Health Promotion Theory

Health promotion aims to improve an individual’s health by educating them and considering their psychological, political, and social factors. The origin of health promotion dates back to 1986. This was when the first formal conference on health promotion was held. The World Health Organization established health promotion guidelines for global application. Further, health promotion involves the prevention of diseases by encouraging healthy choices and implementing policies that look into the general population’s health. This paper aims to discuss the difference between health education and promotion and further discuss community-based promotion programs.

Health Promotion versus Health Education

Health education is aimed at informing society about health. In contrast, health promotion aims to improve an individual’s health through education while considering psychological, cultural, social, and political factors. Health promotion was first introduced by the World Health Organization in 1986, while health education was introduced between 1914 and 1939. On the one hand, health promotion can include many aspects, such as developing policies, outreach programs, and developing educational materials. While on the other hand, health education involves lectures, courses, seminars, e.t.c.Governent policies are often crucial parts of health promotion, while health education does not form a specific part of government policies.

Healthy People 2030

The aim of the healthy people 2030 community-based program is to advance health and safety in community settings. The main aim is to create a healthy community. This is in the education system and the working environment as well. It emphasizes that one’s community plays a key role in their health and wellbeing (Jackson et al., 2021). Healthy people, 2030 is the fifth edition of health people. It is based on the lessons learned in the past four deceased. It was first introduced in 1979 by Surgeon General Julius Richmond. The report was a reduction of preventable deaths and injuries (National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2020).It involved a ten-year plan to ensure that national health promotion and disease prevention in the United States was achieved.

Health Promotion Theories and Models

There are various theories and models about health promotion and disease prevention. These theories aid in understanding health behavior. When selecting a theory or model in health promotion, it is crucial to consider the health problem and population. The health promotion theory that is applicable in healthy people 2030 is the social cognitive theory. This theory describes how the influence of individual experiences, their actions toward others, and environmental factors on individual health mannerisms. The social cognitive theory offers social support by instilling expectations, self-efficiency, and observational learning. (Beauchamp et al., 2019)

Health Disparity

Health disparity refers to preventable circumstances about health status based on social factors. Under healthy people 2030, health disparity is defined as a specific type of health difference related to individuals’ social, economic, and environmental disadvantages. These disparities mainly affect the groups of people who have experienced systemic obstacles in the health care system. These challenges are attributed to their race, belief system , mental health, geographical location, or any other aspect that makes them excluded from the health care system.

There is a health disparity involving discrimination against people living with HIV/AIDS. The Social Cognitive theory can address this disparity by implementing the development of healthy mannerisms in the community. In the healthy people 2030 program, this can be achieved by utilizing evidence-based resources focused on the strategies to improve the health of the individuals living with HIV/AIDS. This will address the public health issues among these populations by evaluating interventions such as access to anti-retroviral drugs, access to counseling services, and formulating multisector collaborations between different regions.

The social determinants are the conditions individuals are grow in from birth to development to employment and aging. One of these determinants is access to healthy food optional and diet. Considering that the social cognitive theory mainly focuses on giving guidance to behavior change, it can be implemented in determining how people relate to their environment. Considering that healthy people 2030 mainly focuses on promoting health and safety in various communities, it can address the community health mannerism such as drug and substance abuse, food, exercise, and social and economic factors. Therefore access to healthy food options can be implemented through healthy people 2030.

Conclusion

It is noteworthy that health promotion forms an integral part of engaging and empowering individuals and communities to ensure that they choose healthy habits. Further, to implement changes that reduce the risk of developing chronic disease. This can be achieved by formulating health programs such as Healthy people 2030 that address health issues such as disease prevention and mortality. Implementing health promotion theories and models such as social cognitive theories is also a road map to health promotion. Therefore with the policies implemented in the health promotion long-lasting policies, individuals and communities can lead healthier lives.

References

Beauchamp, M. R., Crawford, K. L., & Jackson, B. (2019). Social cognitive theory and physical activity: Mechanisms of behavior change, critique, and legacy. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 42, 110-117.

Jackson, D. N., Trivedi, N., & Baur, C. (2021). Re-prioritizing digital health and health literacy in healthy people 2030 to affect health equity. Health Communication, 36(10), 1155-1162.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. (2020). Criteria for selecting the leading health indicators for healthy people 2030.