affecting the cardiovascular health of women was operationalized in a survey questionnaire, the Cardiovascular Health Promotion Profile. Physical measures were also taken on each participant (n = 206). The multivariate analyses support significant interrelationships between the population health determinants and multiple individual cardiovascular health/risk behaviors in this cohort (p PHP framework, is central to building on the body of knowledge in this area.

  12. Effect of school eye health promotion on children's eye health literacy in Vietnam.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paudel, Prakash; Yen, Phung Thi; Kovai, Vilas; Naduvilath, Thomas; Ho, Suit May; Giap, Nguyen Viet; Holden, Brien A

    2017-10-06

    Health promotion intervention in schools is a useful strategy to improve students' health awareness. The purpose of this study was to assess the effect of eye health promotion interventions on eye health literacy in school children in Vietnam. A piloted questionnaire was administered to 300 children from five secondary schools in Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Vietnam at baseline and re-administered after the eye health promotion interventions. McNemar chi-square and logistic regression were used for statistical analysis. A total of 300 children aged 12-15 years (mean, 13.3 ± 1.3 years; 60% female) participated in the baseline survey. The participation rate in the post-health promotion survey was 94.7%. After the health promotion interventions, number of children who had correct eye health knowledge increased by 10-20% (60-75% to 70-95%), more children reported having had an eye examination (63.3% to 84.7%; p promotion interventions significantly improve eye health knowledge, attitudes and practices of school children. Additionally, participation of parents and teachers as change agents may further improve children's health literacy. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Evidence, ethics, and values: a framework for health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carter, Stacy M; Rychetnik, Lucie; Lloyd, Beverley; Kerridge, Ian H; Baur, Louise; Bauman, Adrian; Hooker, Claire; Zask, Avigdor

    2011-03-01

    We propose a new approach to guide health promotion practice. Health promotion should draw on 2 related systems of reasoning: an evidential system and an ethical system. Further, there are concepts, values, and procedures inherent in both health promotion evidence and ethics, and these should be made explicit. We illustrate our approach with the exemplar of intervention in weight, and use a specific mass-media campaign to show the real-world dangers of intervening with insufficient attention to ethics and evidence. Both researchers and health promotion practitioners should work to build the capacities required for evidential and ethical deliberation in the health promotion profession.

  14. A Guide for Understanding Health Education and Promotion Programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Richard W; Nahar, Vinayak K

    2018-03-01

    Planning, Implementing & Evaluating Health Promotion Programs: A Primer is a versatile and comprehensive resource on the theoretical and practical underpinnings of successful health promotion programs. The requirements for effective health promotion program development are presented with frequent use of practical planning examples, pedagogical devices, and expert rationale. Ideal for undergraduate and graduate students in health education, promotion, and planning courses, this 15-chapter textbook is organized in a manner that specifically addresses the responsibilities and competencies required of health education specialists as published in the Health Education Specialist Practice Analysis of 2015. The authors of this textbook are leaders in the field and provide readers with the skills necessary to carry out the full process of health promotion program execution, while also offering direct preparation for CHES and MCHES licensing exams.

  15. Evaluations of health promoting schools: a review of nine studies.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mũkoma, Wanjirũ; Flisher, Alan J

    2004-09-01

    The concept of 'health promoting schools' has been embraced internationally as an effective way of promoting the health of children, adolescents, and the wider school community. It is only recently that attempts have been made to evaluate health promoting schools. This paper reviews evaluations of health promoting schools and draws useful evaluation methodology lessons. The review is confined to school-based interventions that are founded explicitly on the concept of the health promoting school and employ the concept beyond one school domain. We included nine evaluations in this review. Seven of these were published in the peer reviewed scientific literature. Two were unpublished reports. One study was a randomized controlled trial, while a quasi-experimental research design with comparison schools was used in three studies. With three exceptions, combinations of quantitative and qualitative data were collected. There was evidence that the health promoting school has some influence on various domains of health for the school community. It is also possible to integrate health promotion into the school curriculum and policies successfully. However, the evaluation of health promoting schools is complex. We discuss some of the methodological challenges of evaluating health promoting schools and make suggestions for improving future evaluations.

  16. Workplace health promotion in the context of public health

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Giuseppe M. Masanotti

    2010-12-01

    Full Text Available

    In modern societies, work is the source of most individual, corporate and community wealth. The level of each society’s health is therefore particularly vulnerable to disruption caused by employee illness. Today healthy workplaces are one of the most important determinants of health. However, public health has tended to completely ignore health in the workplace and occupational medicine has tended to ignore it in part. This article refers to the Italian and European context and, through a review of international recommendations, research and direct field experiences, presents workplace health promotion as an important tool in the field of public health.

    Through the years, several initiatives have been tested. One of the platforms that has demonstrated to be cost effective is based on the principles included in the Ottawa Charter which, when applied to the workplace, define workplace health promotion. In the last twelve years, the European Commission has recognized the workplace as a key determinant of health and has outlined a methodology of workplace health promotion as defined in the Luxemburg Declaration. The basis of this methodology is planning. Without correct strategy and policy development it will not be possible to create a sustainable society. The enforcement of Lisbon treaty seems to be a substantial step forward for Europe.

  17. Promoting Health, Producing Moralisms?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brogaard Kristensen, Dorthe; Askegaard, Søren; Hauge Jeppesen, Lene

    2010-01-01

    Based on an ethnographic study of 25 Danish consumers, the aim of this paper is threefold. Firstly, based on a critique of traditional approaches to consumer health campaigning, it argues for a more socially diversified approach for understanding consumer construction and pursuit of healthy...... behaviour. Secondly, it presents a typology of discourses that are employed by consumers in constructing their (health oriented) food consumption. Thirdly, it addresses certain social and moral dilemmas inherent in consumer health promotional campaigns....

  18. Prevalence of health promotion programs in primary health care units in Brazil

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ramos, Luiz Roberto; Malta, Deborah Carvalho; Gomes, Grace Angélica de Oliveira; Bracco, Mário M; Florindo, Alex Antonio; Mielke, Gregore Iven; Parra, Diana C; Lobelo, Felipe; Simoes, Eduardo J; Hallal, Pedro Curi

    2014-01-01

    OBJECTIVE Assessment of prevalence of health promotion programs in primary health care units within Brazil’s health system. METHODS We conducted a cross-sectional descriptive study based on telephone interviews with managers of primary care units. Of a total 42,486 primary health care units listed in the Brazilian Unified Health System directory, 1,600 were randomly selected. Care units from all five Brazilian macroregions were selected proportionally to the number of units in each region. We examined whether any of the following five different types of health promotion programs was available: physical activity; smoking cessation; cessation of alcohol and illicit drug use; healthy eating; and healthy environment. Information was collected on the kinds of activities offered and the status of implementation of the Family Health Strategy at the units. RESULTS Most units (62.0%) reported having in place three health promotion programs or more and only 3.0% reported having none. Healthy environment (77.0%) and healthy eating (72.0%) programs were the most widely available; smoking and alcohol use cessation were reported in 54.0% and 42.0% of the units. Physical activity programs were offered in less than 40.0% of the units and their availability varied greatly nationwide, from 51.0% in the Southeast to as low as 21.0% in the North. The Family Health Strategy was implemented in most units (61.0%); however, they did not offer more health promotion programs than others did. CONCLUSIONS Our study showed that most primary care units have in place health promotion programs. Public policies are needed to strengthen primary care services and improve training of health providers to meet the goals of the agenda for health promotion in Brazil. PMID:25372175

  19. Oral health promotion at worksites

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Schou, L

    1989-01-01

    Many workplace-based health promotion programmes have been reported but only a few include or focus specifically on oral health. Although certain obstacles to oral health promotion in the workplace exist from the management side, from the dental profession and from the employees, these seem...... to be of a scale that can easily be overcome: moreover, numerous potential benefits exist. From the employer's point of view, the main arguments in favour are reduced health care costs, increased productivity and reduced absenteeism. The benefits to the dental profession are possible increases in utilization...... of services and less restraint from fee payment structures and physical environments. The immediate benefit to the employees is easy access to dental services. In addition, work-related dental hazards can be compensated for or prevented and screening activities can be more easily organized. The literature...

  20. Best practices for online Canadian prenatal health promotion: A public health approach.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chedid, Rebecca A; Terrell, Rowan M; Phillips, Karen P

    2017-11-04

    Prenatal health promotion provides information regarding pregnancy risks, protective behaviours and clinical and community resources. Typically, women obtain prenatal health information from health care providers, prenatal classes, peers/family, media and increasingly, Internet sites and mobile apps. Barriers to prenatal health promotion and related services include language, rural/remote location, citizenship and disability. Online public health platforms represent the capacity to reach underserved women and can be customised to address the needs of a heterogeneous population of pregnant women. Canadian government-hosted websites and online prenatal e-classes were evaluated to determine if accessible, inclusive, comprehensive and evidence-based prenatal health promotion was provided. Using a multijurisdictional approach, federal, provincial/territorial, municipal and public health region-hosted websites, along with affiliated prenatal e-classes, were evaluated based on four criteria: comprehensiveness, evidence-based information, accessibility and inclusivity. Online prenatal e-classes, federal, provincial/territorial and public health-hosted websites generally provided comprehensive and evidence-based promotion of essential prenatal topics, in contrast to municipal-hosted websites which provided very limited prenatal health information. Gaps in online prenatal health promotion were identified as lack of French and multilingual content, targeted information and representations of Indigenous peoples, immigrants and women with disabilities. Canadian online prenatal health promotion is broadly comprehensive and evidence-based, but fails to address the needs of non-Anglophones and represent the diverse population of Canadian pregnant women. It is recommended that agencies enhance the organisation of website pregnancy portals/pages and collaborate with other jurisdictions and community groups to ensure linguistically accessible, culturally-competent and inclusive

  1. [Attitudes of occupational medicine nurses towards workers' health promotion].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puchalski, Krzysztof; Korzeniowska, Elzbieta; Iwanowicz, Eliza

    2007-01-01

    The paper outlines the outcomes of a survey aimed at identifying the attitudes of occupational medicine nurses towards health promotion. The survey was carried out on a random sample of 277 nurses. Almost all respondents think that their occupational group should undertake health promotion activities. However, half of them is convinced that health promotion is only a new name for health education and medical prophylaxis. The vast majority of nurses think that under health promotion programs they should mostly deal with individual health education of patients and encourage them to adopt healthy lifestyles, and they usually undertake this kind of activities. A large number of respondents are not willing to be involved in the organization, marketing, and evaluation of health promotion projects. There is a great need to intensify measures to motivate nurses to play the roles that are neglected by them, such as looking for new professional groups to undertake activities stimulating health promotion in companies, and developing new institutional and systemic support conducive to making progress in such processes.

  2. Health promoting Behaviors Among Adolescents: A Cross-sectional Study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Musavian, Azra Sadat; Pasha, Afsaneh; Rahebi, Seyyedeh-Marzeyeh; Atrkar Roushan, Zahra; Ghanbari, Atefeh

    2014-04-01

    Health maintenance and promotion are the fundamental prerequisites to community development. The best time for establishing healthy lifestyle habits is during adolescence. Due to importance of health promotion behaviors in adolescents, this study was conducted to investigate health-promoting behaviors and its associated factors among high school students in Rasht, Iran. A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted on 424 students during the first semester of the year 2012. We employed the multistage sampling design to recruit from private and public high schools in Rasht, Iran. The data collection instrument was a self-report questionnaire consisting of two parts. The first part of instrument was consisted of demographic questionnaire and the second part was adolescent health promotion scale (AHPS) questionnaire. AHPS questionnaire was consisted of six dimensions (nutrition, social support, health responsibility, life appreciation, physical activity, and stress management) to measure health promoting lifestyles. Statistical analysis was performed by SPSS 16 software employing ANOVA (analysis of variance) test, t-test, Mann-Whitney, and the Kruskal-Wallis. The score of total Adolescent Health Promotion Scale were 3.58 ± 0.52 (possible range was 1-5). The highest score was in life appreciation dimension (3.99 ± 0.068) and the lowest score was in health responsibility dimension. Moreover, Significant associations were found between the adolescent health promotion Scale with age (P school grade (P health instructors, schoolteachers, and families must pay more attention to these students. Moreover, as most of lifelong healthy and unhealthy lifestyle habits are established during adolescence, developing effective health promotion and disease prevention strategies for adolescents seems crucial.

  3. Undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards smoking health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCann, Terence V; Clark, Eileen; Rowe, Kathy

    2005-09-01

    Despite the fact that nurses have a key role in health promotion, many continue to smoke at much the same rate as the general population. This paper investigates the influence of smoking status, gender, age, stage of education, and smoking duration on undergraduate nursing students' attitudes towards smoking health promotion. The study took place in one university's School of Nursing in Victoria, Australia. Respondents completed the Smoking and Health Promotion instrument. Researchers obtained ethics approval prior to commencing the study. Smoking status was the main factor that affected respondents' attitudes towards smoking health promotion, with age and education stage having a minor effect, and gender and smoking duration not significant. Nurses have an important role in modeling non-smoking behaviors for patients. There needs to be consistency between personal and professional beliefs for nurses to properly engage in smoking health promotion. The findings have implications for undergraduate nursing education curricula, nursing practice and research, and these are discussed.

  4. A multilevel model of organizational health culture and the effectiveness of health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Yea-Wen; Lin, Yueh-Ysen

    2014-01-01

    Organizational health culture is a health-oriented core characteristic of the organization that is shared by all members. It is effective in regulating health-related behavior for employees and could therefore influence the effectiveness of health promotion efforts among organizations and employees. This study applied a multilevel analysis to verify the effects of organizational health culture on the organizational and individual effectiveness of health promotion. At the organizational level, we investigated the effect of organizational health culture on the organizational effectiveness of health promotion. At the individual level, we adopted a cross-level analysis to determine if organizational health culture affects employee effectiveness through the mediating effect of employee health behavior. The study setting consisted of the workplaces of various enterprises. We selected 54 enterprises in Taiwan and surveyed 20 full-time employees from each organization, for a total sample of 1011 employees. We developed the Organizational Health Culture Scale to measure employee perceptions and aggregated the individual data to formulate organization-level data. Organizational effectiveness of health promotion included four dimensions: planning effectiveness, production, outcome, and quality, which were measured by scale or objective indicators. The Health Promotion Lifestyle Scale was adopted for the measurement of health behavior. Employee effectiveness was measured subjectively in three dimensions: self-evaluated performance, altruism, and happiness. Following the calculation of descriptive statistics, hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to test the multilevel hypotheses. Organizational health culture had a significant effect on the planning effectiveness (β = .356, p production (β = .359, p promotion. In addition, results of cross-level moderating effect analysis by HLM demonstrated that the effects of organizational health culture on three dimensions of

  5. Health promotion in primary and secondary schools in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nabe-Nielsen, Kirsten; Krølner, Rikke; Mortensen, Laust Hvas

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Schools are important arenas for interventions among children as health promoting initiatives in childhood is expected to have substantial influence on health and well-being in adulthood. In countries with compulsory school attention, all children could potentially benefit from health...... promotion at the school level regardless of socioeconomic status or other background factors. The first aim was to elucidate time trends in the number and types of school health promoting activities by describing the number and type of health promoting activities in primary and secondary schools in Denmark....... The second aim was to investigate which characteristics of schools and students that are associated with participation in many (≥3) versus few (0-2) health promoting activities during the preceding 2-3 years. METHODS: We used cross-sectional data from the 2006- and 2010-survey of the Health Behaviour...

  6. Marketing health promotion: hitting or missing the target in occupational health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fontana, S A

    1993-10-01

    1. Occupational health nurses can use marketing strategies to plan, offer, and manage health promotion programs; and to conduct research aimed at better understanding the health needs of workers. 2. By applying a social marketing orientation to health promotion planning, occupational health nurses can tailor programs to fit employees' needs, and deliver health messages that are readily understandable to worker groups. 3. A priority in implementing any occupational health program or service is learning about the needs, desires, and health habits of employees. 4. Greater benefits to employee health may occur by targeting change in structures and systems at the workplace rather than solely focusing on lifestyle issues.

  7. Health Promotion and School Health: the Health Visiting Role in Greece

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Venetia Notara

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve their health. Schools intend to help pupils acquire the knowledge and develop the skills theyneed to participate fully in adult life. School is regarded as constituting a very important arena for health education among children and young people and furthermore, it is seen as an important context for health promotion, mainly because it reaches a large proportion of the population for many years. A large body of evidence strongly support the fact that education and health are two concepts purely interdependent in many ways and children cannot make the most of educational opportunities if their health is impaired. One of the core elements of Health Visiting profession should be safeguarding children by conducting school visits and implement screening tests, health education programmes and school health programmes in general. Some of the best opportunities for positively influencing the health of young people and preventing the initiation of the health risk behaviors are found in the school setting.Conclusions: A whole school approach and community development work can be particularly effective in building the health capacity of communities.

  8. Employer and Promoter Perspectives on the Quality of Health Promotion Within the Healthy Workplace Accreditation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tung, Chen-Yin; Yin, Yun-Wen; Liu, Chia-Yun; Chang, Chia-Chen; Zhou, Yi-Ping

    2017-01-01

    Objectives: To explore the employers’ and promoters’ perspective of health promotion quality according to the healthy workplace accreditation. Methods: We assessed the perspectives of 85 employers and 81 health promoters regarding the quality of health promotion at their workplaces. The method of measurement referenced the European Network for Workplace Health Promotion (ENWHP) quality criteria. Results: In the large workplaces, the accredited corporation employers had a higher impression (P workplace employers had a slightly higher perspective than non-accredited ones. Nevertheless, there were no differences between the perspectives of health promoters from different sized workplaces with or without accreditation (P > 0.05). Conclusions: It seems that employers’ perspectives of healthy workplace accreditation surpassed employers from non-accredited workplaces. Specifically, large accredited corporations could share their successful experiences to encourage a more involved workplace in small–medium workplaces. PMID:28691998

  9. Gender-transformative health promotion for women: a framework for action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pederson, Ann; Greaves, Lorraine; Poole, Nancy

    2015-03-01

    Gender inequity is a pervasive global challenge to health equity. Health promotion, as a field, has paid only limited attention to gender inequity to date, but could be an active agent of change if gender equity became an explicit goal of health promotion research, policy and programmes. As an aspect of gendered health systems, health promotion interventions may maintain, exacerbate or reduce gender-related health inequities, depending upon the degree and quality of gender-responsiveness within the programme or policy. This article introduces a framework for gender-transformative health promotion that builds on understanding gender as a determinant of health and outlines a continuum of actions to address gender and health. Gender-transformative health promotion interventions could play a significant role in improving the lives of millions of girls and women worldwide. Gender-related principles of action are identified that extend the core principles of health promotion but reflect the significance of attending to gender in the development and use of evidence, engagement of stakeholders and selection of interventions. We illustrate the framework with examples from a range of women's health promotion activities, including cardiovascular disease prevention, tobacco control, and alcohol use. The literature suggests that gender-responsiveness will enhance the acceptance, relevance and effectiveness of health promotion interventions. By moving beyond responsiveness to transformation, gender-transformative health promotion could enhance both health and social outcomes for large numbers of women and men, girls and boys. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  10. Concepts in health promotion: the notion of relativism.

    Science.gov (United States)

    de Leeuw, E

    1989-01-01

    'Health promotion' is a new and powerful concept. By some professionals in the field as well as by actors in the policy making spheres, though, the notion may be received with considerable scepticism. We have attributed this scepticism, as well as barriers to include notions of health promotion in day-to-day work, to a lack of knowledge of essential concepts in the health promotion context. In this article we first explore the quintessential nature of 'health' (a capacity of people, rather than an end product of medical care) before we set out to analyze some crucial components of health promotion: integral-ness, intersectorality, holism, and ecology. Integral intervention mixes appear to have synergetic, and therefore cost-effective, results. An intersectoral approach will be necessary to address all determinants of health in an adequate way. Alas, neither integral, nor intersectoral health programs have been documented in depth. The notions of holism and ecology seem to suffer from obscurantism and esoteric elitism, though commendable in their scope. Here, we introduce 'relativism' to combine various valuable approaches into one more comprehensive scheme. Moreover, a 'relativist' approach to health promotion might induce better and more fruitful cooperation among professions. Finally, some research gaps have been identified. Policy development studies remain to have top priority in development of health promotion. Better documentation of efforts in this field will be of crucial importance. Further development of, and research on how to apply relativist approaches may be recommended. Cooperation, and opening up a dialogue between different professions and actors is of great importance in this field.

  11. Activities for Engaging Schools in Health Promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bardi, Mohammad; Burbank, Andrea; Choi, Wayne; Chow, Lawrence; Jang, Wesley; Roccamatisi, Dawn; Timberley-Berg, Tonia; Sanghera, Mandeep; Zhang, Margaret; Macnab, Andrew J.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe activities used to initiate health promotion in the school setting. Design/Methodology/Approach: Description of successful pilot Health Promoting School (HPS) initiatives in Canada and Uganda and the validated measures central to each program. Evaluation methodologies: quantitative data from the…

  12. Health promotion for people with intellectual disabilities - A concept analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roll, Anne E

    2018-03-01

    Whereas 'health promotion' is a well-known concept for healthcare professionals, the concept of 'health promotion for people with intellectual disabilities' and its unique associated challenges are not well understood. This article provides a systematic analysis of how health promotion is being conceptualised for people with intellectual disabilities and how health promotion can work best in the light of this group's specific needs and limitations. Rodgers' evolutionary concept analysis. MEDLINE, PsycINFO, CINAHL and SocINDEX were searched using the search terms 'health promotion', 'people with intellectual disabilities' and 'developmental disabilities'. This review includes studies published between 1992 and 2014. A total of 52 articles were included. Health promotion for people intellectual disabilities, as discussed in the literature, focuses on four aspects, namely supporting a healthy lifestyle, providing health education, involving supporters and being person-centred. Antecedents of the concept 'health promotion for people with intellectual disabilities' were healthcare access and sensitised healthcare providers. The outcomes were improved health, being empowered, enhanced quality of life and reduced health disparities. This analysis provides a solid foundation for healthcare stakeholders' planning, implementing and evaluating health-promotion activities for people with intellectual disabilities at the policy level and in the community. © 2017 Nordic College of Caring Science.

  13. Health Promotion and Wellness Staffing Methods

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Thomsen, Kim

    1999-01-01

    .... Health promotion and wellness programs positively influence the military mission readiness and force protection, increase productivity, reduce health care costs, minimize illness and non-battle...

  14. Changes in health indicators related to health promotion and microcredit programs in the Dominican Republic.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dohn, Anita L; Chávez, Andrea; Dohn, Michael N; Saturria, Luis; Pimentel, Carlos

    2004-03-01

    To assess the impact of health promotion programs and microcredit programs on three communities in the Dominican Republic. One community had only the health promotion program, one community had only the microcredit program, and one community had both a health promotion program and a microcredit program. This pilot project examined the hypothesis that the largest changes in 11 health indicators that were studied would be in the community with both a health promotion program and a microcredit program, that there would be intermediate changes in the community with only a health promotion program, and that the smallest changes would be in the community with only a microcredit program. The health promotion programs used community volunteers to address two major concerns: (1) the prevalent causes of mortality among children under 5 years of age and (2) women's health (specifically breast and cervical cancer screening). The microcredit program made small loans to individuals to start or expand small businesses. Outcome measures were based on comparisons for 11 health indicators from baseline community surveys (27 households surveyed in each of the three communities, done in December 2000 and January 2001) and from follow-up surveys (also 27 households surveyed in each of the three communities, in June and July 2002, after the health promotion program had been operating for about 13 months). Households were randomly chosen during both the baseline and follow-up surveys, without regard to their involvement in the microcredit or health promotion programs. The health indicators improved in all three communities. However, the degree of change was different among the communities (P microcredit and health promotion programs had the largest changes for 10 of the 11 health indicators. Multisector development is known to be important on a macroeconomic scale. The results of this pilot project support the view that multisector development is also important on a microeconomic level

  15. Health literacy and health-promoting behaviors among multiethnic groups of women in Taiwan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tsai, Hsiu-Min; Cheng, Ching-Yu; Chang, Shu-Chen; Yang, Yung-Mei; Wang, Hsiu-Hung

    2014-01-01

    To understand the current status of health literacy and the relationship between health literacy and health-promoting behaviors among multiethnic groups of women in Taiwan. Convenience and snowball sampling methods were used to recruit study participants. Data were collected using a cross-sectional questionnaire survey. We recruited community female adults who lived in greater Taipei or Taoyuan areas (northern Taiwan) from January 1, 2010 through June 30, 2011. A total of 378 female participants were contacted, of which 351 consented to participate and 347 completed valid questionnaires for analysis. Health literacy was measured with the Taiwan Health Literacy Scale, and health-promoting behaviors were measured by the Chinese version of the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile. Participants had a moderate level of health literacy, and one third of them had inadequate health literacy. Participants with inadequate health literacy were more likely to be younger, not a high school graduate, and Vietnamese; to have a low monthly family income and no diagnosed diseases; to use a second language; and to regard TV/radio as the most useful source of health information. Health literacy alone could significantly predict health-promoting behaviors among the participants. Our findings confirmed that low health literacy is prevalent among underprivileged women in Taiwan. Health-related programs that are literacy sensitive and culturally appropriate are needed to teach and encourage health-promoting behaviors. © 2013 AWHONN, the Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses.

  16. Bioactive foods in promoting health: probiotics and prebiotics

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Watson, Ronald R; Preedy, Victor R

    2010-01-01

    "Bioactive Foods in Health Promotion: Probiotics and Prebiotics brings together experts working on the different aspects of supplementation, foods, and bacterial preparations, in health promotion and disease prevention, to provide...

  17. [Creating a "Health Promotion Checklist for Residents" Attempt to promote healthy activities].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abe, Akemi; Masaki, Naoko; Fukuizumi, Maiko; Hashimoto, Shuji

    2015-01-01

    To create a "Health Promotion Checklist for Residents" to help promote healthy habits among local residents. First, we investigated items for a health promotion checklist in the Health Japan 21 (2(nd) edition) and other references. Next, we conducted a questionnaire survey including these checklist items in August 2012. The study subjects were randomly selected Hatsukaichi city residents aged ≥20 years. Anonymous survey forms explaining this study were mailed to the investigated subjects and recovered in return envelopes. Data were compared by sex and age group. We created a checklist comprising a 23-item health promotion evaluation index with established scoring. There were 33 questions regarding health checkups; cancer screenings; dental checkups, blood pressure; glycated hemoglobin or blood glucose; dyslipidemia; body mass index; number of remaining teeth; breakfast, vegetable, fruit, and salt intake; nutrient balance; exercise; smoking; drinking; sleep; stress; and mental state. There were also questions on outings, community involvement, activities to improve health, and community connections. The questions were classified into six categories: health management, physical health, dietary and exercise habits, indulgences, mental health, and social activities. Of the 4,002 distributed survey forms, 1,719 valid responses were returned (recovery rate, 43.0%). The mean score by category was 1.69 (N=1,343) for health management, 6.52 (N=1,444) for physical health, 12.97 (N=1,511) for dietary and exercise habits, and 2.29 (N=1,518) for indulgences, all of which were higher for women, and 5.81 (N=1,469) for mental health, which was higher for men. The health management scores were higher among subjects in their 40s and 50s. The physical health score increased gradually with age from the 70 s and older to the 20 s, whereas the dietary and exercise habits increased gradually from the 20 s to the 70 s and older. The 20 s had high scores for indulgences, while mental

  18. Health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyake, S; Lucas-Miyake, M

    1989-01-01

    This article will describe a marketing model for the development of a role for occupational therapy in the industrial market. Health promotion activities are used as a means to diversify existing revenue bases by establishing new referral sources in industry. The technique of need satisfaction -selling or marketing one's services to a customer based on needs expressed by the customer - is reviewed, and implementation of this approach is described from two settings, one in psychiatry and the other in rehabilitation.

  19. Health promotion and health systems: some unfinished business.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ziglio, Erio; Simpson, Sarah; Tsouros, Agis

    2011-12-01

    One of the five action domains in the Ottawa Charter was Reorienting Health Services. In this paper, we reflect on why progress in this domain has been somewhat lethargic, particularly compared with some of the other action domains, and why now it is important to renew our commitment to this domain. Reorienting health services has been largely overlooked and opportunities missed, although good exceptions do exist. The occasion of the 25th anniversary of the Ottawa Charter represents an important opportunity for health promotion to: (i) renew its active voice in current policy debate and action and (ii) enhance achievements made to date by improving our efforts to advocate, enable and mediate for the reorientation of health services and systems. We outline six steps to reactivate and invest more in this action domain so as to be in a better position to promote health equitably and sustainably in today's fast changing world. Though our experience is mainly based in the European context, we hope that our reflections will be of some value to countries outside of this region.

  20. Proactive health consumerism: an important new tool for worksite health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Johnson, Sara S; Cummins, Carol O; Evers, Kerry E; Prochaska, Janice M; Prochaska, James O

    2009-01-01

    Consumerism in health care has taken on the form of a major innovation among employers and health plans. Yet many of our efforts to enhance the skills and attitudes that enable consumerism have met with limited success. Proactive Health Consumerism is proposed as an approach that utilizes many of the hard-won lessons from health promotion research. Along with prerequisites that create the motivation and framework for increased health consumerism, this article provides a theory-driven example of a new tool for health promotion professionals to employ when enhancing the health consumer skills of working populations. Strategies for maximization of effectiveness and integration with supporting resources are also described.

  1. Inequalities in oral health and oral health promotion

    OpenAIRE

    Moysés, Samuel Jorge

    2012-01-01

    This article offers a critical review of the problem of inequalities in oral health and discusses strategies for disease prevention and oral health promotion. It shows that oral health is not merely a result of individual biological, psychological, and behavioral factors; rather, it is the sum of collective social conditions created when people interact with the social environment. Oral health status is directly related to socioeconomic position across the socioeconomic gradient in almost all...

  2. Duality of Health Promotion and Sustainable Development

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pedersen, Kirsten Bransholm; Land, Birgit; Kjærgård, Bente

    2015-01-01

    reduction and how these strategies affect the prospects for promoting health and sustainable food production and consumption. Danish food waste reduction strategies are used as examples with references to selected policy documents on food waste reduction strategies launched by international organisations...... sustainability and, vice versa, sustainability conditions health. Thus, to avoid unintended, negative effects the strategies directed towards sustainable development must be correlated with strategies for health promotion. The conceptual model is used to take a closer look at the complexities of food waste...... of food as food waste is reduced. The lack of attention given to reducing the oversupply of food calls for governance initiatives directed towards reducing the overproduction of primary food produce in order to reap the environmental benefits and the health promotion benefits of reducing food waste...

  3. Governmentality in health promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jelsøe, Erling; Land, Birgit; Pedersen, Kirsten Bransholm

    Objectives: Issues of governance in health promotion during the last 3-4 decades has increasingly been seen as characterized by health interventions and campaigns aimed at influencing the citizens to exhibit a certain desired behavior, that is an orientation towards generating self...... is not sufficient to ensure healthy behaviour. Such measures are used in the public as well as the private sector. In this paper we will give a number of examples of this development and a preliminary analysis of the social framework for its emergence. Methods: The paper will present a theoretical discussion...... was conducted as a case oriented search in relevant media and available documents illustrating the tendency towards using coercive measures to promote healthy behaviour. This was followed up through semi-structured interviews with actors from public authorities, organizations and companies with experience...

  4. Evaluation of health promotion training for the Western Australian Aboriginal maternal and child health sector.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilkins, Alexa; Lobo, Roanna C; Griffin, Denese M; Woods, Heather A

    2015-04-01

    The evaluation of health promotion training for the Western Australian (WA) Aboriginal maternal and child health (MCH) sector. Fifty-one MCH professionals from five regions in WA who attended one of three health promotion short courses in 2012-2013 were invited to complete an online survey or a telephone interview, between 4 to 17 months post-course. Respondents were asked how they had utilised the information and resources from the training and to identify the enabling factors or barriers to integrating health promotion into their work practices subsequently. Overall response rate was 33% (n=17); 94% of respondents reported they had utilised the information and resources from the course and 76% had undertaken health promotion activities since attending the course. Building contacts with other MCH providers and access to planning tools were identified as valuable components of the course. Barriers to translating knowledge into practice included financial constraints and lack of organisational support for health promotion activity. Health promotion training provides participants with the skills and confidence to deliver health promotion strategies in their communities. The training presents an opportunity to build health professionals' capacity to address some determinants of poor health outcomes among pregnant Aboriginal women and their babies. SO WHAT?: Training would be enhanced if accompanied by ongoing support for participants to integrate health promotion into their work practice, organisational development including health promotion training for senior management, establishing stronger referral pathways among partner organisations to support continuity of care and embedding training into MCH workforce curricula.

  5. Community health promotion approaches within institutions for disabled

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holm, Jesper

    From a two years study of 3 special educational institutions for disabled in Zealand, Denmark, we have done qualitative studies of the focus-areas that the institutions have pointed out as their Best Practices of Health Promotion in everyday life. We have in general followed research questions......: What practices do special institutions for people with developmental disabilities believe to be health promoting, and will a research based reconstruction of these practices with health promotion concepts have anything to offer for professionals in this area? How will the involved parties experience...... each other practices and is possible to establish a mutual institutional learning process, as a surplus to normal quality control (NPM)? What understandings of psyche, individual, mind-body-spirit, health promotion etc. are involved in these practices, and how do they relate to the institutional...

  6. Opportunities and challenges to promoting oral health in primary schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gill, P; Chestnutt, I G; Channing, D

    2009-09-01

    Inequalities in oral health in areas of socio-economic disadvantage are well recognised. As children spend a considerable proportion of their lives in education, schools can play a significant role in promoting children's health and oral health. However, to what extent schools are able to do this is unclear. The aim of this study was therefore to investigate opportunities and challenges to promoting oral health in primary schools. A purposive sample of 20 primary schools from socially and economically disadvantaged areas of Cardiff, UK were selected to participate in this qualitative study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews conducted with head teachers or their nominated deputies. General awareness of health and oral health was good, with all schools promoting the consumption of fruit, water and milk and discouraging products such as carbonated drinks and confectionaries. Health promotion schemes wereimplemented primarily to improve the health of the children, although schools felt they also offered the potential to improve classroom behaviour and attendance. However, oral health was viewed as a separate entity to general health and perceived to be inadequately promoted. Successful health promotion schemes were also influenced by the attitudes of headteachers. Most schools had no or limited links with local dental services and, or oral health educators, although such input, when it occurred, was welcomed and highly valued. Knowledge of how to handle dental emergencies was limited and only two schools operated toothbrushing schemes, although all expressed an interest in such programmes. This study identified a positive predisposition to promoting health in primary schools. The challenge for the dental team, however, is to promote and integrate oral health into mainstream health promotion activities in schools. The paper also makes recommendations for further research.

  7. [Health promotion effectiveness: developing and testing a system for routine evaluation in health education, workplace health promotion and setting approach supplied by the German statutory health insurance agencies].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kliche, T; Riemann, K; Bockermann, C; Niederbühl, K; Wanek, V; Koch, U

    2011-04-01

    The aim of the study was to develop and test a routine evaluation system for all health promotion and education activities funded by the German statutory health insurance companies. The system aims at measuring both individual health effects and the complex organisational effects of setting projects. Measurement instruments were developed synoptically and tested in three field tests (2003-2008). In order to assess the impact of individual health training, 212 courses of the health insurance companies were evaluated. To assess the setting approach, 56 schools participating in a health-promotion project were included, and for workplace health-promotion 6 projects of different health insurance companies were included. The research design was an observational study. Instead of control groups, individual data were compared to reference values for gender- and age-matched groups from national health surveys. The studies consisted of baseline and final assessment (T1/T2), complemented by a follow-up (T3), all adapted to the time of intervention (i. e., 3-24 months for T1/T2 and 3-18 months for T2/T3). The evaluation system provides multilevel-measurement based upon validated questionnaires for health-related structures and processes in institutions, and for the participating individual's subjective health, health problems, health-related quality of life, workplace and institutional satisfaction. Controlling for central confounders is also possible (input and dosage, age, gender, educational background). Thus, short but valid measurement instruments of high usability are available to evaluate the effectiveness of prevention, health promotion and education. © Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.

  8. Do nurses' personal health behaviours impact on their health promotion practice? A systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kelly, Muireann; Wills, Jane; Sykes, Susie

    2017-11-01

    There is a growing expectation in national and international policy and from professional bodies that nurses be role models for healthy behaviours, the rationale being that there is a relationship between nurses' personal health and the adoption of healthier behaviours by patients. This may be from patients being motivated by, and modelling, the visible healthy lifestyle of the nurse or that nurses are more willing to promote the health of their patients by offering public health or health promotion advice and referring the patient to support services. An integrated systematic review was conducted to determine if nurses' personal health behaviour impacted on (1) their health promotion practices, and (2) patient responses to a health promotion message. Medline, CINAHL, SCOPUS, and PsycINFO databases were searched. A narrative synthesis was conducted. 31 studies were included in the review. No consistent associations were noted between nurses' weight, alcohol use, or physical activity level and their health promotion practice, although smoking appeared to negatively impact on the likelihood of discussing and engaging in cessation counselling. Nurses who reported confidence and skills around health promotion practice were more likely to raise lifestyle issues with patients, irrespective of their own personal health behaviours. The two studies included in the review that examined patient responses noted that the perceived credibility of a public health message was not enhanced by being delivered by a nurse who reported adopting healthy behaviours. Although it is assumed that nurses' personal health behaviour influences their health promotion practice, there is little evidence to support this. The assertion in health care policy that nurses should be role models for healthy behaviours assumes a causal relationship between their health behaviours and the patient response and adoption of public health messages that is not borne out by the research evidence. Copyright

  9. The Associations Among Individual Factors, eHealth Literacy, and Health-Promoting Lifestyles Among College Students.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Shu-Ching; Luo, Yi-Fang; Chiang, Chia-Hsun

    2017-01-10

    eHealth literacy is gaining importance for maintaining and promoting health. Studies have found that individuals with high eHealth literacy are more likely to adopt healthy eating, exercise, and sleep behaviors. In addition, previous studies have shown that various individual factors (eg, frequency of seeking information on health issues, degree of health concern, frequency of eating organic food, and students' college major) are associated with eHealth literacy and health-promoting lifestyles. Nevertheless, few studies have explored the associations among individual factors, eHealth literacy, and health-promoting lifestyles among college students. Moreover, there is a lack of studies that focus on eHealth literacy as a predictor of psychological health behaviors. To examine the associations among various individual factors, eHealth literacy, and health-promoting lifestyles. The eHealth Literacy Scale is a 12-item instrument designed to measure college students' functional, interactive, and critical eHealth literacy. The Health-promoting Lifestyle Scale is a 23-item instrument developed to measure college students' self-actualization, health responsibility, interpersonal support, exercise, nutrition, and stress management. A nationally representative sample of 556 valid college students in Taiwan was surveyed. A questionnaire was administered to gather the respondents' background information, including the frequency of seeking information on health issues, the frequency of eating organic food, the degree of health concern, and the students' major. We then conducted a multiple regression analysis to examine the associations among individual factors, eHealth literacy, and health-promoting lifestyles. The study found that factors such as medical majors (t 550 =2.47-7.55, PeHealth literacy. Moreover, critical eHealth literacy positively predicted all 6 health-promoting lifestyle dimensions (t 547 =2.66-7.28, PeHealth literacy, and had a positive health-promoting

  10. Enhancing Resources at the Workplace with Health-Promoting Leadership.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jiménez, Paul; Bregenzer, Anita; Kallus, K Wolfgang; Fruhwirth, Bianca; Wagner-Hartl, Verena

    2017-10-20

    Leaders engaging in health-promoting leadership can influence their employees' health directly by showing health awareness or indirectly by changing working conditions. With health-promoting leadership, leaders are able to support a healthy working environment by providing resource-oriented working conditions for their employees to support their health. Changing working conditions in a health-supportive way can prevent possible negative consequences from critical working conditions (e.g., burnout risk). The present study examined the relationship between health-promoting leadership and the employees' resources, stress and burnout. To analyze our proposed model, structural equation modelling was conducted in two samples. The resulting model from the first sample of 228 Austrian workers was cross-validated and could be verified with the second sample (N = 263 Austrian workers). The results supported a model in which health-promoting leadership has a strong direct effect on the employees' resources and an indirect effect on stress and burnout, which was mediated by resources. The results indicate that health-promoting leadership describes the leaders' capability and dedication creating the right working conditions for their employees by increasing the employees' resources at the workplace. This in turn minimizes the risk of experiencing burnout.

  11. Enhancing Resources at the Workplace with Health-Promoting Leadership

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Paul Jiménez

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Leaders engaging in health-promoting leadership can influence their employees’ health directly by showing health awareness or indirectly by changing working conditions. With health-promoting leadership, leaders are able to support a healthy working environment by providing resource-oriented working conditions for their employees to support their health. Changing working conditions in a health-supportive way can prevent possible negative consequences from critical working conditions (e.g., burnout risk. The present study examined the relationship between health-promoting leadership and the employees’ resources, stress and burnout. To analyze our proposed model, structural equation modelling was conducted in two samples. The resulting model from the first sample of 228 Austrian workers was cross-validated and could be verified with the second sample (N = 263 Austrian workers. The results supported a model in which health-promoting leadership has a strong direct effect on the employees’ resources and an indirect effect on stress and burnout, which was mediated by resources. The results indicate that health-promoting leadership describes the leaders’ capability and dedication creating the right working conditions for their employees by increasing the employees’ resources at the workplace. This in turn minimizes the risk of experiencing burnout.

  12. Self concepts, health locus of control and cognitive functioning associated with health-promoting lifestyles in schizophrenia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chuang, Shu Ping; Wu, Jo Yung Wei; Wang, Chien Shu; Liu, Chia Hsuan; Pan, Li Hsiang

    2016-10-01

    The study aimed to investigate the relationship among self concepts, health locus of control, cognitive functioning and health-promoting lifestyles in patients diagnosed with schizophrenia. We examined health-promoting lifestyles through self-efficacy, self-esteem, health locus of control and neurocognitive factors. Fifty-six people with schizophrenia were enrolled in the study group. All subjects participated in the self-esteem (Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale), self-efficacy (General Self-Efficacy Scale), health locus of control (The Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scales), health-promoting lifestyles (Health Promotion Life-style Profile-II) and a series of neurocognitive measures. Stepwise regression analysis revealed that self-efficacy, internal health locus of control and attentional set-shifting accounted for 42% of the variance in total health-promoting lifestyles scores. Self-efficacy, self-esteem, internal and powerful others health locus of control and attentional set-shifting were significant predictors for domains of health-promoting lifestyles, respectively. Study findings can help mental health professionals maintain and improve health-promoting behaviors through a better understanding of self-esteem, self-efficacy, health locus of control and neurocognitive functioning among people with schizophrenia. Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  13. Complexity: a potential paradigm for a health promotion discipline.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tremblay, Marie-Claude; Richard, Lucie

    2014-06-01

    Health promotion underpins a distancing from narrow, simplifying health approaches associated with the biomedical model. However, it has not yet succeeded in formally establishing its theoretical, epistemological and methodological foundations on a single paradigm. The complexity paradigm, which it has yet to broach head-on, might provide it with a disciplinary matrix in line with its implicit stances and basic values. This article seeks to establish complexity's relevance as a paradigm that can contribute to the development of a health promotion discipline. The relevance of complexity is justified primarily by its matching with several implicit epistemological and methodological/theoretical stances found in the cardinal concepts and principles of health promotion. The transcendence of ontological realism and determinism as well as receptiveness in respect of the reflexivity that complexity encompasses are congruent with the values of social justice, participation, empowerment and the concept of positive health that the field promotes. Moreover, from a methodological and theoretical standpoint, complexity assumes a holistic, contextual and transdisciplinary approach, toward which health promotion is tending through its emphasis on ecology and interdisciplinary action. In a quest to illustrate our position, developmental evaluation is presented as an example of practice stemming from a complexity paradigm that can be useful in the evaluation of health promotion initiatives. In short, we argue that it would be advantageous for health promotion to integrate this paradigm, which would provide it with a formal framework appropriate to its purposes and concerns.

  14. Promoting mental health in Swedish preschool-teacher views.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Isaksson, Pernilla; Marklund, Bertil; Haraldsson, Katarina

    2017-02-01

    The promotion of childhood mental health is an important investment for the future. Many young children spend a large amount of time in preschool, which have unique opportunities to promote mental health at an early stage. The aim of this study was to illuminate teachers’ views of what they do in ordinary work to promote mental health among preschool children. This qualitative study had a descriptive and exploratory design and qualitative content analysis was utilized. Six focus group interviews with preschool teachers, concerning families from different cultural, geographical and socioeconomic backgrounds, were conducted in a county in the southwest of Sweden. Both manifest and latent content appeared. Three categories, ‘structured world’, ‘pleasant climate’ and ‘affirming the child’ and 10 subcategories emerged. The latent content of these categories is described under the theme ‘creating an atmosphere where each child can flourish in harmony with their environment’. The results show teachers different working approaches with mental health in preschool and together with previous research these results can provide a basis of knowledge for preschool teachers and inspire them to develop and maintain their health-promoting work. In future studies it should be particularly interesting to investigate how the promotive way to work can be transferred to strengthen mental health throughout the school years.

  15. Marketing strategies nurses can employ to promote health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCormack, D

    1994-01-01

    Marketing strategies are employed to ensure the success of new products, services or programs. Both profit and non-profit organizations have used social marketing strategies to inform, to motivate interest, and to engage the involvement of the consumer. A client-dependent health care system did not find it necessary to market services, but a health care system that encourages clients to choose the most appropriate health promotion service available must market services. Nurses are in the business of promoting the health of clients. Therefore, it is essential that nurses become familiar with, and involved in, the development of marketing plans and strategies. The connection between the four variables of the marketing mix (product, promotion, place, and price) and promoting the health of clients is described. A case example recapitulating the marketing strategies employed to raise public awareness of a self-help group for family caregivers is related, the marketing response is evaluated, and future recommendations are proposed.

  16. Health Promoting Hospitals – Assessing developments in the network

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jürgen M. Pelikan

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available Hospitals are specific organizational settings for health promotion efforts. As health care institutions they are already oriented at health, or better at ill health, but with a rather limited focus on health outcomes for patients. Therefore, the Ottawa Charter explicitly asks for the reorientation of health services. And, hospitals also have considerable health effects for other stakeholder populations. This specific potential and challenge has been taken up by the WHO network of Health Promoting Hospitals (HPH, in the last two decades. Based on available literature the article relates the HPH concept to a more general paradigm of health promoting organizational settings; reconstructs the developmental phases of the international WHO HPH Network; elaborates on its concept development and implementation experiences, and discusses its rather limited investments in evaluation studies and the few assessments from outside. HPH has developed a convincing comprehensive concept by demonstration projects, using systematically action and evaluation research. To a lesser degree, the same holds true for its developments of health promotion policies for selected vulnerable groups and linking HPH to quality methodology. But there is no systematic evaluation of health promotion in and by hospitals, especially for the networks and member hospitals of HPH. Even if much of the relevant evidence for HPH comes and will have to come from more general clinical epidemiological, health promotion, quality, organizational and management research, there is need for specific HPH evaluation research, to better utilize, what can be learned from the social experiment of HPH.

  17. Influencing organizations to promote health: applying stakeholder theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kok, Gerjo; Gurabardhi, Zamira; Gottlieb, Nell H; Zijlstra, Fred R H

    2015-04-01

    Stakeholder theory may help health promoters to make changes at the organizational and policy level to promote health. A stakeholder is any individual, group, or organization that can influence an organization. The organization that is the focus for influence attempts is called the focal organization. The more salient a stakeholder is and the more central in the network, the stronger the influence. As stakeholders, health promoters may use communicative, compromise, deinstitutionalization, or coercive methods through an ally or a coalition. A hypothetical case study, involving adolescent use of harmful legal products, illustrates the process of applying stakeholder theory to strategic decision making. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  18. Opinions of Polish occupational medicine physicians on workplace health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Puchalski, Krzysztof; Korzeniowska, Elzbieta; Pyzalski, Jacek; Wojtaszczyk, Patrycja

    2005-01-01

    According to the current Polish legislation on occupational health services, occupational medicine physicians should perform workplace health promotion (WHP) activities as a part of their professional work. The concept of workplace health promotion or health promotion programs, however, has not been defined in this legislation in any way. Therefore, two essential questions arise. First, what is the physicians' attitude towards workplace health issues and second, what is actually carried out under the label of health promotion? The main objective of the research described in this paper was to answer these questions. The survey was carried out by the National Center for Workplace Health Promotion in 2002. A questionnaire prepared by the Center for the purpose of this survey was sent to a random sample of occupational medicine physicians. The results of the survey showed that 53% of occupational medicine physicians consider WHP just as a new name for prophylactics. On the other hand almost all of the respondents (94%) agree that occupational medicine physicians should perform WHP activities and find them useful in improving patients' health (78%). The main obstacle for the development of this activity in the perception of physicians is the lack of interest in workplace health promotion among employers (86%). In the modern understanding of workplace health promotion concept this type of intervention includes not only safety measures and health education, but also a profound organizational change that allows employers, employees and social partners to improve wellbeing of people at work. Each of such projects should facilitate changes necessary to create a health promoting workplace. It also needs a skilled leader--well trained and aware of a multidisciplinary dimension of WHP interventions. Occupational medicine specialists should become natural partners of employers and employees. The majority of the occupational medicine physicians, however, are not sufficiently

  19. Health promotion in supplementary health care: outsourcing, microregulation and implications for care.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Silva, Kênia Lara; Sena, Roseni Rosângela; Rodrigues, Andreza Trevenzoli; Araújo, Fernanda Lopes; Belga, Stephanie Marques Moura Franco; Duarte, Elysângela Dittz

    2015-01-01

    to analyze health promotion programs in the supplementary health care. This was a multiple case study with a qualitative approach whose data were obtained from interviews with coordinators of providers contracted by the corporations of health insurance plans in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais. The data were submitted to Critical Discourse Analysis. Home care has been described as the main action in the field of health promotion transferred to the providers, followed by management of patients and cases, and the health education.groups. The existence of health promotion principles is questionable in all programs. Outsourcing is marked by a process with a division between cost and care management. Implications of this process occur within admission and interventions on the needs of the beneficiaries. Statements revealed rationalization of cost, restructuring of work, and reproduction of the dominant logic of capital accumulation by the health insurance companies.

  20. Health Value, Perceived Social Support, and Health Self-Efficacy as Factors in a Health-Promoting Lifestyle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jackson, Erin S.; Tucker, Carolyn M.; Herman, Keith C.

    2007-01-01

    During their college years, students may adopt health-promoting lifestyles that bring about long-term benefits. Objective and Participants: The purpose of this study was to explore the roles of health value, family/friend social support, and health self-efficacy in the health-promoting lifestyles of a diverse sample of 162 college students.…

  1. Workplace Health Promotion in Small Enterprises in Denmark

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hasle, Peter; Peter, Wissing

    An analysis of the Danish experience with workplace health promotion including preventive activities aiming at a safe and healthy workplace.......An analysis of the Danish experience with workplace health promotion including preventive activities aiming at a safe and healthy workplace....

  2. History in health: health promotion's underexplored tool for change.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madsen, Wendy

    2018-01-01

    This paper outlined an argument as to why history and historians should be included in a healthy settings approach. Qualitative descriptive study. A narrative review of the literature across a broad cross-section of history, health promotion and public health disciplines was undertaken. Three reasons for including history were identified relating to the social role of history as a means of analysing social memory, of changing social narratives and by raising social consciousness. This allowed for a distinction between history in health and history of health. Precedents of this social role can be found in the fields of feminist and postcolonial histories, oral history and museums in health. Reasons for why historians and health promotion practitioners and researchers have not previously had working relationships were explored, as were some of the factors that would need to be considered for such relationships to work well, including the need to recognise different languages, different understandings of the role of history, and a potential lack of awareness of the health implications of historical work. Copyright © 2017 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. Health-promoting educational settings in Taiwan: development and evaluation of the Health-Promoting School Accreditation System.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Fu-Li; Lee, Albert

    2016-03-01

    The Taiwan Ministry of Health and Welfare and Ministry of Education launched the Health-Promoting School (HPS) program in 2002. One of the most significant barriers to evaluating HPS is the absence of adequate instruments. The main aim of this study is to develop the Taiwan Health-Promoting School Accreditation System (HPSAS) framework and then evaluate its accreditation effectiveness. The HPSAS accreditation standards were derived mainly from the World Health Organization (WHO) publication, WHO Health Promoting Schools: A Framework for Action in 2008 and the Taiwan School Health Act. Delphi technique and pilot test were used to confirm the availability and acceptability of the standards and procedures for HPSAS in 2011. After that, two rounds of school evaluations were completed in 2012 (214 participant schools) and 2014 (182 participant schools). The accreditation operation process included documentary reviews, national and international accredited commissioners conducted on-site visits. Descriptive analyses were used to indicate HPS award level distribution. The study established six key HPSAS standards. Each standard had at least two components; overall, there were 21 components and 47 scoring elements. Of the participating schools evaluated in 2012, four were at the gold, 14 silver, and 120 bronze levels, compared with five, 20, and 31, respectively, of schools evaluated in 2014. The study showed that schools at different award levels had different full-score rates in six standards. The schools at the gold level performed exceptionally well. The worst performance among the six standards at each award level was in the skill-based health curriculum. The HPSAS is an objective instrument used to evaluate the process and outcomes of the HPS program. In the future, combinations of different types of data (e.g. students' health behaviors, school climate, or teachers' health-teaching innovations) will enable further validation of the HPS effectiveness. © The Author

  4. [Work as a promoter of health].

    Science.gov (United States)

    da Silva, Claudia Osorio; Ramminger, Tatiana

    2014-12-01

    Studies on the relation between health and work tend to highlight the negative and pathological aspects, as if work produces only sickness and alienation. On the contrary, our proposal is to stress how work can also produce health. Based on Canguillem's concept of health, and from the contributions of the so-called "work clinics", we intend to analyze the purpose of work as a promoter of health. Canguilhem affirms that health is not adaptive, as such it does not involve adapting well to the world, but to the creation of tenets of life. For their part, the work clinics provide tools to approximate us to the know-how-to-do produced by workers in their daily work, namely not only how workers adapt to work, but how they create and recreate it permanently Thus, we can think work as a promoter of health where there is room for collective and personal creation, as well as recognition of workers in their activity.

  5. PENGEMBANGAN MODEL SEKOLAH SEHAT (HEALTH PROMOTING SCHOOL DI DAERAH MISKIN PERKOTAAN

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andryansyah Arifin

    2012-11-01

    Full Text Available It is known that there was strong relation between health status of primary school students and school records. A health­ promoting school was, whether all members of school community work together to provide students with an integrated positive experiences and structures which promote and protect their health.These include both formal and informal curriculum in health, creation of a safe and healthy school environment, provision of appropriate health services and involvement of family and wider commmunities was in efforts to promote health. The objectives of, this study is to develop a model of health promoting school at poor urban areas which included to measure student knowledge and attitude, nutrition intake, and role of school teacher in health promotion. A stratified mulitistage randomized pre-post test control groups design was used in this study. Duration of this study was 3 years (2001-2003 and the location at 9 primary schools (6 intervention schools and 3 control schools in Semarang, Surakarta, Denpasar municipalities and Kendal district. Results of this study showed that students knowledge and atitude toward health were improved significantly as well as nutrition intake at intervention groups. This improvement was caused by the role of school teachers in health promotion which was integrated in daily learning process. Based on this results a model of health promoting school has been developed. It recommends to implement this health promoting school model at wider areas and to provide school teachers completed with health promotion manuals.   Keywords: model, health promoting school

  6. The promotion of oral health within Health Promoting Schools in KwaZulu-Natal

    OpenAIRE

    M Reddy; S Singh

    2017-01-01

    Background. Oral health promotion is a cost-effective strategy that can be implemented at schools for the prevention of oral diseases. Theimportance and value of school-based interventions in children has been identified in South Africa (SA). Although oral health strategiesinclude integrated school-based interventions, there is a lack of published evidence on whether these strategies have been translated intopractice and whether these programmes have been evaluated.Objective. To assess the ef...

  7. Effects of student participation in school health promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Griebler, Ursula; Rojatz, Daniela; Simovska, Venka

    2017-01-01

    The aim of this systematic review was to summarize systematically the existing evidence for the effects of student participation in designing, planning, implementing and/or evaluating school health promotion measures. The focus was on the effects of participation in school health promotion measur...

  8. Health Promotion and Related Factors Among Korean Goose Mothers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chiyoung Cha, PhD, RN

    2010-12-01

    Conclusions: The findings of this study contributed to the body of knowledge of health promotion among international migrant populations by identifying the differential effects of social support, acculturation attitudes, and perceived family health for six areas of health promotion.

  9. The need for health promotion in jsc „vilniaus baldai“

    OpenAIRE

    Melkūnaitė, Eglė

    2017-01-01

    The Need for Health Promotion in JSC „Vilniaus Baldai“ The relevance of the study. Health promotion in workplaces brings benefits to the employees, organizations, governments and society as a whole. In order to successfully implement the health promotion program in the workplace, it is important to evaluate facilities, demands and situation of the employer. The aim of the study. To measure the need of health promotion in the company JSC „Vilniaus baldai“. The objective of the study. Measure t...

  10. Health promotion, occupational therapy and multiculturalism: lessons from research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dyck, I

    1993-08-01

    Principles of occupational therapy practice make the profession an important potential partner in health promotion initiatives for immigrant groups. Health promotion embodies the principles of self-definition of health needs by target groups, and working with a community in initiating and supporting programmes. This paper discusses the implications of an exploratory study of the daily activities of immigrant Indo-Canadian mothers for translating health promotion principles into practice. The research process and an analysis of interviews conducted with the women suggest factors to consider in using a health promotion framework with immigrants who have experienced social and economic dislocation through the immigration process. Discussion of household structure, divisions of labour, childcare strategies, and parenting concerns raises issues requiring particular attention in sharing occupational therapy skills and knowledge with ethnocultural communities.

  11. Exploring strategies to improve the health promotion orientation of Flemish sports clubs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meganck, Jeroen; Seghers, Jan; Scheerder, Jeroen

    2017-08-01

    Sports clubs are increasingly recognized as an innovative setting for health promotion, as exemplified by the health promoting sports club concept. This study aims to assess the health promotion orientation of both youth sports clubs (YSC) and adult sports clubs (ASC) in Flanders and to identify the motives and barriers as reported by their representatives as a basis for proposing intervention strategies to improve the health promotion orientation in sports clubs. A total of 253 Flemish sports clubs, consisting of 156 YSC and of 97 ASC, completed the online questionnaire, covering club characteristics (e.g. finances, human resources), perceived motives and barriers for health promotion and the health promoting sports club index. Even though YSC were more health promoting than ASC, the results indicated that all sports clubs could improve their health promotion orientation. The most consistent predictors of health promotion orientation are perceived motives index for YSC and perceived lack of resources for ASC. Based on these results, interventions to enhance the health promoting orientation need to tackle the lack of resources such as lack of expertise regarding health promotion. Interventions aimed specifically at YSC should emphasize the direct benefits, for example by demonstrating how health promotion helps clubs to improve the provision of high quality sports participation and by awarding a health promotion quality label. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  12. Imagining roles for epigenetics in health promotion research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McBride, Colleen M; Koehly, Laura M

    2017-04-01

    Discoveries from the Human Genome Project have invigorated discussions of epigenetic effects-modifiable chemical processes that influence DNA's ability to give instructions to turn gene expression on or off-on health outcomes. We suggest three domains in which new understandings of epigenetics could inform innovations in health promotion research: (1) increase the motivational potency of health communications (e.g., explaining individual differences in health outcomes to interrupt optimistic biases about health exposures); (2) illuminate new approaches to targeted and tailored health promotion interventions (e.g., relapse prevention targeted to epigenetic responses to intervention participation); and (3) inform more sensitive measures of intervention impact, (e.g., replace or augment self-reported adherence). We suggest a three-step process for using epigenetics in health promotion research that emphasizes integrating epigenetic mechanisms into conceptual model development that then informs selection of intervention approaches and outcomes. Lastly, we pose examples of relevant scientific questions worth exploring.

  13. Health promotion and education activities of community pharmacists in Kuwait.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Awad, Abdelmoneim; Abahussain, Eman

    2010-04-01

    To investigate self-reported practice of pharmacists regarding health promotion and education activities, explore the barriers that may limit their involvement in health promotion and education, and identify their willingness to participate in continuing education programs related to health education. Community pharmacies in Kuwait. A descriptive cross-sectional study was performed using a pre-tested questionnaire on a sample of 223 community pharmacists. The extent of the pharmacists' involvement in counselling patients about health promotion and education topics, their preparation to counsel patients in health promotion and education topics, and their perceived success in changing the patients' health behaviour. The response rate was 92%. Information on medication use was the most frequent reason for consumers seeking community pharmacists' advice. The majority of respondents believed that behaviour related to the proper use of drugs was very important. There was less agreement on the importance of other health behaviours. Respondents indicated they were involved in counselling patients on health behaviours related to use of drugs as prescribed/directed, weight management, medicine contents and side effects, diet modification and stress reduction, but were less involved in counselling on other health behaviours. Respondents' perception of themselves as "most prepared" to counsel patients closely reflected their involvement. Pharmacists reported high levels of success in helping patients to achieve improvements in using their drugs properly compared to low levels in changing patients' personal health behaviours. The majority of respondents believed that pharmacists had a responsibility for counselling consumers on health behaviours (97%, 95% CI 95-99%), and indicated their willingness to learn more about health promotion (84%, 78-88%). Lack of pharmacists' time was reported by about 58% of respondents as the major barrier limiting pharmacists' provision of health

  14. Initial Teacher Education for School Health Promotion in Austria: Does It Support the Implementation of the Health-Promoting School Approach?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Flaschberger, Edith

    2013-01-01

    Purpose: School health promotion is said to be most effective when implemented through a comprehensive, settings-based, whole-school approach. The purpose of this paper is to address the current lack of knowledge about the current state of teacher education for health promotion and its potential to further the development of settings-based…

  15. A missing ethical competency? A review of critical reflection in health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tretheway, Rebecca; Taylor, Jane; O'Hara, Lily; Percival, Nikki

    2015-12-01

    There is increasing emphasis in the health promotion literature on the ethical imperative for the profession to move towards critical practice. A key challenge for health promotion is that critical practice appears both under-developed and under-practiced. This is evident in the omission of critical reflection from Australian and international competencies for health promotion practitioners. A narrative literature review was undertaken to explore the current use of critical reflection in health promotion. Critical reflection models relevant to health promotion were identified and critiqued. There was a dearth of literature on critical reflection within health promotion, despite recognition of its potential to support critical practice. The discipline of critical social work provided literature on the use, effect and outcome of critical reflection in practice. The interdisciplinary critical reflection model was identified as the model most applicable to health promotion. Underpinned by critical theory, this model emphasises both critical and ethical practice. Critical reflection is a core competency for health promotion practitioners to address the ethical imperative to move towards critical practice. There is a need to explore the application of a critical reflection model in health promotion to determine how it may support critical and ethical practice. So what? If health promotion is to meet its ethical responsibilities, then critical reflection needs to be articulated as a core health promotion competency and a model for its application in health promotion developed.

  16. Emerging health issues: the widening challenge for population health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McMichael, Anthony J; Butler, Colin D

    2006-12-01

    The spectrum of tasks for health promotion has widened since the Ottawa Charter was signed. In 1986, infectious diseases still seemed in retreat, the potential extent of HIV/AIDS was unrecognized, the Green Revolution was at its height and global poverty appeared less intractable. Global climate change had not yet emerged as a major threat to development and health. Most economists forecast continuous improvement, and chronic diseases were broadly anticipated as the next major health issue. Today, although many broadly averaged measures of population health have improved, many of the determinants of global health have faltered. Many infectious diseases have emerged; others have unexpectedly reappeared. Reasons include urban crowding, environmental changes, altered sexual relations, intensified food production and increased mobility and trade. Foremost, however, is the persistence of poverty and the exacerbation of regional and global inequality. Life expectancy has unexpectedly declined in several countries. Rather than being a faint echo from an earlier time of hardship, these declines could signify the future. Relatedly, the demographic and epidemiological transitions have faltered. In some regions, declining fertility has overshot that needed for optimal age structure, whereas elsewhere mortality increases have reduced population growth rates, despite continuing high fertility. Few, if any, Millennium Development Goals (MDG), including those for health and sustainability, seem achievable. Policy-makers generally misunderstand the link between environmental sustainability (MDG #7) and health. Many health workers also fail to realize that social cohesion and sustainability--maintenance of the Earth's ecological and geophysical systems--is a necessary basis for health. In sum, these issues present an enormous challenge to health. Health promotion must address population health influences that transcend national boundaries and generations and engage with the

  17. Organizational change theory: implications for health promotion practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Batras, Dimitri; Duff, Cameron; Smith, Ben J

    2016-03-01

    Sophisticated understandings of organizational dynamics and processes of organizational change are crucial for the development and success of health promotion initiatives. Theory has a valuable contribution to make in understanding organizational change, for identifying influential factors that should be the focus of change efforts and for selecting the strategies that can be applied to promote change. This article reviews select organizational change models to identify the most pertinent insights for health promotion practitioners. Theoretically derived considerations for practitioners who seek to foster organizational change include the extent to which the initiative is modifiable to fit with the internal context; the amount of time that is allocated to truly institutionalize change; the ability of the agents of change to build short-term success deliberately into their implementation plan; whether or not the shared group experience of action for change is positive or negative and the degree to which agencies that are the intended recipients of change are resourced to focus on internal factors. In reviewing theories of organizational change, the article also addresses strategies for facilitating the adoption of key theoretical insights into the design and implementation of health promotion initiatives in diverse organizational settings. If nothing else, aligning health promotion with organizational change theory promises insights into what it is that health promoters do and the time that it can take to do it effectively. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  18. [The association between the presence of occupational health nurses at Japanese worksites and health promotion activities].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kanamori, Satoru; Kai, Yuko; Kawamata, Kayo; Kusumoto, Mari; Takamiya, Tomoko; Ohya, Yumiko; Odagiri, Yuko; Fukushima, Noritoshi; Inoue, Shigeru

    2015-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the association between the presence of occupational health nurses and health promotion activities, relative to the number of employees, and the health promotion policies of the companies. We investigated 3,266 companies with at least 50 employees listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Questionnaires were sent by mail, and employees in charge of health management or promotion were asked about health promotion activities at their own worksites. Logistic regression analysis was performed with each type of health promotion activity (nutrition, exercise, sleep, mental health, smoking cessation, alcohol consumption reduction, and oral health) as dependent variables, and the presence of an occupational health nurse as the independent variable. The results were adjusted for the type of industry, total number of company employees, presence of company health promotion policies, and the presence of an occupational health physician. Responses were received from 415 companies (response rate: 12.7%). Occupational health nurses were present at 172 companies (41.4%). Health promotion activities such as (in order of frequency) mental health (295 companies, 71.1%), smoking cessation (133, 32.0%), exercise (99, 23.9%), nutrition (75, 18.1%), oral health (49, 11.8%), sleep (39, 9.4%), and alcohol consumption reduction (26, 6.3%) were being conducted. Setting worksites with no occupational health nurse as a reference, the odds ratios of each health promotion activity of a worksite with one or more occupational health nurses were calculated. The odds ratios of mental health (2.43, 95% confidence interval: 1.32-4.48), smoking cessation (3.70, 2.14-6.38), exercise (4.98, 2.65-9.35), nutrition (8.34, 3.86-18.03), oral health (4.25, 1.87-9.62), and alcohol consumption reduction (8.96, 2.24-35.92) were significant. Stratified analysis using the number of worksite employees, 499 or fewer and 500 or more, also showed significantly higher odds ratios of

  19. Health promotion among older adults in Austria: a qualitative study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Boggatz, Thomas; Meinhart, Christoph Matthias

    2017-04-01

    To determine the types of attitudes to health promotion among older Austrians. Health promotion in old age becomes increasingly important in the current period of demographic transition. Interventions are likely to be successful if they take the attitude of older persons into consideration. There may be several types of attitudes to health promotion among older adults. Cross-sectional qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in a purposive sample consisting of 36 home-dwelling older persons from local communities in the federal province of Salzburg, Austria. Data were analysed using qualitative content analysis according to Mayring and subsequent construction of types. There are three main types of attitudes to health promotion. 'Health promoters through everyday activities' considered domestic work and walks to be sufficient in keeping up their health. Fitness-oriented persons practised sports of some type. Users of complementary methods practised such methods to some degree. These types of attitudes could be further differentiated according to their outcome expectations. In addition to benefits for health, socialising was also an important outcome. Physical decline may reduce a fitness-oriented attitude, whereas encouragement by others may trigger it. Older adults have various attitudes to health promotion, but these are not immutable. Health promotion programmes that are not restricted to a narrow focus on health but provide the opportunity to socialise may support older adults in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. © 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

  20. Elaborating on systems thinking in health promotion practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Naaldenberg, Jenneken; Vaandrager, Lenneke; Koelen, Maria; Wagemakers, Anne-Marie; Saan, Hans; de Hoog, Kees

    2009-03-01

    Health and well-being are the result of a series of complex processes in which an individual interacts with other people and the environment. A systematic approach ensures incorporation of individual, ecological, social and political factors. However, interactions between these factors can be overlooked within a systematical approach. A systemic approach can provide additional information by incorporating interactions and communication. The opportunities of a systems thinking perspective for health promotion were investigated for this paper. Although others have also made attempts to explore systems thinking in the field of health promotion, the implications of systems thinking in practice need attention. Other fields such as agricultural extension studies, organizational studies and development studies provide useful experiences with the use of a systems thinking perspective in practice. Building on experiences from these fields, we give a theoretical background in which processes of social learning and innovation play an important role. From this background, we derive an overview of important concepts for the practical application of a systems thinking perspective. These concepts are the structure of the system, meanings attached to actions, and power relations between actors. To make these concepts more explicit and reduce the theoretical character of systems thinking, we use an illustration to elaborate on these concepts in practice. For this purpose, we describe a health promotion partnership in The Netherlands using the concepts structure, meaning and power relations. We show how a systems perspective increases insight in the functioning of a partnership and how this can facilitate processes of social learning and innovation. This article concludes by identifying future opportunities and challenges in adopting systems thinking for health promotion practice. A systems perspective towards health promotion can help projects reaching a more integral and

  1. Ethical considerations of worksite health promotion: an exploration of stakeholders’ views

    OpenAIRE

    van Berkel, Jantien; Meershoek, Agnes; Janssens, Rien MJPA; Boot, Cécile RL; Proper, Karin I; van der Beek, Allard J

    2014-01-01

    Background: Developing, implementing and evaluating worksite health promotion requires dealing with all stakeholders involved, such as employers, employees, occupational physicians, insurance companies, providers, labour unions and research and knowledge institutes. Although worksite health promotion is becoming more common, empirical research on ethical considerations of worksite health promotion is scarce. Methods. We explored the views of stakeholders involved in worksite health promotion ...

  2. Promoting and protecting the health of children and young people.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Licence, K

    2004-11-01

    The health-related behaviours adopted by children and young people can have both immediate and long-term health effects. Health promotion interventions that target children and young people can lay the foundations of a healthy lifestyle that may be sustained into adulthood. This paper is based on a selective review of evidence relating to health promotion in childhood, carried out to support the external working group on the 'Healthy Child' module of the Children's National Service Framework. This is a selective review of mainly secondary research. It focuses on injury prevention, support for parenting and the promotion of good mental health, and promoting a healthy diet and physical activity amongst children and young people. In many areas, the quality of primary research into health promotion interventions aimed at children and young people is poor. Interventions are heterogeneous and not described in sufficient detail. Sample sizes tend to be small, and there are commonly problems of bias. Despite these difficulties, there is good evidence for a range of interventions, including (1) area road safety schemes; (2) combining a variety of approaches to the promotion of the use of safety equipment, including legislation and enforcement, loan/assisted purchase/giveaway schemes, education, fitting and maintenance of safety equipment; (3) school-based mental health promotion; (4) parenting support; (5) interventions that promote and facilitate 'lifestyle' activity for children, such as walking and cycling to school, and those that aim to reduce sedentary behaviours such as parent education to reduce the time children spend watching TV and using computers; and (6) controlling advertising of unhealthy food that is aimed at children. There are effective interventions to promote and protect the health of children and young people that require action across the five areas described in the Ottawa Charter. Health, social care and education services have a direct role in the

  3. Appropriate Health Promotion for Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Communities

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Demaio, Alessandro Rhyll; Drysdale, Marlene; de Courten, Maximilian

    2012-01-01

    building, community empowerment and local ownership. Culturally-Appropriate Health Promotion is a framework of principles developed in 2008 with the World Health Organization (Geneva) and Global Alliance for Health Promotion. It guides community-focused health promotion practice built on and shaped...... by the respect, understanding and utilisation of local knowledge and culture. Culturally-Appropriate Health Promotion is not about ‘targeting’, ‘intervening’ or ‘responding’. Rather, it results in health program planners and policy-makers understanding, respecting, empowering and collaborating with communities......, and their socio-cultural environment, towards better health. This commentary aims to examine and apply the 8 principles of Culturally-Appropriate Health Promotion to the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander context. It proposes its widespread adoption as a framework for a more respectful...

  4. 'Troubling' moments in health promotion: unpacking the ethics of empowerment.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spencer, Grace

    2015-12-01

    Concepts of empowerment feature strongly in global health discourses. Empowerment is frequently advocated as a positive approach to addressing individual and community-level health needs. Despite its popularity, relatively little has been said about the unintended consequences of empowerment, which may give rise to some troubling ethical issues or, indeed, result in outcomes that may not be considered health promoting. Drawing on current uses of empowerment within health promotion, along with insights from an ethnographic study on young people's health, this paper raises some critical questions about the ethics of empowerment. By doing so, the paper troubles the idea that empowerment is a 'good thing' without some careful attention to the varying ways in which the ethics of empowerment may unfold in practice. Findings revealed young people's different perspectives on health and priorities for health promotion. The present analysis highlights how these alternative framings prompt a number of ethical tensions for understanding and operationalising empowerment. In conclusion, the findings underscore the importance of promoting ethical reflexivity in health promotion and, crucially, attending to the unintended and potentially ethically problematic consequences of empowerment. So what? This paper raises some critical questions about the ethics of empowerment and calls for a more thorough engagement with the unintended consequences of empowerment within health promotion.

  5. Ethical issues in public health promotion

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    2014-05-02

    May 2, 2014 ... Health promotion has three main ethical issues: (i) what are the ultimate goals for public .... construction of new norms, the shaping of existing norms, the .... despite the fact that we know they are bad for people's health. There.

  6. Health Promotion in Schools: A Scoping Review of Systematic Reviews

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chilton, Roy; Pearson, Mark; Anderson, Rob

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: Schools are an important setting for a wide variety of activities to promote health. The purpose of this paper is to map the different types of health promotion programmes and activities in schools, to estimate the amount of published evaluations of health promotion within UK schools, and to identify any provisional "candidate…

  7. Concept Analysis: Health-Promoting Behaviors Related to Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) Infection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McCutcheon, Tonna; Schaar, Gina; Parker, Karen L

    2015-01-01

    The concept of health-promoting behaviors incorporates ideas presented in the Ottawa Charter of Public Health and the nursing-based Health Promotion Model. Despite the fact that the concept of health-promoting behaviors has a nursing influence, literature suggests nursing has inadequately developed and used this concept within nursing practice. A further review of literature regarding health promotion behaviors and the human papilloma virus suggest a distinct gap in nursing literature. This article presents a concept analysis of health-promoting behaviors related to the human papilloma virus in order to encourage the application of the concept into nursing practice, promote continued nursing research regarding this concept, and further expand the application of health-promoting behaviors to other situations and populations within the nursing discipline. Attributes of health-promoting behaviors are presented and include empowerment, participation, community, and a positive concept of health. Antecedents, consequences, and empirical referents are also presented, as are model, borderline, and contrary cases to help clarify the concept. Recommendations for human papilloma virus health-promoting behaviors within the nursing practice are also provided. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  8. The Jakarta Declaration on health promotion in the 21st century.

    Science.gov (United States)

    1998-01-01

    The Fourth International Conference on Health Promotion, held in Jakarta, Indonesia, in July 1997, focused on the theme: New Players for a New Era--Leading Health Promotion into the 21st Century. Health promotion strategies can change life-styles as well as the social, economic, and environmental conditions that determine health. Most effective are comprehensive approaches that combine public policy efforts, the creation of supportive environments, community action, the development of personal skills, and a reorientation of health services. Also required is the creation of new partnerships for health between different sectors at all levels of society and government. The conference identified five priorities for health promotion in the 21st century: 1) promote social responsibility for health; 2) increase investments for health development, especially for groups such as women, children, older persons, the indigenous, the poor, and marginalized populations; 3) consolidate and expand partnerships for health to enable the sharing of expertise, skills, and resources; 4) increase community capacity and empower the individual; and 5) secure an infrastructure for health promotion through new funding mechanisms, intersectoral collaboration, and training of local leadership.

  9. Health technology assessment demonstrates efficient health promotion bu Transcendental Meditation (TM)

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Larsen, Torben

    2002-01-01

    -actualisation; (3) Independence of stimulantia including tobacco and alcohol; (4) Cardiologic health. RESULTS: This health promotion is explained by a cybernetic model based on 'The Limbic System'. A sample of records collected by the Internet shows significant compliance between the self-reports of TM......-practitioners and controls without specific health promotion. The TM-group has a relative high level of education. TM is organized as a private, standardised dissemination of the original, Indoeuropean mantrameditation. This standardisation creates economies-of-scale 1) using local instructors with a short education, 2...

  10. Social deprivation and exposure to health promotion. A study of the distribution of health promotion resources to schools in England

    OpenAIRE

    Chivu, CM; Reidpath, DD

    2010-01-01

    This article has been made available through the Brunel Open Access Publishing Fund and is available from the specified link - Copyright @ 2010 Chivu and Reidpath BACKGROUND: Area deprivation is a known determinant of health. It is also known that area deprivation is associated with lower impact health promotion. It is less well known, however, whether deprived areas are less responsive to health promotion, or whether they are less exposed. Using data from a national, school-based campaign...

  11. HEALTH PROMOTING BEHAVIOR AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS IN CHANDIGARH, INDIA

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Suraj Senjam

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Background: India faces multiple threats of diseases. The increasing trend of lifestyle related health problems is becoming a serious issue in India. The best strategy to tackle this changing health concern is adoption of healthy lifestyle and health promotion activities. Objectives: To determine the level of involvement in health promoting behaviors of college students in Chandigarh. Material & Methods: This college based cross sectional study was conducted in four randomly selected colleges of Chandigarh during September 2007 to June 2008. Results: Two hundred students (F=100, M=100 were studied by using self administered health promoting lifestyle profile (HPLP questionnaires. Mean HPLP score was 138.69 (M=137.98, F=139.39. Female students were more likely to have better health promoting practices than their counterpart male students, but difference was not significant. Female students showed more sense of health responsibility than male students (p=0.00, whereas male students were significantly more involved in physical activities than female students (p=0.02. Overall, only few students (18.5% searched health related article from the internet; 26% went for normal health check up in the last year; 13.5% students practiced yoga regularly; 24.5% of them tried to choose diet with low fat content; 30% of them skipped meals regularly, and 25.5% of them ate processed food regularly. Conclusion: The study results showed that college students in Chandigarh had reasonably good orientation towards health promoting practices.

  12. The case of national health promotion policy in Australia: where to now?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smith, James A; Crawford, Gemma; Signal, Louise

    2016-04-01

    Issue addressed Over the last three decades there has been an incremental investment in health promotion and prevention across Australia; yet, the Commonwealth Government and some state/territory governments have more recently instigated funding cuts in health promotion and prevention. This paper argues that the role of health promotion is critical in contemporary Australia and discusses strategies needed to move forward within the context of recent disinvestments. Discussion Key areas of concern relating to recent health promotion and prevention disinvestment in Australia include the abolishment of the Australian National Preventive Health Agency, the cessation of the National Partnership Agreement on Preventive Health and significant cuts to Indigenous programs. These changes pose a significant threat to the health, economic and social well being of Australians and the region, particularly those that are most vulnerable. Conclusions Future health promotion and prevention efforts will require strategic leadership and action to enhance the promotion of health equity in Australia over the coming decades. We call on governments to (re)invest in health promotion and prevention both in and outside the health sector so that health promotion professionals can continue their advocacy efforts aimed at articulating their professional place in improving population health. So what? Recent changes to national health promotion and prevention policy are detrimental to the health and well being of the Australian population, particularly those most vulnerable. Sound planning to revitalise and refocus health promotion action in Australia is urgently required.

  13. Barriers to promote cardiovascular health in community pharmacies: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Alonso-Perales, María Del Mar; Lasheras, Berta; Beitia, Guadalupe; Beltrán, Idoia; Marcos, Beatriz; Núñez-Córdoba, Jorge M

    2017-06-01

    Community pharmacists play an important role in the provision of health promotion services, and community pharmacies are considered as a potentially ideal site for cardiovascular health promotion. Information based on a systematic review of barriers to promoting cardiovascular health in community pharmacy is currently lacking. We have sought to identify the most important barriers to cardiovascular health promotion in the community pharmacy. We have systematically searched PubMed and International Pharmaceutical Abstracts for a period of 15 years from 1 April 1998 to 1 April 2013, contacted subject experts and hand-searched bibliographies. We have included peer-reviewed articles, with English abstracts in the analysis, if they reported community pharmacists' perceptions of the barriers to cardiovascular health promotion activities in a community pharmacy setting. Two reviewers have independently extracted study characteristics and data. We identified 24 studies that satisfy the eligibility criteria. The main barriers to cardiovascular health promotion in the community pharmacy included pharmacist-related factors; practice site factors; financial factors; legal factors; and patient-related factors. This review will help to provide reliable evidence for health promotion practitioners of the barriers to promoting cardiovascular health in the community pharmacy setting. This knowledge is valuable for the improvement of cardiovascular health promotion in this setting and guiding future research. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. Health promotion in occupational health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kaijser, C F O

    2005-01-01

    To describe a Swedish approach to occupational health and its implications for health promotion. We start business with a new customer by creating a health policy for the whole company. Every year a follow-up is presented to top management where decisions are taken on what to do for the coming period. The result from a paper mill is presented where cost savings were five times more than expected. We have found that close follow-up and the use of personalized reminders is very useful for individuals. We have also found the importance of working more with "the softer side" i.e. looking into a person's total life situation. Management training activities are essential. This training includes for instance personality, communication and conflict handling seminars and every manager has to go through those seminars. The focus is moved from sick care to health improvement. The result is measured in long-term health for individuals. To reach that level you have to be healthy and have no absences for at least two years. The Swedish occupational health system is a unique system for creating health. With a specially trained staff including MDs, nurses, physiotherapists, psychologists, management consultants and engineers, and working from prevention to treatment, they can create a total view of both individual health and customer company wealth. Working closely together in teams and in close cooperation with customers, they can initiate great changes in both these dimensions.

  15. Home-based carers’ perceptions of health promotion on sexual health communication in Vhembe District

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dorah U. Ramathuba

    2015-05-01

    Full Text Available Background: The introduction of home-based care in rural communities in the 1980s contributed immensely toward the upliftment of the personal and environmental health of communities. Women’s groups provided health promotion skills and health education to communities and made a difference in health-related behaviour change. Objective: The purpose of the study was to explore and describe the home-based carers’ perception regarding health promotion concerning sexual health communication in Vhembe district, in the context of HIV, amongst communities still rooted in their culture. Method: A qualitative, explorative and descriptive design was used in order to understand home-based carers’ perceptions regarding health promotion on sexual health communication amongst rural communities which may adversely impact on health promotion practices. The population were home-based organisations in Vhembe. The sample was purposive and randomly selected and data were gathered through semi-structured face-to-face interviews and focus groups which determined data saturation. Open coding was used for analysis of data. Results: The results indicated that sexual communication was absent in most relationships and was not seen as necessary amongst married couples. Socioeconomic conditions, power inequity and emotional dependence had a negative impact on decision making and sexual communication. Conclusion: This study, therefore, recommends that educational and outreach efforts should focus on motivating change by improving the knowledge base of home-based carers. Since they are health promoters, they should be able to change the perceptions of the communities toward sexually-transmitted infections and HIV by promoting sexual health communication.

  16. Workplace Health Promotion and Mental Health: Three-Year Findings from Partnering Healthy@Work

    OpenAIRE

    Jarman, Lisa; Martin, Angela; Venn, Alison; Otahal, Petr; Blizzard, Leigh; Teale, Brook; Sanderson, Kristy

    2016-01-01

    This study aimed to investigate the association between mental health and comprehensive workplace health promotion (WHP) delivered to an entire state public service workforce (~28,000 employees) over a three-year period. Government departments in a state public service were supported to design and deliver a comprehensive, multi-component health promotion program, Healthy@Work, which targeted modifiable health risks including unhealthy lifestyles and stress. Repeated cross-sectional surveys co...

  17. Health care practices influencing health promotion in urban black women in Tshwane

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    SCD Wright

    2008-09-01

    Full Text Available Health promotion is a multifaceted activity. Women and children are particularly vulnerable regarding access to quality health care, with young African women reportedly the poorest and most economically marginalised and least educated sector in South Africa. Understanding the context within which a person lives is an essential component in the health educator’s teaching strategy. Understanding urban black women’s health care practices will enable health promoters to develop interventions that are successful. The problem investigated was to gain an understanding of the health care practices of urban black women that could influence health promotion activities. The design was qualitative exploratory. The respondents were women living in an urban township in Tshwane, South Africa. The sampling method was convenient and purposive and the sample size was determined by saturation of the data. Data was gathered through semi-structured interviews using six specific themes and the analysed using open coding. The results indicated that the social environment created by the registered nurses in the primary health influenced the health care practices of the women negatively. Practices regarding the seriousness of a health problem suggest a possible reason for late admission of a person with a serious health problem.

  18. 76 FR 16776 - Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health; Notice of Meeting

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-03-25

    ... DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and... a meeting is scheduled to be held for the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and... advice to the National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health (the ``Council''). The Advisory...

  19. Health Promoting Lifestyles Among Primary School Teachers Working in Edirne

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burcu Tokuc

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available To determine some socio-demographic characteristics and to evaluate daily life behaviors of the teachers who are working in Primary Schools in Edirne with Health Promotion Life Style Profile (HPLSP, was aimed in this study. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study. A questionnaire which was prepared by the investigators and HPLSP was sent to all teachers working in 33 primary schools in Edirne. 410 teachers accepted to participate and completed the questionnaire. Data were evaluated by SPSS v 13.0. It was found that teachers participated in the study were generally at medium level at health promoting behaviors, and the highest mean score was nutrition and the lowest was exercise. The total health promoting behaviors score and inter personel relations score was significantly higher in females but exercise score was significantly higher in males. It was also found that the total score of health promoting behaviors, increased with age. For increasing and supporting health promoting behaviors of the teachers, health promotion lectures should be included in occupational education and in-service training programs, and health professionals always must be in relation with teachers. [TAF Prev Med Bull. 2007; 6(6: 421-426

  20. Health Promoting Lifestyles Among Primary School Teachers Working in Edirne

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Burcu Tokuc

    2007-12-01

    Full Text Available To determine some socio-demographic characteristics and to evaluate daily life behaviors of the teachers who are working in Primary Schools in Edirne with Health Promotion Life Style Profile (HPLSP, was aimed in this study. This is a cross-sectional, descriptive study. A questionnaire which was prepared by the investigators and HPLSP was sent to all teachers working in 33 primary schools in Edirne. 410 teachers accepted to participate and completed the questionnaire. Data were evaluated by SPSS v 13.0. It was found that teachers participated in the study were generally at medium level at health promoting behaviors, and the highest mean score was nutrition and the lowest was exercise. The total health promoting behaviors score and inter personel relations score was significantly higher in females but exercise score was significantly higher in males. It was also found that the total score of health promoting behaviors, increased with age. For increasing and supporting health promoting behaviors of the teachers, health promotion lectures should be included in occupational education and in-service training programs, and health professionals always must be in relation with teachers. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2007; 6(6.000: 421-426

  1. Entrepreneurship in health education and health promotion: five cardinal rules.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eddy, James M; Stellefson, Michael L

    2009-07-01

    The nature of health education and health promotion (HE/HP) offers a fertile ground for entrepreneurial activity. As primary prevention of chronic diseases becomes a more central component of the health and/ or medical care continuum, entrepreneurial opportunities for health educators will continue to expand. The process used to design, implement, and evaluate health promotion and disease prevention has clear articulation with entrepreneurial, marketing management, and other business processes. Thus, entrepreneurs in HE/HP must be able to utilize business process to facilitate creative, new HE/HP business ideas. The purpose of this article is to weave theory and practical application into a primer on entrepreneurial applications in HE/HP. More specifically, the authors meld their prospective experiences and expertise to provide background thoughts on entrepreneurship in HE/HP and develop a framework for establishing an entrepreneurial venture in HE/HP. Five Cardinal Rules for Entrepreneurs in HE/HP are proposed.

  2. Gender and Evolutionary Theory in Workplace Health Promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Björklund, Erika; Wright, Jan

    2017-01-01

    Objective: Ideas from evolutionary theories are increasingly taken up in health promotion. This article seeks to demonstrate how such a trend has the potential to embed essentialist and limiting stereotypes of women and men in health promotion practice. Design: We draw on material gathered for a larger ethnographic study that examined how…

  3. The Variables Associated With Health Promotion Behaviors Among Urban Black Women.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hepburn, Millie

    2018-04-24

    To improve understanding of variables impacting health promotion behaviors among urban Black women. A cross-sectional survey was used. Urban Black women (N = 132) between the ages of 30 to 64 years participated. The study was conducted in a U.S. metropolitan region in 2015. Health literacy (Newest Vital Sign [NVS]), self-efficacy (New General Self-Efficacy Scale [NGSE]), and readiness for change (Health Risk Instrument [HRI]) were correlated with health promotion behaviors (Health Promotion Lifestyle Profile II [HPLPII]). Univariate statistics addressed demographic characteristics; bivariate/simultaneous linear regression determined the relationships between the NVS, NGSE, and HRI to health promotion behaviors (HPLPII). Demographics: 72.6% completed high school and 25% completed college, and the mean body mass index (BMI) was >32. Positive correlations existed between each variable to health promotion behaviors: NVS (r = .244, p promotion behaviors. Education and health literacy were also correlated (r s = .414, p = .001). Although health literacy, self-efficacy, and readiness for change are associated with health promotion behaviors, readiness for change was the most highly correlated. The development and incorporation of interventions to promote health promotion behaviors should include readiness for change, health literacy, BMI, and education, especially among urban Black women in order to reduce critical health disparities. Community-based and culturally relevant strategies in promoting health that are integrated into existing lifestyles and designed to impact readiness for change will have the greatest impact on reducing health disparities both in the United States and in countries experiencing rapid urbanization. For example, healthy eating behaviors or increased physical activity may be best adopted when integrated into existing community-based spiritual or cultural events via trusted community leaders. Replication of this study in other populations of Black

  4. Leading by Example: Health Promotion Programs for School Staff

    Science.gov (United States)

    Herbert, Patrick C.; Lohrmann, David K.

    2011-01-01

    Health promotion programs for school staff are an overlooked and underused resource that can reduce overweight and obesity among teachers and other staff members. They can also reduce staff absenteeism, increase productivity, reduce costs associated with health care and disability, and foster a climate that promotes good health schoolwide. An…

  5. The importance of context in the evolution of health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sparks, Michael

    2013-06-01

    The world has changed dramatically since the Ottawa Charter was developed in 1986. Contemporary health promotion responses continue to evolve and become more sophisticated in response to the multiple challenges created by an ever-changing world. This commentary discusses some of the challenges facing health promotion professionals today and some of the responses that are being developed to address them. The importance of contextual considerations for both the worker and the work of health promotion are emphasised. The author then suggests ways that organisations and individuals can meet modern-day health promotion challenges through specific courses of action.

  6. An integrated approach to the prevention and promotion of health in ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This paper reports the results of a review of health promotion programmes in the workplace. The aim of this review was to ascertain evidence of success in health promotion in the workplace. Workplace health promotion (WHP) programmes help to improve employee health by optimising an organisation's overall economic, ...

  7. Moral issues in workplace health promotion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    S.J.W. Robroek (Suzan); S. van de Vathorst (Suzanne); M.T. Hilhorst (Medard); A. Burdorf (Alex)

    2012-01-01

    textabstractPurpose: There is debate to what extent employers are entitled to interfere with the lifestyle and health of their workers. In this context, little information is available on the opinion of employees. Within the framework of a workplace health promotion (WHP) program, moral

  8. The CompHP Core Competencies Framework for Health Promotion in Europe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barry, Margaret M.; Battel-Kirk, Barbara; Dempsey, Colette

    2012-01-01

    Background: The CompHP Project on Developing Competencies and Professional Standards for Health Promotion in Europe was developed in response to the need for new and changing health promotion competencies to address health challenges. This article presents the process of developing the CompHP Core Competencies Framework for Health Promotion across…

  9. Influencing Organizations to Promote Health: Applying Stakeholder Theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kok, Gerjo; Gurabardhi, Zamira; Gottlieb, Nell H.; Zijlstra, Fred R. H.

    2015-01-01

    Stakeholder theory may help health promoters to make changes at the organizational and policy level to promote health. A stakeholder is any individual, group, or organization that can influence an organization. The organization that is the focus for influence attempts is called the focal organization. The more salient a stakeholder is and the more…

  10. Measuring the diffusion of innovative health promotion programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Steckler, A; Goodman, R M; McLeroy, K R; Davis, S; Koch, G

    1992-01-01

    Once a health promotion program has proven to be effective in one or two initial settings, attempts may be made to transfer the program to new settings. One way to conceptualize the transference of health promotion programs from one locale to another is by considering the programs to be innovations that are being diffused. In this way, diffusion of innovation theory can be applied to guide the process of program transference. This article reports on the development of six questionnaires to measure the extent to which health promotion programs are successfully disseminated: Organizational Climate, Awareness-Concern, Rogers's Adoption Variables, Level of Use, Level of Success, and Level of Institutionalization. The instruments are being successfully used in a study of the diffusion of health promotion/tobacco prevention curricula to junior high schools in North Carolina. The instruments, which measure the four steps of the diffusion process, have construct validity since they were developed within existing theories and are derived from the work of previous researchers. No previous research has attempted to use instruments like these to measure sequentially the stages of the diffusion process.

  11. Establishing schools that promote health: Is it worth doing?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saurabh RamBihariLal Shrivastava

    2013-12-01

    Full Text Available School is a setting that plays a significant role in the physical, emotional, social and mental development of a child. Schools provide an exceptional opportunity for assisting millions of young children to acquire health supportive knowledge, values, attitudes and behaviors. The World Health Organization has launched a global school health initiative in order to establish and strengthen health promotional and educational activities at the local, national, and international levels for ensuring an improvement in the health of students, school personnel, families and other members of the community. The ultimate aim of this initiative is to enhance the number of "Health-Promoting Schools". A health promoting school is the one that continually strengthens its capacities as a healthy institute in living, learning and working. Various types of barrier, such as the unavailability of all components of school health services within the school premises, a lack of clear instructions and overlapping roles of different agencies involved,logistic concerns, parents’ and teachers’ reservations about the competence of healthcare personnel and the quality of services; lack of effective communication between nurses and physician have been recognized as relevant to  the global effort for increasing the number of health promoting schools worldwide. In view of the wide range of benefits associated with school health services, different strategies have been suggested to ensure a maximum coverage. The first and foremost priority is to develop national guidelines establishing the scope and range of services offered under the umbrella of school health services. Subsequently other measures that can be implemented in a time-bound phased manner to cover the entire country  include the following: ensuring the  availability of physicians and nurses, establishing  alliances with different national and international agencies, addressing identified barriers

  12. The Health Equity Promotion Model: Reconceptualization of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Health Disparities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fredriksen-Goldsen, Karen I.; Simoni, Jane M.; Kim, Hyun-Jun; Lehavot, Keren; Walters, Karina L.; Yang, Joyce; Hoy-Ellis, Charles P.

    2015-01-01

    National health initiatives emphasize the importance of eliminating health disparities among historically disadvantaged populations. Yet, few studies have examined the range of health outcomes among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people. To stimulate more inclusive research in the area, we present the Health Equity Promotion Model—a framework oriented toward LGBT people reaching their full mental and physical health potential that considers both positive and adverse health-related circumstances. The model highlights (a) heterogeneity and intersectionality within LGBT communities; (b) the influence of structural and environmental context; and (c) both health-promoting and adverse pathways that encompass behavioral, social, psychological, and biological processes. It also expands upon earlier conceptualizations of sexual minority health by integrating a life course development perspective within the health-promotion model. By explicating the important role of agency and resilience as well as the deleterious effect of social structures on health outcomes, it supports policy and social justice to advance health and well-being in these communities. Important directions for future research as well as implications for health-promotion interventions and policies are offered. PMID:25545433

  13. Analysis of health promotion and prevention financing mechanisms in Thailand.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Watabe, Akihito; Wongwatanakul, Weranuch; Thamarangsi, Thaksaphon; Prakongsai, Phusit; Yuasa, Motoyuki

    2017-08-01

    In the transition to the post-2015 agenda, many countries are striving towards universal health coverage (UHC). Achieving this, governments need to shift from curative care to promotion and prevention services. This research analyses Thailand's financing system for health promotion and prevention, and assesses policy options for health financing reforms. The study employed a mixed-methods approach and integrates multiple sources of evidence, including scientific and grey literature, expenditure data, and semi-structured interviews with key stakeholders in Thailand. The analysis was underpinned by the use of a well-known health financing framework. In Thailand, three agencies plus local governments share major funding roles for health promotion and prevention services: the Ministry of Public Health (MOPH), the National Health Security Office, the Thai Health Promotion Foundation and Tambon Health Insurance Funds. The total expenditure on prevention and public health in 2010 was 10.8% of the total health expenditure, greater than many middle-income countries that average 7.0-9.2%. MOPH was the largest contributor at 32.9%, the Universal Coverage scheme was the second at 23.1%, followed by the local governments and ThaiHealth at 22.8 and 7.3%, respectively. Thailand's health financing system for promotion and prevention is strategic and innovative due to the three complementary mechanisms in operation. There are several methodological limitations to determine the adequate level of spending. The health financing reforms in Thailand could usefully inform policymakers on ways to increase spending on promotion and prevention. Further comparative policy research is needed to generate evidence to support efforts towards UHC. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

  14. Health Promotion Viewed in a Critical Perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mik-Meyer, Nanna

    2014-01-01

    The aim of this paper is to reflect critically on the current health promotion initiatives targeting overweight individuals in Western countries. The paper’s methodological approach is to draw on analytical findings from my and other sociologists’ empirical work on how the problems of overweight...... people are being defined in various settings in Denmark, England, Australia and the US. I try to illustrate how health promotion targeting overweight individuals can not only be seen as a project aimed at securing longer lives and fewer illnesses for people carrying excess fat but also a moral project...... that, in a more general sense, aims to tell people how they ought to live their lives. I link this moral aspect of health promotion to a) the medicalization tendency in current Western society (e.g. a growing pharmaceutical industry and its economic interest in transforming the human condition of being...

  15. [Outcomes evaluation of the school staff health promotion project].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woynarowska-Sołdan, Magdalena

    This article presents selected outcomes of a 3-year project "Health promotion of school staff in health-promoting schools," as well as the achievements and difficulties in its implementation. The research was conducted on 644 teachers and 226 members of non-teaching staff in 21 schools. The method involved opinion poll and authored questionnaires. A 2-part model of outcome evaluation was developed. Most participants appreciated the changes that took place within the 3 years of the project implementation. These included the improved level of their knowledge about health, health-conducive behaviors (62-93%) and the physical and social environment of the school (50-92%). Changes were more frequently acknowledged by teachers. About 80% of the participants had a positive attitude to the project, but only 20% assessed their involvement as considerable. About 90% believed that health promotion activities should be continued. According to the project leaders, insufficient support and financial resources, and difficulties in motivating school employees, particularly the nonteaching staff, to undertake health-promotion activities were the major handicaps in the project implementation. The project outcomes can be assessed as satisfying. They revealed that it is posssible to initiate health promotion among school staff. This can be effective on condition that participants are motivated, actively engaged in the project and supported by the head teacher and the local community. Necessarily, school leaders should be prepared to promote health among adults and to gain support from school policy decision makers, school administration, trade unions and universities involved in teacher training. Med Pr 2016;67(2):187-200. This work is available in Open Access model and licensed under a CC BY-NC 3.0 PL license.

  16. Outcomes evaluation of the school staff health promotion project

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Magdalena Woynarowska-Sołdan

    2016-04-01

    Full Text Available Background: This article presents selected outcomes of a 3-year project “Health promotion of school staff in health-promoting schools,” as well as the achievements and difficulties in its implementation. Material and Methods: The research was conducted on 644 teachers and 226 members of non-teaching staff in 21 schools. The method involved opinion poll and authored questionnaires. A 2-part model of outcome evaluation was developed. Results: Most participants appreciated the changes that took place within the 3 years of the project implementation. These included the improved level of their knowledge about health, health-conducive behaviors (62–93% and the physical and social environment of the school (50–92%. Changes were more frequently acknowledged by teachers. About 80% of the participants had a positive attitude to the project, but only 20% assessed their involvement as considerable. About 90% believed that health promotion activities should be continued. According to the project leaders, insufficient support and financial resources, and difficulties in motivating school employees, particularly the nonteaching staff, to undertake health-promotion activities were the major handicaps in the project implementation. Conclusions: The project outcomes can be assessed as satisfying. They revealed that it is posssible to initiate health promotion among school staff. This can be effective on condition that participants are motivated, actively engaged in the project and supported by the head teacher and the local community. Necessarily, school leaders should be prepared to promote health among adults and to gain support from school policy decision makers, school administration, trade unions and universities involved in teacher training. Med Pr 2016;67(2:187–200

  17. Managerial strategies to reorient hospitals towards health promotion: lessons from organisational theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Röthlin, Florian

    2013-01-01

    Reorienting health services towards health promotion is one of the major health promotion strategies stipulated by the Ottawa Charter). Important contradictions, tensions and barriers to health promotion implementation associated with organisational structures have, thus far, been underexposed in the hospital health promotion discourse. This paper aims at identifying risks and the chances for hospital management to strategically and sustainably reorient their hospitals towards health promotion. The paper combines theories and findings from organisational science and management studies as well as from capacity development in the form of a narrative literature review. The aim is to focus on the conditions hospitals, as organisational systems with a highly professionalised workforce, provide for a strategically managed reorientation towards health promotion. Models and principles helping managers to navigate the difficulties and complexities of health promotion reorientation will be suggested. Hospital managers have to deal with genuine obstacles in the complexity and structural formation of hospital organisations. Against this background, continuous management support, a transformative leadership style, participative strategic management and expert governance can be considered important organisational capacities for the reorientation towards a new concept such as health promotion. This paper discusses managerial strategies, effective structural transformations and important organisational capacities that can contribute to a sustainable reorientation of hospitals towards health promotion. It supports hospital managers in exploring their chances of facilitating and effectively supporting a sustainable health promotion reorientation of their hospitals. The paper provides an innovative approach where the focus is on enhanced possibilities for hospital managers to strategically manage the reorientation towards health promotion.

  18. Home as a health promotion setting for older adults

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mahler, Marianne; Sarvimäki, Anneli; Clancy, Anne

    2014-01-01

    promotion care. As official guidelines in the Nordic countries state that home is the best place to grow old, it is essential that older persons keep their health and functional capacity in order to be able to live at home for as long as possible. As current policy emphasises living at home, home care......The number and the proportion of older persons is growing in the Nordic Countries. The growth in the older population has a clear impact on the care system for older persons. One trend is to prioritise home care instead of care in institutions. Another trend is to emphasise preventive and health......, preventive work and health promotion it becomes essential to study the home as a health promotion setting. Objective: The aim of this study was to reach a new understanding of home as a health promotion setting for older persons. Study design: The method used was a literature reflection and analysis...

  19. Health Promotion and Health Behaviors of Diverse Ethnic/Racial Women Cosmetologists: A Review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naomi Thelusma

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Women from diverse ethnic/racial backgrounds have higher chronic disease mortality rates when compared to White non-Hispanic women. Community-based programs, such as beauty salons, have been used to reach diverse ethnic/racial women, yet little is known about diverse ethnic/racial women cosmetologists' involvement in health promotion and their health behaviors, which is the purpose of this review. The growing beauty salon health promotion literature indicates that their roles in these studies have been varied, not only as health promoters but also as recruiters, facilitators, and in general major catalysts for investigator-initiated studies. However, the review also identified a major void in the literature in that there were few studies on health behaviors of diverse ethnic/racial women cosmetologists, especially African American women cosmetologists. Recommendations include increasing the capacity of diverse ethnic/racial women cosmetologists as community health leaders and investigating their health status, knowledge, attitudes, and practices.

  20. Modelling the results of health promotion activities in Switzerland: development of the Swiss Model for Outcome Classification in Health Promotion and Prevention.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spencer, Brenda; Broesskamp-Stone, Ursel; Ruckstuhl, Brigitte; Ackermann, Günter; Spoerri, Adrian; Cloetta, Bernhard

    2008-03-01

    This paper describes the Model for Outcome Classification in Health Promotion and Prevention adopted by Health Promotion Switzerland (SMOC, Swiss Model for Outcome Classification) and the process of its development. The context and method of model development, and the aim and objectives of the model are outlined. Preliminary experience with application of the model in evaluation planning and situation analysis is reported. On the basis of an extensive literature search, the model is situated within the wider international context of similar efforts to meet the challenge of developing tools to assess systematically the activities of health promotion and prevention.

  1. Operationalising and piloting the IUHPE European accreditation system for health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battel-Kirk, Barbara; Barry, Margaret M; van der Zanden, Gerard; Contu, Paolo; Gallardo, Carmen; Martinez, Ana; Speller, Viv; Debenedetti, Sara

    2015-09-01

    The International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) European Accreditation System for Health Promotion aims to promote quality assurance in health promotion practice, education and training. The System is designed to be flexible and sensitive to the different contexts for health promotion practice, education and training in Europe, while maintaining robust criteria. These competency-based criteria were developed in the CompHP Project (2009-2012) that developed core competencies, professional standards and an accreditation framework for health promotion practice, education and training in the context of workforce capacity development in Europe.This paper describes how consultations undertaken with the health promotion community informed the structure and processes of the IUHPE Accreditation System. An overview of its development, key functions and the piloting of its implementation, which was co-funded by the European Union in the context of the EU Health Programme, is presented.Feedback from consultations with key health promotion stakeholders in Europe indicated overall support for the development of an accreditation system for health promotion. However, a number of potential barriers to its implementation were noted including: absence of dedicated practitioners and professional bodies in some countries; lack of clarity about professional boundaries; lack of financial resources required to facilitate capacity building; and concerns about the costs, objectivity and transparency of the system. Feedback from the consultations shaped and informed the process of designing an operational accreditation system to ensure that it would be responsive to potential users' needs and concerns.Based on the agreed structures and processes, a web-based application system was developed and managed at IUHPE headquarters. A governance structure was established together with agreed policies and procedures for the System. During the pilot period, applications from 20

  2. Breast cancer and breast health awareness as an evolving health promotion concept

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Plesnicar, A.; Kralj, B.; Kovac, V.

    2004-01-01

    Background. Breast cancer is the most frequent malignant disease in the majority of developed countries. In the last few years the introduction of mammography screening programmes has resulted in an improved survival of breast cancer patients. However, the incidence of the disease in these countries is still on the increase. Present focus on secondary breast cancer prevention activities, consisting of early detection and treatment, cannot ensure a decrease of breast cancer incidence. Improved breast health awareness could therefore represent a part of specific health promotion activities aimed at decreasing the incidence of breast cancer. Conclusions. In developed countries breast cancer is a significant health care issue. Secondary breast cancer prevention activities should therefore be complemented by specific health promotion activities in order to reduce its incidence in the future. Primary breast cancer prevention would include health promotion activities aimed at enhancement of the individual as well as collective breast health awareness. Properly enlightened members of the influential population groups could attain appropriate changes in the fields of legislation, taxation, customs and commercial regulations that would enable women to control their own breast health. (author)

  3. Promoting Dignity: The Ethical Dimension of Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Buchanan, David R

    2016-01-01

    The article examines the limitations of a strict scientific account of the causes of unhealthy behaviors, based on the standards promoted in evidence-based medicine, where randomized controlled trials are seen to provide the gold standard for establishing the validity of different explanations. The article critiques this account based on its disputed assumption that human free will does not exist, and thus, human autonomy and moral responsibility are an illusion. By denying human autonomy, the naturalistic paradigm also denies the possibility of human dignity. In contrast, the article describes and explains a humanistic account of human agency where human beings are characterized by the capacity to choose how to live their lives based on values that matter. Based on this humanistic framework, the article explains why dignity is an essential dimension of human health and well-being and describes key research challenges in moving the field of health promotion in a more humanistic direction. The article concludes with the recommendation to expand the goal of health promotion beyond physical fitness and to reorient the methods of research toward articulating values that matter and promoting human dignity. © The Author(s) 2016.

  4. Commercial activities and the promotion of health in schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raine, Gary

    2013-11-01

    Many companies nowadays consider schools to be an important setting for marketing to children. However, important concerns can be raised from a health promotion perspective about the potential negative impact of commercial activities on the health and well-being of pupils. As this discussion paper will demonstrate, some commercial activities raise concerns in relation to physical health and obesity, not only by potentially undermining formal curriculum messages, but also through the active promotion of specific products, particularly those high in fat, sugar or salt. Nonetheless, the issues raised by commercial activities are not solely limited to effects on physical health. By allowing commercial activities, schools risk instilling in pupils consumer-orientated values. This is significant as such values have been linked to the development of poor health and well-being. Furthermore, the presence in schools of commercial activities will also militate against informed decision-making and be disempowering. There is also evidence that business-sponsored teaching materials can contain biased and misleading information. The potential negative impacts of commercial activities are inconsistent with goals in relation to the promotion of health and the principles of health-promoting schools.

  5. Health promotion as multi-professional and multi-disciplinary work

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Chrisanthy Sotiriadou

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available Background: A health promoter is the name given to all those experts who are intended to prevent disease andill health and to increase well-being at the community level. That seems to be a very good and useful idea ingeneral, but can it be achieved by individuals alone?Objective: Review to what extend team work and the concept of team development are a pre-requisite foreffective health promotion. That is the central objective of this article and the answer will be explored through ananalysis of the international literature.Discussion: The first part will set out to define the notions of both health promotion and health promotionspecialists, in order to provide a framework for the multi-professional and multi-disciplinary nature of healthpromotion. The second part will try to establish the meaning of collaboration for health promotion, starting withdefinitions of the concepts: group, team and teamwork. The benefits of collaborative work in health promotionwill be discussed alongside the common barriers that can arise during the process.Conclusions: The article will conclude by proposing the characteristics of a successful team-working healthpromotion group.

  6. Health promoting behaviors in industrial workers

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gulay Yilmazel

    2015-04-01

    CONCLUSIONS: Health promoting behaviors were found to be in moderate level among cement factory workers. In our country, health protection and development programs at the national level would be useful to standardize for employees in the industrial sector. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2015; 14(2.000: 153-162

  7. Social capital and health: implication for health promotion by lay citizens in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyamoto, Keiko; Iwakuma, Miho; Nakayama, Takeo

    2015-12-01

    A non-profit organization was formed in 2009 by lay citizens of Nagahama, Japan in response to a community-based genome-epidemiologic study, the 'Nagahama Zero(0)-ji Prevention Cohort Project (N0PCP)'. This organization aims to promote health by taking advantage of citizens' social networks. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion affirms the importance of creating supportive environments and coordinating social relationships. Supportive environments (infrastructure) and social relationships (resources) work together as aspects of social capital. This study sought to examine the association between self-rated health and social capital, at both individual and neighborhood levels, and to discuss suitable health promotion strategies for local circumstances.A cross-sectional survey was conducted in 2011, using a self-administered postal questionnaire. Social capital indicators included aspects of support in the environment (social support, neighborhood connectedness, informal social controls, neighborhood trust, general trust, and attachment to place) and social relationships (number of activities; participation in neighborhood activities; participation in recreational activities; and social leverage regarding physical health, mental health, and acquisition of health information). Neighborhood-level social capital was calculated as the percentage of individuals in a neighborhood in the 'high social capital' category. At the individual level, participation in recreational activities, high general trust, and discussion regarding mental health problems with family members were associated with self-rated health positively, whereas discussion of mental health problems with acquaintances had a negative correlation. At the neighborhood level, a highly supportive environment did not contribute to good health, whereas aggregated attachment to place had a positive correlation. There were no significant inter-regional health differences.The results of this study suggest that

  8. Developing a promotion plan for health care marketing.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hallums, A

    1994-07-01

    Promotion of a health care provider's services is essential for communication with its customers and consumers. It is relevant to an organization's marketing strategy and is an element of what is described as the marketing mix. This paper considers the relationship of promotion to the marketing of services and proposes a plan for the promotion of the organization as a whole which can also be applied to an individual service or specialty. Whilst specific reference is made to an National Health Service (NHS) Trust it is also relevant to a Directly Managed Unit.

  9. Education Improves Public Health and Promotes Health Equity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hahn, Robert A; Truman, Benedict I

    2015-01-01

    This article describes a framework and empirical evidence to support the argument that educational programs and policies are crucial public health interventions. Concepts of education and health are developed and linked, and we review a wide range of empirical studies to clarify pathways of linkage and explore implications. Basic educational expertise and skills, including fundamental knowledge, reasoning ability, emotional self-regulation, and interactional abilities, are critical components of health. Moreover, education is a fundamental social determinant of health - an upstream cause of health. Programs that close gaps in educational outcomes between low-income or racial and ethnic minority populations and higher-income or majority populations are needed to promote health equity. Public health policy makers, health practitioners and educators, and departments of health and education can collaborate to implement educational programs and policies for which systematic evidence indicates clear public health benefits. © The Author(s) 2015.

  10. A Smartphone APP for Health and Tourism Promotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ker-Cheng Lin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The main purpose of this study is to develop an APP by integrating GPS to provide the digitized information of local cultural spots to guide tourists for tourism promotion and the digitized information of mountaineering trails to monitor energy expenditure (EE for health promotion. The provided cultural information is also adopted for educational purpose. Extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM was used to evaluate the usefulness and behavior intention of the provided information and functions in the developed system. Most users agreed that the system is useful for health promotion, tourism promotion, and folk-culture education. They also showed strong intention and positive attitude toward continuous use of the APP.

  11. The relationship between attitudes toward aging and health-promoting behaviours in older adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Korkmaz Aslan, Gülbahar; Kartal, Asiye; Özen Çınar, İlgün; Koştu, Nazan

    2017-12-01

    Identifying the factors that are associated with health-promoting behaviours in older adults is necessary to increase their willingness and motivation to participate in health-promotion activities. Understanding context-specific attitudes in relation to their influence on health-promoting behaviours is crucial in designing efficient interventions that foster health-promoting behaviours among older adults. This study aimed to examine the relationships between attitudes towards aging and health-promoting behaviours in older adults in Turkey. The study used a descriptive-correlational design. A convenience sample of 448 community-dwelling older adults who were 65 years and older and cognitively intact were selected from 6 family health centres in the city of Denizli in Turkey. The data were collected between March and June of 2014 using the Attitudes to Aging Questionnaire and the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II. Multiple linear regression analysis was performed to explore the predictors of health-promoting behaviours. Attitudes toward aging, the psychosocial loss subscale, and education were statistically significant predictors of health-promoting behaviours. Attitudes toward aging were the strongest predictor of health-promoting behaviours in older adults. Attitude towards aging is a factor that affects health-promoting behaviours, and it should be considered during interventions for improving health promoting behaviours. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  12. Social innovation for the promotion of health equity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Chris; Barraket, Jo; Friel, Sharon; O'Rourke, Kerryn; Stenta, Christian-Paul

    2015-09-01

    The role of social innovations in transforming the lives of individuals and communities has been a source of popular attention in recent years. This article systematically reviews the available evidence of the relationship between social innovation and its promotion of health equity. Guided by Fair Foundations: The VicHealth framework for health equity and examining four types of social innovation--social movements, service-related social innovations, social enterprise and digital social innovations--we find a growing literature on social innovation activities, but inconsistent evaluative evidence of their impacts on health equities, particularly at the socio-economic, political and cultural level of the framework. Distinctive characteristics of social innovations related to the promotion of health equity include the mobilization of latent or unrealised value through new combinations of (social, cultural and material) resources; growing bridging social capital and purposeful approaches to linking individual knowledge and experience to institutional change. These have implications for health promotion practice and for research about social innovation and health equity. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  13. Family-Based Approaches to Cardiovascular Health Promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vedanthan, Rajesh; Bansilal, Sameer; Soto, Ana Victoria; Kovacic, Jason C; Latina, Jacqueline; Jaslow, Risa; Santana, Maribel; Gorga, Elio; Kasarskis, Andrew; Hajjar, Roger; Schadt, Eric E; Björkegren, Johan L; Fayad, Zahi A; Fuster, Valentin

    2016-04-12

    Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of mortality in the world, and the increasing burden is largely a consequence of modifiable behavioral risk factors that interact with genomics and the environment. Continuous cardiovascular health promotion and disease prevention throughout the lifespan is critical, and the family is a central entity in this process. In this review, we describe the potential rationale and mechanisms that contribute to the importance of family for cardiovascular health promotion, focusing on: 1) mutual interdependence of the family system; 2) shared environment; 3) parenting style; 4) caregiver perceptions; and 5) genomics. We conclude that family-based approaches that target both caregivers and children, encourage communication among the family unit, and address the structural and environmental conditions in which families live and operate are likely to be the most effective approach to promote cardiovascular health. We describe lessons learned, future implications, and applications to ongoing and planned studies. Copyright © 2016 American College of Cardiology Foundation. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  14. The relationship between geriatric depression and health-promoting behaviors among community-dwelling seniors.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chang, Chyong-Fang; Lin, Mei-Hsiang; Wang, Jeng; Fan, Jun-Yu; Chou, Li-Na; Chen, Mei-Yen

    2013-06-01

    People older than 65 years old account for about 10.9% of Taiwan's total population; it is also known that the older adults experience a higher incidence of depression. Public health nurses play an important role in promoting community health. Policymaking for community healthcare should reflect the relationship between health-promoting behavior and depression in community-dwelling seniors. Therefore, the encouragement of healthy aging requires strategic planning by those who provide health promotion services. This study was designed to elicit the health-promoting behaviors of community seniors and investigate the relationship between geriatric depression and health-promoting behaviors among seniors who live in rural communities. We used a cross-sectional, descriptive design and collected data using a demographic information datasheet, the Health Promotion for Seniors and Geriatric Depression Scale short forms. The study included 427 participants. Most were women; mean age was 75.8 years. Most were illiterate; roughly half engaged in a limited number of health-promoting activities. The Geriatric Depression Scale score was negatively associated with health-promoting behavior. Social participation, health responsibility, self-protection, active lifestyle, and total Health Promotion for Seniors score all reached statistical significance. Multivariate analysis indicated that geriatric depression and physical discomfort were independent predictors of health-promoting behavior after controlling the confounding factors. Participants practiced less than the recommended level of health-promoting behaviors. We found a negative correlation between the geriatric depression score and health-promoting behavior. Results can be referenced to develop strategies to promote healthy aging in the community, especially with regard to promoting greater social participation and increased activity for community-dwelling older adults experiencing depression.

  15. Health promotion and cardiovascular disease prevention in sub-Saharan Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sampson, Uchechukwu K A; Amuyunzu-Nyamongo, Mary; Mensah, George A

    2013-01-01

    Recent population studies demonstrate an increasing burden of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and related risk factors in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The mitigation or reversal of this trend calls for effective health promotion and preventive interventions. In this article, we review the core principles, challenges, and progress in promoting cardiovascular health with special emphasis on interventions to address physical inactivity, poor diet, tobacco use, and adverse cardiometabolic risk factor trends in SSA. We focus on the five essential strategies of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. Successes highlighted include community-based interventions in Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Mauritius and school-based programs in Kenya, Namibia, and Swaziland. We address the major challenge of developing integrated interventions, and showcase partnerships opportunities. We conclude by calling for intersectoral partnerships for effective and sustainable intervention strategies to advance cardiovascular health promotion and close the implementation gap in accordance with the 2009 Nairobi Call to Action on Health Promotion. © 2013.

  16. Conceptualizations of professional competencies in school health promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carlsson, Monica Susanne

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the conceptualization and discussion of professional competencies needed for supporting the development of the whole-school approach in school health promotion (SHP). Design: The paper is based a conceptual synthesis of literature, guided...... delineates an overall professional competency model for SHP, discusses the specific demands on professional competencies within this field in relation to this model, and addresses three critical gaps in the conceptualizations of competency. Keywords: Professionals, competence, school health promotion Paper...... by a theoretical perspective on health promotion agency and professional competencies to identify core competency domains and elements. This is followed by a discussion of focus, gaps, and links in conceptualizations of competency domains and elements. Findings: The synthesis identifies five core competency...

  17. Conceptualizations of professional competencies in school health promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carlsson, Monica Susanne

    2016-01-01

    by a theoretical perspective on health promotion agency and professional competencies to identify core competency domains and elements. This is followed by a discussion of focus, gaps, and links in conceptualizations of competency domains and elements. Findings: The synthesis identifies five core competency...... delineates an overall professional competency model for SHP, discusses the specific demands on professional competencies within this field in relation to this model, and addresses three critical gaps in the conceptualizations of competency. Keywords: Professionals, competence, school health promotion Paper......Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the conceptualization and discussion of professional competencies needed for supporting the development of the whole-school approach in school health promotion (SHP). Design: The paper is based a conceptual synthesis of literature, guided...

  18. Conceptualizations of professional competencies in school health promotion

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Carlsson, Monica Susanne

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to contribute to the conceptualization and discussion of professional competencies needed for supporting the development of the whole-school approach in school health promotion (SHP). Design: The paper is based a conceptual synthesis of literature, guided...... by a theoretical perspective on health promotion agency and professional competencies to identify core competency domains and elements. This is followed by a discussion of focus, gaps, and links in conceptualizations of competency domains and elements. Findings: The synthesis identifies five core competency...... domains: 1) policy-development, 2) organizational development, 3) professional development, 4) development of students’ learning, and 5) development of health promotion activities. Three critical gaps in the conceptualizations of competency domains and elements are identified and discussed: 1...

  19. Health Promoting Schools: Initiatives in Africa

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macnab, Andrew J.; Stewart, Donald; Gagnon, Faith A.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the rationale for and potential of World Health Organization (WHO) health promoting schools (HPS) in Africa. Design/Methodology/Approach: Overview of the related literature and presentations at the 2011 Stellenbosch international colloquium on HPS relating to sub-Saharan Africa. Findings: Schools…

  20. Organizational capacities for health promotion implementation: results from an international hospital study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Röthlin, Florian; Schmied, Hermann; Dietscher, Christina

    2015-06-01

    In this article, organizational structures in hospitals are discussed as possible capacities for hospital health promotion (HP) implementation, based on data from the PRICES-HPH study. PRICES-HPH is a cross-sectional evaluation study of the International Network of Health Promoting Hospitals & Health Services (HPH-Network) and was conducted in 2008-2012. Data from 159 acute care hospitals were used in the analysis. Twelve organizational structures, which were denoted as possible organizational health promotion capacities in previous literature, were tested for their association with certain strategic HP implementation approaches. Four organizational structures were significantly (p = 0.05) associated with one or more elaborate and comprehensive strategic HP implementation approaches: (1) a health promotion specific quality assessment routine; (2) an official hospital health promotion team; (3) a fulltime hospital health promotion coordinator; and (4) officially documented health promotion policies, strategies or standards. The results add further evidence to the importance of organizational capacity structures for hospital health promotion and identify four tangible structures as likely candidates for organizational HP capacities in hospitals. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  1. Health promotion practices as perceived by primary healthcare professionals at the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs, Saudi Arabia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Altamimi, Samar; Alshoshan, Feda; Al Shaman, Ghada; Tawfeeq, Nasser; Alasmary, May; Ahmed, Anwar E

    2016-01-01

    In recent years, several research studies have investigated health promotion practices in Saudi healthcare organizations, yet no published literature exists on health promotion practices of primary healthcare professionals working for the Ministry of National Guard Health Affairs (MNG-HA). A cross-sectional study was conducted in a convenience sample of 206 primary healthcare professionals at the MNG-HA. A self-reporting questionnaire was used to investigate the attitudes, awareness, satisfaction, and methods regarding health promotion practices of primary healthcare professionals. Of the 206 primary healthcare professionals surveyed, 58.1% reported awareness of health promotion programs conducted in the hospitals and 64.6% reported that the health promotion system in the hospitals needs to be improved. Language barriers and cultural beliefs were viewed as obstacles to carrying out effective health promotion by 65% and 64.6% of primary healthcare professionals, respectively. The majority (79.9%) of the primary healthcare professionals perceived themselves as having the necessary skills to promote health and 80.6% believed that printed educational materials are the most prevalent method of health promotion/education, whereas 55.8% reported that counseling was the most preferred method of health promotion. The awareness level of health promotion policies, strategies, and programs conducted in the hospitals was not found to be satisfactory. Therefore, widespread training programs are recommended to improve the health promotion system in the hospitals. These programs include facilitating behavioral change, introducing health promotion policies and strategies in hospitals, mandatory workshops, and systematic reminders.

  2. Online social networking sites-a novel setting for health promotion?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loss, Julika; Lindacher, Verena; Curbach, Janina

    2014-03-01

    Among adolescents, online social networking sites (SNS) such as Facebook are popular platforms for social interaction and may therefore be considered as 'novel settings' that could be exploited for health promotion. In this article, we examine the relevant definitions in health promotion and literature in order to analyze whether key characteristics of 'settings for health promotion' and the socio-ecological settings approach can be transferred to SNS. As many of our daily activities have shifted to cyberspace, we argue that online social interaction may gain more importance than geographic closeness for defining a 'setting'. While exposition to positive references to risk behavior by peers may render the SNS environment detrimental to health, SNS may allow people to create their own content and therefore foster participation. However, those health promotion projects delivered on SNS up until today solely relied on health education directed at end users. It remains unclear how health promotion on SNS can meet other requirements of the settings approach (e.g. building partnerships, changing the environment). As yet, one should be cautious in terming SNS a 'setting'. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  3. An international Delphi study examining health promotion and health education in nursing practice, education and policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitehead, Dean

    2008-04-01

    To arrive at an expert consensus in relation to health promotion and health education constructs as they apply to nursing practice, education and policy. Nursing has often been maligned and criticized, both inside and outside of the profession, for its ability to understand and conduct effective health promotion and health education-related activities. In the absence of an expert-based consensus, nurses may find it difficult to progress beyond the current situation. In the absence of any previously published nursing-related consensus research, this study seeks to fill that knowledge-gap. A two-round Delphi technique via email correspondence. A first-round qualitative questionnaire used open-ended questions for defining health promotion and health education. This was both in general terms and as participants believed these concepts related to the clinical, theoretical (academic/educational) and the policy (political) setting in nursing. Line-by-line qualitative content and thematic analysis of the first-round data generated 13 specific categories. These categories contained 134 statement items. The second-round questionnaire comprised the identified 134 statements. Using a five-point Likert scale (ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 5 = strongly agree) participants scored and rated their level of agreement/disagreement against the listed items. Data from the second-round was descriptively analysed according to distribution and central tendency measures. An expert consensus was reached on 65 of the original 134 statements. While some minor contradiction was demonstrated, strong consensus emerged around the issues of defining health promotion and health education and the emergence of a wider health promotion and health education role for nursing. No consensus was reached on only one of the 13 identified topic categories - that of 'nurses working with other disciplines and agencies in a health education and health promotion role.' This study provides a hitherto

  4. Health-care users, key community informants and primary health care workers' views on health, health promotion, health assets and deficits: qualitative study in seven Spanish regions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pons-Vigués, Mariona; Berenguera, Anna; Coma-Auli, Núria; Pombo-Ramos, Haizea; March, Sebastià; Asensio-Martínez, Angela; Moreno-Peral, Patricia; Mora-Simón, Sara; Martínez-Andrés, Maria; Pujol-Ribera, Enriqueta

    2017-06-13

    Although some articles have analysed the definitions of health and health promotion from the perspective of health-care users and health care professionals, no published studies include the simultaneous participation of health-care users, primary health care professionals and key community informants. Understanding the perception of health and health promotion amongst these different stakeholders is crucial for the design and implementation of successful, equitable and sustainable measures that improve the health and wellbeing of populations. Furthermore, the identification of different health assets and deficits by the different informants will generate new evidence to promote healthy behaviours, improve community health and wellbeing and reduce preventable inequalities. The objective of this study is to explore the concept of health and health promotion and to compare health assets and deficits as identified by health-care users, key community informants and primary health care workers with the ultimate purpose to collect the necessary data for the design and implementation of a successful health promotion intervention. A descriptive-interpretive qualitative research was conducted with 276 participants from 14 primary care centres of 7 Spanish regions. Theoretical sampling was used for selection. We organized 11 discussion groups and 2 triangular groups with health-care users; 30 semi-structured interviews with key community informants; and 14 discussion groups with primary health care workers. A thematic content analysis was carried out. Health-care users and key community informants agree that health is a complex, broad, multifactorial concept that encompasses several interrelated dimensions (physical, psychological-emotional, social, occupational, intellectual, spiritual and environmental). The three participants' profiles consider health promotion indispensable despite defining it as complex and vague. In fact, most health-care users admit to having

  5. Study of Health-promotion behaviors among university of medical science students

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Zahra Motlagh

    2011-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: Health promoting activities and a healthy lifestyle are major strategies to preserve health. Regarding the importance of health in young people, health promotion in society and also lack of related studies in Iran, this study was designed to determine the performance of the health-enhancing behaviors in medical university students and its effective factors.Materials and Method: This study was a cross-sectional-descriptive survey assessing health-promoting lifestyle among students of Yazd university of medical sciences. A total number of 440 students were recruited in this study using a stratified sampling method. Health-promoting lifestyle was measured using walker’s health–promoting life style profile II (HPLP-II instrument. Data were analyzed by χ2, student t-tests and one way ANOVA, using SPSS -11.5.Result: Age range of participants was from 17 to 33 years with a mean age of 21.1 years and was composed of 67.4% females and 32.6% males. Totally, the overall health-promoting lifestyle profile had a mean of 130.31 ±19. The highest mean in the subscales was 26.03±5.04 for spiritual growth and the lowest was 16.24±4.28 for physical activity. Statistical significant association was seen between the socio-demographic variables particularly employment situation (p=0.002, study field (p=0.001, mother’s education level (p=0.007 and mother’s job (p=0.01 with mean of overall health-promoting lifestyle profile.Conclusion: Regarding the situation of health-promoting behaviors due to low physical activity among students especially in girls providing health education programs toward increasing physical activity is recommended.

  6. Professional competence in a health promotion program in the Netherlands

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Rijkers-de Boer, Caroline J. M.; Heijsman, Anke; van Nes, Fenna; Abma, Tineke A.

    Health promotion for senior citizens ('seniors') is an increasingly important factor in health and welfare policy, having important implications for occupational therapy. The health promotion program 'Healthy and Active Aging' originated in the US, has been modified and adapted to the Dutch context

  7. Prison staff and the health promoting prison.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dixey, Rachael; Woodall, James

    2011-01-01

    This paper aims to discuss some of the obstacles to implementing policy and strategy related to health promoting prisons. It focuses on the role of prison officers and raises issues concerning their conditions of service, training and organisational culture in a situation where the prison system faces security issues, overcrowding and high levels of ill health among prisoners. This paper emerged as a result of significant overlapping themes between two separate studies conducted by the authors. The paper draws on the authors' qualitative data from these studies. The findings demonstrate the ambiguities and tensions in changing organisational cultures and among prison staff. Alongside the qualitative data, the paper draws on theory regarding policy implementation at the micro-level to show how staff can block or speed up that implementation. Prison officers are an essential part of health promoting prisons, but have been relatively ignored in the discussion of how to create healthier prisons. The contribution that prison staff make to creating health promoting prisons has been under-explored, yet pertinent theory can show how they can be more effectively involved in making changes in organisational culture.

  8. Getting Australia more active: challenges and opportunities for health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hills, A P; Street, S J; Harris, N

    2014-04-01

    A growing body of evidence demonstrates that regular physical activity promotes health and assists in the prevention of non-communicable diseases but this is presently curtailed by low and unhealthy participation rates in Australia and comparable industrialised countries. Compounding the problem is knowledge that physical inactivity is independently associated with poor health outcomes. Despite physical activity being described as public health's 'best bet' or 'best buy', motivating individuals and groups to adopt and maintain physical activity continues to be a major challenge for health professionals. Global advocacy for prevention efforts must be operationalised through national to local strategies to promote and support physical activity in multiple settings including the home, schools and workplace. The Australian health promotion community has and continues to play a leadership role in physical activity promotion. However, there is an urgent need to continue to promote the importance of physical activity, along with its pivotal role in the prevention of non-communicable diseases, alongside related agendas including healthy diets, tobacco control and environmental sustainability. This commentary overviews the contemporary status of physical activity promotion in Australia and identifies key challenges and opportunities moving forward.

  9. Sustainable development goals for health promotion: a critical frame analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Spencer, Grace; Corbin, J Hope; Miedema, Esther

    2018-05-25

    The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) lay the foundations for supporting global health and international development work for the next 15 years. Thirty years ago, the Ottawa Charter defined health promotion and outlined key principles for global action on health, including the importance of advocating, enabling and mediating for health equity. Advocacy underscores a human right to health and suggests political action to support its attainment. Enabling speaks to health promotion's focus on the empowerment of people and communities to take control over their health and aspirations. Mediation draws attention to the critical intersectoral partnerships required to address health and social inequities. Underpinned by this approach, the aim of this paper is to consider how key health promotion principles, namely, rights, empowerment and partnership feature (and are framed) within the SDGs and to consider how these framings may shape future directions for health promotion. To that end, a critical frame analysis of the Transforming Our World document was conducted. The analysis interrogated varying uses and meanings of partnerships, empowerment and rights (and their connections) within the SDGs. The analysis here presents three framings from the SDGs: (1) a moral code for global action on (in)equity; (2) a future orientation to address global issues yet devoid of history; and (3) a reductionist framing of health as the absence of disease. These framings raise important questions about the underpinning values of the SDGs and pathways to health equity - offering both challenges and opportunities for defining the nature and scope of health promotion.

  10. Exploring health promotion practitioners' experiences of moral distress in Canada and Australia.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunderland, Naomi; Harris, Paul; Johnstone, Kylie; Del Fabbro, Letitia; Kendall, Elizabeth

    2015-03-01

    This article introduces moral distress - the experience of painful feelings due to institutional constraints on personal moral action - as a significant issue for the international health promotion workforce. Our exploratory study of practitioners' experiences of health promotion in Australia and Canada during 2009-2010 indicated that practitioners who work in upstream policy- and systems-level health promotion are affected by experiences of moral distress. Health promotion practitioners at all levels of the health promotion continuum also described themselves as being engaged in a minority practice within a larger dominant system that does not always value health promotion. We argue that health promotion practitioners are vulnerable to moral distress due to the values-driven and political nature of the practice, the emphasis on systems change and the inherent complexity and diversity of the practice. This vulnerability to moral distress poses significant challenges to both workers and organisations and the communities they seek to benefit. We propose that further research should be undertaken to fully identify the causes and symptoms of moral distress in health promotion. Extensive existing research on moral distress in nursing provides ample resources to conduct such research. © The Author(s) 2014.

  11. Health promotion settings: principles and practice

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Scriven, Angela; Hodgins, Margaret

    2012-01-01

    ...: www.sagepublications.comHealth Promotion Settings Principles and Practice Edited by Angela Scriven and Margaret HodginsEditorial arrangement, Introduction to Part II © Angela Scriven and Margaret...

  12. Worksite Health Promotion for Low-Wage Workers: A Scoping Literature Review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stiehl, Emily; Shivaprakash, Namrata; Thatcher, Esther; Ornelas, India J; Kneipp, Shawn; Baron, Sherry L; Muramatsu, Naoko

    2018-02-01

    To determine: (1) What research has been done on health promotion interventions for low-wage workers and (2) what factors are associated with effective low-wage workers' health promotion programs. This review includes articles from PubMed and PsychINFO published in or before July 2016. Study Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria: The search yielded 130 unique articles, 35 met the inclusion criteria: (1) being conducted in the United States, (2) including an intervention or empirical data around health promotion among adult low-wage workers, and (3) measuring changes in low-wage worker health. Central features of the selected studies were extracted, including the theoretical foundation; study design; health promotion intervention content and delivery format; intervention-targeted outcomes; sample characteristics; and work, occupational, and industry characteristics. Consistent with a scoping review, we used a descriptive, content analysis approach to analyze extracted data. All authors agreed upon emergent themes and 2 authors independently coded data extracted from each article. The results suggest that the research on low-wage workers' health promotion is limited, but increasing, and that low-wage workers have limited access to and utilization of worksite health promotion programs. Workplace health promotion programs could have a positive effect on low-wage workers, but more work is needed to understand how to expand access, what drives participation, and which delivery mechanisms are most effective.

  13. Worksite Health Promotion for Low-wage Workers: A Scoping Literature Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stiehl, Emily; Shivaprakash, Namrata; Thatcher, Esther; Ornelas, India J.; Kneipp, Shawn; Baron, Sherry L.; Muramatsu, Naoko

    2018-01-01

    Objective To determine: (1) What research has been done on health promotion interventions for low-wage workers and (2) What factors are associated with effective low-wage workers’ health promotion. Data Source This review includes articles from PubMed and PsychINFO published in or before July 2016 Study Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria The search yielded 130 unique articles, 35 met the inclusion criteria: (1) being conducted in the US, (2) including an intervention or empirical data around health promotion among adult low-wage workers, and (3) measuring changes in low-wage worker health. Data Extraction Central features of the selected studies were extracted, including the theoretical foundation, study design, health promotion intervention content and delivery format, intervention targeted outcomes, sample characteristics, and work, occupational, and industry characteristics. Data Analysis Consistent with a scoping review, we used a descriptive, content analysis approach to analyze extracted data. All authors agreed upon emergent themes and two authors independently coded data extracted from each article. Results The results suggest that the research on low-wage workers’ health promotion is limited, but increasing, and that low-wage workers have limited access to and utilization of worksite health promotion programs. Conclusions Workplace health promotion programs could have a positive effect on low-wage workers, but more work is needed to understand how to expand access, what drives participation and which delivery mechanisms are most effective. PMID:28893085

  14. Dilemmas in health promotion in Brazil: the National Policy under consideration

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Martha A. Traverso-Yépez

    2007-01-01

    Full Text Available Despite being a recurrent theme in day-to-day life, health promotion is a complex and multifaceted concept. The purpose of this article is to highlight some of the dilemmas and problematic aspects of institutional ideas about health promotion. It also emphasizes the difficulty of thinking about health promotion, without also considering how to eradicate the deep social iniquities of the Brazilian context. The article develops this line of thinking in depth by analysing the National Health Promotion Policy instituted in 2006, and demonstrates the relevance of deconstructing politically correct discourses and developing processes of reflection in our health-related practices.

  15. Polyphenol-Rich Lentils and Their Health Promoting Effects.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ganesan, Kumar; Xu, Baojun

    2017-11-10

    Polyphenols are a group of plant metabolites with potent antioxidant properties, which protect against various chronic diseases induced by oxidative stress. Evidence showed that dietary polyphenols have emerged as one of the prominent scientific interests due to their role in the prevention of degenerative diseases in humans. Possible health beneficial effects of polyphenols are measured based on the human consumption and their bioavailability. Lentil ( Lens culinaris ; Family: Fabaceae) is a great source of polyphenol compounds with various health-promoting properties. Polyphenol-rich lentils have a potential effect on human health, possessing properties such as antioxidant, antidiabetic, anti-obesity, anti-hyperlipidemic, anti-inflammatory and anticancer. Based on the explorative study, the current comprehensive review aims to give up-to-date information on nutritive compositions, bioactive compounds and the health-promoting effect of polyphenol-rich lentils, which explores their therapeutic values for future clinical studies. All data of in vitro , in vivo and clinical studies of lentils and their impact on human health were collected from a library database and electronic search (Science Direct, PubMed and Google Scholar). Health-promoting information was gathered and orchestrated in the suitable place in the review.

  16. Health-promoting changes with children as agents

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Simovska, Venka; Carlsson, Monica Susanne

    2012-01-01

    Purpose – With the aim of contributing to the evidence base on school-based health promotion, the authors discuss the outcomes and processes of a European intervention project aiming to prevent obesity among children (4-16 years) and promote their health and well-being, titled Shape Up: a school...... for healthier diet and regular physical activity. The study identified three forms of participation, each with a different level of pupil involvement and agency. Research limitations/implications – The study is qualitative, based on five single cases and cross-case analysis; this research design implies caution...

  17. Nurse competencies for health promotion in the mental health context

    OpenAIRE

    Aguiar,Maria Isis Freire de; Lima,Hélder de Pádua; Braga,Violante Augusta Batista; Aquino,Priscila de Souza; Pinheiro,Ana Karina Bezerra; Ximenes,Lorena Barbosa

    2012-01-01

    OBJECTIVE: To identify the competencies of nurses to health promotion in psychiatric and mental health context. METHODS: Integrative review of literature performed through search using the keywords: "mental health" and "professional competence", in the databases SciELO, LILACS, CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus and Cochrane, in the period of 2003 to 2011. 215 studies were identified, of these, six followed the inclusion criteria. RESULTS: Based on the National Panel for Psychiatric Mental Health NP Comp...

  18. Use of social media for sexual health promotion: a scoping review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabarron, Elia; Wynn, Rolf

    2016-01-01

    Background In order to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the World Health Organization recommends educating people on sexual health. With more than 2 billion active users worldwide, online social media potentially represent powerful channels for health promotion, including sexual health. Objective To review the scientific literature on the use of online social media for sexual health promotion. Design A search was conducted of scientific and medical databases, and grey literature was also included. The selected publications were classified according to their study designs, sexual health promotion main subject, target audience age, and social media use. Results Fifty-one publications were included; 4 publications presenting randomized intervention studies, 39 non-randomized intervention studies, and 8 observational studies. In 29 publications (56.9%), the main subject of the sexual health promotion was ‘general’ or to increase STI testing. Thirty publications (58.8%) specifically focused on youth or young people (aged 11–29 years). Fourteen publications that used social media either as unique channels for sexual health promotion interventions or as a tool supporting the sexual health promotion reported an effect on behavior (27%), and two of those studies found a reduction in the number of positive chlamydia and gonorrhea cases linked to social media intervention. Forty-four publications (86.3%) involved Facebook in some way. Conclusions Although billions of people worldwide actively use social media, we identified only 51 publications on the use of social media for promoting sexual health. About a quarter of the publications have identified promising results, and the evidence for positive effects of social media interventions for promoting sexual health is increasing. There is a need for more studies that explicitly discuss their theoretical framework, and that have strong research designs, in order to further increase the evidence base of the

  19. Use of social media for sexual health promotion: a scoping review

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Elia Gabarron

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: In order to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs, the World Health Organization recommends educating people on sexual health. With more than 2 billion active users worldwide, online social media potentially represent powerful channels for health promotion, including sexual health. Objective: To review the scientific literature on the use of online social media for sexual health promotion. Design: A search was conducted of scientific and medical databases, and grey literature was also included. The selected publications were classified according to their study designs, sexual health promotion main subject, target audience age, and social media use. Results: Fifty-one publications were included; 4 publications presenting randomized intervention studies, 39 non-randomized intervention studies, and 8 observational studies. In 29 publications (56.9%, the main subject of the sexual health promotion was ‘general’ or to increase STI testing. Thirty publications (58.8% specifically focused on youth or young people (aged 11–29 years. Fourteen publications that used social media either as unique channels for sexual health promotion interventions or as a tool supporting the sexual health promotion reported an effect on behavior (27%, and two of those studies found a reduction in the number of positive chlamydia and gonorrhea cases linked to social media intervention. Forty-four publications (86.3% involved Facebook in some way. Conclusions: Although billions of people worldwide actively use social media, we identified only 51 publications on the use of social media for promoting sexual health. About a quarter of the publications have identified promising results, and the evidence for positive effects of social media interventions for promoting sexual health is increasing. There is a need for more studies that explicitly discuss their theoretical framework, and that have strong research designs, in order to further increase the

  20. Use of social media for sexual health promotion: a scoping review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gabarron, Elia; Wynn, Rolf

    2016-01-01

    In order to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs), the World Health Organization recommends educating people on sexual health. With more than 2 billion active users worldwide, online social media potentially represent powerful channels for health promotion, including sexual health. To review the scientific literature on the use of online social media for sexual health promotion. A search was conducted of scientific and medical databases, and grey literature was also included. The selected publications were classified according to their study designs, sexual health promotion main subject, target audience age, and social media use. Fifty-one publications were included; 4 publications presenting randomized intervention studies, 39 non-randomized intervention studies, and 8 observational studies. In 29 publications (56.9%), the main subject of the sexual health promotion was 'general' or to increase STI testing. Thirty publications (58.8%) specifically focused on youth or young people (aged 11-29 years). Fourteen publications that used social media either as unique channels for sexual health promotion interventions or as a tool supporting the sexual health promotion reported an effect on behavior (27%), and two of those studies found a reduction in the number of positive chlamydia and gonorrhea cases linked to social media intervention. Forty-four publications (86.3%) involved Facebook in some way. Although billions of people worldwide actively use social media, we identified only 51 publications on the use of social media for promoting sexual health. About a quarter of the publications have identified promising results, and the evidence for positive effects of social media interventions for promoting sexual health is increasing. There is a need for more studies that explicitly discuss their theoretical framework, and that have strong research designs, in order to further increase the evidence base of the field.

  1. Promoting Community Health Resources: Preferred Communication Strategies

    Science.gov (United States)

    Background: Community health promotion efforts involve communicating resource information to priority populations. Which communication strategies are most effective is largely unknown for specific populations. Objective: A random-dialed telephone survey was conducted to assess health resource comm...

  2. Health promotion: what's in it for business and industry?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brennan, A J

    1982-01-01

    Health promotion has been linked to improved morale, increased productivity, reduced absenteeism and turnover, more appropriate utilization of medical services and decreased disability and premature death claims due to unhealthy lifestyles. Preliminary data in favor of HPPs are being accumulated. Final proof is not available to "sell" myopic bottom line managers on the concept, however, as Immanuel Kant stated, "It is often necessary to make a decision on the basis of knowledge sufficient for action but insufficient to satisfy the intellect." If techniques can be developed to quantify in economic terms the impact of health promotion in these areas, business and industry will have a profound, hard line reason beyond their genuine interest in the health of their employees, for providing health promotion to employee populations--MONEY.

  3. Mental health-promoting dialogues from the perspective of community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Grundberg, Åke; Ebbeskog, Britt; Gustafsson, Sanna Aila; Religa, Dorota

    2014-01-01

    Mental health promotion needs to be studied more deeply within the context of primary care, because persons with multiple chronic conditions are at risk of developing poor mental health. In order to make progress in the understanding of mental health promotion, the aim of this study was to describe the experiences of health-promoting dialogues from the perspective of community-dwelling seniors with multimorbidity – what these seniors believe is important for achieving a dialogue that may promote their mental health. Seven interviews with six women and one man, aged 83–96 years, were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. The results were summarized into nine subcategories and three categories. The underlying meaning of the text was formulated into an overarching theme that embraced every category, “perceived and well-managed as a unique individual”. These seniors with multimorbidity missed someone to talk to about their mental health, and needed partners that were accessible for health dialogues that could promote mental health. The participants missed friends and relatives to talk to and they (crucially) lacked health care or social service providers for health-promoting dialogues that may promote mental health. An optimal level of care can be achieved through involvement, continuity, and by providing a health-promoting dialogue based on seniors’ needs and wishes, with the remembrance that general health promotion also may promote mental health. Implications for clinical practice and further research are discussed. PMID:24812516

  4. SCHOOL AS A HEALTH PROMOTING PLACE FOR ITS STUDENTS

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Andre Guirland Vieira

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available The school has a strong commitment with the surrounding community as a space for the development of health promoting actions. However, for this space to be truly potentiating the quality of life, people should feel they are accepted and to participate in the process of building this healthy environment. So the aim of this study is to reflect upon the school as a health production space, and the importance of the health promoting school proposal.  For this purpose we conducted a theoretical research on school environment, social inclusion and health promotion in school facilities. Results point to the necessity for school to contribute for the development of healthy life abilities, reflecting upon life styles and promoting a healthy atmosphere for learning, which is appropriate for the student. That includes appraising individualities and establishing an atmosphere that potentiates healthy relations, with communication quality and with reflection upon diversities. It is specially found that teacher´s critical, creative and reflexive attitude plays an important role for healthy promoting school establishment, developing a pleasant, joyful and solidary environment, and stimulating joint search for doubts and questions.

  5. Basic webliography on health promotion and disease prevention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario Ferreira Junior

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available Objectives: To introduce a basic webliography to access highly qualified evidence-based material on health promotion and disease prevention, aiming at the continuing education of health professionals. Methods: By means of Google® browser, applying the descriptors in sequence to progressively refine the search on Internet and key concepts to be learned, all previously defined by the authors themselves, we proceeded a qualitative analyses of the 20 first listed links for each searched issue and the final selection of the most scientifically relevant ones. Results: The 34 selected links are presented in 4 groups: 23 portals, 5 guides and recommendations, 4 scientific journals and 3 blogs that allow free access to health promotion and disease prevention related subjects, such as: concepts; national and international public policies; epidemiology, statistics and health indicators; diseases screening and prophylaxis; counseling for behavior change of health related habits; and interdisciplinary work. Among the selected links 10 (29% are written in English while the others are in Portuguese. Conclusions: The identification of reading materials on health promotion and disease prevention available on Internet, many in Portuguese, allowed us toselect relevant scientifically qualified literature and turn it accessible to health professionals, enabling the acquisition of new knowledge or quick update.

  6. Promoting Information Literacy by Promoting Health Literacy in the Information Society

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Meisam Dastani

    2016-09-01

    Full Text Available In the information society, the production, distribution and use of information are freely and widely available for all issues of life. Proper and appropriate use of reliable information is especially important in health care. The present study introduces the concepts and benefits of health literacy and information literacy and its role in improving health literacy. This study was a review based on the concepts of information society, information literacy and information education to present importance of promoting information literacy on health literacy in the information society. The information society is presented by providing a platform of information technology and computer systems to attempt to exchange and develop information among people in the community. Currently, electronic and web-based health information in the mass form is available. Information as a fundamental base of the information society is a phenomenon that our decisions are affected in relation to various issues such as safety and health issues. It is important to avoid the mass of invalid, incorrect and inappropriate information which is available on the internet. This requires information literacy skills such as identifying, accessing and evaluating information. In general, it can be said that the promotion of health literacy in communities requires learning different skills in the form of information literacy.Data obtained from this study can be used in developing the long term health programs to prevention of non-communicable diseases in our country

  7. Health for all children: a programme for health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliman, D A

    'The health of its children is the wealth of a nation.' For this reason a lot of time and energy is expended on preventive child health services, but with little evidence of effectiveness and great variation in programmes. Recently much has been done to rectify this. At the forefront of this work has been the multidisciplinary committee chaired by Professor Hall. Its third report, with its concentration on health promotion rather than 'defect detection', will form the basis for all future programmes.

  8. Understanding and Measuring LGBTQ Pathways to Health: A Scoping Review of Strengths-Based Health Promotion Approaches in LGBTQ Health Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gahagan, Jacqueline; Colpitts, Emily

    2017-01-01

    Health research traditionally has focused on the health risks and deficits of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) populations, obscuring the determinants that can promote health across the life course. Recognizing, appropriately measuring, and rendering visible these determinants of health is paramount to informing appropriate and engaging health policies, services, and systems for LGBTQ populations. The overarching purpose of this article is to provide an overview of the findings of a scoping review aimed at exploring strengths-based health promotion approaches to understanding and measuring LGBTQ health. Specifically, this scoping review examined peer-reviewed, published academic literature to determine (a) existing methodological frameworks for studying LGBTQ health from a strengths-based health promotion approach, and (b) suggestions for future methodological approaches for studying LGBTQ health from a strengths-based health promotion approach. The findings of this scoping review will be used to inform the development of a study aimed at assessing the health of and improving pathways to health services among LGBTQ populations in Nova Scotia, Canada.

  9. The Productivity Dilemma in Workplace Health Promotion

    OpenAIRE

    Cherniack, Martin

    2015-01-01

    Background. Worksite-based programs to improve workforce health and well-being (Workplace Health Promotion (WHP)) have been advanced as conduits for improved worker productivity and decreased health care costs. There has been a countervailing health economics contention that return on investment (ROI) does not merit preventive health investment. Methods/Procedures. Pertinent studies were reviewed and results reconsidered. A simple economic model is presented based on conventional and alternat...

  10. Promotion of health and human functionality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Cristhina de Oliveira Brasil

    2013-08-01

    Full Text Available For the development of public health policies in Brazil, two aspects should be taken into consideration, namely, the demographic transition and the epidemiological transition. More and more, it is perceivable an increase in the number of elderly people living with numerous disabilities and also an epidemiological profile. National Household Sample Survey (Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios - PNAD 1998-2003 indicates a distribution of chronic diseases that, consequently, has generated an expressive number of disabilities. These people with disabilities need health services, and use them when they manage to access them. However, the current models of healthcare for the elderly or people with disabilities are expensive and, in some aspects, are not efficient, requiring preventive strategies and health equipment for the maintenance or recovery of health of an aged population. Thus, the public policy agenda of Brazil should give priority to the maintenance of the functionality of the aged, with monitoring of health status, specific preventive actions on health and education, and care seeking an integral and multidimensional attention, not necessarily focused on disease(1. The need to develop policies and strategies, particularly on health promotion, with a look detached from the disease is justified because health problems come not only from the disease, but from any other circumstance or health condition, such as, pregnancy , aging, stress, genetic predisposition – all classified by D-10, nevertheless, not being able to measure the status alterations related to health, and much less to sort and describe the context in which these problems occur, which complicates and jeopardizes the planning and solvability of actions and services in health, unlike the data by means of qualifiers that the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF has the potential to generate(2. Brazil is a member country of the World Health

  11. Promotion of Health and Human Functionality

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ana Cristhina de Oliveira Brasil

    2013-03-01

    Full Text Available For the development of public health policies in Brazil, two aspects should be taken into consideration, namely, the demographic transition and the epidemiological transition. More and more, it is perceivable an increase in the number of elderly people living with numerous disabilities and also an epidemiological profile. National Household Sample Survey (Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios - PNAD 1998-2003 indicates a distribution of chronic diseases that, consequently, has generated an expressive number of disabilities. These people with disabilities need health services, and use them when they manage to access them. However, the current models of healthcare for the elderly or people with disabilities are expensive and, in some aspects, are not efficient, requiring preventive strategies and health equipment for the maintenance or recovery of health of an aged population. Thus, the public policy agenda of Brazil should give priority to the maintenance of the functionality of the aged, with monitoring of health status, specific preventive actions on health and education, and care seeking an integral and multidimensional attention, not necessarily focused on disease(1.The need to develop policies and strategies, particularly on health promotion, with a look detached from the disease is justified because health problems come not only from the disease, but from any other circumstance or health condition, such as, pregnancy , aging, stress, genetic predisposition – all classified by D-10, nevertheless, not being able to measure the status alterations related to health, and much less to sort and describe the context in which these problems occur, which complicates and jeopardizes the planning and solvability of actions and services in health, unlike the data by means of qualifiers that the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health (ICF has the potential to generate(2.Brazil is a member country of the World Health

  12. Perspectives on workplace health promotion among employees in low-wage industries

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammerback, Kristen; Hannon, Peggy A.; Harris, Jeffrey R.; Clegg-Thorp, Catherine; Kohn, Marlana; Parrish, Amanda

    2016-01-01

    Purpose Study goals were to (a) understand the attitudes of employees in low-wage industries toward workplace health promotion, including views on appropriateness of employer involvement in employee health, and level of interest in workplace health promotion overall and in specific programs; and (b) determine the potential for extending workplace health promotion to spouses and partners of these employees. Approach Forty-two 60-90-minute interviews Setting Interviews were conducted with couples (married or living together) in the Seattle/King County metropolitan area of Washington State. Participants Forty-two couples with one or more members working in one of five low-wage industries: accommodation/food services, education, health care/social assistance, manufacturing, and retail trade. Method Qualitative analysis of interview transcripts using grounded theory to identify themes. Results Employees consider workplace health promotion both appropriate and desirable, and believe it benefits employers through increased productivity and morale. Most have little personal experience with it and doubt their employers would prioritize employee health. Employees are most interested in efforts focused on nutrition and physical activity. Both employees and their partners support extending workplace health promotion to include partners. Conclusion Employees and their partners are interested in workplace health promotion if it addresses behaviors they care about. Concern over employer involvement in their personal health decisions is minimal; instead, employees view employer interest in their health as a sign that they are valued. PMID:25162321

  13. Perspectives on Workplace Health Promotion Among Employees in Low-Wage Industries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hammerback, Kristen; Hannon, Peggy A; Harris, Jeffrey R; Clegg-Thorp, Catherine; Kohn, Marlana; Parrish, Amanda

    2015-01-01

    Study goals were to (1) understand the attitudes of employees in low-wage industries toward workplace health promotion, including views on appropriateness of employer involvement in employee health and level of interest in workplace health promotion overall and in specific programs, and (2) determine the potential for extending workplace health promotion to spouses and partners of these employees. The study used 42 interviews of 60 to 90 minutes. Interviews were conducted with couples (married or living together) in the Seattle/King County metropolitan area of Washington State. Study participants were forty-two couples with one or more members working in one of five low-wage industries: accommodation/food services, education, health care/social assistance, manufacturing, and retail trade. The study employed qualitative analysis of interview transcripts using grounded theory to identify themes. Employees consider workplace health promotion both appropriate and desirable and believe it benefits employers through increased productivity and morale. Most have little personal experience with it and doubt their employers would prioritize employee health. Employees are most interested in efforts focused on nutrition and physical activity. Both employees and their partners support extending workplace health promotion to include partners. Employees and their partners are interested in workplace health promotion if it addresses behaviors they care about. Concern over employer involvement in their personal health decisions is minimal; instead, employees view employer interest in their health as a sign that they are valued.

  14. An assessment of oral health promotion programmes in the United Kingdom.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Passalacqua, A; Reeves, A O; Newton, T; Hughes, R; Dunne, S; Donaldson, N; Wilson, N

    2012-02-01

    Improving oral health and reducing tooth decay is a key area for action, both in the United Kingdom (UK) and overseas. The World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the unique advantage schools have in promoting oral health. We summarise current oral health promotion strategies in the United Kingdom and estimate the spread of their use as well as their impact on oral health and influence on the oral health-related knowledge and behaviour in a patient population. A structured overview of published papers, government publications, official government websites and policy reports. A cross-sectional study of patients referred for a tooth extraction in one dental surgery in south-east London. Statistical methods consisted of logistic and ordinal regressions to model the likelihood of exposure to oral health promotion and of obtaining higher levels of knowledge of oral health issues, respectively. Linear regression was used to model the level of oral health and knowledge of oral health issues. We found three main promotion programmes, namely, National Healthy Schools (NHS), Sure Start and Brushing for life plus a small number of local initiatives. Sure Start targets disadvantaged areas, but is limited. In our observational study, 34% of the patients reported exposure to a settings-based oral health education programme: Sure Start (5%), NHS (7%) and other (22%). This exposure was not influenced by age or gender, but an association with education was detected. Although oral health promotion was not found to influence the actual knowledge of oral health issues, it was found to influence some oral health-related attitudes and perceptions. Participation in an oral health promotion programme was found to be significantly associated with the patients' education, their belief that they can prevent oral disease and the subjective perception of their own oral health. The WHO principles need to be embedded across all schools to achieve a true national oral health promotion

  15. International collaboration in health promotion and disease management: implications of U.S. health promotion efforts on Japan's health care system.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pelletier, Kenneth R

    2005-01-01

    For more than 25 years, health promotion and disease management interventions have been conducted by large employers in the United States. Today there are more than 100 studies of such multifactorial, comprehensive interventions that all demonstrate positive clinical outcomes. For those interventions that have also been evaluated for return on investment, all but one have demonstrated cost-effectiveness. This article is an evidence-based overview of the clinical and cost outcomes research to elaborate on the insights gained from this research in the areas of implementation and evaluation of such programs; integration of health promotion and disease management programs into conventional, occupational medicine; accessing difficult to reach populations, such as mobile workers, retirees, and/or dependents; areas of potential conflict of interest and privacy/confidentiality issues; health consequences of downsizing and job strain; and, finally, recommendations for improved integration and evaluation of such programs for both clinical and cost outcomes. With medical costs rapidly escalating again on a global scale, these interventions with evidence of both clinical and cost outcomes can provide the foundation to improve the health, performance, and productivity of both individuals and their corporations.

  16. What do we know about promoting mental health through schools?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Weare, Katherine; Markham, Wolfgang

    2005-01-01

    There is a growing evidence base on what schools need to do to promote mental health effectively. There is strong evidence that they need first and foremost to use a whole school approach. This shapes the social contexts which promote mental health and which provide a backdrop of measures to prevent mental health disorders. In this context the targeting of those with particular needs and the work of the specialist services can be much more effective. Schools need to use positive models of mental health, which emphasise well being and competence not just illness--this will help overcome problems of stigma and denial and promote the idea of mental health as 'everyone's business'. The most effective programmes in schools which address mental health have the following characteristics: They provide a backdrop of universal provision to promote the mental health of all and then target those with special needs effectively. They are multi-dimensional and coherent. They create supportive climates that promote warmth, empathy, positive expectations and clear boundaries. They tackle mental health problems early when they first manifest themselves and then take a long term, developmental approach which does not expect immediate answers. They identify and target vulnerable and at risk groups and help people to acquire the skills and competences that underlie mental health. They involve end users and their families in ways that encourage a feeling of ownership and participation, and provide effective training for those who run the programmes, including helping them to promote their own mental health. Using these starting points, we need to develop a rigorous evidence-based approach on this issue. We also require the facilitation of the dissemination of such research findings while encouraging new and innovative approaches.

  17. Moving health promotion communities online: a review of the literature.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sunderland, Naomi; Beekhuyzen, Jenine; Kendall, Elizabeth; Wolski, Malcom

    There is a need to enhance the effectiveness and reach of complex health promotion initiatives by providing opportunities for diverse health promotion practitioners and others to interact in online settings. This paper reviews the existing literature on how to take health promotion communities and networks into online settings. A scoping review of relevant bodies of literature and empirical evidence was undertaken to provide an interpretive synthesis of existing knowledge on the topic. Sixteen studies were identified between 1986 and 2007. Relatively little research has been conducted on the process of taking existing offline communities and networks into online settings. However, more research has focused on offline (i.e. not mediated via computer networks); 'virtual' (purely online with no offline interpersonal contact); and 'multiplex' communities (i.e. those that interact across both online and offline settings). Results are summarised under three themes: characteristics of communities in online and offline settings; issues in moving offline communities online, and designing online communities to match community needs. Existing health promotion initiatives can benefit from online platforms that promote community building and knowledge sharing. Online e-health promotion settings and communities can successfully integrate with existing offline settings and communities to form 'multiplex' communities (i.e. communities that operate fluently across both online and offline settings).

  18. Reorienting health services with capacity building: a case study of the Core Skills in Health Promotion Project.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeatman, H R; Nove, T

    2002-12-01

    This paper presents a case study of the application of a framework for capacity building [Hawe, P., King, L., Noort, M., Jordens, C. and Lloyd, B. (2000) Indicators to Help with Capacity Building in Health Promotion. NSW Health, Sydney] to describe actions aimed at building organizational support for health promotion within an area health service in New South Wales, Australia. The Core Skills in Health Promotion Project (CSHPP) arose from an investigation which reported that participants of a health promotion training course had increased health promotion skills but that they lacked the support to apply their skills in the workplace. The project was action-research based. It investigated and facilitated the implementation of a range of initiatives to support community health staff to apply a more preventive approach in their practice and it contributed to the establishment of new organizational structures for health promotion. An evaluation was undertaken 4 years after the CSHPP was established, and 2 years after it had submitted its final report. Interviews with senior managers, document analysis of written reports, and focus groups with middle managers and service delivery staff were undertaken. Change was achieved in the three dimensions of health infrastructure, program maintenance and problem solving capacity of the organization. It was identified that the critically important elements in achieving the aims of the project-partnership, leadership and commitment-were also key elements of the capacity building framework. This case study provides a practical example of the usefulness of the capacity building framework in orienting health services to be supportive of health promotion.

  19. Worksite Health Program Promoting Changes in Eating Behavior and Health Attitudes.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mache, Stefanie; Jensen, Sarah; Jahn, Reimo; Steudtner, Mirko; Ochsmann, Elke; Preuß, Geraldine

    2015-11-01

    The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a worksite multicomponent health promotion intervention on eating behavior and attitudes, changes in body weight, and readiness to make eating behavior changes among workers over a 12-month intervention period. A total of 3,095 workers of a logistic company participated in a quasi-experimental comparison group study design. The intervention group received a multicomponent health training. Two of the main elements of the multicomponent intervention were physical exercise training and nutrition counseling/training. During the pilot year, participants completed a survey at baseline and again after 12 months to assess physical activity-, health-, and diet-related factors. Results showed that participants' body weight did not significantly decrease in the intervention group. Mean weight loss in the intervention groups was 0.5 kg (body mass index = 0.1 kg/m(2)). Eating behaviors in the intervention group improved more than in the comparison group. Some positive intervention effects were observed for the cognitive factors (e.g., changes in eating attitudes). Baseline readiness to change eating behavior was significantly improved over time. We demonstrated initial results of a long-term multicomponent worksite health promotion program with regard to changes in body weight, eating behavior, and attitudes. This evaluation of a 12-month pilot study suggests that a worksite health promotion program may lead to improvements in nutritional health behaviors for a number of workers. An investigation of long-term effects of this multicomponent intervention is strongly recommended. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  20. Motivating factors for small and midsized businesses to implement worksite health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Witt, Laurel B; Olsen, Delane; Ablah, Elizabeth

    2013-11-01

    This study explores the decision-making process, including motivating factors, for small and midsized businesses in the Midwest to implement health promotion initiatives. This a replication of a study conducted in the Pacific Northwest. Semistructured qualitative interviews were conducted with key informants from 12 Midwestern metropolitan employers with fewer than 1,000 employees. Informants were interviewed regarding their companies' policies and practices around workplace health promotion programming adoption and valuation. Workplace health promotion adoption at these small and midsized businesses was motivated by three goals: to lower health care costs, to address human relations objectives, and to improve productivity. Low upfront cost was the most frequently considered criterion in choosing which workplace health promotion program to offer. Barriers to implementation included lack of employee buy-in, prohibitive costs, and personnel or time constraints. Aids to implementation included employee buy-in and affordability. This study suggests that cost considerations predominate in the workplace health promotion decision-making process at small to midsized businesses. Furthermore, employee buy-in cannot be underestimated as a factor in successful program implementation or longevity. Employees, along with executives and human resources management, must be appropriately targeted by health promotion practitioners in workplace health promotion efforts.

  1. Health promotion activities in annual reports of local governments: 'Health for All' targets as a tool for content analysis.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Andersson, Camilla M; Bjärås, Gunilla E M; Tillgren, Per; Ostenson, Claes-Göran

    2003-09-01

    This article presents an instrument to study the annual reporting of health promotion activities in local governments within the three intervention municipalities of the Stockholm Diabetes Prevention Program (SDPP). The content of health promotion activities are described and the strengths, weaknesses and relevance of the method to health promotion discussed. A content analysis of local governmental reports from 1995-2000 in three Swedish municipalities. A matrix with WHO's 38 'Health for All' (HFA) targets from 1991 was used when coding the local health promotion activities. There are many public health initiatives within the local governmental structure even if they are not always addressed as health promotion. The main focuses in the local governmental reports were environmental issues, unemployment, social care and welfare. Local governmental reports were found to be a useful source of information that could provide knowledge about the priorities and organizational capacities for health promotion within local authorities. Additionally the HFA targets were an effective tool to identify and categorize systematically local health promotion activities in the annual reports of local governments. Identifying local health promotion initiatives by local authorities may ease the development of a health perspective and joint actions within the existing political and administrative structure. This paper provides a complementary method of attaining and structuring information about the local community for developments in health promotion.

  2. [Prevalence and utilisation of health promotion in German enterprises].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Beck, D; Schnabel, P-E

    2010-04-01

    The aim of this study was to estimate the prevalence of health promotion in German enterprises, differentiated by size, sector, and the companies' business situations. Representative data were analysed from the survey of working conditions in Germany (n=20,000) that was conducted by the Federal Institute for Vocational Education and Training (BIBB) and the Federal Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (BAuA). Thirty-eight percent of interviewed employees confirmed that health promotion activities had been carried out in their company during the last two years. The prevalence varied significantly, depending on the company's size, sector, and business situation. In cases of implementation, a higher percentage of employees participated in micro and small companies than in medium-sized or large companies. With respect to the implementation of health promotion, more advice and support are needed, particularly in micro and small enterprises. There is still a need for health promotion activities which meet the special needs of micro and small enterprises. Furthermore there is still a need to invest in an infrastructure which allows their adequate supply. Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart, New York.

  3. Home visits as a strategy for health promotion by nursing

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jucelia Salgueiro Nascimento

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To analyze the domiciliary visit performed by nurses in the Family Health Strategy as an activity to promote health. Methods: Exploratory/descriptive study with qualitative approach. The subjects were nine nurses of the Primary Health Units from Health Districts in Maceió-AL. Data was collected through semi-structured interviews in the months from April to August 2012 and were analyzed using content analysis and in light of the theoretical framework of Health Promotion. Results: The nurses recognize that the domiciliary visit can be a way to promote the health of individuals, families and community, but, in daily life, action maintains focus on disease, with curative actions of individual character, which do not take into account the social context where the user and his family are inserted. Conclusion: It is considered that the use of home visits by nurses in the family health strategy as a health promotion activity is still incipient because, although the nurses recognize the need for change in the model of care, in practice, it is observed that the focus of this action is directed to the biological model. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.5020/18061230.2013.p513

  4. Impact of a health promotion program on employee health risks and work productivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mills, Peter R; Kessler, Ronald C; Cooper, John; Sullivan, Sean

    2007-01-01

    Evaluate the impact of a multicomponent workplace health promotion program on employee health risks and work productivity. Quasi-experimental 12-month before-after intervention-control study. A multinational corporation headquartered in the United Kingdom. Of 618 employees offered the program, 266 (43%) completed questionnaires before and after the program. A total of 1242 of 2500 (49.7%) of a control population also completed questionnaires 12 months apart. A multicomponent health promotion program incorporating a health risk appraisal questionnaire, access to a tailored health improvement web portal, wellness literature, and seminars and workshops focused upon identified wellness issues. Outcomes were (1) cumulative count of health risk factors and the World Health Organization health and work performance questionnaire measures of (2) workplace absenteeism and (3) work performance. After adjusting for baseline differences, improvements in all three outcomes were significantly greater in the intervention group compared with the control group. Mean excess reductions of 0.45 health risk factors and 0.36 monthly absenteeism days and a mean increase of 0.79 on the work performance scale were observed in the intervention group compared with the control group. The intervention yielded a positive return on investment, even using conservative assumptions about effect size estimation. The results suggest that a well-implemented multicomponent workplace health promotion program can produce sizeable changes in health risks and productivity.

  5. Basic need status and health-promoting self-care behavior in adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acton, G J; Malathum, P

    2000-11-01

    Health-promoting self-care behavior emphasizing positive lifestyle practices may improve the health and quality of life of adults. One variable that may influence health-related decisions is the status of basic needs as described by Maslow. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships among basic need satisfaction, health-promoting self-care behavior, and selected demographic variables in a sample of community-dwelling adults. A convenience sample of 84 community-dwelling adults was recruited to complete the Basic Need Satisfaction Inventory, the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, and demographic information. Results of the study indicated that self-actualization, physical, and love/belonging need satisfaction accounted for 64% of the variance in health-promoting self-care behavior. The findings of this study are consistent with Maslow's theory of human motivation and suggest that persons who are more fulfilled and content with themselves and their lives, have physical need satisfaction, and have positive connections with others may be able to make better decisions regarding positive health-promoting self-care behaviors.

  6. Australian blue-collar men's health and well-being: contextual issues for workplace health promotion interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Du Plessis, Karin; Cronin, David; Corney, Tim; Green, Emma

    2013-09-01

    In Australia, blue-collar workers are predominantly male and form a unique and large (approximately 30%) subset of the Australian workforce. They exhibit particular health-related issues and, in comparison to other groups, often a lack of health promoting behavior. This article briefly discusses the Australian context and some of the key health issues blue-collar men face, in particular as it relates to construction workers. It reviews the impact of gender and socioeconomic factors in designing workplace health promotion interventions. This article considers practice strategies for health promoters in a specific workplace setting: it looks at meta-factors and industry-based contextual factors, including barriers to implementation and participation, while addressing common misconceptions about Australian blue-collar workers.

  7. Improving delivery of a health-promoting-environments program: experiences from Queensland Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dwyer, S

    1997-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to outline the key components of a statewide multisite health-promoting-environments program. Contemporary health-promotion programs in settings such as schools, workplaces and hospitals use organisational development theory to address the health issues of the setting, including the physical environment, the organisational environment, and the specific health needs of the employees and consumers of the service. Program principles include management of each project by the participant organisation or site (for example, a school or workplace), using resources available within the organisation and the local community, voluntary participation, social justice and participant-based priority setting, and evaluation and monitoring. Adoption of these principles implies a shift in the role of the health worker from implementer to facilitator. Based on the experience of Queensland Health, it is proposed that the essential building blocks of the health-promoting-environments program are an intersectoral policy base, a model for action, training and resources, local facilitators, support from local organisations, a supportive network of sites, marketing of the program, and a state-based evaluation and monitoring system. The program in Queensland was able to develop a significant number of these components over the 1990-1996 period. In regard to evaluation, process measures can be built around the program components; however, further research is required for development of impact indicators and benchmarks on quality.

  8. Community-based health and schools of nursing: supporting health promotion and research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shannon, Crystal

    2014-01-01

    This article examines the role of community-based schools of nursing in the promotion of public health and research in poverty-stricken areas. This was a three-phase study (questionnaire and key-informants' interviews) that surveyed representatives of prelicensure associate and baccalaureate nursing schools (n=17), nursing-school key informants (n=6) and community leaders (n=10). A 13-question web-based survey and semi-structured interview of key informants elicited data on demographics, nursing program design, exposure of faculty and students to various research and health promotion methods, and beliefs about student involvement. Nursing schools participated minimally in community-based health promotion (CBHP) and community-based participatory research saw reduced need for student involvement in such activities, cited multiple barriers to active community collaboration, and reported restricted community partnerships. CBHP was recognized to be a valuable element of health care and student education, but is obstructed by many barriers. This study suggests that nursing schools are not taking full advantage of relationships with community leaders. Recommendations for action are given. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

  9. Health Promotion Challenges at Sea - a Danish Case

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Hjarnø, Lulu

    HEALTH PROMOTOIN CHALLENGES AT SEA - A DANISH CASE L Hjarnoe, Centre for Maritime Health and Safety, Institute of Public Health, University of Southern Denmark INTRODUCTION: For the past 15 years the need for health promotion initiatives in the maritime sector has become more and more evident. Thus...... previous studies have documented increased mortality and morbidity (incidences) among seafarers, not only due to accidents but also to lifestyle like cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and diseases related to alcohol. These diseases are related to factors like alcohol consumption, obesity, physical...... inactivity and smoking, which for the latter three are factors highly represented in the maritime industry. The aim of this study is to identify the current health status of seafarers and to detect, strengths and weaknesses of health promotion interventions implemented in this target group. METHODS: A 1 year...

  10. Faith communities and their assets for health promotion: the views from health professionals and faith leaders in Dundee, in Scotland.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fagan, Donna M; Kiger, Alice; van Teijlingen, Edwin

    2012-06-01

    Within the European Union, as well as in Canada and the United States (US), health promoters employ a number of strategies to encourage community-based health improvements. This involves the creation of innovative health promotion partnerships to support and enable people to choose and engage in healthy living practices. Compared to the US, in other Western countries, such as the United Kingdom, faith communities have largely been ignored in health promotion partnerships. This study established existing evidence about health promotion in faith communities in Scotland by examining the perceptions and attitudes concerning health promotion among faith leaders and health promotion professionals. We conducted 33 semi-structured interviews with health promotion professionals (n = 9) and representatives of Christian and non-Christian faith communities (n = 24). The majority of participants expressed an interest in the concept of health promotion in a faith community and could readily envision its application in their area of work. Both groups identified multiple physical assets, as well as social supports within faith communities that could be directed towards healthy living activities. Faith groups and church organisations may constitute potential partners and new settings to increase community capacity for health promotion. Further research and funding for demonstration projects may be particularly helpful to provide evidence of the strengths and limitations of faith-based health promotion in Scotland, which in turn could inform health promotion practice and policy.

  11. Feasibility of Workplace Health Promotion for Restaurant Workers, Seattle, 2012.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Claire L; Hammerback, Kristen; Harris, Jeffrey R; Hannon, Peggy A; Parrish, Amanda T

    2015-10-08

    Restaurant workers are a large population at high risk for tobacco use, physical inactivity, and influenza. They are difficult to reach with health care interventions and may be more accessible through workplaces, yet few studies have explored the feasibility of workplace health promotion in this population. This study sought to identify barriers and facilitators to promotion of tobacco cessation, physical activity, and influenza vaccination in restaurants. Moderators conducted 7 focus groups, 3 with restaurant owners and managers, 2 with English-speaking workers, and 2 with Spanish-speaking workers. All groups were recorded, and recordings were transcribed and uploaded to qualitative-analysis software. Two researchers coded each transcript independently and analyzed codes and quotations for common themes. Seventy people from the restaurant industry participated. Barriers to workplace health promotion included smoking-break customs, little interest in physical activity outside of work, and misinformation about influenza vaccinations. Facilitators included creating and enforcing equitable break policies and offering free, on-site influenza vaccinations. Spanish-speakers were particularly amenable to vaccination, despite their perceptions of low levels of management support for health promotion overall. Owners required a strong business case to consider investing in long-term prevention for their employees. Tobacco cessation and influenza vaccinations are opportunities for health promotion among restaurant workers, whereas physical activity interventions face greater challenges. Promotion of equitable breaks, limited smoking-break policies, and free, on-site influenza vaccinations could improve health for restaurant workers, who often do not have health insurance. Workplace interventions may be particularly important for Hispanic workers who have additional access barriers.

  12. Health promotion and dental caries.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maltz, Marisa; Jardim, Juliana Jobim; Alves, Luana Severo

    2010-01-01

    The central idea of the Brazilian health system is to prevent the establishment of disease or detect it as early as possible. Prevention and treatment of dental caries are related to behavioral factors, including dietary and oral hygiene habits, which are related to many chronic diseases. Dental health promotion therefore should be fully integrated into broadly based health-promoting strategies and actions such as food and health policies, and general hygiene (including oral hygiene), among others. For decades, a linear relationship between sugar consumption and caries has been observed. Recent data has indicated that this relationship is not as strong as it used to be before the widespread use of fluoride. However, diet is still a key factor acting in the carious process. Oral hygiene is a major aspect when it comes to caries, since dental biofilm is its etiological factor. Oral hygiene procedures are effective in controlling dental caries, especially if plaque removal is performed adequately and associated with fluoride. An alternative to a more efficient biofilm control in occlusal areas is the use of dental sealants, which are only indicated for caries-active individuals. If a cavity is formed as a consequence of the metabolic activity of the biofilm, a restorative material or a sealant can be placed to block access of the biofilm to the oral environment in order to prevent caries progress. The prevention of dental caries based on common risk-factor strategies (diet and hygiene) should be supplemented by more disease-specific policies such as rational use of fluoride, and evidence-based dental health care.

  13. Health promotion and dental caries

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marisa Maltz

    2010-01-01

    Full Text Available The central idea of the Brazilian health system is to prevent the establishment of disease or detect it as early as possible. Prevention and treatment of dental caries are related to behavioral factors, including dietary and oral hygiene habits, which are related to many chronic diseases. Dental health promotion therefore should be fully integrated into broadly based health-promoting strategies and actions such as food and health policies, and general hygiene (including oral hygiene, among others. For decades, a linear relationship between sugar consumption and caries has been observed. Recent data has indicated that this relationship is not as strong as it used to be before the widespread use of fluoride. However, diet is still a key factor acting in the carious process. Oral hygiene is a major aspect when it comes to caries, since dental biofilm is its etiological factor. Oral hygiene procedures are effective in controlling dental caries, especially if plaque removal is performed adequately and associated with fluoride. An alternative to a more efficient biofilm control in occlusal areas is the use of dental sealants, which are only indicated for caries-active individuals. If a cavity is formed as a consequence of the metabolic activity of the biofilm, a restorative material or a sealant can be placed to block access of the biofilm to the oral environment in order to prevent caries progress. The prevention of dental caries based on common risk-factor strategies (diet and hygiene should be supplemented by more disease-specific policies such as rational use of fluoride, and evidence-based dental health care.

  14. 75 FR 33983 - Establishing the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council

    Science.gov (United States)

    2010-06-16

    ... integrative health-care strategy that incorporates the most effective and achievable means of improving the... smoking cessation, proper nutrition, appropriate exercise, mental health, behavioral health, substance-use... 13544 of June 10, 2010 Establishing the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council...

  15. Ethics, equality and evidence in health promotion Danish guidelines for municipalities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Vallgårda, Signild

    2014-06-01

    The Danish National Board of Health has expressed its commitment to social equality in health, evidence-informed health promotion and public health ethics, and has issued guidelines for municipalities on health promotion, in Danish named prevention packages. The aim of this article is to analyse whether the Board of Health adheres to ideals of equality, evidence and ethics in these guidelines. An analysis to detect statements about equity, evidence and ethics in 10 health promotion packages directed at municipalities with the aim of guiding the municipalities towards evidence-informed disease prevention and health promotion. Despite declared intentions of prioritizing social equality in health, these intentions are largely absent from most of the packages. When health inequalities are mentioned, focus is on the disadvantaged or the marginalized. Several interventions are recommended, where there is no evidence to support them, notwithstanding the ambition of interventions being evidence-informed. Ethical considerations are scanty, scattered and unsystematically integrated. Further, although some packages mention the importance of avoiding stigmatization, there is little indicating how this could be done. Including reduction of health inequalities and evidence-informed and ethically defendable interventions in health promotion is a challenge, which is not yet fully met by the National Board of Health. When judged from liberal ethical principles, only few of the suggested interventions are acceptable, i.e., those concerning information, but from a paternalistic view, all interventions that may actually benefit the citizens are justified. © 2014 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

  16. The salutogenic model of health in health promotion research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mittelmark, Maurice B; Bull, Torill

    2013-06-01

    Despite health promotion's enthusiasm for the salutogenic model of health, researchers have paid little attention to Antonovsky's central ideas about the ease/dis-ease continuum, defined in terms of 'breakdown' (the severity of pain and functional limitations, and the degree medical care is called for, irrespective of specific diseases). Rather, salutogenesis research has a strong focus on how sense of coherence relates to a wide range of specific diseases and illness endpoints. We address two questions: Why has Antonovsky's health concept failed to stimulate research on breakdown, and how can the present emphasis on disease be complemented by an emphasis on positive well-being in the salutogenic model? We show that (i) the breakdown concept of health as specified by Antonovsky is circular in definition, (ii) it is not measured on the 'required' ease/dis-ease continuum, (iii) it is not measureable by any validated or reliability-tested assessment tool, and (iv) it has not so much been rejected by health promotion, as it has not been considered at all. We show that Antonovsky came to view breakdown as but one aspect of well-being. He was open to the idea of well-being as something more positive than the absence of pain, suffering and need for medical care. We suggest ways to move salutogenesis research in the direction of well-being in its positive sense.

  17. 77 FR 42313 - Recharter of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-07-18

    ... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, Office of... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Corinne Graffunder... Integrative and Public Health (the ``Advisory Group'') within the Department of Health and Human Services. To...

  18. Social networks, health promoting-behavior, and health-related quality of life in older Korean adults.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hong, Minjoo; De Gagne, Jennie C; Shin, Hyewon

    2018-03-01

    In this cross-sectional, descriptive study, we compared the sociodemographic characteristics, social networks, health-promoting behavior, and the health-related quality of life of older Korean adults living in South Korea to those of older Korean adult immigrants living in the USA. A total of 354 older adults, aged 65 years or older, participated. Data were collected through self-directed questionnaires, and analyzed using a two way analysis of variance, t-tests, χ 2 -tests, and Pearson's correlation coefficient. The association between four sociodemographic characteristics and health-related quality of life was significantly different between the two groups. For the older Korean adults living in South Korea, positive correlations existed between a measure of their social networks and both health-promoting behavior and health-related quality of life. For the older Korean immigrants, the findings revealed a positive correlation only between social networks and health-promoting behavior. The study findings support the important association social networks can have with health-related quality of life, and their possible relationship to health-promoting behaviors of older Korean adults. We suggest that health policy-makers and healthcare providers develop comprehensive programs that are designed to improve older adults' social networks. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd.

  19. Understanding health food messages on Twitter for health literacy promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, J; Liu, F; Zhou, H

    2018-05-01

    With the popularity of social media, Twitter has become an important tool to promote health literacy. However, many health-related messages on Twitter are dead-ended and cannot reach many people. This is unhelpful for health literacy promotion. This article aims to examine the features of online health food messages that people like to retweet. We adopted rumour theory as our theoretical foundation and extracted seven characteristics (i.e. emotional valence, attractiveness, sender's authoritativeness, external evidence, argument length, hashtags, and direct messages). A total of 10,025 health-related messages on Twitter were collected, and 1496 messages were randomly selected for further analysis. Each message was treated as one unit and then coded. All the hypotheses were tested with logistic regression. Emotional valence, attractiveness, sender's authoritativeness, argument length, and direct messages in a Twitter message had positive effects on people's retweet behaviour. The effect of external evidence was negative. Hashtags had no significant effect after consideration of other variables. Online health food messages containing positive emotions, including pictures, containing direct messages, having an authoritative sender, having longer arguments, or not containing external URLs are more likely to be retweeted. However, a message only containing positive or negative emotions or including direct messages without any support information will not be retweeted.

  20. Stress ratings and health promotion practices among RNs: a case for action.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tucker, Sharon J; Weymiller, Audrey J; Cutshall, Susanne M; Rhudy, Lori M; Lohse, Christine M

    2012-05-01

    : The objective of this study was to investigate associations between RN perceptions of their stress levels, health-promoting behaviors, and associated demographic variables. : Stress and burnout are occupational hazards resulting in absenteeism, illness, and staff turnover, factors important to nurse administrators. Personal health behaviors among nurses have been linked to less stress and the delivery of health-promotion teaching. : An electronic survey with 2 standardized measures and demographic questions was completed by 2,247 staff nurses from a large Midwestern academic medical center. : Stress levels were inversely correlated with overall health-promoting behavior scores. Outside caregiver responsibilities were associated with higher stress and lower health-promoting behaviors scores. : Findings support work-site interventions that promote nurses' health and wellness, reduce work and home stress, and influence positive patient care and outcomes.

  1. Development of measures of organizational leadership for health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Barrett, Linda; Plotnikoff, Ronald C; Raine, Kim; Anderson, Donna

    2005-04-01

    This study describes the development and psychometric evaluation of four scales measuring leadership for health promotion at an organizational level in the baseline survey (n=144) of the Alberta Heart Health Project. Content validity was established through a series of focus groups and expert opinion appraisals, pilot testing of a draft based on capacity assessment instruments developed by other provinces involved in the Canadian Heart Health Initiative, and the literature. Psychometric analyses provided empirical evidence of the construct validity and reliability of the organizational leadership scales. Principal component analysis verified the unidimensionality of the leadership scales of (a) Practices for Organizational Learning, (b) Wellness Planning, (c) Workplace Climate, and (d) Organization Member Development. Scale alpha coefficients ranged between .79 and .91 thus establishing good to high scale internal consistencies. These measures can be used by both researchers and practitioners for the assessment of organizational leadership for health promotion and heart health promotion.

  2. Analysis of Influencing Factors Related to Health Promotion Behavior in Hospital Radiological Technologists

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ko, Jong Kyung; Kwon, Duk Mun; Kang, Yeong Han

    2009-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to analyze factors that could affect health of radiological technologists, which is useful for health care and development of programs for health promotion. Subjects were 234 of radiological technologists who work in general hospitals. Some questionnaires were made about perceptions of health condition and promotional behavior of health for this study. The questionnaires of health perception were 20 items that consist of the present condition of health, health concern and sensitivity. The reliability was sufficient(Cronbach's α=0.79). The other questionnaires about health promotion behavior were 47 items that consist of self-realization, health responsibility, exercise, nutrition, personal relationships, and stress management. The results turned out to be was sufficient (Cronbach's α=0.93). Every data was treated statistically, comparison of average(t-test, ANOVA), correlation, and multiple regression. Related factors to health promotion behavior were age, marriage, salary, class of one's position, career, employment, and religion, in general features. In health life habit, related factors were smoke and exercise. Results of health promotion behavior was 2.90 of mean score, 0.37 of standard deviation. Correlations between factors of health perception and health promotion behavior was positive(p<0.01). Health promotion behavior were affected by sensitivity, presents condition of health, exercise, smoke, career. Sensitivity was the most affectable variable, which means that promotional behavior score became higher and higher as the score of sensitivity and present condition were increased. In addition, persons who exercise regularly, had been smoked, and has higher career showed higher score of promotional behavior. Radiological technologists have to keep their health, trying not to infected by a disease. Most of all, no smoking and regular exercise are the most important thing to all of members.

  3. Analysis of Influencing Factors Related to Health Promotion Behavior in Hospital Radiological Technologists

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ko, Jong Kyung [Kim, In Hwan Internal Medicine Health Promotion Cnter, Youngcheon (Korea, Republic of); Kwon, Duk Mun [Dept. of Radiology Technology, Daegu Health College, Daegu (Korea, Republic of); Kang, Yeong Han [Dept. of Diagnostic Radiology, Daegu Catholic Univesity Hospital, Daegu (Korea, Republic of)

    2009-12-15

    The purpose of this study was to analyze factors that could affect health of radiological technologists, which is useful for health care and development of programs for health promotion. Subjects were 234 of radiological technologists who work in general hospitals. Some questionnaires were made about perceptions of health condition and promotional behavior of health for this study. The questionnaires of health perception were 20 items that consist of the present condition of health, health concern and sensitivity. The reliability was sufficient(Cronbach's {alpha}=0.79). The other questionnaires about health promotion behavior were 47 items that consist of self-realization, health responsibility, exercise, nutrition, personal relationships, and stress management. The results turned out to be was sufficient (Cronbach's {alpha}=0.93). Every data was treated statistically, comparison of average(t-test, ANOVA), correlation, and multiple regression. Related factors to health promotion behavior were age, marriage, salary, class of one's position, career, employment, and religion, in general features. In health life habit, related factors were smoke and exercise. Results of health promotion behavior was 2.90 of mean score, 0.37 of standard deviation. Correlations between factors of health perception and health promotion behavior was positive(p<0.01). Health promotion behavior were affected by sensitivity, presents condition of health, exercise, smoke, career. Sensitivity was the most affectable variable, which means that promotional behavior score became higher and higher as the score of sensitivity and present condition were increased. In addition, persons who exercise regularly, had been smoked, and has higher career showed higher score of promotional behavior. Radiological technologists have to keep their health, trying not to infected by a disease. Most of all, no smoking and regular exercise are the most important thing to all of members.

  4. Ethical considerations of worksite health promotion: an exploration of stakeholders' views.

    Science.gov (United States)

    van Berkel, Jantien; Meershoek, Agnes; Janssens, Rien M J P A; Boot, Cécile R L; Proper, Karin I; van der Beek, Allard J

    2014-05-16

    Developing, implementing and evaluating worksite health promotion requires dealing with all stakeholders involved, such as employers, employees, occupational physicians, insurance companies, providers, labour unions and research and knowledge institutes. Although worksite health promotion is becoming more common, empirical research on ethical considerations of worksite health promotion is scarce. We explored the views of stakeholders involved in worksite health promotion in focus group discussions and we described the ethical considerations that result from differences between these views. The focus group discussions were organised per stakeholder group. Data were analysed according to the constant comparison method. Our analyses show that although the definition of occupational health is the same for all stakeholders, namely 'being able to perform your job', there seem to be important differences in the views on what constitutes a risk factor to occupational health. According to the employees, risk factors to occupational health are prevailingly job-related. Labour unions agree with them, but other stakeholders, including the employer, particularly see employee-related issues such as lifestyle behaviour as risk factors to occupational health. The difference in definition of occupational health risk factors translates into the same categorisation of worksite health promotion; employee-related activities and work-related activities. The difference in conceptualisation of occupational health risk factors and worksite health promotion resonates in the way stakeholders understand 'responsibility' for lifestyle behaviour. Even though all stakeholders agree on whose responsibility lifestyle behaviour is, namely that of the employee, the meaning of 'responsibility' differs between employees, and employers. For employees, responsibility means autonomy, while for employers and other stakeholders, responsibility equals duty. This difference may in turn contribute to

  5. Ethical considerations of worksite health promotion: an exploration of stakeholders’ views

    Science.gov (United States)

    2014-01-01

    Background Developing, implementing and evaluating worksite health promotion requires dealing with all stakeholders involved, such as employers, employees, occupational physicians, insurance companies, providers, labour unions and research and knowledge institutes. Although worksite health promotion is becoming more common, empirical research on ethical considerations of worksite health promotion is scarce. Methods We explored the views of stakeholders involved in worksite health promotion in focus group discussions and we described the ethical considerations that result from differences between these views. The focus group discussions were organised per stakeholder group. Data were analysed according to the constant comparison method. Results Our analyses show that although the definition of occupational health is the same for all stakeholders, namely ‘being able to perform your job’, there seem to be important differences in the views on what constitutes a risk factor to occupational health. According to the employees, risk factors to occupational health are prevailingly job-related. Labour unions agree with them, but other stakeholders, including the employer, particularly see employee-related issues such as lifestyle behaviour as risk factors to occupational health. The difference in definition of occupational health risk factors translates into the same categorisation of worksite health promotion; employee-related activities and work-related activities. The difference in conceptualisation of occupational health risk factors and worksite health promotion resonates in the way stakeholders understand ‘responsibility’ for lifestyle behaviour. Even though all stakeholders agree on whose responsibility lifestyle behaviour is, namely that of the employee, the meaning of ‘responsibility’ differs between employees, and employers. For employees, responsibility means autonomy, while for employers and other stakeholders, responsibility equals duty. This

  6. The health-promoting nurse as a health policy career expert and entrepreneur.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Whitehead, Dean

    2003-11-01

    A plethora of literature suggests that many nurses struggle in their attempts to develop a political role that allows them to directly influence and implement health policy activity. Nursing curricula are an integral part of ensuring that nurses are capable of taking on a more active role in initiating and developing health policy processes, through a broadening of the health promotion curriculum that focuses on socio-political approaches to health care provision. Despite this, the available literature suggests that the majority of nursing curricula are yet to fulfil this role. Such a role could be supported by attempts to define and promote a specific career route that develops nurses as health policy experts and entrepreneurs early on in their careers. This article aims to put forward a rationale for developing such a position in nursing education.

  7. Building Collaborative Health Promotion Partnerships: The Jackson Heart Study

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Clifton C. Addison

    2015-12-01

    Full Text Available Building Collaborative Health Promotion Partnerships: The Jackson Heart Study. Background: Building a collaborative health promotion partnership that effectively employs principles of community-based participatory research (CBPR involves many dimensions. To ensure that changes would be long-lasting, it is imperative that partnerships be configured to include groups of diverse community representatives who can develop a vision for long-term change. This project sought to enumerate processes used by the Jackson Heart Study (JHS Community Outreach Center (CORC to create strong, viable partnerships that produce lasting change. Methods: JHS CORC joined with community representatives to initiate programs that evolved into comprehensive strategies for addressing health disparities and the high prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD. This collaboration was made possible by first promoting an understanding of the need for combined effort, the desire to interact with other community partners, and the vision to establish an effective governance structure. Results: The partnership between JHS CORC and the community has empowered and inspired community members to provide leadership to other health promotion projects. Conclusion: Academic institutions must reach out to local community groups and together address local health issues that affect the community. When a community understands the need for change to respond to negative health conditions, formalizing this type of collaboration is a step in the right direction.

  8. Systems thinking and complexity: considerations for health promoting schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rosas, Scott R

    2017-04-01

    The health promoting schools concept reflects a comprehensive and integrated philosophy to improving student and personnel health and well-being. Conceptualized as a configuration of interacting, interdependent parts connected through a web of relationships that form a whole greater than the sum of its parts, school health promotion initiatives often target several levels (e.g. individual, professional, procedural and policy) simultaneously. Health promoting initiatives, such as those operationalized under the whole school approach, include several interconnected components that are coordinated to improve health outcomes in complex settings. These complex systems interventions are embedded in intricate arrangements of physical, biological, ecological, social, political and organizational relationships. Systems thinking and characteristics of complex adaptive systems are introduced in this article to provide a perspective that emphasizes the patterns of inter-relationships associated with the nonlinear, dynamic and adaptive nature of complex hierarchical systems. Four systems thinking areas: knowledge, networks, models and organizing are explored as a means to further manage the complex nature of the development and sustainability of health promoting schools. Applying systems thinking and insights about complex adaptive systems can illuminate how to address challenges found in settings with both complicated (i.e. multi-level and multisite) and complex aspects (i.e. synergistic processes and emergent outcomes). © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Youth Sports Clubs' Potential as Health-Promoting Setting: Profiles, Motives and Barriers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meganck, Jeroen; Scheerder, Jeroen; Thibaut, Erik; Seghers, Jan

    2015-01-01

    Setting and Objective: For decades, the World Health Organisation has promoted settings-based health promotion, but its application to leisure settings is minimal. Focusing on organised sports as an important leisure activity, the present study had three goals: exploring the health promotion profile of youth sports clubs, identifying objective…

  10. [A glossary for health care promoting universities (an HPU glossary)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bravo-Valenzuela, Paulina; Cabieses, Báltica; Zuzulich, María S; Muñoz, Mónica; Ojeda, Minerva

    2013-01-01

    The health promotion in the university context emerges as an important initiative to facilitate the development of healthy lifestyle behaviors in this environment where students, faculty and university staff spend and share a significant part of their lives. The movement of Health Promoting Universities (HPU) has over 20 years of experience, but still lacks a common language that allows effective communication between those who are interested in its planning and implementation. The purpose of this paper is to develop the most relevant concepts in the context of the international movement of UPS. This document is organized into five anchor dimensions: [1]The university and health promotion, [2] The University and its social responsibility, [3] The University, inequality and inequity, [4] The University and evidence in health promotion, and [5] Strategies to develop a HPU. It is hoped that this glossary for HPU encourages the development of a common language between those who promote this initiative and come from different disciplines, and at the same time serve as a guide for practice.

  11. The promotion of oral health in health-promoting schools in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa

    OpenAIRE

    Reddy, M; Singh, S

    2017-01-01

    BACKGROUND. Oral health promotion is a cost-effective strategy that can be implemented at schools for the prevention of oral diseases. The importance and value of school-based interventions in children has been identified in South Africa (SA). Although oral health strategies include integrated school-based interventions, there is a lack of published evidence on whether these strategies have been translated into practice and whether these programmes have been evaluated. OBJECTIVE. To assess th...

  12. Association between Municipal Health Promotion Volunteers' Health Literacy and Their Level of Outreach Activities in Japan.

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Atsuko Taguchi

    Full Text Available To explore the association between health literacy and levels of three types of core activities among health promotion volunteers (developing a healthy lifestyle, outreach to family, and outreach to community members.A cross-sectional, anonymous, self-administered postal survey of registered health promotion volunteers in the Konan area in Shiga Prefecture in Japan, conducted in January 2010. The study sample was 575 registered health promotion volunteers.The survey collected data on health literacy, gender, age, education, self-rated health, perceptions about the volunteer organization, and perceptions of recognition in the community. The level of engagement in health promotion activities was measured by the extent to which the participants engaged in seven healthy behaviors and promoted them to family members and the community. The authors compared the health literacy level and other characteristics of the participants by core health promotion activities, using a chi-squared test, to examine the associations between demographic and other variables and the three core activities (healthy lifestyle, outreach to family, and outreach to community.Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between the degree to which the volunteers engaged in core activities ("healthy lifestyle," "outreach to family," "outreach to community" and the levels of health literacy (low, medium, high among health promotion volunteers, controlling for the effects of age, gender, health condition, education which may also have an impact on volunteers' outreach activities.Four hundred and fifty-four questionnaires were returned, a 79.0% response rate. Excluding 16 cases with missing values on health literacy or the degree of health promotion activities, 438 research subjects were included in the analysis (valid response rate: 76.2%. Health literacy and a few demographic and other characteristics of the volunteers were associated with the three core

  13. Promoting health equity: WHO health inequality monitoring at global and national levels

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosseinpoor, Ahmad Reza; Bergen, Nicole; Schlotheuber, Anne

    2015-01-01

    Background Health equity is a priority in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda and other major health initiatives. The World Health Organization (WHO) has a history of promoting actions to achieve equity in health, including efforts to encourage the practice of health inequality monitoring. Health inequality monitoring systems use disaggregated data to identify disadvantaged subgroups within populations and inform equity-oriented health policies, programs, and practices. Objective This paper provides an overview of a number of recent and current WHO initiatives related to health inequality monitoring at the global and/or national level. Design We outline the scope, content, and intended uses/application of the following: Health Equity Monitor database and theme page; State of inequality: reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health report; Handbook on health inequality monitoring: with a focus on low- and middle-income countries; Health inequality monitoring eLearning module; Monitoring health inequality: an essential step for achieving health equity advocacy booklet and accompanying video series; and capacity building workshops conducted in WHO Member States and Regions. Conclusions The paper concludes by considering how the work of the WHO can be expanded upon to promote the establishment of sustainable and robust inequality monitoring systems across a variety of health topics among Member States and at the global level. PMID:26387506

  14. Promoting health equity: WHO health inequality monitoring at global and national levels.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hosseinpoor, Ahmad Reza; Bergen, Nicole; Schlotheuber, Anne

    2015-01-01

    Health equity is a priority in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda and other major health initiatives. The World Health Organization (WHO) has a history of promoting actions to achieve equity in health, including efforts to encourage the practice of health inequality monitoring. Health inequality monitoring systems use disaggregated data to identify disadvantaged subgroups within populations and inform equity-oriented health policies, programs, and practices. This paper provides an overview of a number of recent and current WHO initiatives related to health inequality monitoring at the global and/or national level. We outline the scope, content, and intended uses/application of the following: Health Equity Monitor database and theme page; State of inequality: reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health report; Handbook on health inequality monitoring: with a focus on low- and middle-income countries; Health inequality monitoring eLearning module; Monitoring health inequality: an essential step for achieving health equity advocacy booklet and accompanying video series; and capacity building workshops conducted in WHO Member States and Regions. The paper concludes by considering how the work of the WHO can be expanded upon to promote the establishment of sustainable and robust inequality monitoring systems across a variety of health topics among Member States and at the global level.

  15. Promoting health equity: WHO health inequality monitoring at global and national levels

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ahmad Reza Hosseinpoor

    2015-09-01

    Full Text Available Background: Health equity is a priority in the post-2015 sustainable development agenda and other major health initiatives. The World Health Organization (WHO has a history of promoting actions to achieve equity in health, including efforts to encourage the practice of health inequality monitoring. Health inequality monitoring systems use disaggregated data to identify disadvantaged subgroups within populations and inform equity-oriented health policies, programs, and practices. Objective: This paper provides an overview of a number of recent and current WHO initiatives related to health inequality monitoring at the global and/or national level. Design: We outline the scope, content, and intended uses/application of the following: Health Equity Monitor database and theme page; State of inequality: reproductive, maternal, newborn, and child health report; Handbook on health inequality monitoring: with a focus on low- and middle-income countries; Health inequality monitoring eLearning module; Monitoring health inequality: an essential step for achieving health equity advocacy booklet and accompanying video series; and capacity building workshops conducted in WHO Member States and Regions. Conclusions: The paper concludes by considering how the work of the WHO can be expanded upon to promote the establishment of sustainable and robust inequality monitoring systems across a variety of health topics among Member States and at the global level.

  16. [How to promote health competence at work].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eickholt, Clarissa; Hamacher, W; Lenartz, N

    2015-09-01

    Health competence is a key concept in occupational health and safety and workplace health promotion for maintaining and enhancing health resources. The effects of governmental or occupational measures to protect or improve health fall short of what is required with regard to the challenges of a changing workplace, e.g., due to the delimitation of work. To secure employability it is becoming more and more important to encourage the personal responsibility of employees. To offer new conclusions on how employers and employees can promote health competence, a survey is required of the research within the fields of health competence and competence development, and of the status quo in enterprises. In this context, a Delphi Study provides an important contribution, with a focus on small and medium-sized enterprises. The development of an extensive understanding of health competence is essential in a work-related context. Beyond knowledge-based health literacy, an action-oriented concept of competence implies the ability and willingness to act in a reasonable and creative manner in complex situations. The development of health competence requires learning embedded in working processes, which challenges competent behaviour. Enabling informal learning is a promising innovative approach and therefore coordinated operational activities are necessary. Ultimately, this is a matter of suitable organisational measures being implemented to meet the health competence needs of an enterprise. Even though the each individual employee bears his or her own health competence, the development potential lies largely within the prevailing working conditions.

  17. A Systematic Review of Health-Promotion Programs in NCAA Division III Institutions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hanson, Matthew

    2011-01-01

    Health-promotion in the workplace has existed for numerous years. However, the availability of health-promotion programs offered in institutions of higher education has seemed to lag behind other industries such as business. The purpose of this survey research project was to identify specific components of health-promotion programs within NCAA…

  18. [Local health promotion plans: intersetoralities created in the territory].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moysés, Simone Tetu; Franco de Sá, Ronice

    2014-11-01

    The article highlights the importance of considering the specificities of spaces/territories/ locations of individual and collective life in creating health promotion actions. It explores how this approach has conceptually consolidated respect for territoriality and territorial actions as a principle and an operational health promotion strategy. Based on the literature, the article also points to the need to envision the territory occupied as a locus to put intersetorialities into practice, giving a voice to people who live there, seek to and solve their complex problems, to existing and emerging social networks. It also presents a nationally and internationally validated strategy/method (Bamboo Method) for the development of local health promotion plans, which enables the prioritization of actions by listening to the people and to the managers.

  19. 102: PROMOTING INFORMATION LITERACY BY PROMOTING HEALTH LITERACY IN THE INFORMATION SOCIETY

    Science.gov (United States)

    Dastani, Meisam; Sattari, Masoume

    2017-01-01

    Background and aims In the information society the production, distribution and use of information is freely and widely available for all issues of life. Correct and appropriate use of appropriate and reliable information is especially important in health care. The present study introduces the concepts and benefits of health literacy and information literacy and its role in improving health literacy. Methods This study is a review based on a review of the concepts of the information society, information literacy and information educated to present importance of promoting information literacy on health literacy in the information society. Results and Conclusion The information society by providing a platform of information technology and computer systems to attempts exchange and development information between people in the community. Currently, electronic and web-based health information in the form of mass is available for people. Information as a fundamental base of the information society is a phenomenon that our decisions are affect in relation to various issues such as safety and health issues. It is important point to avoid the mass of information invalid, incorrect and inappropriate available on the internet. This requires information literacy skills such as identifying, accessing and evaluating information. In general, it can be said that the promotion of health literacy in communities are required to learn different skills in the form of information literacy.

  20. School Health Promotion and Teacher Professional Identity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jourdan, Didier; Simar, Carine; Deasy, Christine; Carvalho, Graça S.; McNamara, Patricia Mannix

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: Health and education are inextricably linked. Health promotion sits somewhat uncomfortably within schools, often remaining a marginal aspect of teachers' work. The purpose of this paper is to examine the compatibility of an HP-initiative with teacher professional identity. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative research design was…

  1. Polyphenol-Rich Lentils and Their Health Promoting Effects

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kumar Ganesan

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Lentil (Lens culinaris; Family: Fabaceae is a potential functional dietary ingredient which has polyphenol-rich content. Several studies have demonstrated that the consumption of lentil is immensely connected to the reduction in the incidence of diseases such as diabetes, obesity, cancers and cardiovascular diseases due to its bioactive compounds. There has been increasing scientific interest in the study area of lentils as the functional food due to its high nutritive value, polyphenols, and other bioactive compounds. These polyphenols and the bioactive compounds found in lentil play an important role in the prevention of those degenerative diseases in humans. Besides that, it has health-promoting effects. Based on the in vitro, in-vivo and clinical studies, the present review focuses to provide more information on the nutritional compositions, bioactive compounds including polyphenols and health-promoting effects of lentils. Health-promoting information was gathered and orchestrated at a suitable place in the review.

  2. The role of lifestyle change in health promotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mirela Manuela GHEORGHE

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available We are experiencing a period where we are faced with rising healthcare costs, as well as an increased disease impact on the entire population of the country. Although the slogan “prevention is cheaper than cure” may seem old-fashioned, however, it is more true than ever. It is necessary to offer health education and also to promote health care in Romania, in accordance with the international standards, as adopted by the European Union. Health Promotion is the art and science of helping people change their lifestyle in order to achieve a state of optimal health, restoring the harmony at all levels of human existence. Promoting a lifestyle which given certain conditions maximizes health, welfare and human fulfilment represents a goal that does not belong exclusively to the health sector; all fields of activity, all those sectors that define the life of an individual or a community are essential parts of achieving a healthy lifestyle. Modern men adopt a lifestyle where sedentary life, overeating, smoking, erratic working hours and alcohol use are common behaviours. Therefore, they become vulnerable to a new class of diseases of multi-factorial aetiology where the lifestyle plays a prominent role. Although the lifestyle may be complex, it is still under personal control and lead by the ability to choose extensively, which can be of benefit to the person's life and health. Choices regarding health involve more than objective information. Health education should be an ongoing concern for health professionals and health educators, psychologists, sociologists, family, for those who through effective collaboration contribute to ensuring physical and mental health in the community, in the increasingly demanding conditions of the modern life, which raise difficult issues regarding human adaptability.

  3. Integrating weight bias awareness and mental health promotion into obesity prevention delivery: a public health pilot study.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McVey, Gail L; Walker, Kathryn S; Beyers, Joanne; Harrison, Heather L; Simkins, Sari W; Russell-Mayhew, Shelly

    2013-04-04

    Promoting healthy weight is a top priority in Canada. Recent federal guidelines call for sustained, multisectoral partnerships that address childhood obesity on multiple levels. Current healthy weight messaging does not fully acknowledge the influence of social determinants of health on weight. An interactive workshop was developed and implemented by a team of academic researchers and health promoters from the psychology and public health disciplines to raise awareness about 1) weight bias and its negative effect on health, 2) ways to balance healthy weight messaging to prevent the triggering of weight and shape preoccupation, and 3) the incorporation of mental health promotion into healthy weight messaging. We conducted a full-day workshop with 342 Ontario public health promoters and administered a survey at preintervention, postintervention, and follow-up. Participation in the full-day workshop led to significant decreases in antifat attitudes and the internalization of media stereotypes and to significant increases in self-efficacy to address weight bias. Participants reported that the training heightened their awareness of their own personal weight biases and the need to broaden their scope of healthy weight promotion to include mental health promotion. There was consensus that additional sessions are warranted to help translate knowledge into action. Buy-in and resource support at the organizational level was also seen as pivotal. Professional development training in the area of weight bias awareness is associated with decreases in antifat attitudes and the internalization of media stereotypes around thinness. Health promoters' healthy weight messaging was improved by learning to avoid messages that trigger weight and shape preoccupation or unhealthful eating practices among children and youth. Participants also learned ways to integrate mental health promotion and resiliency-building into daily practice.

  4. Association between Municipal Health Promotion Volunteers' Health Literacy and Their Level of Outreach Activities in Japan.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taguchi, Atsuko; Murayama, Hiroshi; Murashima, Sachiyo

    2016-01-01

    To explore the association between health literacy and levels of three types of core activities among health promotion volunteers (developing a healthy lifestyle, outreach to family, and outreach to community members). A cross-sectional, anonymous, self-administered postal survey of registered health promotion volunteers in the Konan area in Shiga Prefecture in Japan, conducted in January 2010. The study sample was 575 registered health promotion volunteers. The survey collected data on health literacy, gender, age, education, self-rated health, perceptions about the volunteer organization, and perceptions of recognition in the community. The level of engagement in health promotion activities was measured by the extent to which the participants engaged in seven healthy behaviors and promoted them to family members and the community. The authors compared the health literacy level and other characteristics of the participants by core health promotion activities, using a chi-squared test, to examine the associations between demographic and other variables and the three core activities (healthy lifestyle, outreach to family, and outreach to community).Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between the degree to which the volunteers engaged in core activities ("healthy lifestyle," "outreach to family," "outreach to community") and the levels of health literacy (low, medium, high) among health promotion volunteers, controlling for the effects of age, gender, health condition, education which may also have an impact on volunteers' outreach activities. Four hundred and fifty-four questionnaires were returned, a 79.0% response rate. Excluding 16 cases with missing values on health literacy or the degree of health promotion activities, 438 research subjects were included in the analysis (valid response rate: 76.2%). Health literacy and a few demographic and other characteristics of the volunteers were associated with the three core health

  5. Association between Municipal Health Promotion Volunteers’ Health Literacy and Their Level of Outreach Activities in Japan

    Science.gov (United States)

    Taguchi, Atsuko; Murayama, Hiroshi; Murashima, Sachiyo

    2016-01-01

    Objectives To explore the association between health literacy and levels of three types of core activities among health promotion volunteers (developing a healthy lifestyle, outreach to family, and outreach to community members). Study Design A cross-sectional, anonymous, self-administered postal survey of registered health promotion volunteers in the Konan area in Shiga Prefecture in Japan, conducted in January 2010. The study sample was 575 registered health promotion volunteers. Methods The survey collected data on health literacy, gender, age, education, self-rated health, perceptions about the volunteer organization, and perceptions of recognition in the community. The level of engagement in health promotion activities was measured by the extent to which the participants engaged in seven healthy behaviors and promoted them to family members and the community. The authors compared the health literacy level and other characteristics of the participants by core health promotion activities, using a chi-squared test, to examine the associations between demographic and other variables and the three core activities (healthy lifestyle, outreach to family, and outreach to community).Logistic regression analysis was conducted to examine the association between the degree to which the volunteers engaged in core activities (“healthy lifestyle,” “outreach to family,” “outreach to community”) and the levels of health literacy (low, medium, high) among health promotion volunteers, controlling for the effects of age, gender, health condition, education which may also have an impact on volunteers’ outreach activities. Results Four hundred and fifty-four questionnaires were returned, a 79.0% response rate. Excluding 16 cases with missing values on health literacy or the degree of health promotion activities, 438 research subjects were included in the analysis (valid response rate: 76.2%). Health literacy and a few demographic and other characteristics of the

  6. Empowerment: a goal or a means for health promotion?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tengland, Per-Anders

    2007-06-01

    Empowerment is a concept that has been much used and discussed for a number of years. However, it is not always explicitly clarified what its central meaning is. The present paper intends to clarify what empowerment means, and relate it to the goals of health promotion. The paper starts with the claim that health-related quality of life is the ultimate general goal for health promotion, and continues by briefly presenting definitions of some central concepts: "welfare", "health" and "quality of life". Several suggestions as to what empowerment is are then discussed: autonomy, freedom, knowledge, self-esteem, self-confidence, and control over health or life. One conclusion of this discussion is that empowerment can be seen as a complex goal which includes aspects of the three central concepts welfare, health and quality of life. To the extent that the empowerment goals aimed at are health-related, it is concluded that empowerment is a legitimate goal for health promotion. But empowerment is not only a goal, it can also be described as a process or as an approach. This process, or approach, in a fundamental way involves the participants in problem formulation, decision making and action, which means that the experts have to relinquish some of their control and power.

  7. Smartphone Technology and Apps: Rapidly Changing Health Promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kratzke, Cynthia; Cox, Carolyn

    2012-01-01

    Despite the increased availability of smartphones and health applications (apps), little is known about smartphone technology and apps for implementation in health promotion practice. Smartphones are mobile devices with capabilities for e-mail, text messaging, video viewing, and wireless Internet access. It is essential for health promotion…

  8. Moral issues in workplace health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Robroek, Suzan J W; van de Vathorst, Suzanne; Hilhorst, Medard T; Burdorf, Alex

    2012-04-01

    There is debate to what extent employers are entitled to interfere with the lifestyle and health of their workers. In this context, little information is available on the opinion of employees. Within the framework of a workplace health promotion (WHP) program, moral considerations among workers were investigated. Employees from five companies were invited to participate in a WHP program. Both participants (n = 513) and non-participants (n = 205) in the program filled in a questionnaire on individual characteristics, lifestyle, health, and opinions regarding WHP. Nineteen percent of the non-participants did not participate in the WHP program because they prefer to arrange it themselves, and 13% (also) preferred to keep private life and work separate. More participants (87%) than non-participants (77%) agreed with the statement that it is good that employers try to improve employees' health (χ(2) = 12.78, p = 0.002), and 26% of the non-participants and 21% of the participants think employer interference with their health is a violation of their privacy. Employees aged 50 year and older were more likely to agree with the latter statement than younger workers (OR = 1.56, 95% CI 1.02-2.39). This study showed that most employees support the importance of WHP, but in a modest group of employees, moral considerations may play a role in their decision whether or not to participate in WHP. Older workers were more likely to resist employer interference with their health. Therefore, special attention on such moral considerations may be needed in the communication, design, and implementation of workplace health promotion programs.

  9. Health promoting attitudes and behaviors of emergency physicians: exploring gender differences.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rondeau, Kent V; Francescutti, Louis H; Cummings, Garnet E

    2006-01-01

    The purpose of this paper is to report on gender differences in emergency physicians with respect to their attitudes, knowledge, and practices concerning health promotion and disease prevention. A mail survey of 325 male and 97 female Canadian emergency physicians. Results suggest female emergency physicians report having greater knowledge of health promotion topics, spend more time with each of their patients in the emergency setting, and engage in more health promotion counseling in the emergency setting than do their male counterparts. The paper argues that in the future, educating and socializing emergency physicians, both male and female, in the practice of health promotion will enhance the potential of the emergency department to be a more effective resource for their community.

  10. Introduction to Health Promotion for People with Chronic Illness and Disability

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chan, Fong; Chiu, Chung-Yi; Bezyak, Jill L.; Keegan, John

    2012-01-01

    Health promotion has received increasing attention in rehabilitation counseling research. Health promotion research contributes to theory building and provides the foundation for empirically supported interventions that can improve the health-related quality of life and employment outcomes of people with chronic illness and disability. In this…

  11. Structural developmental psychology and health promotion in the third age.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bauger, Lars; Bongaardt, Rob

    2017-01-12

    In response to the ever-increasing longevity in Western societies, old age has been divided into two different periods, labelled the third and fourth age. Where the third age, with its onset at retirement, mostly involves positive aspects of growing old, the fourth age involves functional decline and increased morbidity. This article focuses on the entry to the third age and its potential for health promotion initiatives. Well-being is an important factor to emphasize in such health promotion, and this article views the lifestyle of third agers as essential for their well-being. The structural developmental theory of Robert Kegan delineates how a person's way of knowing develops throughout the life course. This theory is an untapped and salient perspective for health promotion initiatives in the third age. This article outlines Kegan's approach as a tool for developing psychologically spacious health promotion, and suggests future directions for research on the topic. © The Author 2017. Published by Oxford University Press.

  12. 76 FR 67731 - Meeting of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-11-02

    ... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the... Public Health Service. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory... scheduled to be held for the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public...

  13. 76 FR 26300 - Meeting of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-05-06

    ... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the... Public Health Service. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory... scheduled to be held for the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public...

  14. 76 FR 58007 - Meeting of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-09-19

    ... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the... Public Health Service. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory... scheduled to be held for the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public...

  15. 77 FR 15372 - Meeting of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health

    Science.gov (United States)

    2012-03-15

    ... Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the... Public Health Service. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: In accordance with Section 10(a) of the Federal Advisory... scheduled to be held for the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public...

  16. Employee perspectives of workplace health promotion in selected ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study explored (a) available workplace interventions to support or improve workers health and well-being (b) the kind of health messages employees prefer, and (c) preferred methods of delivery for work place health promotion programmes. This study employed a cross-sectional design by a structured questionnaire ...

  17. The Search Conference as a Method in Planning Community Health Promotion Actions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magnus, Eva; Knudtsen, Margunn Skjei; Wist, Guri; Weiss, Daniel; Lillefjell, Monica

    2016-01-01

    Aims: The aim of this article is to describe and discuss how the search conference can be used as a method for planning health promotion actions in local communities. Design and methods: The article draws on experiences with using the method for an innovative project in health promotion in three Norwegian municipalities. The method is described both in general and how it was specifically adopted for the project. Results and conclusions: The search conference as a method was used to develop evidence-based health promotion action plans. With its use of both bottom-up and top-down approaches, this method is a relevant strategy for involving a community in the planning stages of health promotion actions in line with political expectations of participation, ownership, and evidence-based initiatives. Significance for public health This article describe and discuss how the Search conference can be used as a method when working with knowledge based health promotion actions in local communities. The article describe the sequences of the conference and shows how this have been adapted when planning and prioritizing health promotion actions in three Norwegian municipalities. The significance of the article is that it shows how central elements in the planning of health promotion actions, as participation and involvements as well as evidence was a fundamental thinking in how the conference were accomplished. The article continue discussing how the method function as both a top-down and a bottom-up strategy, and in what way working evidence based can be in conflict with a bottom-up strategy. The experiences described can be used as guidance planning knowledge based health promotion actions in communities. PMID:27747199

  18. Setting-based interventions to promote mental health at the university: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fernandez, A; Howse, E; Rubio-Valera, M; Thorncraft, K; Noone, J; Luu, X; Veness, B; Leech, M; Llewellyn, G; Salvador-Carulla, L

    2016-09-01

    Universities are dynamic environments. But university life presents challenges that may affect the mental health of its community. Higher education institutions provide opportunities to promote public health. Our objective is to summarise the current evidence on strategies to promote mental health at the university, following a setting-based model. We conducted a systematic literature review following standard methods. Published literature that evaluated structural and organizations strategies to promote mental health at the university was selected. 19 papers were included. The majority of the studies were targeting the students, with only four aiming to promote employees' mental health. The most promising strategies to promote mental wellbeing included changes in the way students are taught and assessed. On the other hand, social marketing strategies had not impact on mental health. There is inconclusive evidence related to the effectiveness of policies to promote mental health. Universities should invest in creating supportive physical, social and academic environments that promote student and staff mental wellbeing. However, the current body of evidence is scarce and more research is needed to recommend what are the best strategies.

  19. Studying the striving and opposing forces in newspaper journalism: the actantial model of health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aarva, Pauliina; Tampere, Marja Pakarinen

    2006-06-01

    The cultural aspects of health promotion are important in policy development as well as in assessing effectiveness of health promotion activities. The discourses on promoting health and well-being in journalism reflect the health promotion culture in society. This article illustrates how health promotion is portrayed by 147 newspaper items from the two Finnish quality dailies during the period 2002-2004 and introduces a semiotic Actantial Model of Health Promotion (AMHP) for studying health promotion cultures. The most popular news themes on health promotion were physical and social environment, welfare services, nutrition and obesity, and mental well-being. The actants (actors, actions and abstract factor) of health promotion were identified and the AMHP with seven key actants (generator, health-object, public, tool, executor, threat and obstacle) was constructed. The model sheds light on two sides of health promotion discourses in journalism. The dominant culture of health promotion was represented by policy actions, information, education and scientific research, which were defined by health experts, decision-makers and researchers. Representations of the opposite culture--'the otherness' of health promotion included external harmful factors and unhealthy behaviours, mentalities opposed to being health-oriented, rationally uncontrolled living, disorder, disharmony and insecurity. The opposing factors were presented by people and institutions lacking the will, ability or motivation for a health-oriented life. To understand better the values of health promotion, it is necessary to assess the characteristics of the opposite side of health promotion culture, because the current dominant values can be described more clearly by the boundaries--by 'otherness'. The study argues that the AMHP can be used as a semiotic method to identify the value dimensions and the boundaries between the dominant and the opposite discourses of health promotion in various communications

  20. Health Promotion and Wellness Programs: An Insight into the Fortune 500.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Forouzesh, Mohammed Reza; Ratzker, Leslie E.

    1985-01-01

    Employee health promotion and wellness programs have become a popular method of decreasing employee health care costs. The characteristics of worksite health-promotion programs were surveyed in a study of Fortune 500 companies. This study also served to examine the extent of activities offered in these programs. (DF)

  1. Lifestyle, Fitness and Health Promotion Initiative of the University of ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    This study examined the health promotion initiative introduced by the Management of the University of Ilorin, Ngeria. In an attempt to ensure stress free academic society that would boost staff productivity and longevity, the university invested heavily on a number of lifestyle, fitness and health promotion initiatives. Descriptive ...

  2. Improving health promotion through central rating of interventions: the need for Responsive Guidance.

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Kok, Maarten Olivier; Bal, Roland; Roelofs, Caspar David; Schuit, Albertine Jantine

    2017-01-01

    In several countries, attempts are made to improve health promotion by centrally rating the effectiveness of health promotion interventions. The Dutch Effectiveness Rating System (ERS) for health promotion interventions is an improvement-oriented approach in which multi-disciplinary expert

  3. Promoting Oral Health Using Social Media Platforms: Seeking Arabic Online Oral Health Related Information (OHRI).

    Science.gov (United States)

    Almaiman, Sarah; Bahkali, Salwa; Alabdulatif, Norah; Bahkaly, Ahlam; Al-Surimi, Khaled; Househ, Mowafa

    2016-01-01

    Access to oral health care services around the world is limited by a lack of universal coverage. The internet and social media can be an important source for patients to access supplementary oral health related information (OHRI). Online OHRI presents an opportunity to enhance dental public health education about innumerable oral health issues and promote dental self-care. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of social media users among the Saudi population and identify the preferred social media platform for seeking Arabic OHRI and its impact on seekers' knowledge, attitude, and behavior. A total of 2652 Twitter followers were surveyed, using a web-based self-administered questionnaire to collect data on demographic characteristics and online OHRI seeking behavior More than two thirds, 67.7% (n= 1796), of the participants reported they were seeking Arabic online OHRI, while 41.1% of the participants reported they had no preference for using a specific social media platform. These results emphasize the need and importance of supporting the content of social media with trusted and high quality online OHRI resources to promote a high level of public awareness about oral health and dental health services. Further studies in this regard are highly recommended on a larger scale of nationalities to explore the role of social media platform preference in promoting health promotion and dental public health awareness.

  4. Integrating relationship- and research-based approaches in Australian health promotion practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Klinner, Christiane; Carter, Stacy M; Rychetnik, Lucie; Li, Vincy; Daley, Michelle; Zask, Avigdor; Lloyd, Beverly

    2015-12-01

    We examine the perspectives of health promotion practitioners on their approaches to determining health promotion practice, in particular on the role of research and relationships in this process. Using Grounded Theory methods, we analysed 58 semi-structured interviews with 54 health promotion practitioners in New South Wales, Australia. Practitioners differentiated between relationship-based and research-based approaches as two sources of knowledge to guide health promotion practice. We identify several tensions in seeking to combine these approaches in practice and describe the strategies that participants adopted to manage these tensions. The strategies included working in an evidence-informed rather than evidence-based way, creating new evidence about relationship-based processes and outcomes, adopting 'relationship-based' research and evaluation methods, making research and evaluation useful for communities, building research and evaluation skills and improving collaboration between research and evaluation and programme implementation staff. We conclude by highlighting three systemic factors which could further support the integration of research-based and relationship-based health promotion practices: (i) expanding conceptions of health promotion evidence, (ii) developing 'relationship-based' research methods that enable practitioners to measure complex social processes and outcomes and to facilitate community participation and benefit, and (iii) developing organizational capacity. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  5. The World Health Organization?s Health Promoting Schools framework: a Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis

    OpenAIRE

    Langford, Rebecca; Bonell, Christopher; Jones, Hayley; Pouliou, Theodora; Murphy, Simon; Waters, Elizabeth; Komro, Kelli; Gibbs, Lisa; Magnus, Daniel; Campbell, Rona

    2015-01-01

    BACKGROUND: Healthy children achieve better educational outcomes which, in turn, are associated with improved health later in life. The World Health Organization's Health Promoting Schools (HPS) framework is a holistic approach to promoting health and educational attainment in school. The effectiveness of this approach has not yet been rigorously reviewed. METHODS: We searched 20 health, education and social science databases, and trials registries and relevant websites in 2011 and 2013. We i...

  6. Health issues of whey proteins: 3. Gut health promotion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Schaafsma, G.

    2007-01-01

    This paper reviews the potential of whey protein to promote gut health. The high digestibility and specific amino acid composition of whey protei, as present in whey powder, whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate, explain why ingestion of whey protein will exert this beneficial effect.

  7. Health issues of whey proteins: 3. gut health promotion

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Gertjan Schaafsma

    2007-01-01

    This paper reviews the potential of whey protein to promote gut health. The high digestibility and specific amino acid composition of whey protein, as present in whey powder, whey protein concentrate and whey protein isolate, explain why ingestion of whey protein will exert this beneficial effect.

  8. Oral Health Promotion in Schools: Rationale and Evaluation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kizito, Alex; Caitlin, Meredith; Wang, Yili; Kasangaki, Arabat; Macnab, Andrew J.

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explain the rationale and potential for the WHO health promoting schools (HPS) to improve children's oral health, and describe validated quantitative methodologies and qualitative approaches to measure program impact. Design/Methodology/Approach: Critical discussion of the impact of poor oral health and…

  9. Promoting oral health of children through schools--results from a WHO global survey 2012

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Jürgensen, N; Petersen, P E

    2013-01-01

    This paper reviews the range of school-based approaches to oral health and describes what is meant by a Health Promoting School. The paper then reports the results of a World Health Organization global survey of school-based health promotion. Purposive sampling across 100 countries produced 108...... evaluations of school oral health projects spread across 61 countries around the globe. The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion noted that schools can provide a supportive environment for promoting children's health. However, while a number of well-known strategies are being applied, the full range of health...... promoting actions is not being used globally. A greater emphasis on integrated health promotion is advised in place of narrower, disease- or project-specific approaches. Recommendations are made for improving this situation, for further research and for specifying an operational framework for sharing...

  10. The role of midwife in health promotion and diseases diseases prevention

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kinga Kawałek

    2017-08-01

    Conclusion: Collected data shows that leading prophylactic programs and health promotion applies in midwives’ every day work. Too little time to implement health promotion and education is a factor hindering the work of midwives.

  11. The Delivery of Health Promotion and Environmental Health Services; Public Health or Primary Care Settings?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lene Bjørn Jensen

    2018-05-01

    Full Text Available The WHO Regional Office for Europe developed a set of public health functions resulting in the ten Essential Public Health Operations (EPHO. Public health or primary care settings seem to be favorable to embrace all actions included into EPHOs. The presented paper aims to guide readers on how to assign individual health promotion and environmental health services to public health or primary care settings. Survey tools were developed based on EPHO 2, 3 and 4; there were six key informant surveys out of 18 contacted completed via e-mails by informants working in Denmark on health promotion and five face-to-face interviews were conducted in Australia (Melbourne and Victoria state with experts from environmental health, public health and a physician. Based on interviews, we developed a set of indicators to support the assignment process. Population or individual focus, a system approach or one-to-one approach, dealing with hazards or dealing with effects, being proactive or reactive were identified as main element of the decision tool. Assignment of public health services to one of two settings proved to be possible in some cases, whereas in many there is no clear distinction between the two settings. National context might be the one which guides delivery of public health services.

  12. The Delivery of Health Promotion and Environmental Health Services; Public Health or Primary Care Settings?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bjørn Jensen, Lene; Lukic, Irena; Gulis, Gabriel

    2018-05-07

    The WHO Regional Office for Europe developed a set of public health functions resulting in the ten Essential Public Health Operations (EPHO). Public health or primary care settings seem to be favorable to embrace all actions included into EPHOs. The presented paper aims to guide readers on how to assign individual health promotion and environmental health services to public health or primary care settings. Survey tools were developed based on EPHO 2, 3 and 4; there were six key informant surveys out of 18 contacted completed via e-mails by informants working in Denmark on health promotion and five face-to-face interviews were conducted in Australia (Melbourne and Victoria state) with experts from environmental health, public health and a physician. Based on interviews, we developed a set of indicators to support the assignment process. Population or individual focus, a system approach or one-to-one approach, dealing with hazards or dealing with effects, being proactive or reactive were identified as main element of the decision tool. Assignment of public health services to one of two settings proved to be possible in some cases, whereas in many there is no clear distinction between the two settings. National context might be the one which guides delivery of public health services.

  13. Health promotion in schools: a multi-method evaluation of an Australian School Youth Health Nurse Program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Banfield, Michelle; McGorm, Kelly; Sargent, Ginny

    2015-01-01

    Health promotion provides a key opportunity to empower young people to make informed choices regarding key health-related behaviours such as tobacco and alcohol use, sexual practices, dietary choices and physical activity. This paper describes the evaluation of a pilot School Youth Health Nurse (SYHN) Program, which aims to integrate a Registered Nurse into school communities to deliver health promotion through group education and individual sessions. The evaluation was guided by the RE-AIM (reach, effectiveness, adoption, implementation, maintenance) framework. The objectives were to explore: 1) whether the Program was accessible to the high school students; 2) the impacts of the Program on key stakeholders; 3) which factors affected adoption of the Program; 4) whether implementation was consistent with the Program intent; and 5) the long-term sustainability of the Program. Research included retrospective analysis of Program records, administration of a survey of student experiences and interviews with 38 stakeholders. This evaluation provided evidence that the SYHN Program is reaching students in need, is effective, has been adopted successfully in schools, is being implemented as intended and could be maintained with sustained funding. The nurses deliver an accessible and acceptable primary health care service, focused on health promotion, prevention and early intervention. After some initial uncertainty about the scope and nature of the role, the nurses are a respected source of health information in the schools, consulted on curriculum development and contributing to whole-of-school health activities. Findings demonstrate that the SYHN model is feasible and acceptable to the students and schools involved in the pilot. The Program provides health promotion and accessible primary health care in the school setting, consistent with the Health Promoting Schools framework.

  14. Validity and reliability of the South African health promoting schools monitoring questionnaire.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Struthers, Patricia; Wegner, Lisa; de Koker, Petra; Lerebo, Wondwossen; Blignaut, Renette J

    2017-04-01

    Health promoting schools, as conceptualised by the World Health Organisation, have been developed in many countries to facilitate the health-education link. In 1994, the concept of health promoting schools was introduced in South Africa. In the process of becoming a health promoting school, it is important for schools to monitor and evaluate changes and developments taking place. The Health Promoting Schools (HPS) Monitoring Questionnaire was developed to obtain opinions of students about their school as a health promoting school. It comprises 138 questions in seven sections: socio-demographic information; General health promotion programmes; health related Skills and knowledge; Policies; Environment; Community-school links; and support Services. This paper reports on the reliability and face validity of the HPS Monitoring Questionnaire. Seven experts reviewed the questionnaire and agreed that it has satisfactory face validity. A test-retest reliability study was conducted with 83 students in three high schools in Cape Town, South Africa. The kappa-coefficients demonstrate mostly fair (κ-scores between 0.21 and 0.4) to moderate (κ-scores between 0.41 and 0.6) agreement between test-retest General and Environment items; poor (κ-scores up to 0.2) agreement between Skills and Community test-retest items, fair agreement between Policies items, and for most of the questions focussing on Services a fair agreement was found. The study is a first effort at providing a tool that may be used to monitor and evaluate students' opinions about changes in health promoting schools. Although the HPS Monitoring Questionnaire has face validity, the results of the reliability testing were inconclusive. Further research is warranted. © The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press.

  15. Creating the document 'Promoting health in schools: from evidence to action'.

    Science.gov (United States)

    St Leger, Lawrence; Young, Ian M

    2009-12-01

    Schools across the world have been involved in health promotion and health education for nearly a century. Do school based initiatives make any difference to the education and health outcomes of young people? This article describes the process in developing the document Promoting health in schools: from evidence to action. The document was produced primarily for the Education sector. It develops an argument about why schools should be undertaking health related initiatives. It also highlights major findings from the literature about what is possible to achieve in school health and the circumstances under which the gains will occur. Attention is focused both on the evidence from the education sector, e.g. effective schools, learning and teaching approaches, and from the health sector, e.g. a whole of school or Health Promoting School (HPS) approach, as well as identifying outcomes from topic areas such as mental and emotional health, healthy eating and nutrition, physical activity, hygiene, sexual health and relationships, substance use and misuse.

  16. Prevention and health promotion for the excluded and the destitute in Europe

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Chauvin, Pierre

    2002-01-01

    ... Abuse in Spain The Advisory Service on Sexually Transmitted Diseases in Bremen 65 71 73 77 82 84 90 95 98 104 107 Part 3. Health Promotion Public Health and Health Promotion Definition of Target...

  17. FDA actions against health economic promotions, 2002-2011.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Neumann, Peter J; Bliss, Sarah K

    2012-01-01

    To investigate Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulatory actions against drug companies' health economic promotions from 2002 through 2011 to understand how frequently and in what circumstances the agency has considered such promotions false or misleading. We reviewed all warning letters and notices of violation ("untitled letters") issued by the FDA's Division of Drug Marketing, Advertising and Communications (DDMAC) to pharmaceutical companies from January 2002 through December 2011. We analyzed letters containing a violation related to "health economic promotion," defined according to one of several categories (e.g., implied claims of cost savings due to work productivity or economic claims containing unsupported statements about effectiveness or safety). We also collected information on factors such as the indication and type of media involved and whether the letter referenced Section 114 of the Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act. Of 291 DDMAC letters sent to pharmaceutical companies during the study period, 35 (12%) cited a health economic violation. The most common type of violation cited was an implied claim of cost savings due to work productivity or functioning (found in 20 letters) and economic claims containing unsubstantiated comparative claims of effectiveness, safety, or interchangeability (7 letters). The violations covered various indications, mostly commonly psychiatric disorders (6 letters) and pain (6 letters). No DDMAC letter pertained to Food and Drug Administration Modernization Act Section 114. The FDA has cited inappropriate health economic promotions in roughly 12% of the letters issued by the DDMAC. The letters highlight drug companies' interest in promoting the value of their products and the FDA's concerns in certain cases about the lack of supporting evidence. Copyright © 2012 International Society for Pharmacoeconomics and Outcomes Research (ISPOR). Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

  18. Assessing Capacity of Faith-Based Organizations for Health Promotion Activities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tagai, Erin Kelly; Scheirer, Mary Ann; Santos, Sherie Lou Z; Haider, Muhiuddin; Bowie, Janice; Slade, Jimmie; Whitehead, Tony L; Wang, Min Qi; Holt, Cheryl L

    2017-10-01

    Faith-based organizations (FBOs) are important venues for health promotion, particularly in medically underserved communities. These organizations vary considerably in their structural capacities, which may be linked to variability in implementation success for health promotion initiatives. Lacking an existing validated assessment of organizational capacity specific to FBOs, an initial prototype assessment was developed. The Faith-Based Organization Capacity Inventory (FBO-CI) assesses three structural areas of capacity: Staffing and Space, Health Promotion Experience, and External Collaboration. The multidisciplinary team, including FBO leaders, codeveloped the initial instrument. The initial reliability from a convenience sample of 34 African American churches including descriptions of FBOs representing three capacity levels is reported. The FBO-CI demonstrated feasibility of administration using an in-person interview format, and the three subscales had acceptable internal reliability (α ~ .70). Most churches had an established health ministry (n = 23) and had conducted activities across an average of seven health areas in the previous 2 years. This initial FBO-CI prototype is promising, and future work should consider validation with a larger sample of churches and domain expansion based on the conceptual model. The FBO-CI has a number of potential uses for researchers, FBO leaders, and practitioners working with FBOs in health promotion initiatives.

  19. Promoting Individual Health Using Information Technology: Trends in the US Health System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nimkar, Swateja

    2016-01-01

    Objectives: Advances in electronics, the Internet and telecommunication have pushed the field of health care to embrace information technology (IT). However, the purposeful use of technology is relatively new to the field of health promotion. The primary objective of this paper is to review various applications of health IT, with a focus on its…

  20. Mental health promotion competencies in the health sector in Finland: a qualitative study of the views of professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tamminen, Nina; Solin, Pia; Stengård, Eija; Kannas, Lasse; Kettunen, Tarja

    2017-07-01

    In this study, we aimed to investigate what competencies are needed for mental health promotion in health sector practice in Finland. A qualitative study was carried out to seek the views of mental health professionals regarding mental health promotion-related competencies. The data were collected via two focus groups and a questionnaire survey of professionals working in the health sector in Finland. The focus groups consisted of a total of 13 professionals. Further, 20 questionnaires were received from the questionnaire survey. The data were analysed using the qualitative data analysis software ATLAS.ti Scientific Software Development GmbH, Berlin. A content analysis was carried out. In total, 23 competencies were identified and clustered under the categories of theoretical knowledge, practical skills, and personal attitudes and values. In order to promote mental health, it is necessary to have a knowledge of the principles and concepts of mental health promotion, including methods and tools for effective practices. Furthermore, a variety of skills-based competencies such as communication and collaboration skills were described. Personal attitudes and values included a holistic approach and respect for human rights, among others. The study provides new information on what competencies are needed to plan, implement and evaluate mental health promotion in health sector practice, with the aim of contributing to a more effective workforce. The competencies provide aid in planning training programmes and qualifications, as well as job descriptions and roles in health sector workplaces related to mental health promotion.

  1. Implementing the Health Promoting University approach in culturally different contexts: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Suárez-Reyes, Mónica; Van den Broucke, Stephan

    2016-03-01

    Universities represent a valuable opportunity to promote health and well-being. Based on the setting approach, the Health Promoting Universities concept has been developed in different countries and contexts. However, the implementation process remains poorly documented. This systematic review aims to describe how universities have implemented the Health Promoting University concept in different cultural contexts. Pubmed, Medline, Lilacs and Scielo were searched for articles on Health Promoting Universities, published between 1995 and 2015. Studies detailing the implementation of a Health Promoting University approach were included. Selected articles were content analysed paying attention to: (a) the definition of a Health Promoting University; (b) priority areas of action; (c) items of work; (d) coordination of the project; (e) evaluation; and (f) adaptation to the cultural context. Twelve studies were identified for in-depth analysis. Of those, three were theoretical papers, and nine were intervention studies. The programmes described in the selected studies are mostly based on the guidelines of the Edmonton Charter. They incorporated the main areas of action and items of works proposed by the Health Promoting University framework. The implementation of healthy policies and incorporation of health promotion in the curriculum are remaining challenges. Strategies to facilitate adaptation to context include: stakeholder participation in planning and implementation, adaptation of educational material and analysis of needs. The review suggests that most of the universities work towards similar goals, relying on the Health Promoting University framework, yet that the way in which initiatives are implemented depends on the context. © The Author(s) 2015.

  2. Health promotion strategies: situational diagnosis in elementary schools

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cristina Berger Fadel

    2014-06-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To identify the existence of health-promoting actions in public and private schools. Methods: Exploratory and descriptive study with qualitative approach, conducted from June 2012 to June 2013, comprising 10 institutional managers of elementary schools of the public and private networks in the city of Ponta Grossa, PR. Data was collected through semistructured interviews, and examined with use of content analysis thus emerging thematic categories. Results: Regarding nutrition, monitoring is carried out by nutritionists in both types of school. Private schools provide theoretical guidance, while the public ones practice the orientations about personal care. With respect to the access to health services, public schools provide assistance to their students through the city’s Health Secretariat, whereas private schools are direct providers. The private network was also found to satisfy fully the human and social development. Concerning the structure, accessibility has been prioritized, both schools having implemented the necessary adaptations. As for security, although schools are equipped with monitoring cameras, violence and vandalism are more frequent in public schools. Conclusion: The institutions practice health-promoting actions, with significant differences between public and private schools, especially in the field of personal care, and social and human development. Approaching public and private networks is suggested, in order to perform an inter-institutional work, aiming to improve health promotion for the students. doi:10.5020/18061230.2014.p169

  3. Health Promotion Behaviors of Women and Affecting Factors

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Naile Bilgili

    2009-12-01

    Full Text Available AIM: Women should be healthy and have health promotion behaviors, so they can accomplish both their maternal and social tasks. This descriptive study was conducted to determine the healthy life-style behaviors of married women and the factors which could affect those behaviors. METHOD: The population comprised all married women older than 15 years and who live in Ankara Kale region. Three hundred-sixty five married women were included in the study. The questionnaire form and the healthy life-style behaviors scale was used for data collection. RESULTS: The mean score taken from scale was 112.2±19.4. The scores of the women who graduated from middle school / high school, who have sufficient income and good socio-economic status, who have a perception of physical health fairly good and who have any chronic disease in their families, have significantly higher mean scores from healthy life-style behaviors scale and subgroups (p<0.05 CONCLUSION: Health promotion behaviors of the women was low and some factors like education level, income, socioeconomic status, perception of health, having any chronic illness and using regular medicine affected healthy life-style behaviors. It is recommended that nurses, who have education and consultation roles, should inform the women about health promotion behaviors and encourage them to use that information in their lives. [TAF Prev Med Bull 2009; 8(6.000: 497-502

  4. Immigrant Youth in Canadian Health Promoting Schools: A Literature Review

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nyika, Lawrence; McPherson, Charmaine; Murray-Orr, Anne

    2017-01-01

    In this essay, we review empirical, theoretical, and substantial grey literature in relation to immigrant youth and health promoting schools (HPS). We examine the health promotion concept to consider how it may inform the HPS model. Using Canada as an example, we examine current immigrant youth demographics and define several key terms including…

  5. An exploration of health concerns & health-promotion behaviors in pregnant women over age 35.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Viau, Paula A; Padula, Cynthia A; Eddy, Barbara

    2002-01-01

    To explore the specific health concerns and health-promotion behaviors of childbearing women 35 years of age or older. Semistructured interviews with women ( = 50) ages > or =35 in their third trimester of pregnancy. Interviews lasted approximately 1 hour, were conducted by two nursing faculty, and were scheduled to accommodate participant needs. Process recording was used to document participant responses. Verbatim statements were recorded, and subjects were redirected to clarify responses when necessary. Content analysis and coding were completed by an independent researcher, based upon techniques derived from Miles and Huberman (1994). Data reduction was accomplished by the identification of categories of responses that described the participants' meaning. Study participants reported concerns reflecting both fetal well-being and maternal health-related issues. The majority of childbearing women (86%) reported engaging in multiple health-promotion behaviors focusing on daily nutritional intake, lifestyle activities, and rest patterns. Participants reported conscientious decisions to eliminate substances recognized as harmful, and to alter exercise, employment, or daily responsibilities to accommodate physical changes during pregnancy. Participants were "proactive healthcare seekers," accessing information from a variety of sources and seeking services to meet their individualized needs. The multitude and frequency of health-promotion behaviors adopted by those > or =35 years of age during pregnancy is indicative of this group's ability to independently initiate change, and exceeds the percentages previously reported. The nurse can be influential in supporting lifestyle modifications adopted during the childbearing period as permanent health-promotion behaviors.

  6. Health promotion in Family Health Strategy: the perception of the nursing staff Crato - CE

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Danielle Lopes de Alencar

    2012-12-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To evaluate the perception of the nursing staff of the Family Health Strategy (FHS on health promotion. Methods: This was a qualitative and descriptive study, which occurred in nine FHS of the city of Crato-CE in the period October-December 2010. The subjects were nine nurses and eight of the nursing technicians with service time of three to eight years at FHS investigated. Randomly chosen and electing the criterion of saturation data, we used semi-structured interview, which was recorded. During data analysis, we opted for collective subject discourse (CSD, which emerged the central ideas that enabled the formation of CSD for each professional category. The subjects were informed about the research objectives by submitting the Term of Consent, which was signed by all. The project was approved by the Ethics Committee at the Rural University of Cariri (RUCA, with approval No. 21/2010. Results: It was observed that the conceptual and practical vision on health promotion approaches the concept of prevention, however, nurses recognize health more broadly, in the context of the social construction of individual, differing from the CSD of the nursing technicians. The actions taken in the field of health promotion are still delimited by lectures. Conclusion: Perceptions of professionals are constituted by a weakness related to CSD and the actions performed by them, constituting an obstacle to the consolidation of a new model of care that has as central to health promotion.

  7. Efforts to promote lifestyle change and better health: whither symbolic interactionism?

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pezza, P E

    1989-01-01

    Symbolic interactionism is a body of thought which attends to how the meaning of a message may be mutually defined in the process of social interaction. As interactionism and its qualitative methodologies have been increasingly recognized as useful and appropriate complements to other approaches, health education has been slow to respond. Proposed here is the application of an interactionist perspective to the study of contemporary efforts made to promote lifestyle change and better health. A specific case is made for examining the interaction which takes place when employers strive to promote employee health. Particular attention is paid to the following questions: 1. How may employer communication of corporate goals for employee lifestyle change best be studied?; 2. Are the messages transmitted by employers and those received by employees the same?; 3. What may be some unanticipated consequences of the health promotion effort and its messages?; and 4. Can the interactionist perspective be used to enlighten the planning process for health promotion programs?

  8. Implementation of municipal health promoting projects in primary schools: teachers perspective

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nordin, Lone Lindegard

    2013-01-01

    . The project is funded by the Danish Ministry of Science, University of Aarhus and Silkeborg municipality, and involves 5 primary schools, 23 teachers and 233 pupils from 7th to 9 class. The project is positioned within the critical approach to school health education and health promotion, developed......Implementation of municipally health promoting projects' in primary schools: teachers perspective Research question This paper discusses the findings from a qualitative research, that aimed to investigate how teachers in primary schools implemented municipal health promoting projects focusing...... that there is a “gap” between policy and practice according to aim, content and methods, and that teachers practice can be explained as coping mechanism. The key findings include: • Teachers practice is closer to traditional health education than critical health education. • Teachers priorities the mandatory teaching...

  9. Use of marketing to disseminate brief alcohol intervention to general practitioners: promoting health care interventions to health promoters.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lock, C A; Kaner, E F

    2000-11-01

    Health research findings are of little benefit to patients or society if they do not reach the audience they are intended to influence. Thus, a dissemination strategy is needed to target new findings at its user group and encourage a process of consideration and adoption or rejection. Social marketing techniques can be utilized to aid successful dissemination of research findings and to speed the process by which new information reaches practice. Principles of social marketing include manipulating the marketing mix of product, price, place and promotion. This paper describes the development of a marketing approach and the outcomes from a trial evaluating the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of manipulating promotional strategies to disseminate actively a screening and brief alcohol intervention (SBI) programme to general practitioners (GPs). The promotional strategies consisted of postal marketing, telemarketing and personal marketing. The study took place in general practices across the Northern and Yorkshire Regional Health Authority. Of the 614 GPs eligible for the study, one per practice, 321 (52%) took the programme and of those available to use it for 3 months (315), 128 (41%) actively considered doing so, 73 (23%) actually went on to use it. Analysis of the specific impact of the three different promotional strategies revealed that while personal marketing was the most effective overall dissemination and implementation strategy, telemarketing was more cost-effective. The findings of our work show that using a marketing approach is promising for conveying research findings to GPs and in particular a focus on promotional strategies can facilitate high levels of uptake and consideration in this target group.

  10. Theoretical models for development competence of health protection and promotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cesnaviciene J.

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available The competence of health protection and promotion are mentioned in various legislative documents that regulate areas of education and health policy. The researches on health conditions of Lithuania Country's population disclosed the deteriorating health status of the society, even of the children. It has also been found that the focus on health education is not adequate. The number of National and International health programmes have been realized and educational methodological tools prepared in Lithuania, however the insufficient attention to the health promotion models is been noticed. The objectiveof this article is to discuss the theoretical models used in health education field. The questions to be answered: what theoretical models are used in order to development competence of health protection and promotion? Who does employ particular models? What are the advantages of various models? What conceptions unite and characterize theoretical models? The analysis of scientific literature revealed the number of diverse health promotion model; however none of them is dominant. Some of the models focus on intrapersonal, others on interpersonal or community level but in general they can be distinguished as cognitive – behavioural models which are characterized by three main conceptions: 1 the healthy living is determined by the perceived health related knowledge: what is known and understood would influence the behaviour; 2 the knowledge in healthy living field is essential but insufficient condition for behaviour change; 3 the great influence to healthy living life style is done by perception, motivation, skills and habits as well as social environment. These are the components that are typical to all theoretical models and that reflect the hole of the conditions influencing healthy living.

  11. Development of Health Promoting Leadership--Experiences of a Training Programme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Eriksson, Andrea; Axelsson, Runo; Axelsson, Susanna Bihari

    2010-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe and analyse the experiences of an intervention programme for development of health promoting leadership in Gothenburg in Sweden. The more specific purpose is to identify critical aspects of such a programme as part of the development of a health promoting workplace. Design/methodology/approach: A…

  12. Health-Promoting Verses as mentioned in the Holy Quran.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Aboul-Enein, Basil H

    2016-06-01

    The Quran is regarded as both the spiritual and behavioral guidance for all Muslims. This narrative study was designed at examining relevant health-promoting verses in the Quran and to identify the chapters and verses where keywords and phrases are mentioned relevant to health promotion and behavior. Twenty-eight verses were identified, with a focus on diet and nutrition, personal hygiene, alcohol abstention, and the importance of a healthy lifestyle. These results suggest that the Quran could serve as an influential medium for culturally competent public health practitioners in diverse populations, particularly in Muslim communities, for improving and maintaining healthy behaviors.

  13. Health promoting prisons – An impossibility for women prisoners in Africa?

    OpenAIRE

    Dixey, R; Nyambe, S; Foster, S; Woodall, J; Baybutt, M

    2015-01-01

    The health needs of women in sub-Saharan African prisons are both neglected and poorly understood. Outside South Africa, little research exists on African prison health; what is available tends to be gender-blind and concerned with disease prevention rather than with health promotion. While Vetten (2008) has raised this concern previously, a comprehensive overview of women’s health and health promotion in African jails is clearly absent. Available evidence shows that the conditions in African...

  14. Celebrity endorsed music videos: innovation to foster youth health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Macnab, A J; Mukisa, R

    2018-06-11

    There are calls for innovation in health promotion and for current issues to be presented in new and exciting ways; in addition to creating engaging messages, novel ways to deliver health messaging are needed, especially where youth are the key target audience. When pupils in WHO Health Promoting Schools were asked what health messages would resonate with them, they also identified celebrities as the 'messengers' they would be particularly likely to listen to. Expanding on these discussions, the pupils quoted celebrity-recorded music videos containing health and lifestyle messaging as an example of where they had learned from celebrities. Their ability to sing phrases from the songs and repeat key health messages they contained indicated the videos had commanded attention and provided knowledge and perspectives that had been retained. We located on YouTube the video titles the pupils identified and evaluated the content, messaging and production concepts these celebrity-recorded music videos incorporated. All are good examples of the health promotion genre known as education entertainment, where educational content is intentionally included in professionally produced entertainment media to impart knowledge, create favorable attitudes and impact future behaviors. The importance of this genre is growing in parallel with the burgeoning influence of social media. Music videos resonate with youth, and celebrity recordings combine young people's love of music with their fascination for the aura of celebrity. Hence, producing videos that combine an effective health message with celebrity endorsement offers potential as an innovative conduit for health promotion messaging among youth.

  15. A partnership for health - working with schools to promote healthy lifestyle.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Shah, Smita; Patching van der Sluijs, Corinne; Lagleva, Marivic; Pesle, Andrew; Lim, Kean-Seng; Bittar, Hani; Dibley, Michael

    2011-12-01

    Childhood obesity is increasing in prevalence. Effective interventions are needed, including those promoting healthy lifestyle habits in children and adolescents. This article describes the development and feasibility of a peer led health promotion program in a New South Wales high school and the role GPs can play in community based health promotion activities. The Students As Lifestyle Activists (SALSA) program was developed by general practitioners, a local community health organisation and a local high school. Preliminary evaluation suggests that a peer led approach is feasible, acceptable and valued by both students and staff.

  16. Health Promotion & Counselling in Context of Mixedness

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Singla, Rashmi

    and ‘homogeneity’ on one hand and increasing, polarisation between us & the others and increasing ethnic diversity on the other. Despite increase in number, intermarried couples are still almost invisible as a statistical category and in psychosocial services. Both increased risk for married life disruption...... on subjectively experienced feelings and expressive behaviour, such as responses of others, ‘gaze’ to couples’ ‘visible differences’ and the societal attitudes - the external aspects are significant. Practices such as focus on the ‘fun part’ involving negotiation of gender positions, cultural and social capital....../exclusion processes in the society should be taken in consideration for health promotion, and counselling of the intermarried couples. Key words: Ethnic intermarriages, increased risks, opportunities, good practices, health promotion, integrative counselling...

  17. World Health Organization approaches for surveys of health behaviour among schoolchildren and for health-promoting schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Honkala, Sisko

    2014-01-01

    Adolescents make up about one-sixth of the world's population. Most of the healthy and detrimental habits are adopted during childhood and adolescence. In the mid 1980s, a cross-national Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children (HBSC) survey was created to increase information about the well-being, health behaviours and social context of young people by using standard school-based questionnaires adopted by the World Health Organization (WHO) European office. The European Network of Health-Promoting Schools (HPS) was commenced in 1992, followed by the establishment of the WHO Global School Health Initiative in 1995. The initiative aims to improve the health of students, school personnel, families and other members of the community through schools by mobilizing and strengthening health promotion and educational activities at local, national, regional and global levels. The HBSC and HPS programmes have been accepted as activity areas for the WHO Collaborating Centre for Primary Oral Health Care in Kuwait. This article describes the HBSC and the HPS programmes and discusses the importance of establishing these programmes in Kuwait. © 2013 S. Karger AG, Basel.

  18. Evaluation in health promotion: thoughts from inside a human research ethics committee.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Allen, Judy; Flack, Felicity

    2015-12-01

    Health promotion research, quality improvement and evaluation are all activities that raise ethical issues. In this paper, the Chair and a member of human resear ch ethics committees provide an insiders' point of view on how to demonstrate ethical conduct in health promotion research and quality improvement. Several common issues raised by health promotion research and evaluation are discussed including researcher integrity, conflicts of interest, use of information, consent and privacy.

  19. Health promotion and sustainability programmes in Australia: barriers and enablers to evaluation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Patrick, Rebecca; Kingsley, Jonathan

    2017-08-01

    In an era characterised by the adverse impacts of climate change and environmental degradation, health promotion programmes are beginning to actively link human health with environmental sustainability imperatives. This paper draws on a study of health promotion and sustainability programmes in Australia, providing insights to evaluation approaches being used and barriers and enablers to these evaluations. The study was based on a multi-strategy research involving both quantitative and qualitative methods. Health promotion practitioners explained through surveys and semi-structured interviews that they focused on five overarching health and sustainability programme types (healthy and sustainable food, active transport, energy efficiency, contact with nature, and capacity building). Various evaluation methods and indicators (health, social, environmental, economic and demographic) were identified as being valuable for monitoring and evaluating health and sustainability programmes. Findings identified several evaluation enablers such as successful community engagement, knowledge of health and sustainability issues and programme champions, whereas barriers included resource constraints and competing interests. This paper highlights the need for ecological models and evaluation tools to support the design and monitoring of health promotion and sustainability programmes.

  20. Has physical activity anything to do with health promotion?

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Thing, Lone Friis

    2016-01-01

    Within academic discussions of health promotion related to physical activity an Eliasian perspective is seldom used. Based on a central theoretical theme within Norbert Elias’ sociology of sport (Elias and Dunning 1986), namely the quest for excitement, this article explores the health orientation...... of Danish society as an expression of a continued civilizing of the body. In national governmental health messages sports participation and general physical activity are presented as an essential health-promoting instrument that keeps illness and disease away, thereby prolong life. But the all......-pervading guide to physical activity and sport - often with a focus on quantitative dimensions like frequency, duration and intensity - as measurable effects and risks, has resulted in a rationalisation of many movement cultures for large selections of the population. Health messages are then presented using...

  1. [The "health promotion" approach, a strategic alternative to teenagers' health in the Democratic Republic of Congo?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nsakala, Gabriel Vodiena; Coppieters, Yves

    2014-01-01

    This paper describes a review of the possibilities of improving HIV/AIDS prevention and reproductive health of teenagers and adolescents in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). This approach was based on compilation of institutional, political, legislative and national strategy data. The document review was completed by information collected from 15 key informants and by direct observation of the work of peer educators and community workers, allowing evaluation of the possibilities of development of the priority domains of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion in young adolescents. Health promotion interventions for adolescents are globally ensured institutionally by three specialized programmes of the Ministry of Health, in collaboration with numerous national and international partners. Organized operationally outside of the primary health care circuit, strategic actions are more specifically directed towards acquisition of knowledge than individual skills by means of IEC (information, education and communication) and (BCC) (behaviour change communication) approaches, but with disappointing results. Although traces of these five priority domains of the Ottawa Charter are perceptible in the national response to the health problems of adolescents, the work of the various actors is not coordinated and organized in compliance with health promotion guidelines. The training of health workers appears to be a major determinant to structure this response around a dynamic federating the actions of all stakeholders to orient them towards the options of the health promotion approach.

  2. Edutainment's Impact on Health Promotion: Viewing The Biggest Loser Through the Social Cognitive Theory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mocarski, Richard; Bissell, Kimberly

    2016-01-01

    Through a critical rhetorical analysis using Bandura's social cognitive theory as a lens to view The Biggest Loser (TBL), this article illustrates the contradictions between the show's health promotional aims and its entertainment aims, which show the problems the show creates for health promotion practitioners working on obesity. The social cognitive theory constructs of observational learning, psychological determinants, and environmental determinants emerged from this reading of TBL as central to how the show masquerades as a health promotion tool. This reading reveals that TBL promotes a neoliberal construction of health and obesity that challenges the worldview that many health promotion campaigns take and, therefore, complicates our own efforts to combat obesity. With this revealed, it is suggested that TBL be incorporated into health promotion campaigns only as a foil. © 2015 Society for Public Health Education.

  3. Health Promotion by Social Cognitive Means

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bandura, Albert

    2004-01-01

    This article examines health promotion and disease prevention from the perspective of social cognitive theory. This theory posits a multifaceted causal structure in which self-efficacy beliefs operate together with goals, outcome expectations, and perceived environmental impediments and facilitators in the regulation of human motivation, behavior,…

  4. Empowerment in the field of health promotion: recognizing challenges in working toward equity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Berry, Nicole S; Murphy, Jill; Coser, Larissa

    2014-12-01

    Over the last 25 years, the language of empowerment has been woven into the guiding missions and descriptions of institutions, funding and projects globally. Although theoretical understandings of empowerment within the domain of health promotion remain contentious, we have little idea of how a shift toward an empowerment agenda has affected the daily work of those in the field of health promotion. A systematic examination of the implementation of the empowerment agenda is important as it can help us understand how redistributive agendas are received within the multiple institutional contexts in which health promotion work is carried out. The goal of this study, therefore, was to try to understand the empowerment agenda within the context of everyday health promotion. We conducted semi-structured interviews with health promoters from a variety of geographical regions, institutional backgrounds, and job capacities. Essentially we found that empowerment remains conceptually dear to health promoters' understanding of their work, yet at the same time, mainstreaming empowerment is at odds with central trends and initiatives that govern this work. We argue that many of the stumbling blocks that have hindered this specific agenda are actually central stumbling blocks for the wider field of health promotion. We examine some of the barriers to implementing transformational change. Overcoming the primary limitations uncovered in this exploration of empowerment is actually crucial to progressive work in health promotion in general, particularly work that would seek to lessen inequities. © The Author(s) 2014.

  5. How primary health care staff working in rural and remote areas access skill development and expertise to support health promotion practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    McFarlane, Kathryn A; Judd, Jenni; Wapau, Hylda; Nichols, Nina; Watt, Kerrianne; Devine, Sue

    2018-05-01

    Health promotion is a key component of comprehensive primary health care. Health promotion approaches complement healthcare management by enabling individuals to increase control over their health. Many primary healthcare staff have a role to play in health promotion practice, but their ability to integrate health promotion into practice is influenced by their previous training and experience. For primary healthcare staff working in rural and remote locations, access to professional development can be limited by what is locally available and prohibitive in terms of cost for travel and accommodation. This study provides insight into how staff at a large north Queensland Aboriginal community controlled health service access skill development and health promotion expertise to support their work. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted. Small group and individual semi-structured interviews were conducted with staff at Apunipima Cape York Health Council (n=9). A purposive sampling method was used to recruit participants from a number of primary healthcare teams that were more likely to be involved in health promotion work. Both on-the-ground staff and managers were interviewed. All participants were asked how they access skill development and expertise in health promotion practice and what approaches they prefer for ongoing health promotion support. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed thematically. All participants valued access to skill development, advice and support that would assist their health promotion practice. Skill development and expertise in health promotion was accessed from a variety of sources: conferences, workshops, mentoring or shared learning from internal and external colleagues, and access to online information and resources. With limited funds and limited access to professional development locally, participants fostered external and internal organisational relationships to seek in-kind advice and support. Irrespective of

  6. Coaches' Perceptions of French Sports Clubs: Health-Promotion Activities, Aims and Coach Motivation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Hoye, Aurélie; Sarrazin, Philippe; Heuzé, Jean-Philippe; Kokko, Sami

    2015-01-01

    Background: Given the benefits of participating in sport, sports clubs have been recognised as health promoting organizations. To examine health-promotion activities in Finnish sports clubs, Kokko et al. developed a set of standards for health-promoting sports clubs (HPSC). Objective: The present study extends this line of research, by (1)…

  7. [Mental Health Promotion Among the Chronic Disabled Population in the Community].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Huang, Hui-Chuan; Wang, Li-Hua; Chang, Hsiu-Ju

    2015-08-01

    Societal ageing and the rising prevalence of chronic disease are important causes that underlie the growth in the number of disabled individuals. The disease-induced psychological distress experienced by this population not only decreases quality of life but also increases demand for healthcare. The healthcare policy for the disabled population currently focuses on community healthcare. Therefore, developing appropriate programs to promote mental health among the disabled population in community settings is a critical issue. The present paper reviews current mental health promotion initiatives that target the disabled population in the community and addresses mental healthcare issues that are prevalent among the chronically disabled; strategies of mental health promotion that use music therapy, reminiscence therapy, and horticultural therapy; and the roles and responsibilities of community professionals in mental healthcare. We offer these perspectives as a reference to promote mental health and to establish holistic community healthcare for chronically disabled individuals.

  8. Promoting exercise behaviour in a secure mental health setting: Healthcare assistant perspectives.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kinnafick, Florence-Emilie; Papathomas, Anthony; Regoczi, Dora

    2018-05-30

    Individuals with severe mental illness engage in significantly less amounts of physical activity than the general population. A secure mental health setting can exacerbate barriers to exercise, and facilitate physical inactivity and sedentary behaviour. Healthcare assistants are intimately involved in the daily lives of patients and, therefore, should be considered integral to exercise promotion in secure mental health settings. Our aim was to explore healthcare assistants' perceptions of exercise and their attitudes to exercise promotion for adult patients in a secure mental health hospital. Qualitative semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 healthcare assistants from a large UK-based secure mental health hospital. Topics included healthcare assistants' personal experiences of exercise within a secure facility, their perceptions of exercise as an effective treatment tool for mental health, and their perceived roles and responsibilities for exercise promotion. Thematic analysis was used to analyse the data. Three main themes were identified: (i) exercise is multi-beneficial to patients, (ii) perceived barriers to effective exercise promotion, and (iii) strategies for effectives exercise promotion. Healthcare assistants considered exercise to hold patient benefits. However, core organizational and individual barriers limited healthcare assistants' exercise promotion efforts. An informal approach to exercise promotion was deemed most effective to some, whereas others committed to more formal strategies including compulsory sessions. With education and organizational support, we propose healthcare assistants are well placed to identify individual needs for exercise promotion. Their consultation could lead to more efficacious, person-sensitive interventions. © 2018 Australian College of Mental Health Nurses Inc.

  9. What do we know about promoting mental health through schools?

    OpenAIRE

    Weare, Katherine; Markham, Wolfgang

    2005-01-01

    There is a growing evidence base on what schools need to do to promote mental health effectively. There is strong evidence that they need first and foremost to use a whole school approach. This shapes the social contexts which promote mental health and which provide a backdrop of measures to prevent mental health disorders. In this context the targeting of those with articular needs and the work of the specialist services can be much more effective. Schools need to use positive model...

  10. Adolescent health promotion based on community-centered arts education

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Anny Giselly Milhome da Costa Farre

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: To evaluate the contribution of arts education to health promotion of adolescents in situations of urban social vulnerability. Method: Participatory evaluative research, with a qualitative approach, using as a reference the theoretical constructs of Paulo Freire's Conscientization and the Empowerment Evaluation as a method of collecting with adolescents and teachers of an arts education program in the field of the Family Health Strategy. Results: Participants constructed a collective mission that represented the concept of adolescent health promotion. Arts education activities were prioritized and ranked with a mission focus, and over a three-month period, the program implemented health goals through art. In the reevaluation, the group presented a broad look at the implementation of activities and self-determination for change. Final considerations: Arts education is a potential space for nurses to act in the conscientization and empowerment of adolescent health in Primary Health Care.

  11. Understanding the decision-making process for health promotion programming at small to midsized businesses.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hughes, M Courtney; Patrick, Donald L; Hannon, Peggy A; Harris, Jeffrey R; Ghosh, Donetta L

    2011-07-01

    This study explores the decision-making process for implementing and continuing health promotion programs at small to midsized businesses to inform health promotion practitioners and researchers as they market their services to these businesses. Qualitative interviews are conducted with 24 employers located in the Pacific Northwest ranging in size from 75 to 800 employees, with the majority having between 100 and 200 employees. Small to midsized employers depend most on company success-related factors rather than on humanitarian motives when deciding whether to adopt workplace health promotion programs. They rely heavily on health insurers for health promotion and desire more information about the actual costs and cost-benefits of programs. To increase health promotion adoption at small to midsized businesses, health promotion practitioners should appeal to overall company success-related factors, use the insurance channel, and target their information to both human resource personnel and senior management.

  12. Workplace health promotion programs for older workers in Italy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Magnavita, Nicola; Capitanelli, Ilaria; Garbarino, Sergio; La Milia, Daniele Ignazio; Moscato, Umberto; Pira, Enrico; Poscia, Andrea; Ricciardi, Walter

    2017-10-27

    Italy is the European country with the highest number of citizens over the age of sixty. In recent years, the unsustainability of the social security system has forced the Italian government to raise the retirement age and reduce the chances of early exit, thus sharply increasing the age of the workforce. Consequently, a significant proportion of older workers are currently obliged to do jobs that were designed for young people. Systematic health promotion intervention for older workers is therefore essential. The European Pro Health 65+ project aims at selecting and validating best practices for successful/active aging. In this context we set out to review workplace health promotion projects carried out in Italy. To ascertain examples of workplace health promotion for older workers (WHPOW), we carried out a review of the scientific and grey literature together with a survey of companies. We detected 102 WHPOW research studies conducted in conjunction with supranational organizations, public institutions, companies, social partners, NGOs and educational institutions. The main objectives of the WHPOW were to improve the work environment, the qualifications of older workers and attitudes towards the elderly, and, in many cases, also to improve work organization. The best way to promote effective WHPOW interventions is by disseminating awareness of best practices and correct methods of analysis. Our study suggests ways of enhancing WHPOW at both a national and European level.

  13. Applying Psychological Theories to Promote Long-Term Maintenance of Health Behaviors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joseph, Rodney P.; Daniel, Casey L.; Thind, Herpreet; Benitez, Tanya J.; Pekmezi, Dori

    2014-01-01

    Behavioral health theory provides a framework for researchers to design, implement, and evaluate the effects of health promotion programs. However, limited research has examined theories used in interventions to promote long-term maintenance of health behaviors. The purpose of this review was to evaluate the available literature and identify prominent behavioral health theories used in intervention research to promote maintenance of health behaviors. We reviewed theories used in intervention research assessing long-term maintenance (≥ 6 months post-intervention) of physical activity, weight loss, and smoking cessation. Five prominent behavioral theories were referenced by the 34 studies included in the review: Self-Determination Theory, Theory of Planned Behavior, Social Cognitive Theory, Transtheoretical Model, and Social Ecological Model. Descriptions and examples of applications of these theories are provided. Implications for future research are discussed. PMID:28217036

  14. 140: THE IMPACT OF E-LEARNING ON ASPECTS OF HEALTH-PROMOTING LIFESTYLE NURSES

    OpenAIRE

    Darkhor, Shokofe; Estebsari, Fatemeh; Charati, Jamshid Yazdani

    2017-01-01

    Background and aims One of the most important measures of health promoting behaviors as determinants of health are the underlying cause of many diseases, not having known and Health promotion and disease prevention are related directly to these behaviors. Six important part of promoting healthy lifestyles, including relationships between individual responsibility for health, spiritual development, stress management, nutrition and physical activity Aim of this study is the effect of empowermen...

  15. Predicting adherence to health care recommendations using health promotion behaviours in kidney transplant recipients within 1-5 years post-transplant.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Su-Yueh; Fetzer, Susan J; Lee, Po-Chang; Chen, Ching-Huey

    2011-12-01

    This study examined health promotion behaviours of kidney transplant recipients, 1-5 years after transplant and identified the risk factors predicting non-adherence to post-transplant recommendations. Non-adherence to health care recommendations and health promotion behaviours is one of the top three reasons for graft loss following kidney transplantation. A cross-sectional study. Kidney transplant recipients (n=101) in southern Taiwan completed a self reported survey, the Kidney Transplant Health Promotion Behavior and Healthcare Provider Support survey. Kidney transplant patients had better adherence with medication and least adherence with regular exercise health promotion behaviours. Age, post kidney transplant time, health care provider support and financial satisfaction accounted for 37·2% of the explained variance in monitoring and management for rejection and infection. Marital status, post kidney transplant time and gender accounted for 16·2% of the explained variance in infection prevention. Age was the sole predictor of exercise (odds ratio=1·08, p=0·025). Health promotion behaviours declined with time and perceived healthcare provider support decreased at the third (p=0·04) post kidney transplant year. In this study, young, single, males were identified as requiring specific strategies to improve post kidney transplant health promotion behaviours. The need for health promotion must be continually reinforce by healthcare providers throughout the lifespan of a kidney transplant recipient. Understanding the changes of health behaviours of post kidney transplant recipients and their risk factors, healthcare providers can be more aware of the needs of patients in maintaining health promotion behaviours. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

  16. Towards environment and health promoting South African schools.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mathee, A; Byrne, J

    1996-03-01

    This article describes the activities of the Greater Johannesburg Healthy Schools Program of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Healthy Cities Project in South Africa. Healthy Cities projects emphasize community participation, intersectoral action, supportive environments for health, and a settings approach. Children in South Africa, are exposed to environmental and health hazards in the school setting including poor building design, poor equipment, and understaffing. The Healthy Schools initiative in Greater Johannesburg, is a pilot for enhancing environmental quality, health, and well-being among students. Schools include those in an informal settlement in an industrial area, an inner city district, and in a suburban area. The initiative includes research, establishment of environmental and health committees, development of an action plan, and evaluation and feedback. The plan aims to promote environmental and health sustainability, to empower children to become full participants in the community, and to support teachers and parents in the promotion of health-enhancing school environments. The program builds upon the lessons learned from several local school initiatives. Initiatives include an anti-smoking poster competition involving over 10,000 students, special environmental and health awareness days, consciousness raising among high school students about air pollution, and local efforts to engage students in environmental clean-up days.

  17. Promoting social responsibility for health: health impact assessment and healthy public policy at the community level.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mittelmark, M B

    2001-09-01

    The 1997 Jakarta Declaration on Health Promotion into the 21st Century called for new responses to address the emerging threats to health. The declaration placed a high priority on promoting social responsibility for health, and it identified equity-focused health impact assessment as a high priority for action. This theme was among the foci at the 2000 Fifth Global Conference on Health Promotion held in Mexico. This paper, which is an abbreviation of a technical report prepared for the Mexico conference, advances arguments for focusing on health impact assessment at the local level. Health impact assessment identifies negative health impacts that call for policy responses, and identifies and encourages practices and policies that promote health. Health impact assessment may be highly technical and require sophisticated technology and expertise. But it can also be a simple, highly practical process, accessible to ordinary people, and one that helps a community come to grips with local circumstances that need changing for better health. To illustrate the possibilities, this paper presents a case study, the People Assessing Their Health (PATH) project from Eastern Nova Scotia, Canada. It places ordinary citizens, rather than community elites, at the very heart of local decision-making. Evidence from PATH demonstrates that low technology health impact assessment, done by and for local people, can shift thinking beyond the illness problems of individuals. It can bring into consideration, instead, how programmes and policies support or weaken community health, and illuminate a community's capacity to improve local circumstances for better health. This stands in contrast to evidence that highly technological approaches to community-level health impact assessment can be self-defeating. Further development of simple, people-centred, low technology approaches to health impact assessment at the local level is called for.

  18. Skills, systems and supports: An Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (Apunipima) approach to building health promotion evaluation capacity of staff.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nichols, Nina; McFarlane, Kathryn; Gibson, Priscilla; Millard, Fiona; Packer, Andrew; McDonald, Malcolm

    2018-04-01

    Building the health promotion evaluation capacity of a workforce requires more than a focus on individual skills and confidence. We must also consider the organisational systems and supports that enable staff to embed learnings into practice. This paper describes the processes used to build health promotion evaluation capacity of staff in an Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Service (ACCHS). To build health promotion evaluation capacity three approaches were used: (i) workshops and mentoring; (ii) strengthening systems to support program reporting; and (iii) recruitment of staff with skills and experience. Pre- and post-questionnaires determined levels of individual skills and confidence, updated systems were assessed for adequacy to support new health promotion practices and surveys captured the usefulness of workshops and mentoring. There was increased participant skills and confidence. Participants completed program impact evaluation reports and results were successfully presented at national conferences. The health promotion team was then able to update in-house systems to support new health promotion practices. Ongoing collaboration with experienced in-house researchers provided basic research training and professional mentoring. Building health promotion evaluation capacity of staff in an ACCHS can be achieved by providing individual skill development, strengthening organisational systems and utilising professional support. SO WHAT?: Health promotion practitioners have an ongoing professional obligation to improve the quality of routine practice and embrace new initiatives. This report outlines a process of building evaluation capacity that promotes quality reporting of program impacts and outcomes, reflects on ways to enhance program strengths, and communicates these findings internally and to outside professional bodies. This is particularly significant for ACCHSs responsible for addressing the high burden of preventable disease in Aboriginal and

  19. Sustainability and power in health promotion: community-based participatory research in a reproductive health policy case study in New Mexico.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mendes, Rosilda; Plaza, Veronica; Wallerstein, Nina

    2016-03-01

    Health promotion programs are commonly viewed as value-free initiatives which seek to improve health, often through behavior change. An opposing view has begun to emerge that health promotion efforts, especially ones seeking to impact health policy and social determinants of health, are vulnerable to political contexts and may depend on who is in power at the time. This community-based participatory research study attempts to understand these interactions by applying a conceptual model focused on the power context, diverse stakeholder roles within this context, and the relationship of political levers and other change strategies to the sustainability of health promotion interventions aimed at health policy change. We present a case study of a health promotion coalition, New Mexico for Responsible Sex Education (NMRSE), as an example of power dynamics and change processes. Formed in 2005 in response to federal policies mandating abstinence-only education, NMRSE includes community activists, health promotion staff from the New Mexico Department of Health, and policy-maker allies. Applying an adapted Mayer's 'power analysis' instrument, we conducted semi-structured stakeholder interviews and triangulated political-context analyses from the perspective of the stakeholders.We identified multiple understandings of sustainability and health promotion policy change, including: the importance of diverse stakeholders working together in coalition and social networks; their distinct positions of power within their political contexts; the role of science versus advocacy in change processes; the particular challenges for public sector health promotion professionals; and other facilitators versus barriers to action. One problem that emerged consisted of the challenges for state employees to engage in health promotion advocacy due to limitations imposed on their activities by state and federal policies. This investigation's results include a refined conceptual model, a power

  20. Improving health promotion through central rating of interventions: the need for Responsive Guidance.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kok, Maarten Olivier; Bal, Roland; Roelofs, Caspar David; Schuit, Albertine Jantine

    2017-11-23

    In several countries, attempts are made to improve health promotion by centrally rating the effectiveness of health promotion interventions. The Dutch Effectiveness Rating System (ERS) for health promotion interventions is an improvement-oriented approach in which multi-disciplinary expert committees rate available health promotion interventions as 'theoretically sound', 'probably effective' or 'proven effective'. The aim of this study is to explore the functioning of the ERS and the perspective of researchers, policy-makers and practitioners regarding its contribution to improvement. We interviewed 53 selected key informants from research, policy and practice in the Netherlands and observed the assessment of 12 interventions. Between 2008 and 2012, a total of 94 interventions were submitted to the ERS, of which 23 were rejected, 58 were rated as 'theoretically sound', 10 were rated as 'probably effective' and 3 were rated as 'proven effective'. According to participants, the ERS was intended to facilitate both the improvement of available interventions and the improvement of health promotion in practice. While participants expected that describing and rating interventions promoted learning and enhanced the transferability of interventions, they were concerned that the ERS approach was not suitable for guiding intervention development and improving health promotion in practice. The expert committees that assessed the interventions struggled with a lack of norms for the relevance of effects and questions about how effects should be studied and rated. Health promotion practitioners were concerned that the ERS neglected the local adaptation of interventions and did not encourage the improvement of aspects like applicability and costs. Policy-makers and practitioners were worried that the lack of proven effectiveness legitimised cutbacks rather than learning and advancing health promotion. While measuring and centrally rating the effectiveness of interventions can be

  1. HEALTH POLICY INTERVENTION IN SCHOOLS PROMOTE PHYSICAL ACTIVITIES AMONG THE PUPILS

    OpenAIRE

    He, Chen; Mikkelsen, Bent Egberg

    2009-01-01

    Now, more than ever, there are serious health concerns for obese and overweight children. Schools are the perfect setting for children to learn, and this influence can play an important role in preventing children from becoming obese and overweight. The study concerns the behaviors of Health Promoting School (HPS) according to a broad definition of HPS in World Health Organization (WHO), or dependent on schools own health promoting policies. The purpose of study research is to examine whether...

  2. Labonté Identifies Key Issues for Health Promoters in the New World Order; Comment on “Health Promotion in an Age of Normative Equity and Rampant Inequality”

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Dennis Raphael

    2017-07-01

    Full Text Available For over 35 years Ronald Labonté has been critically analyzing the state of health promotion in Canada and the world. In 1981, he identified the shortcomings of the groundbreaking Lalonde Report by warning of the seductive appeal of so-called lifestyle approaches to health. Since then, he has left a trail of critical work identifying the barriers to — and opportunities for —health promotion work. More recently, he has shown how the rise of economic globalization and acceptance of neo-liberal ideology has come to threaten the health of those in both developed and developing nations. In his recent commentary, Labonté shows how the United Nations’ 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs can offer a new direction for health promoters in these difficult times.

  3. Promoting Teen Mothers' Mental Health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Freed, Patricia; SmithBattle, Lee

    2016-01-01

    In this second article in a two-part series, we call for the integration of strengths-based and trauma-informed care into services for teen mothers. Nurses working with teen mothers in health clinics, schools and home visiting programs can play a pivotal role in promoting their mental health. Many teen mothers have high levels of psychological distress and histories of adverse experiences that cannot be ignored, and cannot solely be addressed by referral to mental health services. Nurses must be prepared to assess for trauma and be open to listening to teen mothers' experiences. Principles of strengths-based and trauma-informed care are complementary and can be integrated in clinical services so that teen mothers' distress is addressed and their strengths and aspirations are supported. Potential screening tools, interviewing skills and basic strategies to alleviate teen mothers' distress are discussed.

  4. Primary healthcare nurses' experiences with motivational interviewing in health promotion practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brobeck, Elisabeth; Bergh, Håkan; Odencrants, Sigrid; Hildingh, Cathrine

    2011-12-01

    The aim of the study was to describe primary healthcare nurses' experiences with motivational interviewing as a method for health promotion practice. A person's lifestyle has a major effect on his or her health. Motivational interviewing is one way of working with lifestyle changes in health promotion practice. The basic plan of motivational interviewing is to help people understand their lifestyle problems and make positive lifestyle changes. Motivational interviewing has been proven to be more effective than conventional methods in increasing patient motivation. This study has a descriptive design and uses a qualitative method. Twenty nurses who worked in primary health care and actively used motivational interviewing in their work were interviewed. Qualitative content analysis was used to process the data. The primary healthcare nurses' experiences with motivational interviewing as a method of health promotion practice demonstrate that motivational interviewing is a demanding, enriching and useful method that promotes awareness and guidance in the care relationship. The results also show that motivational interviewing is a valuable tool for primary healthcare nurses' health promotion practice. This study shows that motivational interviewing places several different demands on nurses who use this method. Those who work with motivational interviewing must make an effort to incorporate this new method to avoid falling back into the former practice of simply giving advice. Maintaining an open mind while implementing motivational interviewing in real healthcare settings is crucial for nurses to increase this method's effectiveness. The nurses in the study had a positive experience with motivational interviewing, which can contribute to the increased use, adaption and development of motivational interviewing among primary healthcare professionals. Increased motivational interviewing knowledge and skills would also contribute to promotion of health lifestyle practices

  5. Health promotion in context – a reflective-analytical model

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Liveng, Anne; Andersen, Heidi Lene; Lehn-Christiansen, Sine

    2018-01-01

    model,” which is presented in this article. The model provides a framework for the analysis of health-promotion initiatives, employing eight perspectives each intertwined with the others. It is based on the assumption that health and health inequities are contextual and that the theoretically inspired...

  6. Use of an internet "viral" marketing software platform in health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gosselin, Pierre; Poitras, Philippe

    2008-11-26

    Health-related websites have become a common tool for public health authorities to inform the general public of their health promotion information and programs. However, building traffic in the cluttered health Internet universe is becoming increasingly complex, costly, and challenging for governmental health promotion websites. In 2006, the Canadian Health Network (CHN), a cooperative program made up of the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) and some 20 health non-governmental organizations (NGOs), was looking for an affordable marketing tool for the promotion of its website and contents to specific populations. To test new and innovative marketing tools for a health promotion website in Canada. Within the context and constraints of a governmental health promotion website, an adaptation of a commercial Internet viral marketing software platform was developed and implemented under the name "The Crazy Race". This process was done interactively between seven NGOs and the CHN staff. The communication objectives were (a) to provide a meaningful visit that could communicate important public health messages, and (b) to increase subscriptions to its e-newsletter. A nine-step standardized Web-user experience (Internet path) was thus defined and experimented with under a pre-determined operating budget of less then Can$50,000, mainly paid for by participating organizations on a pay-per-performance basis. An initial group of 215 people were sent an invitation to participate in the campaign. Over its 15-day duration, the campaign generated by itself and without any media support a total of 110,200 Web user participants who registered and sent a total of 439,275 invitations (2% of the Canadian Web-user population of 21.8 million in 2006). The epidemic self-dissemination of the campaign occurred in both French and English populations and spread across all age groups. Two-thirds of the participants were women. The use of an Internet viral marketing platform proved to be

  7. The predictive role of health-promoting behaviours and perceived stress in aneurysmal rupture.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Mi-Sun; Park, Chang G; Hughes, Tonda L; Jun, Sang-Eun; Whang, Kum; Kim, Nahyun

    2018-03-01

    To examine the roles of two modifiable factors-health-promoting behaviours and perceived stress-in predicting aneurysmal rupture. Unruptured intracranial aneurysm detection produces significant stress and anxiety in patients because of the risk of rupture. Compared to nonmodifiable risk factors for rupture such as age, gender and aneurysm size/location, less attention has been given to modifiable risk factors. Two modifiable factors, health-promoting behaviours and perceived stress, have hardly been examined as potential predictors of rupture. This study used a cross-sectional design. We assessed 155 patients with intracranial aneurysms-that is, subarachnoid haemorrhage (n = 77) or unruptured intracranial aneurysm (n = 78)-to examine (i) baseline characteristics (patient and aneurysmal factors), (ii) health-related factors (lifestyle habits and health-promoting behaviour) and (iii) perceived stress levels (psychological stress and physical stress). Patient records provided medical histories and aneurysmal factors; other data were collected using a structured questionnaire addressing lifestyle habits, the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II to measure health-promoting behaviour and the Perceived Stress Questionnaire to measure perceived-psychological stress and perceived-physical stress levels. Bivariate analysis indicated that aneurysm rupture risk was associated with female gender, aneurysm size/location, defecation frequency, hyperlipidaemia, sedentary time, low Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II mean scores and high perceived-psychological stress scores. After adjusting for known risk factors, the mean Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II and perceived-psychological stress scores remained robust predictors of rupture. Furthermore, known risk factors combined with these scores had greater predictive power than known risk factors alone. Health-promoting behaviour and psychological stress are promising modifiable factors for reducing risk of aneurysmal

  8. [Taxing unhealthy foods. A measure to promote public health in Germany?].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lehnert, T; Riedel-Heller, S; König, H-H

    2013-04-01

    Due to the substantial health burden and costs caused by malnutrition in Germany, for instance as a result of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular diseases, the taxation of unhealthy foods/nutrients has been proposed as a possible health promoting measure. In order to evaluate whether such a fiscal intervention constitutes an effective and suitable measure to promote population health in Germany, the article outlines central empirical findings regarding malnutrition in Germany. Subsequently, the economic background (price elasticity of demand) is explained, and empirical evidence on the influence of changes in price on changes in consumption and health is presented. As a result of findings from the international literature being heterogeneous, and because very little research has been conducted in Germany on this matter until now, the taxation/subsidization of foods in order to promote population health is difficult to justify at this point.

  9. Viability in delivering oral health promotion activities within the ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    health education, tobacco cessation, safe water and sanitation, water fluoridation ... Methods. The explorative study design used a mixed methods approach, with ..... Health promotion training for school staff was not present in the majority ...

  10. Our games our health: a cultural asset for promoting health in indigenous communities.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Parker, Elizabeth; Meiklejohn, Beryl; Patterson, Carla; Edwards, Ken; Preece, Cilia; Shuter, Patricia; Gould, Trish

    2006-08-01

    Indigenous Australians have higher morbidity and mortality rates than non-Indigenous Australians. Until recently, few health promotion interventions have had more than limited success in Indigenous populations. This community-based health promotion initiative introduced traditional Indigenous games into schools and community groups in Cherbourg and Stradbroke Island (Queensland, Australia). A joint community forum managed the project, and the Indigenous community-based project officers co-ordinated training in traditional games and undertook community asset audits and evaluations. The games have been included in the activities of a range of community organisations in Cherbourg and Stradbroke Island. Several other organisations and communities in Australia have included them in their projects. A games video and manual were produced to facilitate the initiative's transferability and sustainability. Conventional approaches to health promotion generally focus on individual risk factors and often ignore a more holistic perspective. This project adopted a culturally appropriate, holistic approach, embracing a paradigm that concentrated on the communities' cultural assets and contributed to sustainable and transferable outcomes. There is a need for appropriate evaluation tools for time-limited community engagement projects.

  11. A health promotion practicum targeting the college-age population.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Diebold, C M; Chappell, H W; Robinson, M K

    2000-01-01

    Senior and sophomore baccalaureate nursing students at the University of Kentucky developed a health promotion exposition that targeted college students. This experience gave senior students the opportunity to practice leadership and management skills, such as planning, organizing, collaborating, delegating, evaluating, and time management and conflict resolution. Sophomore students developed teaching abilities, practiced assessment and communication techniques, and increased their knowledge of health-promoting behaviors. Both groups experienced team building and demonstrated accountability. Students reported a positive learning experience that met various course objectives in an innovative way.

  12. The promotion and marketing of oxycontin: commercial triumph, public health tragedy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Van Zee, Art

    2009-02-01

    I focus on issues surrounding the promotion and marketing of controlled drugs and their regulatory oversight. Compared with noncontrolled drugs, controlled drugs, with their potential for abuse and diversion, pose different public health risks when they are overpromoted and highly prescribed. An in-depth analysis of the promotion and marketing of OxyContin illustrates some of the associated issues. Modifications of the promotion and marketing of controlled drugs by the pharmaceutical industry and an enhanced capacity of the Food and Drug Administration to regulate and monitor such promotion can have a positive impact on the public health.

  13. Promoting Mental Health and Preventing Mental Illness in General Practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Thomas, Steve; Jenkins, Rachel; Burch, Tony; Calamos Nasir, Laura; Fisher, Brian; Giotaki, Gina; Gnani, Shamini; Hertel, Lise; Marks, Marina; Mathers, Nigel; Millington-Sanders, Catherine; Morris, David; Ruprah-Shah, Baljeet; Stange, Kurt; Thomas, Paul; White, Robert; Wright, Fiona

    2016-01-01

    This paper calls for the routine integration of mental health promotion and prevention into UK General Practice in order to reduce the burden of mental and physical disorders and the ensuing pressure on General Practice. The proposals & the resulting document (https://ethicscharity.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/rcgp_keymsg_150925_v5.pdf) arise from an expert 'Think Tank' convened by the London Journal of Primary Care, Educational Trust for Health Improvement through Cognitive Strategies (ETHICS Foundation) and the Royal College of General Practitioners. It makes 12 recommendations for General Practice: (1) Mental health promotion and prevention are too important to wait. (2) Work with your community to map risk factors, resources and assets. (3) Good health care, medicine and best practice are biopsychosocial rather than purely physical. (4) Integrate mental health promotion and prevention into your daily work. (5) Boost resilience in your community through approaches such as community development. (6) Identify people at increased risk of mental disorder for support and screening. (7) Support early intervention for people of all ages with signs of illness. (8) Maintain your biopsychosocial skills. (9) Ensure good communication, interdisciplinary team working and inter-sectoral working with other staff, teams and agencies. (10) Lead by example, taking action to promote the resilience of the general practice workforce. (11) Ensure mental health is appropriately included in the strategic agenda for your 'cluster' of General Practices, at the Clinical Commissioning Groups, and the Health and Wellbeing Board. (12) Be aware of national mental health strategies and localise them, including action to destigmatise mental illness within the context of community development.

  14. Healthy Universities: Mapping Health-Promotion Interventions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sarmiento, Juan Pablo

    2017-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to map out and characterize existing health-promotion initiatives at Florida International University (FIU) in the USA in order to inform decision makers involved in the development of a comprehensive and a long-term healthy university strategy. Design/methodology/approach: This study encompasses a narrative…

  15. Australian health promotion practitioners' perceptions on evaluation of empowerment and participation.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brandstetter, Susanne; McCool, Megan; Wise, Marilyn; Loss, Julika

    2014-03-01

    Although participation and empowerment are hallmarks of the WHO vision of health promotion, it is acknowledged that they are difficult to evaluate. Devising adequate study designs, indicators and methods for the assessment of participation and empowerment should consider the experiences, concerns and constraints of health promotion practitioners. The aim of this study was to investigate health promotion practitioners' perspectives on general and methodological aspects of evaluation of empowerment and participation. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 17 experienced practitioners in community-based health promotion in New South Wales, Australia. The interviews covered benefits of and barriers to the evaluation of participation and empowerment, key indicators and methodological aspects. Interview transcripts were examined using thematic content analysis. The idea of evaluating empowerment and participation is supported by health promotion practitioners. Including indicators of empowerment and participation in the evaluation could also emphasise-to practitioners and citizens alike-the value of involving and enabling community members. The interviews highlighted the importance of a receptive environment for evaluation of empowerment and participation to take root. The resistance of health authorities towards empowerment indicators was seen as a challenge for funding evaluations. Community members should be included in the evaluation process, although interviewees found it difficult to do so in a representative way and empowering approach. Qualitative methods might capture best whether empowerment and participation have occurred in a programme. The positive experiences that the interviewees made with innovative qualitative methods encourage further investment in developing new research designs.

  16. [Community-based health promotion--a challenge for the evaluation].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Loss, J; Eichhorn, C; Gehlert, J; Donhauser, J; Wise, M; Nagel, E

    2007-02-01

    Community-based health promotion (CBHP) aims at mobilising citizens for health-related issues in their environment, and at implementing health-promoting projects on the community level. Whereas recent political decisions support this approach, scientific studies dealing with theories and consequences of CBHP are scarce in Germany. Evaluation of CBHP could help identify (in)effective factors and elements of community programmes and thus improve future planning. In Germany, however, there is a deficit in systematic concepts and recommendations for the evaluation of CBHP. This work outlines basic ideas and core principles of CBHP and deduces implications for the assessment of health-promoting community projects. Based on different international models and studies and on discussions with health promotion professionals, we developed a framework for the evaluation of CBHP. The proposed framework includes a guideline for CBHP programme planning. Its strategic and operational criteria can serve as a basis for a strategy evaluation. In terms of process evaluation, indicators for the dimensions (1) programme implementation and service delivery, (2) capacity building, and (3) reach of and acceptability in the target group were developed. In addition, we present different areas of OUTCOME EVALUATION; it is advisable to distinguish between measurement on the individual and on the community level. The framework further proposes strategies for the evaluation of the core principles empowerment and participation. The presented framework can serve as a basis for the development of flexible and individual instruments for the evaluation of CBHP, which should not ignore the perspective of the citizens, or complex aspects like changes on the community level. Some aspects, e.g., the potential evaluation of further targets of CBHP (improvement of quality of life, reduction of social and health inequalities), the responsibility of evaluation or the effects of financial constraints, are

  17. The use of e-health and m-health tools in health promotion and primary prevention among older adults: a systematic literature review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kampmeijer, Ramon; Pavlova, Milena; Tambor, Marzena; Golinowska, Stanisława; Groot, Wim

    2016-09-05

    The use of e-health and m-health technologies in health promotion and primary prevention among older people is largely unexplored. This study provides a systematic review of the evidence on the scope of the use of e-health and m-health tools in health promotion and primary prevention among older adults (age 50+). A systematic literature review was conducted in October 2015. The search for relevant publications was done in the search engine PubMed. The key inclusion criteria were: e-health and m-health tools used, participants' age 50+ years, focus on health promotion and primary prevention, published in the past 10 years, in English, and full-paper can be obtained. The text of the publications was analyzed based on two themes: the characteristics of e-health and m-health tools and the determinants of the use of these tools by older adults. The quality of the studies reviewed was also assessed. The initial search resulted in 656 publications. After we applied the inclusion and exclusion criteria, 45 publications were selected for the review. In the publications reviewed, various types of e-health/m-health tools were described, namely apps, websites, devices, video consults and webinars. Most of the publications (60 %) reported studies in the US. In 37 % of the publications, the study population was older adults in general, while the rest of the publications studied a specific group of older adults (e.g. women or those with overweight). The publications indicated various facilitators and barriers. The most commonly mentioned facilitator was the support for the use of the e-health/m-health tools that the older adults received. E-health and m-health tools are used by older adults in diverse health promotion programs, but also outside formal programs to monitor and improve their health. The latter is hardly studied. The successful use of e-health/m-health tools in health promotion programs for older adults greatly depends on the older adults' motivation and support

  18. The search conference as a method in planning community health promotion actions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Eva Magnus

    2016-08-01

    Full Text Available Aims: The aim of this article is to describe and discuss how the search conference can be used as a method for planning health promotion actions in local communities. Design and methods: The article draws on experiences with using the method for an innovative project in health promotion in three Norwegian municipalities. The method is described both in general and how it was specifically adopted for the project. Results and conclusions: The search conference as a method was used to develop evidence-based health promotion action plans. With its use of both bottom-up and top-down approaches, this method is a relevant strategy for involving a community in the planning stages of health promotion actions in line with political expectations of participation, ownership, and evidence-based initiatives.

  19. Constituting the healthy employee? : Governing gendered subjects in workplace health promotion

    OpenAIRE

    Björklund, Erika

    2008-01-01

    With a post-structural approach and an analytical focus on processes of governmentality and biopower, this study is concerned with how discourses of health are contextualized in educational practice and interaction between educators and participants in workplace health promotion (WHP) interventions. Of concern are issues of the discursive production, regulation and representation of power, knowledge and subjects as gendered beings in workplace health promotion interventions. The methods for g...

  20. Challenging machismo: promoting sexual and reproductive health with Nicaraguan men.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sternberg, P

    2000-03-01

    This article presents the results of a participatory exploration of male attitudes towards sexual and reproductive health issues in Nicaragua. Nicaraguan culture views men in a machismo concept. The study examined the knowledge, attitudes and behavior of men in relation to the social construction of masculinity: sexuality, reproduction, and fatherhood. Employing 90 men from both rural and urban communities, attitudes towards sexuality, reproduction, abortion and fatherhood were discussed. Several insights were gathered from the research, which explains men's behavior. Thus, it was deemed imperative that in empowering women by promoting sexual and reproductive health among men would require challenging male hegemony and persuading men to participate in health promotion. However, the setting and application of a men's agenda for sexual health promotion should not result in the curtailment of services for women because funds are being reallocated to men, nor should it give men the opportunity to more subtle forms of domination and exploitation.

  1. Coping Styles Mediate the Relationship Between Self-esteem, Health Locus of Control, and Health-Promoting Behavior in Chinese Patients With Coronary Heart Disease.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zou, Huijing; Tian, Qian; Chen, Yuxia; Cheng, Cheng; Fan, Xiuzhen

    Health-promoting behavior plays an important role in reducing the burden of coronary heart disease. Self-esteem and health locus of control may contribute to health-promoting behavior, and coping styles may mediate these associations. The aims of our study were to examine whether self-esteem and health locus of control are associated with health-promoting behavior and examine the possible mediating effect of coping styles in patients with coronary heart disease. Health-promoting behavior, self-esteem, health locus of control, and coping styles were assessed in 272 hospitalized patients (60 ± 12 years, 61% male) with coronary heart disease. Hierarchical regression analysis was conducted to analyze the relationships between health-promoting behavior and other variables. Mediation effect was examined according to the methods of Baron and Kenny. The mean score for health-promoting behavior was 2.57 ± 0.51; 38.2% of patients (n = 104) scored lower than 2.5. Self-esteem (β = .139, P locus of control and health-promoting behavior. Confrontation plays a mediating role in the association among self-esteem, internal health locus of control, and health-promoting behavior. Strategies should be undertaken to encourage the use of confrontation coping style, which will facilitate health-promoting behavior.

  2. Intersystem Implications of the Developmental Origins of Health and Disease: Advancing Health Promotion in the 21st Century

    OpenAIRE

    Barnes, Michael D.; Heaton, Thomas L.; Goates, Michael C.; Packer, Justin M.

    2016-01-01

    The developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) theory and life course theory (LCT) are emerging fields of research that have significant implications for the public health and health promotion professions. Using a DOHaD/LCT perspective, social determinants of health (SDH) take on new critical meaning by which health promotion professionals can implement DOHaD/LCT guided interventions, including recommended policies. Through these interventions, public health could further address the...

  3. Health-promoting practices and the factors associated with self ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    According to self-reports, the most common new health problems since taking up the caregiving role were chronic ill health (97%), social isolation (95%) and mental stress (92%). The health-promoting practices most often engaged in were eating a balanced diet (67%), seeking spiritual support (58%), and performing ...

  4. [Processes in the construction of the Brazilian National Health Promotion Policy].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ferreira Neto, João Leite; Kind, Luciana; Resende, Maria Carolina Costa; Colen, Natália Silva

    2013-10-01

    We investigated the processes involved in the construction of the Brazilian National Health Promotion Policy (PNPS) through the analysis of three documents produced by the Ministry of Health from 2002 to 2005 and the final text of the National Health Promotion Policy, approved in 2006. We interviewed five subjects who participated in drafting the PNPS, three of whom were Ministry of Health administrators, plus two researchers. The documents were explored with discourse analysis. The article contributes to the debate on the development of the PNPS. Health promotion showed various points of disagreement, which led to the delay in the document's final approval. International induction via funding proved to be a crucial element for defining the final wording of the PNPS, reestablishing the emphasis (subject to criticism) on lifestyle changes in its "Actions". The article highlights the negotiated consensus that led to the creation of the PNPS Management Committee, with participation by various sub-sectors, an innovative structure within the Ministry of Health.

  5. Health promotion through employee assistance programs: a role for occupational therapists.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Maynard, M

    1986-11-01

    Health promotion is predicted to have a major impact on occupational therapy practice. Keeping people well and promoting a healthy life-style will be the focus for the future. Many companies and agencies are taking the lead by instituting employee assistance programs (EAPs). With the de-emphasis on long-term hospital care, many occupational therapists will be seeking employment with community health programs. This paper advocates a role for occupational therapists in health promotion and disease prevention in an EAP. A description of EAPs and the contributions that occupational therapists can make to these programs is offered. Practice and education considerations for occupational therapists' roles in EAPs are provided.

  6. Developing a Competency-Based Pan-European Accreditation Framework for Health Promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Battel-Kirk, Barbara; Van der Zanden, Gerard; Schipperen, Marielle; Contu, Paolo; Gallardo, Carmen; Martinez, Ana; Garcia de Sola, Silvia; Sotgiu, Alessandra; Zaagsma, Miriam; Barry, Margaret M.

    2012-01-01

    Background: The CompHP Pan-European Accreditation Framework for Health Promotion was developed as part of the CompHP Project that aimed to develop competency-based standards and an accreditation system for health promotion practice, education, and training in Europe. Method: A phased, multiple-method approach was employed to facilitate consensus…

  7. Who uses apps in health promotion? A target group analysis of leaders.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bregenzer, Anita; Wagner-Hartl, Verena; Jiménez, Paul

    2017-11-01

    User characteristics should be considered when designing features for e-health or m-health applications, as the developed solution should aim to support this specific target group. This study explores the effect of user characteristics (personality, health state, stress/recovery state, leadership behavior) on the interest and likelihood of using an app for health promotion activities at the workplace. Leaders are a key factor for the success of workplace health promotion; therefore, the target group of this study are leaders. The data of 412 leaders were collected in an online study. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analyses were conducted for four outcome criteria ("personal health," "contacting," "leadership feedback" and "corporate key figures"). The findings showed that neuroticism, physical health and health-promoting leadership were important predictors for using an app for monitoring personal health and getting in social contact about health issues. The stress/recovery state was significantly related to the feature of getting in social contact.

  8. Health promotion in Australian multi-disciplinary primary health care services: case studies from South Australia and the Northern Territory.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baum, Fran; Freeman, Toby; Jolley, Gwyn; Lawless, Angela; Bentley, Michael; Värttö, Kaisu; Boffa, John; Labonte, Ronald; Sanders, David

    2014-12-01

    This paper reports on the health promotion and disease prevention conducted at Australian multi-disciplinary primary health care (PHC) services and considers the ways in which the organizational environment affects the extent and type of health promotion and disease prevention activity. The study involves five PHC services in Adelaide and one in Alice Springs. Four are managed by a state health department and two by boards of governance. The study is based on an audit of activities and on 68 interviews conducted with staff. All the sites undertake health promotion and recognize its importance but all report that this activity is under constant pressure resulting from the need to provide services to people who have health problems. We also found an increased focus on chronic disease management and prevention which prioritized individuals and behavioural change strategies rather than addressing social determinants affecting whole communities. There was little health promotion work that reflected a salutogenic approach to the creation of health. Most activity falls under three types: parenting and child development, chronic disease prevention and mental health. Only the non-government organizations reported advocacy on broader policy issues. Health reform and consequent reorganizations were seen to reduce the ability of some services to undertake health promotion. The paper concludes that PHC in Australia plays an important role in disease prevention, but that there is considerable scope to increase the amount of community-based health promotion which focuses on a salutogenic view of health and which engages in community partnerships. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  9. Association between Health Locus of Control and Health Promotion Behaviors among Employees’ Bushehr University of Medical Sciences in 2013-14

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Roqayeh Chenary

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Work is an important source for establishing livelihoods and social occasions; however, it can also damage on person's health. The aim of the present study was to study of association between health locus of control and health promoting behaviors among employees of Bushehr University of Medical Sciences. Materials and Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 208 employees of Bushehr University of Medical Sciences by using convenience sampling method. Data were collected by using standard questionnaires of health-promoting lifestyle and multidimensional health locus of control. Data analysis done by SPSS software version 20. Descriptive indicators and linear regression test was used. Results: Among regression models which related to health promoting behavior and its six dimensions, only there was a significant association between total behavior, physical activity and interpersonal relationship dimensions. Between demographic factors and health locus of control only internal health locus of control explained the health promoting behavior and it explained health promoting behavior changes  within 3.2% (R2=3.2%. None of the three health locus of control explained physical activity dimensions, while internal health locus of control explained interpersonal relation dimension positively and chance locus of control explained interpersonal relation dimension negatively and explained interpersonal relation changes within 4.9% (R2=4.9%. Conclusion: Due to the effect of internal health locus of control on health promotion behavior and interpersonal relationships, we should try to internalize locus of control by performing counseling programs to step toward improving employee health by improving behaviors related to health.

  10. A 'health broker' role as a catalyst of change to promote health: an experiment in deprived Dutch neighbourhoods.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Harting, Janneke; Kunst, Anton E; Kwan, Albert; Stronks, Karien

    2011-03-01

    Urban social entrepreneurs have been suggested to play an essential part in the success of local health promotion initiatives. Up to now, roles like these have only been identified in retrospect. This prospective collaborative study explored the possibilities of institutionalizing a comparable role for a 'health broker' in four Dutch municipalities as an additional investment to promote health in deprived neighbourhoods. The theoretical notions of public and policy entrepreneurs as well as of boundary spanners were adopted as a reference framework. Documents produced by the collaborative project served as input for a qualitative analysis of the developments. We succeeded in implementing a 'health broker' role comparable to that of a bureaucratic public entrepreneur holding a formal non-leadership position. The role was empowered by sharing it among multiple professionals. Although positioned within one sector, the occupants of the new role felt more entitled to cross sectoral borders and to connect to local residents, compared to other within-sector functions. The 'health broker' role had the potential to operate as an 'anchoring point' for the municipal health sector (policy), public health services (practice) and/or the local residents (public). It was also possible to specify potential 'broking points', i.e. opportunities for health promotion agenda setting and opportunities to improve cross-sectoral collaboration, citizen participation and political and administrative support for health promotion efforts. The 'health broker' role we developed and implemented reflects the notion of systematic rather than individual entrepreneurship. Such a collective entrepreneurship may create additional opportunities to gradually strengthen local health promotion efforts.

  11. Why has the health promoting prison concept failed to translate to the US?

    OpenAIRE

    Woodall, JR

    2016-01-01

    Two decades since the World Health Organization Regional Office for Europe published a report on health promotion in prison that stimulated further debate on the concept of the “health-promoting prison,” this article discusses the extent to which the concept has translated to the United States. One predicted indicator of success for the health-promoting prison movement was the expansion of activity beyond European borders; yet 2 decades since the European model was put forward, there has been...

  12. Health promotion viewed as processes of subjectification in the education of Danish social and health care workers

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Lehn-Christiansen, Sine

    2011-01-01

    problems of both a social and moral character. It is shown how health promotion has a thorough impact on the students’ possibilities of coming into being as (professional) subjects. The article points to the conclusion that in this particular educational setting, health promotion constitutes...

  13. Promoting Community Health and Eliminating Health Disparities Through Community-Based Participatory Research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xia, Ruiping; Stone, John R; Hoffman, Julie E; Klappa, Susan G

    2016-03-01

    In physical therapy, there is increasing focus on the need at the community level to promote health, eliminate disparities in health status, and ameliorate risk factors among underserved minorities. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) is the most promising paradigm for pursuing these goals. Community-based participatory research stresses equitable partnering of the community and investigators in light of local social, structural, and cultural elements. Throughout the research process, the CBPR model emphasizes coalition and team building that joins partners with diverse skills/expertise, knowledge, and sensitivities. This article presents core concepts and principles of CBPR and the rationale for its application in the management of health issues at the community level. Community-based participatory research is now commonly used to address public health issues. A literature review identified limited reports of its use in physical therapy research and services. A published study is used to illustrate features of CBPR for physical therapy. The purpose of this article is to promote an understanding of how physical therapists could use CBPR as a promising way to advance the profession's goals of community health and elimination of health care disparities, and social responsibility. Funding opportunities for the support of CBPR are noted. © 2016 American Physical Therapy Association.

  14. Men's Sheds function and philosophy: towards a framework for future research and men's health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wilson, Nathan J; Cordier, Reinie; Doma, Kenji; Misan, Gary; Vaz, Sharmila

    2015-08-01

    The Men's Shed movement supports a range of men's health promotion initiatives. This paper examines whether a Men's Shed typology could inform future research and enable more efficient and targeted health promotion activities through Men's Sheds. The International Men's Shed Survey consisted of a cross-sectional exploration of sheds, their members, and health and social activities. Survey data about shed 'function' and 'philosophy' were analysed using descriptive and inferential statistics. A framework of Men's Sheds based on function and philosophy demonstrated that most sheds serve a primary utility function, a secondary social function, but most importantly a primary social opportunity philosophy. Sheds with a primary health philosophy participated in fewer health promotion activities when compared with sheds without a primary health philosophy. In addition to the uniform health promotion resources distributed by the Men's Shed associations, specific health promotion activities, such as prostate education, are being initiated from an individual shed level. This framework can potentially be used to enable future research and health promotion activities to be more efficiently and effectively targeted. SO WHAT? Men experience poorer health and well being outcomes than women. This framework offers a novel approach to providing targeted health promotion activities to men in an environment where it is okay to talk about men's health.

  15. Working in Australia's heat: health promotion concerns for health and productivity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, Sudhvir; Hanna, Elizabeth G; Kjellstrom, Tord

    2015-06-01

    This exploratory study describes the experiences arising from exposure to extreme summer heat, and the related health protection and promotion issues for working people in Australia. Twenty key informants representing different industry types and occupational groups or activities in Australia provided semi-structured interviews concerning: (i) perceptions of workplace heat exposure in the industry they represented, (ii) reported impacts on health and productivity, as well as (iii) actions taken to reduce exposure or effects of environmental heat exposure. All interviewees reported that excessive heat exposure presents a significant challenge for their industry or activity. People working in physically demanding jobs in temperatures>35°C frequently develop symptoms, and working beyond heat tolerance is common. To avoid potentially dangerous health impacts they must either slow down or change their work habits. Such health-preserving actions result in lost work capacity. Approximately one-third of baseline work productivity can be lost in physically demanding jobs when working at 40°C. Employers and workers consider that heat exposure is a 'natural hazard' in Australia that cannot easily be avoided and so must be accommodated or managed. Among participants in this study, the locus of responsibility for coping with heat lay with the individual, rather than the employer. Heat exposure during Australian summers commonly results in adverse health effects and productivity losses, although quantification studies are lacking. Lack of understanding of the hazardous nature of heat exposure exacerbates the serious risk of heat stress, as entrenched attitudinal barriers hamper amelioration or effective management of this increasing occupational health threat. Educational programmes and workplace heat guidelines are required. Without intervention, climate change in hot countries, such as Australia, can be expected to further exacerbate heat-related burden of disease and loss

  16. Early Experience with a Health Promotion Course for Pharmacy Students in Indonesia

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kristina, Susi Ari; Yulianto, Yulianto; Prabandari, Yayi Suryo

    2018-01-01

    Objective: To implement a new health promotion course as part of pharmacy public health practices and to identify pharmacy students' knowledge, perceived role and self-efficacy with respect to what was learned through this. Method: A total of 119 fifth-year pharmacy students undertook a new health promotion course in a pharmacy school in…

  17. Revisiting Precede-Proceed: A Leading Model for Ecological and Ethical Health Promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    Porter, Christine M.

    2016-01-01

    Background: The Precede-Proceed model has provided moral and practical guidance for the fields of health education and health promotion since Lawrence Green first developed Precede in 1974 and Green and Kreuter added Proceed in 1991. Precede-Proceed today remains the most comprehensive and one of the most used approaches to promoting health.…

  18. How to achieve a collaborative approach in health promotion: preferences and ideas of users of mental health services.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pals, Regitze Anne Saurbrey; Hempler, Nana Folmann

    2018-02-12

    Collaborative approaches to consensus building or decision-making are beneficial in health-promoting activities targeting users of mental health services (users). However, little is known about how to achieve a collaborative approach in practice. The purpose of this study was to explore: (1) users' preferences and ideas related to achieving a collaborative approach in health-related communication and (2) perspectives of healthcare and social work professionals and family members on users' ideas and preferences. Data were collected through interactive workshops with users (n = 15), professionals (n = 21) and users' family members (n = 12). Data were analysed using systematic text condensation. Users provided three recommendations for establishing a collaborative approach in communication about health: (1) involving users in deciding the agenda and setting for health-promoting activities; (2) exchanging knowledge between users and professionals about health and values; and (3) exploring users' motivation for change. Users and professionals had diverging perceptions of the value of establishing a collaborative approach. Professionals regarded relationship building and health promotion as separate phenomena, whereas users perceived relationship building as inherently health promoting. Family members of users requested specific guidance and support with regard to clarifying and fulfilling the best possible support role as a family member. The findings suggest that a collaborative approach in health promotion may be difficult to achieve without a focus on professional development for healthcare and social work professionals. © 2018 Nordic College of Caring Science.

  19. "Making it personal": ideology, the arts, and shifting registers in health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruthven, Jessica S

    2016-01-01

    In South Africa, health promotion related to HIV/AIDS has been characterised as a component of public health prevention. It has heavily utilised global health ideology to construct promotional messages that rely on neoliberal models of individual, responsible health citizenship. However, after nearly 30 years of public health messaging, there have been only minor shifts in the country's HIV prevalence rates; it has become apparent that there is disconnect between policy, programmes, and target audiences. Debates about where this disconnect occurs tend to focus on the role of problems in biomedical knowledge translation or with structural inequalities that lead to health inequity. As debates increase, artists involved in health have emerged to address an additional reason: audience interpellation. In this article, I interrogate relationships between health promotion ideology and processes of interpellation. I suggest that disconnect between the two has roots in the tone of programming, the ways sociality is constructed within health promotion, and the kind of subject which global prevention programmes seek to constitute. Using a case study, I illustrate how public health ideology is made actionable through arts practice. While conventional health promotion programmes address populations in a way that allows individuals to distance themselves, members of South Africa's arts sector have worked to integrate prevention and care in a way that bolsters interpellation through making messages personal. The case study presents one performance but is informed by my broader research with over 20 theatrical groups conducted during 18 months of fieldwork. Analysis of the production reveals that artists act as mediators between population-level public health messages and individuals through the embodied technologies of applied theatre. However, I argue that artists also create space for participants to reimagine configurations of care, responsibility, and intimacy within health

  20. Does health promotion need a Code of Ethics? Results from an IUHPE mixed method survey.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bull, Torill; Riggs, Elisha; Nchogu, Sussy N

    2012-09-01

    Health promotion is an ethically challenging field involving constant reflection of values across multiple cultures of what is regarded as good and bad health promotion practice. While many disciplines are guided by a Code of Ethics (CoE) no such guide is available to health promoters. The International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE) has been nominated as a suitable candidate for developing such a code. It is within this context that the IUHPE Student and Early Career Network (ISECN), through its Ethics Working Group, has taken up the challenge of preparing the foundations for a CoE for health promotion. An online survey comprising open and closed-answer questions was used to gather the opinions of IUHPE members regarding the need for a CoE for health promotion. The quantitative data were calculated with descriptive analyses. A thematic analysis approach was used to analyze and interpret the qualitative data. IUHPE members (n = 236) from all global regions responded to the survey. The majority (52%) of the respondents had 11 years' experience or more in the field of health promotion. Ethical dilemmas were commonly encountered. The need for a CoE for health promotion was expressed by 83% of respondents. Respondents also offered their views of possibilities, ideas and challenges regarding the development of a CoE for health promotion. Considering that health promoters encounter ethical dilemmas frequently in their practice, this study reinforces the need to develop a CoE for the field. The recommendations from the survey provide a good basis for future work to develop such a code.

  1. Effectiveness of health-promoting media literacy education: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bergsma, Lynda J; Carney, Mary E

    2008-06-01

    Media literacy education to promote health among youth involves them in a critical examination of media messages that promote risky behaviors and influence their perceptions and practices. Research on its effectiveness is in its infancy. Studies to date have been conducted with more or less rigor and achieved differing results, leaving many questions about effectiveness unanswered. To elucidate some of these questions, we conducted a systematic review of selected health-promoting media literacy education evaluation/research studies, guided by the following research question: What are the context and process elements of an effective health-promoting media literacy education intervention? Based on extensive analysis of 28 interventions, our findings provide a detailed picture of a small, 16- to 17-year (1990 to July 2006) body of important research, including citation information, health issue, target population/N/age, research design, intervention length and setting, concepts/skills taught, who delivered the intervention and ratings of effectiveness. The review provides a framework for organizing research about media literacy education which suggests that researchers should be more explicit about the media literacy core concepts/skills they are including in their interventions, and should more carefully address who delivered the intervention with what fidelity, in what setting, for how long and utilizing what pedagogical approach.

  2. Training of adolescent multipliers from the perspective of health promotion core competencies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kely Vanessa Leite Gomes da Silva

    Full Text Available ABSTRACT Objective: Recognize the domains of health promotion core competencies in the training process of adolescents carried out by nursing students. Method: Qualitative and descriptive study, which used the theoretical methodological contribution Developing Competencies and Professional Standards for Health Promotion Capacity Building in Europe (CompHP, carried out with 14 nursing students. Results: There were four domains: Enable Change; Mediate through Partnership; Communication; and Leadership. These domains came from the interest and commitment of adolescents in intersectoral partnership, the use of communication techniques, and the role of facilitator to catalyze learning and empowerment. Conclusion: There were some domains of core competency in the training of adolescents, suggesting that nursing students act as health promoters. Challenges for Nursing are the implementation of a theoretical contribution of CompHP in undergraduate and ongoing training to carry out health promotion action.

  3. Using social media to enhance career development opportunities for health promotion professionals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Roman, Leah A

    2014-07-01

    For health promotion professionals, social media offers many ways to engage with a broader range of colleagues; participate in professional development events; promote expertise, products, or services; and learn about career-enhancing opportunities such as funding and fellowships. Previous work has recommended "building networking into what you are already doing." This article provides updated and new social media resources, as well as practical examples and strategies to promote effective use of social media. Social media offers health promotion professionals cost-effective opportunities to enhance their career by building communities of practice, participating in professional development events, and enriching classroom learning. Developing the skills necessary to use social media for networking is important in the public health workforce, especially as social media is increasingly used in academic and practice settings. © 2014 Society for Public Health Education.

  4. Health promoting compounds in vegetables and fruits:

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Brandt, K.; Christensen, L.P.; Hansen-Møller, J.

    2004-01-01

    Vegetables contain unknown compounds with important health promoting effect. The described project defined and tested a two-step screening procedure for identification of such compounds. Step 1 is initial screening according to three criteria: 1.1, chemically reactive functional groups; 1...

  5. Can health promotion programs save Medicare money?

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ron Z Goetzel

    2007-04-01

    Full Text Available Ron Z Goetzel1, David Shechter2, Ronald J Ozminkowski1, David C Stapleton3, Pauline J Lapin4, J Michael McGinnis5, Catherine R Gordon6, Lester Breslow71Institute for Health and Productivity Studies, Cornell University, Washington, DC; 2Health and Productivity Research, Thomson Medstat, Santa Barbara, CA; 3Cornell Institute for Policy Research, Cornell University, Washington, DC; 4Office of Research, Development, and Information, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Baltimore, MD; 5National Academy of Sciences, Institute of Medicine, The National Academies, Washington, DC; 6Office of the Director, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Washington, DC; 7UCLA School of Public Health, Dept. of Health Services, Los Angeles, CA, USAAbstract: The impact of an aging population on escalating US healthcare costs is influenced largely by the prevalence of chronic disease in this population. Consequently, preventing or postponing disease onset among the elderly has become a crucial public health issue. Fortunately, much of the total burden of disease is attributable to conditions that are preventable. In this paper, we address whether well-designed health promotion programs can prevent illness, reduce disability, and improve the quality of life. Furthermore, we assess evidence that these programs have the potential to reduce healthcare utilization and related expenditures for the Medicare program. We hypothesize that seniors who reduce their modifiable health risks can forestall disability, reduce healthcare utilization, and save Medicare money. We end with a discussion of a new Senior Risk Reduction Demonstration, which will be initiated by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services in 2007, to test whether risk reduction programs developed in the private sector can achieve health improvements among seniors and a positive return on investment for the Medicare program.Keywords: health promotion, return on investment, Medicare, financial

  6. Learning reflexively from a health promotion professional development program in Canada.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tremblay, Marie-Claude; Richard, Lucie; Brousselle, Astrid; Beaudet, Nicole

    2014-09-01

    In recent decades, reflexivity has received much attention in the professional education and training literature, especially in the public health and health promotion fields. Despite general agreement on the importance of reflexivity, there appears to be no consensus on how to assess reflexivity or to conceptualize the different forms developed among professionals and participants of training programs. This paper presents an analysis of the reflexivity outcomes of the Health Promotion Laboratory, an innovative professional development program aimed at supporting practice changes among health professionals by fostering competency development and reflexivity. More specifically, this paper explores the difference between two levels of reflexivity (formative and critical) and highlights some implications of each for practice. Data were collected through qualitative interviews with participants from two intervention sites. Results showed that involvement in the Health Promotion Laboratory prompted many participants to modify their vision of their practice and professional role, indicating an impact on reflexivity. In many cases, new understandings seem to have played a formative function in enabling participants to improve their practice and their role as health promoters. The reflective process also served a critical function culminating in a social and moral understanding of the impacts on society of the professionals' practices and roles. This type of outcome is greatly desired in health promotion, given the social justice and equity concerns of this field of practice. By redefining the theoretical concept of reflexivity on two levels and discussing their impacts on practice, this study supports the usefulness of both levels of reflexivity. © The Author (2013). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  7. Project on School Staff Health Promotion in Poland: The First Experiences

    Science.gov (United States)

    Woynarowska-Soldan, Magdalena

    2015-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present the concept, methods of implementation, results and experiences from the first stage of the three-year project on school staff health promotion carried out within the framework of the health-promoting school (HPS) network in Poland. Design/methodology/approach: The project was implemented in 2012 in…

  8. The Power of Appreciation: Promoting Schoolchildren's Health Literacy

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kostenius, Catrine; Bergmark, Ulrika

    2016-01-01

    Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore Swedish children's positive experiences of health and well-being, and their thoughts on how health literacy can be promoted. Design/methodology/approach: Totally, 121 schoolchildren between the ages of 10 and 14 from three schools in two municipalities in the northern part of Sweden shared their…

  9. Framework for Evaluating Efficacy in Health Promoting Schools

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Albert; Keung, Vera Mei-wan; Lo, Amelia Siu-chee; Kwong, Amy Chi-ming; Armstrong, Erin Sophie

    2014-01-01

    Purpose: Successful implementation of Health Promoting Schools (HPS) depends on putting the model in the schools' context for both health improvement and school improvement. HPS can only be effective if the change can be sustained over an extended duration. The purpose of this paper is to discuss development of the HPS process by University…

  10. 78 FR 10618 - Re-Establishment of the Advisory Group on Prevention, Health Promotion, and Integrative and...

    Science.gov (United States)

    2013-02-14

    ..., Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health AGENCY: Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health..., Health Promotion, and Integrative and Public Health (hereafter referred to as ``the Advisory Group... Advisory Group provides recommendations and advice to the National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public...

  11. Workforce development to embed mental health promotion research and evaluation into organisational practice.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Joss, Nerida; Keleher, Helen

    2007-12-01

    This project engaged a mental health rehabilitation organisation in health promotion research and development to build its capacity in evaluation research. Participatory research methods were used. Staff skills development occurred through training in research and evaluation methods applied to an evaluation project in mental health promotion that they conducted. All staff had some previous training in research but little, if any, experience of research practice. Staff demonstrated commitment to the idea of embedding research practice into the organisation to strengthen its ability to demonstrate program outcomes. However, the realities of work demands eventually took precedence over the tasks involved in the research process. Staff commitment, knowledge and skills are not sufficient if an organisation lacks the capacity to provide the resources or foster support for a research culture. The health promotion capacity-building framework is relevant for efforts to build health promotion research into mental health organisations. This project demonstrated that workforce development to build the capacity for mental health promotion is more likely to be successful if it is embedded into organisational strategy and culture, has sufficient resources allocated including staff time, and is supported by management.

  12. High-intensity training versus traditional exercise interventions for promoting health

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Nybo, Lars; Sundstrup, Emil; Jakobsen, Markus D

    2010-01-01

    The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of brief intense interval training as exercise intervention for promoting health and to evaluate potential benefits about common interventions, that is, prolonged exercise and strength training.......The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of brief intense interval training as exercise intervention for promoting health and to evaluate potential benefits about common interventions, that is, prolonged exercise and strength training....

  13. Effects of student participation in school health promotion: a systematic review.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Griebler, Ursula; Rojatz, Daniela; Simovska, Venka; Forster, Rudolf

    2017-04-01

    The aim of this systematic review was to summarize systematically the existing evidence for the effects of student participation in designing, planning, implementing and/or evaluating school health promotion measures. The focus was on the effects of participation in school health promotion measures rather than on student involvement at school in general. Participation is a core value for health promotion but empirical evidence of its outcomes is scarce. We searched major bibliographic databases (including ASSIA, ERIC, PsycINFO, Scopus, PubMed and the Social Sciences Citation Index). Two reviewers independently decided about inclusion and exclusion of the identified abstracts (n = 5075) and full text articles. Of the 90 full text articles screened, 26 papers met the inclusion criteria. We identified evidence for positive effects, especially for the students themselves, the school as organization, and interactions and social relations at school. Almost all included studies showed personal effects on students referring to an increased satisfaction, motivation and ownership, an increase in skills, competencies and knowledge, personal development, health-related effects and influence on student perspective. Given that student participation has more been discussed as a value, or ideal of health promotion in schools, these findings documenting its effectiveness are important. However, further research is needed to consider the level or intensity of involvement, different approaches and stages of participation in the health promotion intervention, as well as mediating factors such as gender, socio-cultural background or academic achievement, in a more systematic manner. © The Author (2014). Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

  14. The Relationship between Health-Promoting Behaviors and Resilience in Patients with Chronic Kidney Disease

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Li-Ching Ma

    2013-01-01

    Full Text Available This cross-sectional research study explored differences in health-promoting behavior and resilience among three groups of chronic kidney disease patients (high-risk, early chronic kidney disease; early CKD and pre-end stage renal disease; pre-ESRD treated at the Nephrology outpatient clinic in northern Taiwan. A total of 150 CKD outpatients were interviewed using structured questionnaires including a CKD Health to Promote Lifestyle Scale, and resilience scale. We found that the pre-ESRD group had lower resilience than either high-risk or early CKD groups. Factors affecting pre-ESRD resilience were gender, occupational status, diabetes and health-promoting behaviors. Factors affecting resilience of the high-risk group included level of education and health-promoting behaviors while factors affecting resilience in the early CKD group involved whether they are employed and health promoting behaviors. A significant positive correlation was found between health promoting behavior and resilience in all study subjects. Multiple regression analysis found that factors which could effectively predict resilience in patients at high-risk for CKD were gender, whether the patient had a job, nutrition, self-actualization, and stress level, accounting for 69.7% of the variance. Therefore, nursing education should focus on health promotion advocacy throughout the life of not only patients but also their families.

  15. Sports clubs as settings for health promotion: fundamentals and an overview to research.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kokko, Sami

    2014-11-01

    This paper explores the efficacy and value of sports clubs as a setting for health promotion. Sports clubs for children and adolescents are the primary focus of the paper, and the aims are two-fold. Firstly, the paper aims to review the basis for and elements of the health promoting sports club (HPSC) concept. Secondly, the aim is to overview the international evolution of the HPSC concept and its usefulness in the research. The settings-based health promotion approach forms the basis for the HPSC concept and it is introduced first. Thereafter, both obligating and prospecting factors, to justify the importance for sports clubs to address health promotion, are expressed. Major prospecting factors relate to the facts that sports club activities reach a lot of children and adolescents, and that its educational nature is informal due to voluntary participation. The paper also presents multilevel structure of sports clubs, as well as the determinants affecting the settings-based work. The research concerning health promotion in sports-related settings is evolving worldwide, and Nordic countries are in the front line of this new-wave of settings-based health promotion. Indeed, it has been claimed that, for the settings approach to assimilate to current societal challenges, there is a need to widen the reach of the approach to non-traditional, non-institutional settings, like sports clubs. © 2014 the Nordic Societies of Public Health.

  16. [Networks of experiences on community health as an information system in health promotion: lessons learned in Aragon (Spain)].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gállego-Diéguez, Javier; Aliaga Traín, Pilar; Benedé Azagra, Carmen Belén; Bueno Franco, Manuel; Ferrer Gracia, Elisa; Ipiéns Sarrate, José Ramón; Muñoz Nadal, Pilar; Plumed Parrilla, Manuela; Vilches Urrutia, Begoña

    2016-11-01

    Networks of community health experiences promote interaction and knowledge management in health promotion among their participants. These networks integrate both professionals and social agents who work directly on the ground in small environments, with defined objectives and inclusion criteria and voluntary participation. In this article, networks in Aragon (Spain) are reviewed in order to analyse their role as an information system. The Health Promotion Projects Network of Aragon (Red Aragonesa de Proyectos de Promoción de la Salud, RAPPS) was launched in 1996 and currently includes 73 projects. The average duration of projects is 12.7 years. RAPPS interdisciplinary teams involve 701 people, of which 89.6% are professionals and 10.6% are social agents. The Aragon Health Promoting Schools Network (Red Aragonesa de Escuelas Promotoras de Salud, RAEPS) integrates 134 schools (24.9% of Aragon). The schools teams involve 829 teachers and members of the school community, students (35.2%), families (26.2%) and primary care health professionals (9.8%). Experiences Networks boost citizen participation, have an influence in changing social determinants and contribute to the formulation of plans and regional strategies. Networks can provide indicators for a health promotion information and monitoring system on: capacity building services in the territory, identifying assets and models of good practice, cross-sectoral and equity initiatives. Experiences Networks represent an opportunity to create a health promotion information system, systematising available information and establishing quality criteria for initiatives. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  17. Health promotion and disease prevention: a look at demand management programs.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fronstin, P

    1996-09-01

    This Issue Brief describes employers' efforts to contain health expenditures through demand management programs. These programs are designed to reduce utilization by focusing on disease prevention and health promotion. Demand management includes work site health promotion, wellness programs, and access management. Work site health promotion is a comprehensive approach to improving health and includes awareness, health education, behavioral change, and organizational health initiatives. Wellness programs usually include stress management, smoking cessation, weight management, back care, health screenings, nutrition education, work place safety, prenatal and well baby care, CPR and first aid classes, and employee assistance programs (EAPs). These programs are often viewed positively by workers and can have long-term benefits for employers above and beyond health care cost containment. Demand management can benefit employers by increasing productivity, employee retention, and employee morale and by reducing turnover, absenteeism, future medical claims, and ultimately expenditures on health care. Even though a growing number of employers are offering wellness programs, only 37 percent of full-time workers employed in medium and large private establishments were eligible for wellness programs by 1993. However, a recent survey found that 88 percent of major employers have introduced some form of health promotion, disease prevention, or early intervention initiative to encourage healthy lifestyles among their salaried employees. Distinctions must be drawn between short- and long-term strategies. Demand management can be thought of as a short-term strategy when the focus of the program is on creating more appropriate and efficient health care utilization. Disease prevention is characterized by longer-term health improvement objectives. Whether the purpose is to reduce utilization in the short term or in the long term, the ultimate goal remains the same: to reduce health

  18. Improving employee well-being through worksite health promotion? The employees' perspective

    OpenAIRE

    Nöhammer , Elisabeth; Stummer , Harald; Schusterschitz , Claudia

    2010-01-01

    Abstract Aim The aim of the present study was to investigate the potential of worksite health promotion to improve individual well-being from the employees? perspective, analyze benefit categories and develop suggestions for future worksite health promotion program designs. Subjects and methods A questionnaire based on a qualitative study was distributed in four Austrian organizations to cover state-owned,...

  19. Would you tell everyone this? Facebook conversations as health promotion interventions.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Syred, Jonathan; Naidoo, Carla; Woodhall, Sarah C; Baraitser, Paula

    2014-04-11

    Health promotion interventions on social networking sites can communicate individually tailored content to a large audience. User-generated content helps to maximize engagement, but health promotion websites have had variable success in supporting user engagement. The aim of our study was to examine which elements of moderator and participant behavior stimulated and maintained interaction with a sexual health promotion site on Facebook. We examined the pattern and content of posts on a Facebook page. Google analytics was used to describe the number of people using the page and viewing patterns. A qualitative, thematic approach was used to analyze content. During the study period (January 18, 2010, to June 27, 2010), 576 users interacted 888 times with the site through 508 posts and 380 comments with 93% of content generated by users. The user-generated conversation continued while new participants were driven to the site by advertising, but interaction with the site ceased rapidly after the advertising stopped. Conversations covered key issues on chlamydia and chlamydia testing. Users endorsed testing, celebrated their negative results, and modified and questioned key messages. There was variation in user approach to the site from sharing of personal experience and requesting help to joking about sexually transmitted infection. The moderator voice was reactive, unengaged, tolerant, simplistic, and was professional in tone. There was no change in the moderator approach throughout the period studied. Our findings suggest this health promotion site provided a space for single user posts but not a self-sustaining conversation. Possible explanations for this include little new content from the moderator, a definition of content too narrow to hold the interest of participants, and limited responsiveness to user needs. Implications for health promotion practice include the need to consider a life cycle approach to online community development for health promotion and the

  20. Predictors of Health Promotion Behavior of female Students of Azad Islamic University, Kazerun Branch: Role of Social Support and Health Literacy

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Soheyla Ziaee

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available Background and objective: Health promoting behaviors and life style at the young age is regarded as very important issues. The purpose of the present study is to investigate the relationship between social support and health literacy whit health promoting behaviors among female students in Islamic Azad University, in Kazerun, Iran. Methods: In this descriptive-analytic study, 200 female Azad University students were selected as the sample using random cluster sampling. The required data were collected using the Sarason's Social Support Questionnaire, Health Literacy Questionnaire devised by Montazeri et al., and Walker's Promoting Behaviors Questionnaire.  The data were analyzed using SPSS software (version 22, Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis. Results: Health promoting behaviors and health literacy scores in students were 74.32 and 76.68, respectively. The average for individuals in the students’ social support network was 3.8 ± 1.9 and the mean score of their satisfaction from their own social network was 4.9 ± 1.5. The results obtained from regression analysis showed that health literacy comprised 22.2% of health promoting behaviors while social support demonstrated 17.8% of these behaviors. Conclusion: Though health literacy and health promoting behaviors have been in a desirable condition for students, it seems necessary to carry out health education programs on the basis of the areas of health promoting behaviors and health literacy components as well as assisting students to improve social networking and to moderate their expectations with respect to this network. Paper Type: Research Article.

  1. The barriers and challenges to Health Promotion in Africa ...

    African Journals Online (AJOL)

    Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over and to improve their health so as to reach a state of complete physical, mental and social well being. The World Health Organisation which was created in 1948, where some 190 countries exchange their knowledge and experience with the aim of ...

  2. Promoting healthy computer use among middle school students: a pilot school-based health promotion program.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ciccarelli, Marina; Portsmouth, Linda; Harris, Courtenay; Jacobs, Karen

    2012-01-01

    Introduction of notebook computers in many schools has become integral to learning. This has increased students' screen-based exposure and the potential risks to physical and visual health. Unhealthy computing behaviours include frequent and long durations of exposure; awkward postures due to inappropriate furniture and workstation layout, and ignoring computer-related discomfort. Describe the framework for a planned school-based health promotion program to encourage healthy computing behaviours among middle school students. This planned program uses a community- based participatory research approach. Students in Year 7 in 2011 at a co-educational middle school, their parents, and teachers have been recruited. Baseline data was collected on students' knowledge of computer ergonomics, current notebook exposure, and attitudes towards healthy computing behaviours; and teachers' and self-perceived competence to promote healthy notebook use among students, and what education they wanted. The health promotion program is being developed by an inter-professional team in collaboration with students, teachers and parents to embed concepts of ergonomics education in relevant school activities and school culture. End of year changes in reported and observed student computing behaviours will be used to determine the effectiveness of the program. Building a body of evidence regarding physical health benefits to students from this school-based ergonomics program can guide policy development on the healthy use of computers within children's educational environments.

  3. Tailored Educational Approaches for Consumer Health: A Model to Address Health Promotion in an Era of Personalized Medicine.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cohn, Wendy F; Lyman, Jason; Broshek, Donna K; Guterbock, Thomas M; Hartman, David; Kinzie, Mable; Mick, David; Pannone, Aaron; Sturz, Vanessa; Schubart, Jane; Garson, Arthur T

    2018-01-01

    To develop a model, based on market segmentation, to improve the quality and efficiency of health promotion materials and programs. Market segmentation to create segments (groups) based on a cross-sectional questionnaire measuring individual characteristics and preferences for health information. Educational and delivery recommendations developed for each group. General population of adults in Virginia. Random sample of 1201 Virginia residents. Respondents are representative of the general population with the exception of older age. Multiple factors known to impact health promotion including health status, health system utilization, health literacy, Internet use, learning styles, and preferences. Cluster analysis and discriminate analysis to create and validate segments. Common sized means to compare factors across segments. Developed educational and delivery recommendations matched to the 8 distinct segments. For example, the "health challenged and hard to reach" are older, lower literacy, and not likely to seek out health information. Their educational and delivery recommendations include a sixth-grade reading level, delivery through a provider, and using a "push" strategy. This model addresses a need to improve the efficiency and quality of health promotion efforts in an era of personalized medicine. It demonstrates that there are distinct groups with clearly defined educational and delivery recommendations. Health promotion professionals can consider Tailored Educational Approaches for Consumer Health to develop and deliver tailored materials to encourage behavior change.

  4. Health Promotion for Adolescent Childhood Leukemia Survivors: Building on Prevention Science and eHealth

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elliot, Diane L.; Lindemulder, Susan J.; Goldberg, Linn; Stadler, Diane D.; Smith, Jennifer

    2014-01-01

    Teenage survivors of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) have increased morbidity likely due to their prior multicomponent treatment. Habits established in adolescence can impact individuals’ subsequent adult behaviors. Accordingly, healthy lifestyles, avoiding harmful actions, and appropriate disease surveillance are of heightened importance among teenage survivors. We review the findings from prevention science and their relevance to heath promotion. The capabilities and current uses of eHealth components including e-learning, serious video games, exergaming, behavior tracking, individual messaging, and social networking are briefly presented. The health promotion needs of adolescent survivors are aligned with those eHealth aspects to propose a new paradigm to enhance the wellbeing of adolescent ALL survivors. PMID:23109253

  5. Local enactments of national health promotion policies

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wimmelmann, Camilla Lawaetz

    2017-01-01

    organisational levels. Visiting, observing and interviewing 15 policy workers from 10 municipalities during a two-year period, this study investigated what happened to a Danish national health promotion policy as it was put into practice and managed in the Danish municipalities. The analysis reveals...... the concrete enactments and their locally experienced effects, our understanding of national public health policies risks becoming detached from praxis and unproductive. Public health policy-makers must pay methodological and analytical attention to the policies' multimodality and their concrete locally......Governments of welfare states are firmly committed to public health, resulting in a substantial number of public health policies. Given the multi-level structure of most welfare systems, the influence of a public health policy is related to its ability to spread geographically and move across...

  6. Challenges to promoting health for amateur athletes through anti-doping policy.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Henning, April

    2017-01-01

    Anti-doping regulations are intended, at least in part, to promote the health of athletes. While most anti-doping efforts target elite and professional competitors, there have been recent moves by sport governing bodies to expand anti-doping testing to include amateur athletes. Drawing on previous critiques of anti-doping policies and illustrating cases, this article outlines five of the challenges to health promotion of applying the current detect and ban model to the amateur level of sport. I argue that the current approach is not effective and, in some ways, may undermine the goal of health promotion at the amateur level. In order to address these challenges, I propose alternative, health-centred strategies that focus on athlete empowerment and choice through critical awareness of a variety of substances, associated risks and rewards, and the role of expertise in decision-making.

  7. Black Families' Lay Views on Health and the Implications for Health Promotion: A Community-Based Study in the UK

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ochieng, Bertha

    2012-01-01

    Many studies focusing on beliefs about health and health promotion have paid little attention to the life experiences of Black and other visible minority ethnic families in western societies. This paper is a report of a study exploring Black families' beliefs about health and the implications of such beliefs for health promotion. Ten Black…

  8. Gene activation regresses atherosclerosis, promotes health, and enhances longevity

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Luoma Pauli V

    2010-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background Lifestyle factors and pharmacological compounds activate genetic mechanisms that influence the development of atherosclerotic and other diseases. This article reviews studies on natural and pharmacological gene activation that promotes health and enhances longevity. Results Living habits including healthy diet and regular physical activity, and pharmacotherapy, upregulate genes encoding enzymes and apolipoprotein and ATP-binding cassette transporters, acting in metabolic processes that promote health and increase survival. Cytochrome P450-enzymes, physiological factors in maintaining cholesterol homeostasis, generate oxysterols for the elimination of surplus cholesterol. Hepatic CTP:phosphocholine cytidylyltransferase-α is an important regulator of plasma HDL-C level. Gene-activators produce plasma lipoprotein profile, high HDL-C, HDL2-C and HDL-C/cholesterol ratio, which is typical of low risk of atherosclerotic disease, and also of exceptional longevity together with reduced prevalence of cardiovascular, metabolic and other diseases. High HDL contributes to protection against inflammation, oxidation and thrombosis, and associates with good cognitive function in very old people. Avoiding unhealthy stress and managing it properly promotes health and increases life expectancy. Conclusions Healthy living habits and gene-activating xenobiotics upregulate mechanisms that produce lipoprotein pattern typical of very old people and enhance longevity. Lipoprotein metabolism and large HDL2 associate with the process of living a very long life. Major future goals for health promotion are the improving of commitment to both wise lifestyle choices and drug therapy, and further the developing of new and more effective and well tolerated drugs and treatments.

  9. The common risk factor approach: a rational basis for promoting oral health.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sheiham, A; Watt, R G

    2000-12-01

    Conventional oral health education is not effective nor efficient. Many oral health programmes are developed and implemented in isolation from other health programmes. This often leads, at best to a duplication of effort, or worse, conflicting messages being delivered to the public. In addition, oral health programmes tend to concentrate on individual behaviour change and largely ignore the influence of socio-political factors as the key determinants of health. Based upon the general principles of health promotion this paper presents a rationale for an alternative approach for oral health policy. The common risk factor approach addresses risk factors common to many chronic conditions within the context of the wider socio-environmental milieu. Oral health is determined by diet, hygiene, smoking, alcohol use, stress and trauma. As these causes are common to a number of other chronic diseases, adopting a collaborative approach is more rational than one that is disease specific. The common risk factor approach can be implemented in a variety of ways. Food policy development and the Health Promoting Schools initiative are used as examples of effective ways of promoting oral health.

  10. Integrating Weight Bias Awareness and Mental Health Promotion Into Obesity Prevention Delivery: A Public Health Pilot Study

    OpenAIRE

    McVey, Gail L.; Walker, Kathryn S.; Beyers, Joanne; Harrison, Heather L.; Simkins, Sari W.; Russell-Mayhew, Shelly

    2013-01-01

    Introduction Promoting healthy weight is a top priority in Canada. Recent federal guidelines call for sustained, multisectoral partnerships that address childhood obesity on multiple levels. Current healthy weight messaging does not fully acknowledge the influence of social determinants of health on weight. Methods An interactive workshop was developed and implemented by a team of academic researchers and health promoters from the psychology and public health disciplines to raise awareness ab...

  11. A systematic examination of the use of Online social networking sites for sexual health promotion

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Hellard Margaret E

    2011-07-01

    Full Text Available Abstract Background In recent years social networking sites (SNSs have grown rapidly in popularity. The popularity of these sites, along with their interactive functions, offer a novel environment in which to deliver health promotion messages. The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which SNSs are currently being used for sexual health promotion and describe the breadth of these activities. Methods We conducted a systematic search of published scientific literature, electronic sources (general and scientific search engines, blogs and SNSs (Facebook, MySpace to identify existing sexual health promotion activities using SNSs. Health promotion activities were eligible for inclusion if they related to sexual health or behaviour, utilised one or more SNSs, and involved some element of health promotion. Information regarding the source and type of health promotion activity, target population and site activity were extracted. Results 178 sexual health promotion activities met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review; only one activity was identified through a traditional systematic search of the published scientific literature. Activities most commonly used one SNS, were conducted by not-for-profit organisations, targeted young people and involved information delivery. Facebook was the most commonly used SNS (used by 71% of all health promotion activities identified, followed by MySpace and Twitter. Seventy nine percent of activities on MySpace were considered inactive as there had been no online posts within the past month, compared to 22% of activities using Facebook and 14% of activities using Twitter. The number of end-users and posts in the last seven days varied greatly between health promotion activities. Conclusions SNSs are being used for sexual health promotion, although the extent to which they are utilised varies greatly, and the vast majority of activities are unreported in the scientific literature. Future studies

  12. A systematic examination of the use of Online social networking sites for sexual health promotion

    Science.gov (United States)

    2011-01-01

    Background In recent years social networking sites (SNSs) have grown rapidly in popularity. The popularity of these sites, along with their interactive functions, offer a novel environment in which to deliver health promotion messages. The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which SNSs are currently being used for sexual health promotion and describe the breadth of these activities. Methods We conducted a systematic search of published scientific literature, electronic sources (general and scientific search engines, blogs) and SNSs (Facebook, MySpace) to identify existing sexual health promotion activities using SNSs. Health promotion activities were eligible for inclusion if they related to sexual health or behaviour, utilised one or more SNSs, and involved some element of health promotion. Information regarding the source and type of health promotion activity, target population and site activity were extracted. Results 178 sexual health promotion activities met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review; only one activity was identified through a traditional systematic search of the published scientific literature. Activities most commonly used one SNS, were conducted by not-for-profit organisations, targeted young people and involved information delivery. Facebook was the most commonly used SNS (used by 71% of all health promotion activities identified), followed by MySpace and Twitter. Seventy nine percent of activities on MySpace were considered inactive as there had been no online posts within the past month, compared to 22% of activities using Facebook and 14% of activities using Twitter. The number of end-users and posts in the last seven days varied greatly between health promotion activities. Conclusions SNSs are being used for sexual health promotion, although the extent to which they are utilised varies greatly, and the vast majority of activities are unreported in the scientific literature. Future studies should examine the key

  13. A systematic examination of the use of online social networking sites for sexual health promotion.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gold, Judy; Pedrana, Alisa E; Sacks-Davis, Rachel; Hellard, Margaret E; Chang, Shanton; Howard, Steve; Keogh, Louise; Hocking, Jane S; Stoove, Mark A

    2011-07-21

    In recent years social networking sites (SNSs) have grown rapidly in popularity. The popularity of these sites, along with their interactive functions, offer a novel environment in which to deliver health promotion messages. The aim of this paper is to examine the extent to which SNSs are currently being used for sexual health promotion and describe the breadth of these activities. We conducted a systematic search of published scientific literature, electronic sources (general and scientific search engines, blogs) and SNSs (Facebook, MySpace) to identify existing sexual health promotion activities using SNSs. Health promotion activities were eligible for inclusion if they related to sexual health or behaviour, utilised one or more SNSs, and involved some element of health promotion. Information regarding the source and type of health promotion activity, target population and site activity were extracted. 178 sexual health promotion activities met the inclusion criteria and were included in the review; only one activity was identified through a traditional systematic search of the published scientific literature. Activities most commonly used one SNS, were conducted by not-for-profit organisations, targeted young people and involved information delivery. Facebook was the most commonly used SNS (used by 71% of all health promotion activities identified), followed by MySpace and Twitter. Seventy nine percent of activities on MySpace were considered inactive as there had been no online posts within the past month, compared to 22% of activities using Facebook and 14% of activities using Twitter. The number of end-users and posts in the last seven days varied greatly between health promotion activities. SNSs are being used for sexual health promotion, although the extent to which they are utilised varies greatly, and the vast majority of activities are unreported in the scientific literature. Future studies should examine the key factors for success among those

  14. [A good investment: promoting health in cities and neighbourhoods].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Díez, Elia; Aviñó, Dory; Paredes-Carbonell, Joan J; Segura, Javier; Suárez, Óscar; Gerez, Maria Dolores; Pérez, Anna; Daban, Ferran; Camprubí, Lluís

    2016-11-01

    Local administration is responsible for health-related areas, and evidence of the health impact of urban policies is available. Barriers and recommendations for the full implementation of health promotion in cities and neighbourhoods have been described. The barriers to the promotion of urban health are broad: the lack of leadership and political will, reflectes the allocation of health outcomes to health services, as well as technical, political and public misconceptions about the root causes of health and wellbeing. Ideologies and prejudices, non-evidence-based policies, narrow sectoral cultures, short political periods, lack of population-based health information and few opportunities for participation limit the opportunities for urban health. Local policies on early childhood, healthy schools, employment, active transport, parks, leisure and community services, housing, urban planning, food protection and environmental health have great positive impacts on health. Key tools include the political prioritisation of health and equity, the commitment to «Health in All Policies» and the participation of communities, social movements and civil society. This requires well organised and funded structures and processes, as well as equity-based health information and capacity building in the health sector, other sectors and society. We conclude that local policies have a great potential for maximising health and equity and equity. The recommendations for carrying them out are increasingly solid and feasible. Copyright © 2016 SESPAS. Publicado por Elsevier España, S.L.U. All rights reserved.

  15. Nurses' health promoting lifestyle behaviors in a community hospital.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kurnat-Thoma, Emma; El-Banna, Majeda; Oakcrum, Monica; Tyroler, Jill

    2017-06-01

    To examine nurses' health-promoting lifestyle behaviors, describe their self-reported engagement in employee wellness program benefit options, and explore relationships between nurse demographic factors, health characteristics and lifestyle behaviors. Nurses adopting unhealthy lifestyle behaviors are at significantly higher risk for developing a number of chronic diseases and are at increased susceptibility to exhaustion, job dissatisfaction and turnover. Strengthening professional nurses' abilities to engage in healthy lifestyle behaviors could serve as a valuable tool in combating negative workplace stress, promote improved work-life balance and personal well-being, and help retain qualified health-care providers. In a 187-bed community hospital in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area, we conducted an IRB-approved exploratory descriptive study. We examined 127 nurses' demographic characteristics, self-reported employer wellness program use, and measured their healthy lifestyle behaviors using the 52-item Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile-II (HPLP-II) survey instrument. Nurse demographic and HPLP-II scores were analyzed in SPSS v20.0. Inferential univariate statistical testing examined relationships between nurse demographic factors, health and job characteristics, and HPLP-II score outcomes. Nurses over 40years old were more likely to report participation in hospital wellness program options. Statistically significant age differences were identified in total HPLP-II score (p=0.005), and two subscale scores-spiritual growth (p=0.002) and interpersonal relations (p=0.000). Post-hoc testing identified nurse participants 40-49years old and ≥50years old experienced slightly lower total HPLP-II score, subscale scores in comparison to younger colleagues. Nurses ≥40years old may benefit from additional employer support and guidance to promote and maintain healthy lifestyles, personal well-being, and positive interpersonal relationships. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier

  16. Health promotion and schizophrenia: the year 2000 and beyond.

    Science.gov (United States)

    O'Brien, S M

    1998-01-01

    The health promotion needs of persons with schizophrenia have not been emphasized as a result of historical stigma, the effort required to stabilize symptoms, the relapsing nature of the disease, and the helplessness felt by caregivers. Family members and individuals with schizophrenia experience shame, grief, guilt, fear, and isolation, all of which render them less able to be proactive. Health promotion strategies that change attitudes, build self-esteem, increase insight into the illness, modify behavior, provide sources of income and access to medical care, and support companionship are necessary while research efforts seek a cure for this historically misunderstood illness.

  17. Health promotion in the workplace: a systematic review of the literature

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    André Francisco Silva Carvalho

    2012-03-01

    Full Text Available Objective: To recognize the current trends in the implementation of health promotionprograms in workplaces, according to the literature, investigating whether these programsfollow the recommendations of the World Health Organization. Methods: A systematicreview of the literature was undertaken seeking theoretical or practical issues relatedto health promotion in workplaces, using the following descriptors: health promotion,workplace, working environment, work, smoking, tobacco use cessation, alcoholism, feeding,motor activity, counseling, health profile, routine diagnostic tests, health status indicators,indicators, preventive medicine, transtheoretical model, triage e absenteeism. Articles inPortuguese, English and Spanish, from 2000 to 2009 and from PUBMED, BIREME andSCIELO databases were included in the study. Results: The 95 selected articles wereclassified according to the studied topics and the main focus of their interventions. Theoverall results of this analysis show the importance of proper planning, evaluation of resultsto correct any failure of execution and of mixing individual and organizational interventionsto optimize results. Conclusions: Scientific publications dealing with actions of HealthPromotion at workplace are found in good number, comprising the major theoretical andpractical aspects related to their implementation. Nevertheless, few studies are carried out byteams of Occupational Health and health managers of companies, with great predominanceof essays performed by professionals involved in the academic area.

  18. The effect of education of health-promoting behaviors on lifestyle in hemodialysis patients

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Seyed Reza Borzou

    2016-06-01

    Full Text Available Today improve lifestyle and health promotion is a basic requirement for human society and the need for more tangible factor in the increase in chronic diseases such as chronic kidney disease and hemodialysis process is followed. As life expectancy increases, due to the importance of promoting behavior change. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of health promoting behaviors was on the lifestyle of patients undergoing hemodialysis. In this study, 70 patients undergoing hemodialysis training centers - medical Hamadan were selected. That is because Hamedan only two dialysis centers, randomly one of them was selected as a test group and a control group. Of the patients referred to the center for sampling in each group 35 patients were studied. For groups of six 30-minute sessions on an individual basis during hemodialysis, held over three weeks in a row. Data analysis using descriptive statistics and statistical tests of Kolmogorov - Smirnov, T and T were analyzed with SPSS version 16. In the experimental group, health-promoting lifestyle scores before and after intervention showed significant statistical differences (001 / 0 < p. The mean scores of health-promoting lifestyle intervention and control groups after the intervention, there was a significant difference (p<0.05. Teaching with an emphasis on health-promoting behaviors, hemodialysis patients was improved lifestyle. Develop and implement training programs to improve lifestyle behaviors and health promoting effective step is hemodialysis patients.

  19. Labonté Identifies Key Issues for Health Promoters in the New World Order Comment on "Health Promotion in an Age of Normative Equity and Rampant Inequality".

    Science.gov (United States)

    Raphael, Dennis Raphael

    2016-11-02

    For over 35 years Ronald Labonté has been critically analyzing the state of health promotion in Canada and the world. In 1981, he identified the shortcomings of the groundbreaking Lalonde Report by warning of the seductive appeal of so-called lifestyle approaches to health. Since then, he has left a trail of critical work identifying the barriers to - and opportunities for -health promotion work. More recently, he has shown how the rise of economic globalization and acceptance of neo-liberal ideology has come to threaten the health of those in both developed and developing nations. In his recent commentary, Labonté shows how the United Nations' 2015 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) can offer a new direction for health promoters in these difficult times. © 2017 The Author(s); Published by Kerman University of Medical Sciences. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

  20. Strategies for health promotion: facing the challenge in South Africa.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Temple, Norman J

    2007-01-01

    Many health promotion intervention studies have been conducted with the goal of encouraging people to change their lifestyles. These include interventions in the community, at worksites, in a medical setting, and on patients at high risk of disease. These interventions have had, in general, a limited impact (eg, risk of heart disease is lowered by 5%-15%). These interventions were carried out in developed countries, and little is known as to their effectiveness in developing countries such as South Africa. Numerous barriers impede the success of health promotion interventions, including the cost of healthy food, advertising for unhealthy food, and food labels that are confusing. Policy measures are proposed, including government interventions using taxes and subsidies so as to manipulate prices and bring about desirable changes in eating patterns and other aspects of lifestyle. A new type of healthcare professional is suggested with a specialization in health promotion.