The World Health Organization defines the process of health promotion as ‘enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health’.
Health promotion serves as a cornerstone of public health practice, encompassing a wide range of strategies aimed at empowering individuals and communities to take control of their health. It extends beyond merely preventing disease to actively fostering well-being and quality of life.
Rooted in the principles outlined in the 1986 Ottawa Charter, contemporary approaches to health promotion address broader determinants of health, including social, environmental, and economic factors.
This page contains learning resources that will help explore the historical context, current practice, and critical perspectives that shape health promotion in today's global landscape.
Gottwald, M., & Goodman-Brown, J. (2012). A Guide to Practical Health Promotion. McGraw-Hill Education. (Ch1: An introduction to why Health Promotion is Important)
Green, J., Cross, R., Woodall, J. and Tones, K. (2019) Health Promotion: Planning & Strategies. (4th Ed.) Sage Publications Ltd.
Mason, P. (2019). Health Behavior Change: A Guide for Practitioners (3rd Ed.). Elsevier.
Naidoo, J., & Wills, J. (2016). Foundations for Health Promotion (4th Ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences.
Raingruber, B. (2014). Contemporary health promotion in nursing practice, Jones & Bartlett (Ch 3: Health promotion theories.)
Scriven, A. (2017). Promoting Health: A Practical Guide (7th Ed.). Elsevier Health Sciences. [Ch 2: What is Health Promotion]
Thompson, S. R. (2014). The Essential Guide to Public Health and Health Promotion. Routledge.
Baum, F., & Fisher, M. (2014). Why behavioural health promotion endures despite its failure to reduce health inequities. Sociology of Health & Illness, 36(2), 213-225. DOI: 10.1111/1467-9566.12112
Bonell, C., Jamal, F., Melendez-Torres, G. J., & Cummins, S. (2015). “Dark logic”: Theorising the harmful consequences of public health interventions. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 69(1), 95–98. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2014-204671
Carter, S. M., Rychetnik, L., Lloyd, B., Kerridge, I. H., Baur, L., Bauman, A., ... & Zask, A. (2011). Evidence, ethics, and values: a framework for health promotion. American Journal of Public Health, 101(3), 465-472
Guttman, N. (2017). Ethical issues in health promotion and communication interventions. In Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Communication. DOI : 10.1093/acrefore/9780190228613.013.118
Kickbusch, I. (2003). The contribution of the World Health Organization to a new public health and health promotion. American Journal of Public Health, 93(3), 383-388.
Kickbusch, I. (2019). Health promotion 4.0. Health Promotion International, 34(2), 179. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daz022
Madsen, W. (2017). Early 20th century conceptualization of health promotion. Health Promotion International, 32(6), 1041-1047. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daw039
Mittelmark, M. B., & Bull, T. (2013). The salutogenic model of health in health promotion research. Global Health Promotion, 20(2), 30-38.
Mittelmark, M. B., Sagy, S., Eriksson, M., Bauer, G. F., Pelikan, J. M., Lindström, B., & Espnes, G. A. (2017). The handbook of salutogenesis. Springer. [open access]
Raingruber, B. (2017). The history of health promotion. In Contemporary Health Promotion in Nursing Practice, 23-47. http://samples.jbpub.com/9781284094749/Chapter_2.pdf
Tannahill, A. (2009). Health promotion: the Tannahill model revisited. Public Health, 123(5), 396-399. http://www.publichealthjrnl.com/article/S0033-3506(09)00059-6/abstract
Tengland, P. A. (2016). Behavior change or empowerment: On the ethics of health-promotion goals. Health Care Analysis, 24(1), 24-46. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10728-013-0265-0
Tountas, Y. (2009). The historical origins of the basic concepts of health promotion and education: the role of ancient Greek philosophy and medicine. Health Promotion International, 24(2), 185-192. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/dap006
Van den Broucke, S. Why health promotion matters to the COVID-19 pandemic, and vice versa. Health Promotion International. https://doi.org/10.1093/heapro/daaa042
Walls, H. L., & Bebe Loff PhD, L. L. B. (2009). Why Education and Choice Won't Solve the Obesity Problem. American Journal of Public Health, 99(4), 590. https://dx.doi.org/10.2105%2FAJPH.2008.156232
World Health Organisation - Health Promotion
The Community Toolbox - What is Health Promotion?
Health Equalities Group- http://www.hegroup.org.uk/about-heg/who-we-are
Institute of Health Promotion and Education -http://ihpe.org.uk
International Union for Health Promotion and Education- http://www.iuhpe.org/
Public Health Observatory -http://www.apho.org.uk/
The UK Public Health Network -http://www.ukpublichealthnetwork.org.uk/about-ukphn/
World Health Organisation - http://www.who.int/en
WHO Milestones in Health Promotion (2009)
WHO Global Health Observatory Data
WHO Global Programme on Health Promotion Effectiveness (GPHPE)
IUHPE - International Union for Health Promotion and Education
Global Health Promotion Case Studies - A Green et al (2019) resource
Theories of change in the promotion of health
CDC Everyday words for public health communication
Public Health Partners - A US site for collating & signposting to a range of public health
Roots of Health Inequity - A free interactive learning resource
Public Health England Homepage
UK PHE Wider Determinants of Health
The National Social Marketing Centre
Health economics: evidence review from PHE
Glasgow Centre for Population Health
Plymouth (Livewell) Health Promotion Resources