Health promotion strategies: A holistic approach in healthcare practice

Ottawa charter for health promotion

This was introduced at the first international conference on health promotion, which took place on November 21, 1986, in Ottawa. Its goal was to achieve health for all by the year 2000 and beyond.

This conference took place because of growing expectations for improved public health movement across the globe. The discussions mainly focused on the needs of developed countries but also considered similar concerns in other parts of the world.

When developing strategies for health promotion, it's important to think of critical factors such as holism and ecology. It’s also crucial to remember that in every step of planning, implementing and assessing health promotion activities, both men and women should be treated as equals. Here are basic strategies for health promotion:

1. Health communication

Conversations about health involve verbal and written techniques to convince and empower people, groups and society to make healthy choices. Effective health communication often uses the tools of social marketing through the following means:

• Using proven methods to create materials and products and finding ways to share them with people.
• Understanding the traditional ideas, language and priorities of different cultures and places.
• Thinking about how well people can understand health information, their access to the internet, what they see in the media and how familiar they are with different cultures.
• Making things like brochures, billboards, newspaper articles, TV shows, radio ads, public announcements, newsletters, pamphlets, videos, digital tools and other things to share health information.

Using different ways to communicate helps spread health messages to individuals, communities and institutions at both local and national levels. Radio, television, newspapers, flyers, brochures, the internet, social media and more can all be used to share health messages. Health communication can be used to alert people about health risks, encourage healthy behaviours, influence social norms, increase availability of help and services and empower people to take charge of their health.

2. Health education

Health education is a social science approach that uses physical, medical and other sciences to promote health and prevent sickness. It can be taught by different means like lectures, courses, workshops, seminars, webinars and more. Here are some common features of health education strategy:

• Involving the target audience.
• Assessing what a community needs by looking at its abilities, resources, priorities and wishes.
• Planning activities that help people learn more and build their skills.
• Using lessons and materials that are easy for people to access.
• Sharing information through different channels like videos, websites and software.
• Training staff to make sure they adhere to the programme.

3. Policy improvement

Policies are a way to promote and support health and prevent diseases. These are set out by organisations and stakeholders and implemented through legislative advocacy, economic measures, taxation and regulations. Here are some examples of health policies:

• Regulating where smoking is allowed.
• Incentivising food sellers to offer healthy choices to people.
• Taxing unhealthy foods.
• Making relevant staff use safety equipment at work.

4. Systems change

Systems change means an essential shift in the way issues are solved. In a business, it affects organisational intent and how it functions, as well as addressing organisational beliefs, culture, protocols, relationships and objectives.

• Examples of systems change in health promotion:
• Developing plans to use new strategies to help people stay healthy.
• Adapting or replicating health promotion models that have been tested and proven to work.
• Using innovative technology.
• Creating programmes for education, training, or certification that align with rules and policies.

5. Environmental change

Environment techniques to promote health involve social, environmental and fiscal aspects. Here are some examples:

• Increasing the number of parks, paths and trails in a community.
• Putting up signs that encourage people to walk or bike.
• Ensuring there is plenty of fresh and healthy food in schools, restaurants and cafeterias.

Why is a healthy society important?

Have you ever thought about how your neighbours, your gym, or even your phone can affect your health in a big way? The people around you and the society you live in can influence many aspects of your life. Keep reading to find out why it's good to live in a healthy society.