Health Promotion
Health Promotion is the process of enabling a large number of people (a population) to increase control over and improve their health. It addresses the broad, underlying determinants of health as opposed to the manifestations of ill health. This focus implies the active involvement of non-health (education, culture/social services, and agriculture) as well as the health sectors in the process of health development. It supports comprehensive interventions that combine approaches such as health education, communication for behaviour change, information, education and communication (IEC), social marketing, advocacy, social mobilization and related others.
The Ontario Stroke Network is a partner contributing to excellence in chronic disease prevention and integrating health promotion principles into the continuum of stroke care. The health promotion component of the Ontario Stroke Network acts as a catalyst, provides resources and expertise, develops capacity, advocates and influences practices and policy.
Best Practices in Health Promotion:
There are three main strategies employed in the implementation of health promotion.
- Enabling: taking action in partnership with individuals or groups to empower them, through the mobilization of human and material resources, to promote and protect their health. In Ontario, leadership in local health promotion is provided by Public Health Units and their local partners. Their programs support people in making healthy lifestyle choices — avoiding tobacco use, limiting alcohol use, eating a healthy diet with plenty of fruits and vegetables and staying active throughout their lives.
- Creating environments that are supportive of health (mediating between different interests in society in pursuit of health): a process through which the different interests (personal, social, economic) of individuals and communities, and different sectors (public and private) are reconciled in ways that promote and protect health. This is achieved through legal, fiscal, economic and environmental policies, legislation and measures alongside organizational interventions.
- Advocacy to create the essential conditions for health: a combination of individual and social actions designed to gain political commitment, policy support, social acceptance and systems support for a particular health goal or programme.
Resources:
Visit the World Health Organization website for a complete Health Promotion Glossary of Terms at www.who.int
The Ontario Healthy Communities Consortium provides bilingual services and resources to communities working towards goals with the purpose of promoting and sustaining health.
Health Nexus has developed Prevent Stroke, a special health promotion resource for persons at risk for stroke in both urban and rural settings. Health Nexus houses a number of resources on health promotion as it relates to stroke. These can be found by scrolling down at http://www.healthnexus.ca/services/resources.htm. It is also one of the parent agencies of the Prevent Stroke web site which provides bilingual, professional resources on health promotion specifically targeting stroke.
The University of Toronto Centre for Health Promotion offers support to health promotion workers in finding the information, programs and strategies that will make a difference to specific situations. They provide consultation services, various learning events, access to publications and electronic bulletins. Information is available at http://www.utoronto.ca/chp/
In Ontario, public health units are lead local agencies in health promotion. For a complete listing of public health units and how to access them, visit http://www.health.gov.on.ca/english/public/contact/phu/phuloc_mn.html
Ontario Ministry of Health Promotion and Sport is the provincial overseeing policy director and funder for health promotion. The ministry has local offices and representatives throughout the province. A list of the local contact information is available at: http://www.apps.mtr.gov.on.ca/rsbcl/en/Regions.aspx
The Ontario Health Promotion Resource System was a network of organizations that worked collaboratively to support health promotion in Ontario. Their resources can still be found at http://www.ohprs.ca/.
Contact:
For more information about Health Promotion activities related to stroke in the Southwest Region, please contact Gwenyth Stevenson at gwenyth.stevenson@lhsc.on.ca.