Health Promotion Overview

Principles

Definition

Health promotion is an academic and applied field dedicated to the process of enabling individuals and communities to increase control over and improve their health. It investigates the complex interplay of social, environmental, and policy determinants of health to develop and implement multi-sectoral interventions aimed at fostering well-being, preventing disease, and advancing health equity.

Ontological type

Theoretical Frameworks

Core Strategies

Program Evaluation

Key developments

Key Figures

Behavior-Change Focused Promotion era

Barbara K. Rimer [1] is a leading health education scholar at Duke University [3] and Wake Forest University [4] during this era. Her contributions this era center on articulating health behavior theory, integrating research with practice, and promoting multicomponent education and rigorous evaluation, exemplified by Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice [7]. Karen Glanz [2] is a leading health behavior scholar associated with University of Minnesota [5] and University of Hawaii System [6] during this era. Her key contributions include shaping health behavior theory and measurement and translating evidence into practice, a role reinforced by co-authorship of Health Behavior and Health Education: Theory, Research, and Practice [7], which helped advance self-efficacy–driven behavior-change strategies across clinical, school, and community settings.

Evidence-Driven Ecological Interventions era

Jaakko Tuomilehto [1] is associated with Karolinska Institutet [3] and Heidelberg University [4] during this era. His key contribution is the 2001 study 'Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus by Changes in Lifestyle among Subjects with Impaired Glucose Tolerance' [6], which showed that lifestyle modifications can prevent progression to type 2 diabetes and shaped evidence-based, setting-based health promotion efforts in schools and communities in this era. Johan G. Eriksson [2] is associated with Karolinska Institutet [3] and University College London [5] during this era. Johan G. Eriksson [2] co-authored the 'Prevention of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus by Changes in Lifestyle among Subjects with Impaired Glucose Tolerance' [6], contributing to translating synthesis into reproducible, scalable intervention components and multi-level ecological strategies for health promotion in schools and local communities in this era.

Policy-Integrated Scaling era

Russell Jago[1], affiliated with University of Bristol[3] and University of Oxford[4] during this era, has contributed to health promotion across schools and communities. His key contributions include synthesizing and applying the World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour[7] and informing school-based interventions such as the Active for Life Year 5 (AFLY5) trial[8], which advanced scalable, evidence-informed strategies to increase activity and reduce sedentary behaviour—crucial for policy-integrated scaling in this era. Peter T. Katzmarzyk[2], affiliated with University of Pennsylvania[5] and Louisiana State University System[6], has contributed to global physical activity guidelines and surveillance-informed scaling by aligning cross-system prevention approaches. A flagship contribution in this era is his involvement with the World Health Organization 2020 guidelines on physical activity and sedentary behaviour[7], which helped embed policy-oriented standards in health systems and support accountability through standardized metrics.