Health education and the ideology of health promotion: a review of alternative approaches

Abstract

This paper discusses various approaches to the definition of ‘health promotion’ and examines the role of the World Health Organization in its popularization. Health promotion is conceptualized as any deliberate intervention which seeks to promote health and prevent disease and disability. It incorporates ‘health education’ and gives prominence to the influence of legal, fiscal, economic and environmental measures on community health. Various ‘models’ of health education are explored and their contribution to health promotion is discussed. It is argued that ‘selfempowerment’ should be the main focus for health education programmes.