PROMOTING COMMUNITY

HEALTH

Health Promotion ‘the process of enabling people to increase control

over, and to improve their health’ (WHO,1986)’. ‘Health promotion represents a comprehensive

social and political process, it not only embraces actions directed at strengthening the skills and capabilities of individuals, but also action directed towards changing social, environmental and economic conditions so as to alleviate their impact on public and individual health. Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over the determinants of health and thereby improve their health (WHO 1998)’.

Priority action areas

Health promotion

Build healthy public policy

Create supportive

environments

Strengthen community

action Develop

personal skills

Re-orient health services

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1.Build healthy public policy

policy action must come from policy sectors other than health but the health sector would play a role in public policy action. how?

Healthy public policy requires the coordinated use of all policy levers available, including ‘legislation, fiscal measures, taxation, and organizational change.

Healthy public policy requires the identification and removal of obstacles to the adoption of healthy public policies in non-health sectors

National policies

National health policy for food and drugsNational health policy for protection of

water and environmentNational health policy for health care and

health insurance.National health policy for social

insurance, equity and social justice.National policy for socio-economic

development.National policy for health promotionNational policy for ……etc.

2.Create supportive environments

Both the natural and built environments are inextricably linked with people's health.

It involves creating conditions that allow people to have ‘living and working conditions that are safe, stimulating, satisfying, and enjoyable.

both past endeavors and future prospects, one must take into account the lofty ambition of this programme of action (HIA, EIA)

Healthy environments healthy schools healthy cities

healthy life style healthy working environments

3.Strengthen community action

strengthening the capacity of people as active citizens through their community groups, organizations and networks to address and prioritize their problems, shape and determine change in their communities.

The foundational principles for community development are:

• Empowerment• Community competence• Participation• Issue selection• Creating ‘critical consciousness’

Examples for community actions

ToT for community health workers (CHWs)

Community health committees Training of community health promoter (CHPs)

Mobilizing communities (ACSM)

4.Develop personal skills

Supporting personal and social development through providing information, education for health, and enhancing life skills.

while we must be vigilant against the temptation and limitations of an individually focused, skills development approach, we must also re-engage with the most advanced and progressive elements in this area of work.

Testicular Self-ExaminationBreast Self-Examination

Digital measuring for blood pressure

5.Re-orient health services

universal access to health services (universality) and the removal of barriers to access such as, geographic, social, economic, or cultural (accessibility);

It demands community participation in planning, operation, and evaluation of health services (participation);

It requires integration across health and other sectors such as housing, education, and employment;

5.Re-orient health services(cont.)

It recognizes the power of multi-disciplinary teams working as equal partners for the health of the community;

It focuses on a range of services, determined by the community, that include health promotion, primary prevention, rehabilitative, and curative (essentiality); and,

It demands a commitment to equity concerning issues of power and resources (equity and access

3 delays model