HEALTH PROMOTION

Does the Ottawa charter still have relevance for health promotion today?

Does the Ottawa charter still have relevance for health promotion today?

Introduction

Health promotion is concerned with providing people with the techniques, support networks and information in order to enable them to make positive changes to their health. As a health strategy it is essentially predicated on the assumptions of Humanistic philosophy (influenced in particular by Maslow's hierarchy of needs approach, as well as Carl Rogers' notion of the development of a self-concept). This is a philosophy which argues that, given the correct social environment, social networks, and the requisite knowledge, individuals possess both the capacity and the human right to facilitate better health for themselves (Haber, 2003, pp. 121-28).

Discussion

The need for substantial changes in population health is necessary due to the existence and persistence of health inequalities both on a national or global scale. As Jong-wook, Director-General of the World Health Organization (2003: 2083) has commented, 'Inequalities scar the world's health landscape.' Far too many people have their lives shortened or their well-being compromised by unnecessary poor health. There is nothing “natural” or unavoidable about such inequalities existing, they result from social, historical and cultural conditions (see Social inequalities in health). Health promotion is frequently presented as a strategy that could help to reverse unequal health outcomes. This entry on health promotion therefore outlines the main ideas behind health promotion in addition to identifying some formidable challenges that health promotion encounters.

The strategy of health promotion shares many of the tenets of the social model of health, in recognizing the multidimensional nature of health for a given population. This commitment to a rounded and holistic conception of health is evident in the Ottawa Charter (WHO, 1986), a key health promotion document that has influenced policy on a global and national level. The central approaches the charter envisages for realizing the aims of health promotion are as follows (WHO, 1986:2-3):

That all policy, and not just specific health policies, should take issues of health into account and be focused on promoting good health.

To build supportive and cohesive networks between and with communities as good health emerges out of such relationships.

To allow communities to have a greater say and greater control in what affects them.

To support the development of personal life skills in order to enhance an individual's capacity to make decisions that are good for their health.

To move the emphasis of health services away from treating the ill and the sick to creating and maintaining a healthy society.

To create an equal society that allows everyone to realize their potential and in doing so become healthier (Maville & Huerta, 2008, pp. 198-206).

Ottawa Charter

The Ottawa Charter also outlines three concepts by which effective health promotion should work. The first is advocacy, which requires health promotion to push and highlight the need for health in all areas of life. The next is enablement, which calls for the creation of the circumstances for all people (regardless of class, gender or ethnicity) to have as much control over their lives as ...