Kingdom of Saudi Arabia COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES at Al-Lith Ministry of Education Um Al-Qura University COLLEGE OF HEALTH SCIENCES at Al-Lith

Introduction to Health Promotion

objectives To prevent disease To insure that people are well informed and are able to make health choices To help people acquire the skills and confidence to take greater control over their health To change polices and environments in order to facilitate healthy choices

Public health is concerned with the health of groups and communities Public health is concerned with the health of groups and communities. So that public health activity always focused on a continuum of care from promotion and prevention to treatment and rehabilitation.

Introduction: WHO definition of health promotion:- Health promotion is the process of enabling individuals and communities to increase control over the determinants of health and thereby improve their health.

Health promotion involve the population as a whole in the context of their every day lives rather than focusing on people at risk for specific disease. It is not directed against any particular disease, but is intended to strengthen the host through a variety of interventions. It is directed towards actions on modifiable determinants or causes of health:- 1-Those which related to actions of individuals as health behaviors and life style.

Health Promotion Means Changing Behavior at Multiple Levels A Individual: knowledge, attitudes, beliefs,  B Interpersonal: family, friends, peers  C Community: social networks, standards, norms  D Institutional: rules, policies, informal structures E Public Policy: local policies related to healthy practices

2-Factors such as education,employment,working conditions and physical environment(such as housing, working conditions, supply of clean water, safe food supply, safe disposal of waste, reduce exposure to injuries and reduction of infectious diseases). Non modifiable determinants of health are the biological and genetic factors. Health promotion empower families and communities to improve their life and achieve and maintain health and wellness.

Health promotion, therefore, requires a close co-operation of sectors beyond health services. So as to ensure that the ‘total’ environment, which is beyond the control of individuals and groups, is conducive to health. Health promotion actions can be taken at:- 1- individual level(health behaviours&lifestyle). 2- community level(community development). 3-worldwide(Yellow fever vaccination)

Health promotion actions can be done through:- 1-Direct contact with individuals or risk groups by encouraging them to change their risk behaviors and adopting a healthy life styles. That is by raising their awareness of the dangers of smoking, drinking alcohol, eating high fat diet….etc -Behavior change would significantly reduce exposure to these killers.

Risk factors translate into disease, disability, and death—collectively referred to as the “burden of disease.” Addressing risky behaviors rather than specific diseases is cost-effective because one risk factor can result in or worsen several diseases. For example, tobacco causes or contributes to lung cancer, ischemic heart disease, diabetes, and cerebrovascular disease. Undernutrition is an underlying cause of disease resulting in an estimated 60 percent of child deaths.

Unsafe sex, the second-highest risk factor in poor countries, translates into HIV/AIDS; other sexually transmitted infections; fistulas; cervical cancer; and unsafe pregnancies, abortions, and births. Alcohol abuse contributes to brain impairment, including fetal alcohol syndrome, cirrhosis and cancer of the liver, and death and injuries from violence and accidents.

The behavior-health link becomes clear when examining the 10 leading risk factors identified by the World Health Organization for preventable death and disease worldwide: maternal and child underweight; unsafe sex; high blood pressure; tobacco; alcohol; unsafe water, poor sanitation, and hygiene; high cholesterol; indoor smoke from solid fuels; iron deficiency; and high body mass index, or overweight. According to WHO, forty percent of deaths worldwide are due to these 10 risk factors alone.

2-Indirectly through environmental changes, legislations as using car seat belts, children be immunized before school entry, adding vitamins and minerals to certain types of foods to prevent certain nutritional disorders in vulnerable groups, raising taxes on cigarettes to reduce their consumption.

Health Promotion includes 1-Promoting healthy lifestyles. 2-Getting people involved in their own health care. 3-Creating an environment that makes it possible to live a healthy life. 4-Recognition of lifestyle diseases as major causes of illness and death. 5-Strengthening community participation.

The key principles of health promotion as determined by WHO are as follows: 1-Health promotion involves the population as a whole in the context of their everyday life, rather than focusing on people at risk from specific diseases.

2-Health promotion is directed towards action on the determinants or cause of health. This requires a close co-operation between sectors beyond health care reflecting the diversity of conditions which influence health. To reach the definition of WHO: health is a complete physical………….

3-Health promotion aims particularly at effective and concrete public participation. This requires the further development of problem-defining and decision-making life skills, both individually and collectively, and the promotion of effective participation mechanisms

4-Health promotion combines diverse, but complementary methods or approaches including communication, education, legislation, fiscal measures, organizational change, community change, community development and spontaneous local activities against health hazards.

5- Health promotion is primarily a societal and not medical service, although health professionals have an important role in advocating and enabling health promotion.

Examples of preventable health problems related to lifestyle:- 1-Chronic non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension. These are major causes of illness and death. They are related to… 1-Overweight and obesity. 2-Unhealthy diet. 3-Insufficient physical activity. 2-HIV/AIDS is related to unsafe sexual lifestyle, and causes many deaths. Our challenge and opportunity is to avoid preventable diseases from occurring in the first place.

Since lifestyle is linked to many of today’s health problems, prevention and promotion should decrease the burden on secondary (curative) health care.

ACCOMMULATION OF HAZARDS Risk behavior Unbalanced diet Inactivity Obesity Smoking

Successful Health Promotion Healthy behavior Regular Exercise Balanced Diet Ideal Body Weight No Smoking