The ideology underpinning health promotion is far from new. In essence, it stipulates that an ounce of prevention is well worth a pound of cure. But implementing this concept and using it to shape the creation of public policy that works is more challenging than many might suppose. In this article, we’ll examine how organizations concerned with public health, both domestic and international, are making the most of this age-old adage.
Looking at Health with a Wide Angle
Organizations that operate on an international scale devote substantial attention to preventing non-communicable diseases and mental health degradation through environmental and social factors, according to the World Health Organization. They subdivide their efforts, which makes programs applicable to specific regions or cultures, and maximizes organizational efforts. And while epidemiological and critical reaction units tend to outbreaks or systemic diseases and infections, these teams focus on factors that presage such events. Initiatives to educate and prevent overall poor health conditions include subject areas such as cardiovascular health, dietary planning, and oral hygiene programs.
Each regional or cultural cluster has different factors impacting it, for which organization personnel must account when planning and implementing programs. For example, providing access to clean water takes precedence over a design that promotes higher physical activity in regions where individuals must travel a significant distance to obtain potable water. However, more scrupulous dental hygiene practices benefit all individuals, irrespective of culture or area. The latter is a primary example of health promotion, considering the current understanding of how infection and dental integrity play into one another.
A Closer Look
Promoting preventative practices and ideologies isn’t just a task for international organizations that work in areas long considered underdeveloped. It has a place in our own culture. Many domestic agencies work actively with both rural and urban communities to promote better health and reduce the incidence of chronic disease and susceptibility to infectious pathogens. It’s about overall wellness during a lifespan, and programs are often directed at both community and individual levels.
As with the aforementioned international initiatives, these domestic programs assess factors known as social determinants. These include economic, political, and sociocultural conditions that impact a community or demographics within the city, town or neighborhood over the entire lifespan. Concepts about food, cardiovascular health, dental hygiene, and immune system integrity are communicated and implemented through a variety of lenses.
First, it’s vital to ensure dissemination of correct information in a way that resonates with a given community. Healthy behaviors such as hand washing in restrooms or the importance of flossing are good examples of small immunity boosting practices that can provide substantial benefits to a community. They’re communicated in a variety of ways, such as PSAs, health fairs, and community action initiatives.
Education also plays a crucial role in elevating health standards within a community. This and the formation of active policy tend to go hand in hand, since designing programs to inform both the general adult public and children of school age require personnel, advanced study and planning, and funding. Another aspect of policy creation is changing institutional structures and messaging to promote the desired behaviors. And finally, altering the environment itself to facilitate healthy behaviors serves to make them second nature to a community. Whether international or right here at home, these programs are essential to elevating the quality of life.
Related Resource: What is Applied Epidemiology?
A vibrant and healthy population is better able to withstand typical pathogens. They’re also less likely to require extensive medical care for the chronic and non-contagious diseases that accompany us in later years. This means less money is necessary to subsidize healthcare for cardiovascular disease, COPD, cancers of many varieties, dementia, osteoporosis, and others. That funding can be put to use for research and development of cures for a host of other diseases and disorders. Health promotion is about empowering individuals and communities to maintain their well-being through positive and healthy behaviors and reduce the likelihood of infirmity or reduced quality of life in all demographics.