The Future of Health Promotion

  1. The field of health promotion must continue to expand its scope outside of healthcare to understand the root causes of health inequities to better tackle social justice and environmental safety issues.

1.1. Globally, humans face increasingly complex health and social challenges

Climate change

Colonization

Social disruption

Underemployment/unemployment

1.2. The emergence of new diseases due to large-scale events will disproportionately impact specific populations

Extreme weather conditions

Rising sea levels

Environmental degradation

1.3. Health promotion needs to move beyond traditional resource indicators

Structures within governments and academic institutions

Public health and healthcare budgets

Number of individuals with health promotion credentials

  1. Despite a crucial shift from addressing health behaviours to health inequities, the field of health promotion lacks sufficient recognition and support within the larger health system.

2.1. Health promotion practitioners continue to face challenges and constraints

Lack of autonomy

Limited resources

Lack of support for engaging in innovative practices

No free-standing health promotion research centres in Canada

2.2. Health promotion research has contributed to and improved our understanding of the determinants of health

Development of theories

Formulation of models

Advancement in methodologies

2.3. Health promotion increases multisectoral collaborative efforts

Health literacy networks

Intersectoral steering committees

Health impact assessments

  1. Amidst ongoing global challenges such as pandemics, climate change, and geopolitical shifts, health promotion must recognize the interconnections among these events, ensuring a collective approach to address their syndemic nature.

3.1. Emergencies and disasters are influenced by underlying systemic issues within our political and economic systems

Systemic social and racist inequities

Violation of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples

Concentration of wealth

3.2. Need to build health into all policies by forming collaborations that transcend traditional health promotion boundaries

Environmental groups

Urban planners

Social activists

Infrastructure industries

  1. The restructuring of health promotion practices involves shifting from prevailing perspectives and making room for other epistemological traditions that shape one's perception of the world.

5.1. Need to transition from a capitalist ideology that leads to unsustainable practices

Resource extraction

Individual accumulation of health

Exploitation of labour

Consumerism

5.2. Must dismantle colonial legacies and structures to shift power dynamics

De-centre whiteness

Employ racial equity tools

Empower Indigenous governance

5.3. Co-creation can develop more culturally safe health policies and programs

Participatory and community-based research initiatives

Challenges applicability of current programs

Incorporates Indigenous research methods

Meaningful engagement

  1. Health promotion during the COVID-19 pandemic exemplified its pivotal role in public health, offering critical lessons for future crises.

4.1. Preventative measures of COVID-19 largely encompassed behavioural changes, a core competency of health promotion

Hand washing

Wearing masks

Social distancing

4.2. Health promotion’s multifaceted nature was able to address COVID at different levels

Downstream – behaviour change

Midstream – organizational and community-level interventions

Upstream – informing policies

4.3. COVID-19 highlighted the need to adapt promotion strategies to address infectious diseases

Focus on intervention research

Develop participatory methods