HEALTH PROMOTION AND HEALTH IMPROVEMENT PRACTICE

Health Promotion and Health Improvement practice

Course Work 1

Rational

In the '70s, in developed countries led to new proposals on health thinking and doing as a reflection of different factors, which include finding the limits of the hegemonic biomedical model, the pressure to perform cuts system costs of health care and social and political climate of appreciation of issues such as self-help and individual control over health (McNulty, 2004, p. 65-72). Among these proposals is the project of modern health promotion, defined initially as "the art and science of helping people to change the life habit of pointing to an optimum state of health." In support of this formulation, we find the following statements: Individuals have autonomy to make decisions and have attitudes that lead them to practice healthy lifestyles. Changes in attitudes can have a significant effect on health (McNulty, 2004, p. 65-72).

This approach will be expanded on health, paradoxically, denied within the many reports as to outline strategies for action, that document emphasizes the importance of the elements associated with the group "lifestyle" and, only secondarily, causes linked to other groups explanatory. Assuming that unhealthy practices are considered "self-imposed risk" and non-significant causes of health, the report affirms the need for a new agenda for intervention to achieve interfere on the habits of life, which is justified by the fact that, compared to any shortcomings of the health system, "people must accept individual responsibility for health, their unhealthy habits" (McNulty, 2004, p. 65-72).

Thus, under the coordination of the Departments of Health Promotion, initiate action on the lifestyles, emphasizing certain problem areas such as smoking, alcoholism, drugs and eating habits. The programs and activities to promote educational practices that privilege seek to alter the exposure to risks caused by "inappropriate behavior" of individuals. These strategies, central to the practice of Health Promotion have had positive effects on the adoption of healthy lifestyles of certain social groups (National Nursing Research Unit, 2009, p. 57-68).

However, taken together, have a limited impact on the lives of the population, which can be explained by the unilateral emphasis on the theme of the lifestyles and by shortcomings in its conceptual foundation (National Nursing Research Unit, 2009, p. 57-68). In the early '80s, writers such as Labonte and Penfold warned of the fact that the behaviourist perspective, to cover up the disease and the social structures that cause the non-health, could serve as shelter for the implementation of policies restrictive socially liberal in this process blaming the victims ( the Victims blaming ) by the inequality of the social system (National Nursing Research Unit, 2009, p. 57-68).

In the mid '80s, it became necessary to update the movement for the Promotion of Health to succeed in overcoming the theoretical and practical limits of current behaviourist. In a line of continuity with the ideals of Alma Ata, the project developed socio environmental Health Promotion called by some "New Health Promotion" (NHS London, 2010, p. 22-30).

A document pioneer in this approach was the "working document" ...