Modern Health Promotion Research Articles

The past as present in health promotion: the case for a 'public health humanities'.

Health promotion is conceived as a unifying concept for improving the health of populations. This means addressing the socio-cultural, economic and commercial causes of ill-health, which are necessarily informed by past policies and socio-cultural contexts. However, historical scholarship has rarely figured in health promotion practice or scholarship. This gap resides in the determinants of health, and notably in the analyses of tobacco control and skin cancer prevention, two long-running campaigns that have shaped modern health promotion in Australia. Both highlight a need for understanding the profound impact of history on the present and the value of learning from past successes and failures. Doing so requires integrating historical analyses into existing health promotion scholarship. To achieve this aim, we present a new 'public health humanities' methodology. This novel interdisciplinary framework is conceived as a spectrum in which historical studies integrate with existing health promotion disciplines to solve complex health problems. We draw on the many calls for more interdisciplinarity in health promotion and derive this methodology from proposals in the medical humanities and cognate fields that have wrestled with combining history and present-focused disciplines. Using tobacco control and skin cancer prevention as case studies, we demonstrate how public health humanities uses interdisciplinary teams and shared research questions to generate valuable new knowledge unavailable with traditional methods. Furthermore, we show how it creates evaluation criteria to consider the powerful impact of issues like colonialism on current inequities that hinder health promotion strategies, and from which lessons may be derived for the future.

A modern web-based health promotion program for patients in Greece with diabetes 2 and obesity: an interventional study

BackgroundHealth promotion programs are most beneficial in chronic diseases such as diabetes and morbid obesity, which can be positively affected by changes in attitudes, beliefs, and lifestyle.ObjectivesThis study aimed to develop an internet-based modern Health Promotion model using interactive online applications through continuing education and participation.MethodsThe goal was to positively impact knowledge, behavior, and quality of life for patients with obesity and/or diabetes. This is a prospective interventional study on patients with obesity or type 2 diabetes. Seventeen two patients who met the inclusion criteria were distributed randomly into two groups (control and intervention) from 2019 to 2021 in Greece. All the participants were given questionaries concerning quality of life anxiety and depression (HADS) attitudes and beliefs, knowledge about their condition and general questions to establish a baseline. A traditional health promotion model was followed for the control group. For participants in the intervention group, a web-based health promotion program was created according to the goals of the research. Participants were instructed to log on 1–2 times a week for 5–15 min, with the understanding that the research team would be monitoring their activities. The website included two knowledge games and personalized educational material based on their needs.ResultsThe sample comprised 72 patients (36 in control and 36 in the intervention groups). The mean age was 47.8 years for the control group and 42.7 years for the intervention group (p = 0.293). Both study groups had a significant increase in knowledge score on diabetes (Control group:3,24, Intervention group 11,88 p < 0,001) and obesity (Control group:4,9, Intervention group 51,63 p < 0,001) along with a positive attitude score towards fighting obesity (Control group: 1,8, Intervention group 13,6 p < 0,001). Still, the overall change was more remarkable for the intervention group, as indicated by the significant interaction effect of the analysis. Anxiety was decreased only in the intervention group (Control group:0,11, Intervention group − 0,17 p < 0,005). Analysis for QOL during follow-up showed that Physical Health and Level of Independence was improved in both study groups but the degree of improvement was more significant in the intervention group (Control group 0,31,Intervention group 0,73 p < 0,001). Psychological Health was improved only in the intervention group, with better scores at 6 and 12 months compared to controls (Control group 0,28,Intervention group 1,42 p < 0,001). Furthermore, Social relationships were improved only in the intervention group (Control group 0,02, Intervention group 0,56 p < 0,001).ConclusionsThe results of the present study showed that the participants in the intervention group showed significant improvement in knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs after using the internet as a learning tool. The intervention group also showed significantly reduced anxiety and depression arising from chronic illness. All of this resulted in an improved quality of life regarding physical Health, mental Health, and social relationships. Technology and online-based health promotion programs can revolutionize how we approach the prevention and management of chronic and terminal illnesses by improving accessibility, personalizing care, increasing engagement and motivation, improving data analysis, and disease management.

Osvrt na multidisciplinarne timove za promociju zdravlja

The success of modern health promotion programs, which have been brought about by political decision at the local, national, and international levels, depend on the effectiveness of health promotion teams. In this article, the multidisciplinary approach is reviewed as a modern approach to teamwork for health promotion, which is a prerequisite for effective health promotion. The multidisciplinary approach includes a wide range of experts in public health, with different knowledge, qualifications, and skills, brought together to contribute to the provision of health promotion services from their own perspective.

Women’s Weight Gain Analysis Using the Neural Network Method in Medan, Indonesia

BACKGROUND: Obesity has become a global problem and has even been declared a global epidemic by the WHO. The high percentage of non-infectious diseases in Indonesia is 69.911%. This is experienced by people aged over 18 years. Central obesity is experienced by 26.6% of Indonesia's population (44.3 million people). Non-infectious diseases are the biggest cause of death and disability in Indonesia, 80% of non-infectious diseases are caused by an unhealthy lifestyle. The impact caused by this case can affect various aspects in the health, economic, socio-cultural, and psychological fields of the sufferer. Therefore, it is very important to prevent and control it. Many health promotion efforts have been carried out to overcome them, from conventional to modern health promotion activities that are considered not optimal to overcome them. The use and utilization of technology is one of the best solutions for solving public service problems. At least its utilization can overcome various geographical, time, and socio-economic problems.&#x0D; AIM: Assessment is required to determine the primary cause of weight gain.&#x0D; METHODOLOGY: This type of research is a survey with an explanatory type, to analyze the causal relationship between research variables and body mass index. It was conducted in the city of Medan in 21 (twenty-one) districts. Through sampling with two-stage cluster sampling, as many as 210 women aged 35–50 years were included in the research sample.&#x0D; RESULTS: The results of the Random Forest Algorithm calculation test and the Neural Network method with MLP (Multilayer Perceptron) showed that the history of being overweight, contraceptive use, and diet were the dominant factors influencing Body Mass Index.&#x0D; CONCLUSION: The history of weight gain with age is the dominant factor influencing changes in body mass index.

Next Level Health: a holistic health and wellbeing program to empower New Zealand women.

Improving equity in women's health requires gender-specific and empowering approaches. However, health programs often disempower women by adopting a 'one-size-fits-all' approach that emphasizes diet, exercise and weight loss over other important aspects like sleep and mental wellbeing. This article reports on the design of Next Level Health (NLH), a program that aims to empower women through developing a wide range of health behaviors to support their holistic wellbeing. NLH is grounded by ethics, theory and evidence to support women to make achievable, sustainable changes that are relevant to their everyday lives. Women utilized the NLH framework to develop an integrative health routine across six domains: physical activity, sleep, nutrition, eating behavior, self-care and stress management. The framework guided them to set small, incremental goals that were adaptive to their needs and built from their existing circumstances. Participants reflected on their progress with a facilitator during monthly meetings, accessed a social media support page and received monthly text messages. Health programs remain an essential approach to improving women's health alongside community- and policy-level strategies. The development of NLH exemplifies how evidence may partner with modern health promotion values to inform relevant and ethical program design for women.

Determinants and Consequences of Limited Health Literacy in Polish Society.

Background: Health literacy (HL) is perceived as one of the most important concepts for modern health promotion activities to be successful. The research undertaken in the context of HL usually focuses on its antecedents and consequences, either for specific groups of patients or society or for the whole population. Objectives: The main aim of this study was to assess the antecedents and consequences of limited health literacy (HL) in a nationally representative sample of the Polish population. Methods: The analysis was carried out on the data obtained from a sample of 1000 Polish citizens through a telephone-based survey undertaken using a short, 16-item questionnaire developed within the European Health Literacy Project (HLS-EU). The total HLS score was calculated according to the guidelines published by the HLS-EU project. Chi2 test and logistic regression models were used for the analysis of the relationships between the variables. Results: The mean HL score (standard deviation) in the study sample was 12.99 (3.11). HL was related to age, marital and vocational status. Limited HL was associated with a lower self-assessment of health (OR, 95% CI: 2.52, 1.54–4.13), the prevalence of obesity and disability (1.71, 1.13–2.57, and 1.92, 1.25–2.94, respectively), less frequent physical activity (0.70, 0.49–0.99), a lower consumption of fruits and vegetables (0.47, 0.34–0.65), and with more frequent hospitalisations (2.02, 1.38–2.95). Conclusions: The assessment of HL using the16-item HLS-EU questionnaire may be a useful tool to enable health behaviours and utilisation of health care resources by society to be predicted.

Gezond en wel participeren

Healthy participation in society. The value of social work in health promotion An important condition for health and well-being is an active role in society. Most people feel much better and actually have a better health when they participate in (voluntary) work, sports, clubs, et cetera. This is the case for healthy people but probably even more so for less able people. Therefore the focus in health promotion is moving from the individual to the (social) environment. Especially social support systems get a lot of attention. Surprisingly, social work professionals are not a natural partner in health promotion. While their focus and competences lie with building, supporting and maintaining social support systems. In this article we show how social work can play it’s part in modern health promotion.

Values and principles evident in current health promotion practice

Modern health promotion practice needs to respond to complex health issues that have multiple interrelated determinants. This requires an understanding of the values and principles of health promotion. A literature review was undertaken to explore the values and principles evident in current health promotion theory and practice. A broad range of values and principles are espoused as being integral to modern health promotion theory and practice. Although there are some commonalities across these lists, there is no recognised, authoritative set of values and principles accepted as fundamental and applicable to modern health promotion. There is a continuum of values and principles evident in health promotion practice from those associated with holistic, ecological, salutogenic health promotion to those more in keeping with conventional health promotion. There is a need for a system of values and principles consistent with modern health promotion that enables practitioners to purposefully integrate these values and principles into their understanding of health, as well as their needs assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation practice.

The Red Lotus Health Promotion Model: a new model for holistic, ecological, salutogenic health promotion practice

There is a need for a system of values and principles consistent with modern health promotion that enables practitioners to use these values and principles to understand health and in their needs assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation practice. Grounded theory, document analysis and the authors' own practice experience were used to systematically collect and analyse data from key health promotion literature and to develop the Red Lotus Health Promotion Model. The Red Lotus Health Promotion Model is a new model for holistic, ecological, salutogenic health promotion practice. It is distinct from other health promotion models in that it incorporates a system of values and principles that is applied across the phases of health promotion, including determining the health paradigm, needs assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation. The Red Lotus Health Promotion Model enables practitioners to proactively and purposefully put into action a connected system of values and principles across the phases of a health promotion process.

Lay epidemiology and the prevention paradox: the implications of coronary candidacy for health education

AbstractThis paper is concerned with the appropriateness of current attempts to prevent chronic disease through behavioural change. Based on extensive ethnographic research in South Wales, the paper suggests that, within contemporary British health culture, there exists a well developed lay epidemiology which has a significant bearing on the public plausibility of modern health promotion messages. The paper describes the notion of the coronary candidate (the ‘kind of person who gets heart trouble’) and discusses the operation of the idea in everyday life. The manner by which lay epidemiology and the population approach to health promotion construct the ‘prevention paradox’ within the social world is outlined. In conclusion it is suggested that lay epidemiology readily accommodates official messages concerning behavioural risks within the important cultural fields of luck, fate and destiny. This simultaneously constitutes a rational way of incorporating potentially troublesome information, and a potential barrier to the aims of health education.

Traditional public health practices in Nigeria.

Traditional beliefs and practices can help teach effective modern public health practices in Nigeria. A study conducted among large ethnic groups in Nigeria found that many of the people's traditional beliefs promoted good health practices and complemented modern health promotion efforts. The study was conducted by public health workers and students through open-ended questions among Yorubas, Hausas, and Ibos, the dominant indigenous ethnic groups of Nigeria. Interviewers questioned the respondents on myths, cultural taboos, legends, proverbs and songs. They also asked about cultural practices regarding water sanitation, waste disposal, food hygiene, vector control, and communicable disease control. Maintaining a clean water supply was a key concept in traditional beliefs. In addition, folklore emphasized sanitary disposal of human waste, general cleanliness, and the importance of personal hygiene. Proper food handling was treated in certain proverbs and myths, and there were many taboos on cooking, storing, and serving of food. The study found evil attached to rats, cockroaches, and flies in homes. Disease prevention was encouraged through tales and practices involving isolation of infected persons.