Date: Wed, 18 Sep 1996 15:40:33 +1000
From: Eberhard Wenzel <[log in to unmask]>
Reply-To: [log in to unmask]
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Howard Platt wrote:

"I'm disappointed that this issue is fizzling out so quickly. I have long been
concerned that while health promotion is touted at being far more than the
prevention of disease and injury, when is gets down to actions it is often no
more than disease and injury prevention. The 'give up smoking' action is, to
me, an example of disease prevention dressed up as health promotion.
Consequently I was enjoying the exchanges and hoped to see more."

Well, Howard, here's more.

As I understand it, health promotion has been designed initially as a
socio-political strategy to improve living conditions and lifestyles
conducive to health. Starting from the lifestyles concept of WHO-EURO to which
I had the pleasure to contribute substantially, the first conceptual papers on
health promotion in 1982/1983/1984 focussed on these socio-political aspects.
Even the *Ottawa Charter* carries this flavor.

Lifestyles, by the way, were defined individually and collectively and
referred rather to ways of life than to certain behaviors, as our US
colleagues understand the term (like, smoking is a lifestyle, which doesn't
make sense to me, because it's just a behavior; and the same is true as
regards physical exercise or nutrition which are behaviors but not
lifestyles).

My understanding of health promotion has not changed from there but I have to
admit that I was amazed how quickly the critical focus of health promotion was
converted to the biomedical, behavior-based type of health promotion
particularly prevalent in the US. Unfortunately, other countries have joined
this stream of health promotion in the meantime and it seems that health
promotion understood as a socio-political strategy is almost dead.

The *development* of health promotion since the Ottawa Conference has
sometimes more to do with self-promotion than with health promotion. Here in
Australia, there is a professional organization of health promotors. I believe
this is a terrible development since the basic idea of the Ottawa Charter is
that health promotion would become the principle of public policies, in other
words: no new experts but expertise to all social sectors.

Have a nice day.


Eberhard Wenzel
Griffith University
Faculty of Environmental Sciences
Nathan, Qld. 4111
Australia
Tel.: 61-7-3875 7103
Fax:  61-7-3875 7459
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
Eberhard Wenzel
Griffith University
Faculty of Environmental Sciences
Nathan, Qld. 4111
Australia
Tel.: 61-7-3875 7103
Fax:  61-7-3875 7459