La promoción de la salud: de los griegos a la Carta de Ottawa: ¿Un nuevo campo de acción de la Salud Pública?

Abstract

This article reviews the history of principles, concepts, and applications that fall under Health Promotion (HP), an important component of the field of Public Health. It begins with the proposals and hygiene concepts of the Greeks to promote healthier populations, extending the review through various centuries to the Declaration known as the Ottawa Charter, from 1986. This charter resulted from the first International Conference on Health Promotion held in Ottawa, Canada, with the participation of the World Health Organization (WHO), the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare of Canada, and the Canadian Public Health Association. This declaration is considered of utmost importance as it defined the terms, concepts, and strategies for the application and development of the “new Health Promotion.” Health Promotion requires Healthy Public Policies and intersectoral collaboration.