What is Health Promotion?

Health Promotion can be considered as the combination of educational, organizational, economic and environmental supports for behaviour conducive to health

Health Promotion is the process of enabling individuals and communities to increase control over the determinants of health and thereby improve their health. Health promotion represents a mediating strategy between people and their environment, combining personal choice and social responsibility for health to create a healthier future (WHO 1984)
It is directed to the underlying determinants as well as the immediate causes - the causes of the causes. (The determinants of health are not always under an individual's control and may be categorized as biological, environmental, lifestyle, and health care services - see Ashley and Allen, in Burt and Eklund)

What is Oral Health Promotion?

Oral health promotion can be defined as public health actions to protect or improve oral health and promote oral well-being through behavioural, educational and enabling socio-economic, legal, fiscal, environmental, and social measures.

Aubrey Sheiham, Professor of Dental Public Health, Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, has written in BLT, the Bulletin of the World Health Organization, on Oral health, general health and quality of life. To read the article go to the WHO Bulletin

Public Health Importance of Oral Diseases

• High prevalence
• Impact on individuals and society is great
• Pain, discomfort, functional limitation and handicap are common, they affect quality of life
• Financial cost to individual and the community is considerable. Dental diseases are more expensive to treat than heart diseases and cancers
• Preventable; simple and cheap public health methods should be available to prevent and control
• Causes are known - diet, dirt and cigarettes
• Easy to evaluate treatment
• Easy to detect
• Treatment relatively ineffective.

At the level of public policy, the influence of the WHO in the 1980s was substantial. The publication of the Declaration of Alma Ata (WHO 1978) and the subsequent development of the WHO strategy of 'Health for all by the year 2000' effectively set the agenda for the new public health.

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DECLARATION OF ALMA ATA - WHO 1978

1. Equitable distribution. Governments must endeavour to distribute equitably those variables which influence health
2. Community participation. Individuals and communities should participate in all decisions which affect their health
3. Focus on prevention. The focus of health planners and funding must shift from medical/dental care to prevention and health promotion
4. Appropriate technology. Emphasis should be on the most appropriate technology and personnel to deal with problems
5. A multi-sectoral approach. Solutions to ill-health cannot be solved only by the health sector. Social, economic, agriculture, and education sectors must co-ordinate policies that affect health

THE OTTAWA CHARTER - WHO 1986

1. Promoting health through public policy: By focusing attention on the impact on health of public policies from all sectors, and not just the health sector
2. Creating a supportive environment: By assessing the impact on health of the environment and clarifying opportunities to make changes conducive to health
3. Developing personal skills: By moving beyond the transmission of information, to promote understanding, and to support the development of personal, social and political skills which enable individuals to take action to promote health
4. Strengthening community action: By supporting concrete and effective community action in defining priorities, making decisions, planning strategies, and implementing them to achieve better health
5. Reorienting health services: By refocusing attention away from the responsibility to provide curative and clinical services towards the goal of health gain

THE JAKARTA DECLARATION - WHO 1997

1. To promote social responsibility for health
2. To increase investments for health development
3. To consolidate and expand 'partnerships for health'
4. To increase community capacity and 'empower' the individual in matters of health
5. To secure an infrastructure for health promotion

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THE BANGKOK CHARTER - WHO 2005

The four key commitments are to make the promotion of health:

1. central to the global development agenda
2. a core responsibility for all of government
3. a key focus of communities and civil society
4. a requirement for good corporate practice.

The WHO webpage on the Bangkok Charter is more comprehensive. The full document is available as a PDF HERE

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National Health Promotion Strategy for Ireland 2000-2005

2000-2005

Five key points

1. Determinants of Health

• examined in detail
• factors outside of the Health sector such as poverty, environment, housing, education etc. that influence health need to be addressed in partnership.

2. SLÁN Data

• data now available by age, sex, social class etc.
• we can now focus campaigns on key target audiences
• need to repeat SLÁN regularly

3. Health Proofing

• all policy will now be "health proofed" to examine health impact

4. Need for greater multi-sectoral action

• Establishment of Health Promotion Forum
• widely representative of all main stakeholders

5. Strategic Five Year Plan

• Topics (Smoking, Alcohol, etc.)
• Settings (Schools, Workplace, Community, etc.)
• Population Groups (Young people, men etc.)
• Aims and Objectives set under each heading.

You can download The National Health Promotion Strategy in PDF file format from here.

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