public health and health promotion essay

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Mental Health Promotion in Public Health: Perspectives and Strategies From Positive Psychology

Rosemarie kobau , mph, mapp, martin ep seligman , phd, christopher peterson , phd, ed diener , phd, matthew m zack , md, mph, daniel chapman , phd, william thompson , phd.

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Correspondence should be sent to Rosemarie Kobau, MPH, MAPP; CDC, NCCDPHP, Division of Adult and Community Health; Arthritis, Epilepsy, and Quality of Life Branch; 4770 Buford Highway NE, MS K-51; Atlanta, GA 30341 (e-mail: [email protected] ). Reprints can be ordered at http://www.ajph.org by clicking the “Reprints/Eprints” link.

Note. The findings and conclusions of this essay are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the US Department of Health and Human Services, the US Public Health Service, or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Contributors

R. Kobau conceptualized, drafted, and finalized the essay. All authors provided expertise and editorial comments and approved the final article.

Corresponding author.

Accepted 2010 Nov 19.

Positive psychology is the study of what is “right” about people—their positive attributes, psychological assets, and strengths. Its aim is to understand and foster the factors that allow individuals, communities, and societies to thrive.

Cross-sectional, experimental, and longitudinal research demonstrates that positive emotions are associated with numerous benefits related to health, work, family, and economic status. Growing biomedical research supports the view that positive emotions are not merely the opposite of negative emotions but may be independent dimensions of mental affect.

The asset-based paradigms of positive psychology offer new approaches for bolstering psychological resilience and promoting mental health. Ultimately, greater synergy between positive psychology and public health might help promote mental health in innovative ways.

Mental health promotion seeks to foster individual competencies, resources, and psychological strengths, and to strengthen community assets to prevent mental disorder and enhance well-being and quality of life for people and communities. 1 – 4 Positive psychology is the study of such competencies and resources, or what is “right” about people—their positive attributes, psychological assets, and strengths. 5 Its mission is to understand and foster the factors that allow individuals, communities, and societies to thrive. 5 , 6 It complements theories and models of individual, community, and organizational deficits with theories and models of assets. 7 Positive psychology offers new approaches for bolstering psychological resilience and for promoting mental health, and thus may enhance efforts of health promotion generally and of mental health promotion specifically. 1 – 4 , 7 – 10

Health promotion strategies, in general, include implementing health-enhancing public policy (employment opportunities, antidiscriminatory laws), creating supportive environments (parenting interventions), strengthening community action (participatory research, media campaigns), developing personal skills (resilience), and reorienting health services (postpartum depression screening) to enhance health. 1 , 2 , 11 – 13 Public health has focused its efforts on these health determinants primarily as they relate to preventing physical illness, injury, and disability, resulting in increased longevity. 14 , 15 Similarly, clinical psychiatry and psychology have been successful in identifying, classifying, and treating mental illness and disorder, resulting in better quality of life for many. However, just as the 1986 Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion 13 shifted greater attention in public health from disease prevention to health promotion, positive psychology shifts attention from pathology and dysfunction to positive emotions and optimal functioning. Underlying both of these shifts are the fundamental views that health is more than the absence of illness and that fostering individual and social resources can lead people, organizations, and communities to thrive.

In public health, this shift has also become evident in the field of mental health promotion, seen as an integral part of health promotion practice. 1 – 3 , 12 , 16 Common to both mental health promotion and positive psychology is a focus on “positive mental health,” an empowering resource, broadly inclusive of psychological assets and skills essential to human fulfillment and well-being. 1 , 3 , 4 Activities and programs that foster positive mental health also help to prevent mental illness, highlighting the benefits of mental health promotion to overall population health. 2 Assessment of positive mental health and related outcomes such as well-being can help in supporting and evaluating health promotion and public health wellness initiatives. 17 Thus, positive psychology deserves a place in health promotion, and health promotion theory and methods can enhance positive psychology research and practice to improve population mental health. 7 , 8 , 17 – 19

Whereas discourse on human fulfillment is rooted in ancient Western and Eastern philosophy, as well as in more recent disciplines of human development and humanistic and educational psychology, positive psychology applies a common language and an empirical approach to the study of 4 areas: (1) positive emotions (happiness, gratitude, fulfillment), (2) positive individual traits (optimism, resiliency, character strengths), (3) positive relationships among groups, and (4) enabling institutions (schools, worksites) that foster positive outcomes. 5 , 18 , 20 – 24 This contrasts with post–World War II psychology, which concentrated on repairing damage using the prevailing disease model of human functioning (i.e., mental ill health), while largely ignoring psychological assets (e.g., courage, kindness) and positive aspects of behavior (e.g., responsibility, compassion) that could also assist in therapy. 25 The focus on mental ill health—its causes, symptoms, and consequences—resulted in stigma associated with these factors, euphemistic use of the term “mental health” to describe treatment and support services for people with mental illness, and vague language, especially among the public, about what mental health means. 1

Positive psychology does not claim that mainstream psychology is negative or less important because it focuses on pathology and mental illness. Its aim is not to deny the distressing or unpleasant aspects of life; the value of negative experiences on human development, coping, and creativity; or the critical need to ameliorate distress. 23 , 26 Despite what its critics say, positive psychology seeks to provide a more complete scientific understanding of the human experience—including positive and negative experiences—to better integrate and complement existing knowledge about mental illness with knowledge about positive mental health. 23 , 24 , 27 , 28 Researchers have addressed these critics' objections, which are primarily concerned with adaptation, goals, temperament, heritability, forecasting, recall biases, and accurately measuring or intervening on well-being. 29 – 36 Research from multiple disciplines suggests that positive mental health and well-being can be measured relatively accurately and that appropriately targeted interventions can affect well-being. 4 , 24 , 30 , 35 , 36 However, more research in positive psychology that generalizes to the broad population is warranted. Given the benefits of positive emotions, positive psychology parallels efforts in mental health promotion to advance the value of positive mental health in individuals and society. 1 – 4 We present a brief overview on the benefits of positive emotions, the recognition and impact of positive individual traits for mental health promotion, and the influence of enabling social-environmental factors on positive mental health.

POSITIVE EMOTIONS

Many people know about the benefits of negative emotions such as fear, disgust, and anger in securing our personal safety and survival (e.g., fight or flight), and the harms of increased stress levels, narrowed responses for action, and withdrawal associated with negative emotions. Fewer know that positive emotions (e.g., joy, interest, contentment) quell autonomic arousal, signal approach and safety, and prompt individuals to engage with their physical and social environments by exploring new objects, people, or situations (for reviews, see Fredrickson 6 , 37 , 38 and Tugade et al. 39 ). Although sometimes confused with related affective states such as short-term sensory pleasure (e.g., satiety, warmth) and longer-lasting positive moods, positive emotions are typically brief and result from personally meaningful circumstances (e.g., joy from a social encounter).

Broaden and Build

The Broaden and Build theory of positive emotions proposes that positive emotions broaden people's attention, expand cognition (e.g., curiosity, creativity) and behaviors (e.g., exploration, play), and consequently foster physical, intellectual, and social resources (e.g., intelligence, mastery, social competence) for optimal functioning. 6 , 37 , 38 So, whereas negative emotions are adaptive in the short term, positive emotions may be adaptive in the longer term by building personal resources that function as psychological reserves for continued growth. 6 , 38 , 39

Regulating Negative Emotions

Moreover, positive emotions can more quickly quell or undo the adverse effects of negative experiences by reducing stressful reactions (e.g., increased blood pressure) and returning the body to a balanced state. 6 , 40 , 41 For example, in previous studies, individuals in whom positive emotions such as contentment and mild joy were prompted immediately after a stressful situation had faster cardiovascular recovery (e.g., reduced heart rate, peripheral vasoconstriction, and blood pressure) than did those in a control group. 6 , 40 According to the Broaden and Build theory, resilient people experience positive emotions more frequently and recover more quickly from specific life stressors. 6 , 38 , 39

Biological Markers of Positive Emotions

Positive emotions have numerous health, job, family, and economic benefits. 31 , 42 – 44 In numerous cross-sectional studies, positive emotions and positive evaluations of life are associated with decreased risk of disease, illness, and injury; healthier behaviors; better immune functioning; speedier recovery; and increased longevity. 31 , 40 , 43 – 46 Longitudinal and experimental studies show that positive emotions precede many successful outcomes related to work, social relationships, and physical health. 44 Growing biomedical and related research supports the view that positive emotions are not merely the opposite of negative emotions but independent dimensions of mental affect. 47 , 48 Positive emotions and negative emotions appear to have different determinants, consequences, and correlates, but differentiating these requires more study. 44 , 49 , 50

Positive emotions are partially heritable (estimates of heritability range from 0.36 to 0.81), suggesting a genetically determined set point for emotions such as happiness and sadness. 51 – 55 The expression of genetic effects, however, often results from environmental stimuli; social context matters because it can affect the opportunity for, and the frequency of, expressing positive emotions. 30 , 53 (The frequency of positive emotions predicts well-being better than does their intensity. 44 ) Furthermore, individuals' circumstances and social contexts are amenable to intervention by public health, mental health, and positive psychology practitioners. Several interventions described in this essay and elsewhere have succeeded in boosting positive emotions and minimizing negative affect and depression over time. 36 , 53 , 56

This growing literature demonstrates that positive emotions are important psychological resources to be nurtured, rather than only enjoyed as brief, elusive outcomes. 4 , 6 , 31 , 37 , 38 , 44 Positive psychology interventions (e.g., those that promote resiliency, optimism, or gratitude) may enhance the value of public health interventions based on effective behavioral science theories (e.g., Stages of Change) 57 and methodologies (e.g., motivational interviewing) in improving health outcomes. Framing individual and population health communication messages around positive experiences and emotions may foster behavior change better than using messages based on fear. 8 For example, Kaiser Permanente's “Thrive” campaign links its brand and its health services with the theme of living life fully and happily, and may be morale boosting for some. 58 , 59

POSITIVE INDIVIDUAL TRAITS

Positive individual traits include a number of positive dispositions present in individuals to different degrees, such as creativity, bravery, kindness, perseverance, and optimism, which, when cultivated, can increase resiliency, buffer against psychological disorder and other adversities, and promote mental health. 18 Several methods exist to help individuals improve their resiliency and identify their positive dispositions.

Resiliency and Optimism

Resiliency is the process of positive adaptation in the context of adversity or risk. 1 , 4 , 60 Resiliency helps people to cope with life's challenges and confers a sense of mastery over one's life. 1 , 4 Promotion of resiliency can occur within persons (e.g., coping, optimism), among persons (social support), and across social levels (public health or educational systems). 60 Studies of resiliency focus on positive adaptation and achievement and stress the importance of promoting competence (e.g., autonomy, goal-directed behavior) through interventions. 4 , 61 Substantial public health efforts are designed to promote resiliency among persons and across social levels. For example, prevention programs that safeguard against illness and injury might promote resiliency directly (e.g., vaccinations, nutritional fortification of foods) or indirectly (e.g., after-school programs). 1 The US Administration on Aging supports congregate meal programs through its network of Area Agencies on Aging, not only to provide meals to older adults but also to promote social interaction and social support that may confer greater psychological resiliency. 62 Parenting interventions and preschool interventions are effective in boosting resiliency in mothers and children. 1 , 2 , 4

Positive psychology offers several approaches for improving individual resiliency that may be relevant for public health interventions aimed at schools, worksites, health care settings, and Area Agencies on Aging. For example, individuals can change their “explanatory style”—that is, how they interpret day-to-day events and their interactions with others. 4 , 63 – 65 Specifically, they can learn skills for more optimistic ways of thinking and reacting to improve their resiliency. 4 , 63 Besides certain personality characteristics (e.g., dispositional optimism) and the physical and social environment, explanatory style can predict depression and other negative physical health outcomes. 66 , 67 Skills based on learned optimism—such as challenging beliefs, avoiding thinking traps, calming and focusing, and putting things in perspective—can improve psychological resiliency in individuals. These skills closely resemble “cognitive symptom management,” effectively used in interventions such as the Chronic Disease Self-Management Program. 68 However, expanding the use of skills like learned optimism to the broad population holds promise for promoting mental health. 63 , 64 , 69 , 70

The Penn Resiliency Program (PRP) is a group intervention delivered to children aged 8 to 15 years after school that teaches resiliency skills based on learned optimism. The PRP has been effectively implemented in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, China, and Portugal, providing evidence of its effectiveness in diverse cultural settings. 2 , 70 , 71 Students learn to adopt more optimistic explanatory styles by detecting inaccurate thoughts, evaluating the accuracy of those thoughts, and challenging negative beliefs by considering alternative interpretations. 70 , 71 Students also learn how to negotiate, make decisions, and relax. In 21 studies (most of which used randomized controlled designs) that comprised about 3000 children, the PRP prevented disruptive behaviors for up to 36 months and depression and anxiety symptoms for up to 2 years, especially in students with more severe symptoms. 70 – 73 Thus, a mental health promotion intervention like the PRP may reduce the likelihood of onset of mental illness in children, but it requires more study. 74 The PRP works equally well among boys and girls and for children of various racial/ethnic backgrounds. 70 , 74 Similar school-based interventions have demonstrated improvements in empathy, cooperation, assertiveness, self-control, coping skills, resilience, and other social competencies aligned with positive mental health outcomes. 2,70

The US Army is applying resiliency training modeled after the PRP through its Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program 75 to support the optimal mental and physical health of soldiers. As of October 1, 2009, the Army has supported resiliency training for its entire staff. The Comprehensive Soldier Fitness Program focuses on 5 dimensions of functioning: physical, emotional, spiritual, family, and social. It includes an anonymous, confidential, online self-assessment for all soldiers and will include a similar assessment for family members that will guide training needs. Resiliency skills to be taught include problem solving, energy management, explanatory style, and putting things in perspective. The Army is training master trainers to help other soldiers learn resiliency techniques. Additional pre- and postdeployment boosters will be implemented. 75

Learned optimism is not about looking at the world through rose-colored glasses or having unrealistic or self-deceptive expectations. 76 Instead, it is about teaching skills needed to promote mental health and to avoid excessive worry, rumination, or spirals of negative thinking. 63 , 64 Resiliency interventions such as the PRP might be disseminated more broadly in schools, worksites, and other community settings. 1 , 2 , 4

Character Strengths

With respect to mental illness, professionals have applied a common language and diagnostic criteria to identify and treat mental illness using the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition ( DSM-IV ). 77 However, the DSM-IV is explicitly designed to diagnose and treat mental illness but provides no guidance to assess positive thoughts, emotions, or behaviors. 78 , 79 In 2000, with growing interest and support from the field of positive youth development, Peterson and Seligman organized a research team to develop a scientific classification scheme comparable to the DSM-IV as well as assessment strategies to identify psychological strengths. 79 After extensively reviewing literature from multiple disciplines, this team considered cross-cultural validity, possible unintended political consequences of their effort (e.g., value-laden applications, such as selecting people on the basis of strengths), and the implications of creating a classification system versus a taxonomy. 79 Team members assumed that character, like traits, was stable and general and that character strengths were not bound to culture. They then identified explicit criteria that guided their classification system to identify character strengths of human goodness and excellence of character ( see box on this page ).

Criteria Used by Positive Psychologists for Classifying Strengths of Human Goodness and Excellence of Character

A character strength—

Is ubiquitous: is widely recognized across cultures (e.g., bravery, kindness).

Is fulfilling: contributes to individual fulfillment, satisfaction, and happiness broadly construed.

Is morally valued: is valued in its own right and not for tangible outcomes it may produce.

Does not diminish others: elevates others who witness it.

Has a nonfelicitous opposite: has obvious antonyms that are negative.

Is traitlike: is an individual difference with demonstrable generality and stability.

Is measureable: has been successfully measured by researchers as an individual difference.

Is distinct: is not redundant (conceptually or empirically) with other character strengths.

Has paragons: is strikingly embodied in some individuals.

Has prodigies: is precociously shown by some children or youths.

Can be selectively absent: is missing altogether in some individuals.

Has enabling institutions: is the deliberate target of societal practices and rituals that try to cultivate it.

Source . Peterson and Seligman. 79

Finally, they developed and validated the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths (VIA-IS) to measure these character strengths. The VIA-IS includes 6 core or “signature” strengths, each with 3 to 4 component definitions ( Table 1 ). Signature strengths are the mental and physical activities that we perceive as natural and desirable and that energize rather than exhaust us. 78 The VIA-IS, completed by a million individuals in more than 200 nations since 2002, has acceptable construct validity, discriminant validity, convergent validity, stability and internal consistency reliability, and test-retest reliability. 21 , 80 – 83 The VIA-IS has also been modified and validated for use in youths aged 10 to 17 years (VIA-Youth). 83

Core Strengths of Human Goodness and Character as Recognized by Positive Psychology

Source. Peterson and Seligman. 79

The VIA-IS is available for public use 84 and, as part of the survey assessment, provides users with their strengths' rankings (so they can see where their strengths rank compared with other strengths), along with examples of methods to enhance strengths. Park and Peterson 83 have provided information on scoring, and Peterson 21 has described methods to practice using signature strengths in new and different ways (i.e., reinforcing the strength) for mental health promotion. One Internet-based intervention encouraging people to use their strengths in new ways increased happiness and decreased depressive symptoms for 6 months. 24 Such strengths-based development has been linked to many positive outcomes in educational and workplace settings. 85 The public availability of the VIA-IS, its broad approach to characterizing individual strengths, and its psychometric properties make it potentially appealing for behavioral science intervention research as well as for health communication messaging.

Although more research is needed regarding its psychometric properties in diverse sociodemographic subgroups, the VIA-IS offers good face validity for use in communities. For example, among 383 African American adolescents surveyed with the VIA-Youth, love of learning was related to self-reported abstinence for boys and self-reported avoidance of drug use for boys and girls. 86 In a Department of Veterans Affairs psychiatric rehabilitation program to promote recovery from mental illness, simply taking the VIA-IS was described as an intervention itself, with most participants reporting positive outcomes associated with the experience. 9 The study investigators encouraged veterans to use prompts such as a “strengths card,” which they carried with them as a reminder of their positive attributes and as help in their daily recovery.

Applying the VIA-IS could also be useful to those coping with other chronic diseases. For example, parents might devise ways to use their children's VIA strengths to help them better manage chronic illness. Additional studies of character strengths may show that these strengths buffer against risky health behaviors or adverse health outcomes. Such studies may help target health promotion messages and health marketing strategies to motivate groups in ways that complement their self-perceived strengths. However, because the VIA-IS is based solely on self-report, it is still unclear whether and how it relates to more objective measures of strengths, whether the strengths it identifies are enduring, and whether strength-based interventions are effective over the long term.

Although a comprehensive review of interventions that improve positive emotions is beyond the scope of this essay, practicing gratitude, performing acts of kindness, and mindfulness relaxation (nonjudgmentally focusing awareness on thoughts, sights, and sounds) can increase positive emotions and well-being. 36 , 56 , 87 Gratitude helps people to savor their life experiences and situations, maximize satisfaction and enjoyment from those experiences, and minimize adaptation. 54 Gratitude might also help people to cope with stress and trauma by positively reinterpreting negative life experiences. 33 , 88 Relative to control groups, participants who were asked to write down 5 things for which they were grateful (e.g., cherished interactions, overcoming obstacles) once a week for 10 weeks reported greater life satisfaction, more optimism, and fewer health complaints. 56 Other gratitude exercises improved positive affect and physical activity, 36 , 56 , 88 sleep quality, 89 and prosocial behavior. 90 Students who performed and tracked random acts of kindness increased their happiness relative to that of a control group. 36 , 91 Additional examples of interventions that have been shown to increase individual positive emotions and well-being are available, 22 , 36 as are examples of their use in schools. 70

SOCIAL-ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS AND ENABLING INSTITUTIONS

Social and economic factors influence health and mental health, including access to employment; safe working conditions; education, income, and housing; stable and supportive family, social, and community environments characterized by opportunities for autonomy, social inclusion, and freedom from discrimination and violence; and taxation of addictive substances to prevent abuse. 1 – 4 Institutions such as schools, homes, worksites, places of worship, and health care settings that have been traditional targets for public health disease prevention and health promotion interventions also are settings for evidence-based mental health promotion interventions. 2 Policy initiatives that affect social and economic determinants of mental health (e.g., housing, employment) and that support the integration of evidence-based mental health promotion programs in community settings are warranted to improve population health. 1 , 4

For those interested in fostering community or organizational change for mental health promotion, Appreciative Inquiry, a method closely aligned with positive psychology, holds promise. 92 Appreciative Inquiry is a systematic development and improvement process for management and organizational change based on deliberately positive assumptions about people, organizations, and relationships. 92 Its processes shift the focus and dialogue from problem solving to fostering assets by seeking to examine the strengths in a group, thus providing the starting point for positive change. In a typical Appreciative Inquiry session, participants are led through a series of systematic and provocative but affirming questions to identify what is positive in the group and to connect people in ways that heighten energy, vision, and action for change. 92 , 93

Appreciative Inquiry has been successfully and innovatively used by numerous private and governmental organizations, including the Cleveland Clinic, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, the US Navy, Save the Children, the United Nations Global Compact, Imagine Chicago, Imagine Nagaland (India), and the United Kingdom's National Health Service. 92 – 94 Nursing has also frequently used Appreciative Inquiry to enhance education, management, and clinical care outcomes. 95 – 99 It may supplement current health behavior change models for health promotion. 7 For example, health care providers, health educators, and other caregivers might incorporate Appreciative Inquiry in their interactions with patients, clients, families, or groups to help them focus on capabilities and competencies related to a healthy lifestyle. A provider might ask a patient a few questions from an Appreciative Inquiry perspective to help motivate behavior change or to help assist in sustaining behavior change ( Table 2 ). Extensive resources exist to incorporate Appreciative Inquiry principles into daily settings or to more formally structure an Appreciative Inquiry summit for groups or organizations. 92 , 93 The implementation and effectiveness of Appreciative Inquiry in health promotion warrants more thought and study.

Use of Appreciative Inquiry as a Health Behavior Change Intervention Between a Clinician or Health Educator and a Client

Note. Discover, dream, design, and deliver are the 4 phases that guide Appreciative Inquiry. 92

Source. Modified from Moore and Charvat. 7

CONCLUSIONS

Positive mental health is a resource for everyday living and results from individual and community assets. The health promotion theories, methodologies, and populations available through public health partners offer greater reach for positive psychology practitioners to implement and evaluate their interventions across diverse sociodemographic subgroups and community settings that currently receive little attention. Likewise, the asset-based and affirmation paradigms of positive psychology offer additional strategies for mental health promotion. Mental health promotion and positive psychology offer the public (1) an updated way of thinking about mental health that provides for the richness of human experience, (2) additional ways to describe and value the full spectrum of mental health to lessen the stigma associated with mental illness and to initiate conversations about mental health, 100 (3) enhancement of psychological screening, 101 and (4) evidence-based individual, community, and social interventions that can enhance positive mental health. 1 , 2 , 4 , 31 Ultimately, greater synergy between positive psychology and public health might help promote positive mental health in innovative ways that can improve overall population health.

Human Participant Protection

No protocol approval was needed because no human participants were involved in this endeavor.

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103 Health Promotion Essay Topic Ideas & Examples

Inside This Article

Health promotion is a crucial aspect of public health that aims to improve the overall well-being and health of individuals and communities. This can be achieved through various strategies, such as education, advocacy, and policy changes. If you are tasked with writing an essay on health promotion, you may be looking for some inspiration on potential topics. To help you get started, here are 103 health promotion essay topic ideas and examples:

• The impact of social determinants of health on health promotion efforts
• Strategies for promoting physical activity in children
• The role of the healthcare system in health promotion
• The effectiveness of workplace wellness programs
• Promoting healthy eating habits in schools
• Addressing mental health stigma through education and advocacy
• The importance of community partnerships in health promotion
• Promoting smoking cessation programs in underserved communities
• The impact of social media on health promotion campaigns
• Promoting sexual health education in schools
• Strategies for addressing obesity in children and adolescents
• Promoting healthy aging through exercise and nutrition programs
• The role of technology in health promotion efforts
• Promoting vaccination campaigns to prevent infectious diseases
• Addressing substance abuse through education and prevention programs
• The impact of environmental factors on health promotion
• Promoting healthy sleep habits in adolescents
• Strategies for promoting mental health and well-being in the workplace
• The role of policy changes in promoting public health
• Promoting access to healthcare services for underserved populations
• Addressing disparities in healthcare access through health promotion efforts
• Promoting healthy lifestyle choices in college students
• The impact of stress on health and strategies for stress management
• Promoting mindfulness and meditation as tools for improving mental health
• Strategies for promoting physical activity in older adults
• Addressing food insecurity through community-based interventions
• Promoting reproductive health education in schools
• The impact of cultural beliefs on health promotion efforts
• Promoting health literacy in vulnerable populations
• Addressing the opioid epidemic through education and prevention programs
• Promoting access to mental health services in rural communities
• Strategies for promoting healthy relationships and preventing domestic violence
• The impact of social isolation on health and well-being
• Promoting nutrition education in low-income communities
• Addressing the impact of climate change on public health through health promotion efforts
• Promoting smoking cessation programs in pregnant women
• Strategies for promoting physical activity in individuals with disabilities
• The role of peer support in promoting mental health and well-being
• Promoting access to reproductive health services for LGBTQ+ individuals
• Addressing the impact of trauma on health through trauma-informed care
• Promoting access to mental health services for veterans
• Strategies for promoting healthy eating habits in low-income communities
• The impact of social media influencers on health promotion campaigns
• Promoting access to healthcare for homeless populations
• Addressing the impact of food deserts on nutrition and health
• Promoting access to mental health services for immigrant populations
• Strategies for promoting physical activity in individuals with chronic illnesses
• The impact of peer pressure on health behaviors and strategies for resistance
• Promoting access to reproductive health services for incarcerated individuals
• Addressing the impact of social isolation on older adults through community programs
• Promoting healthy aging through social engagement and support networks
• Strategies for promoting mental health and well-being in the LGBTQ+ community
• The impact of trauma on health outcomes and strategies for healing
• Promoting access to mental health services for individuals with substance use disorders
• Addressing the impact of poverty on health through social determinants
• Promoting healthy eating habits in refugee communities
• Strategies for promoting physical activity in children with autism
• The impact of social support on health and well-being
• Promoting access to healthcare for individuals experiencing homelessness
• Addressing the impact of racism on health outcomes through anti-racism efforts
• Promoting mental health awareness and reducing stigma in communities of color
• Strategies for promoting physical activity in individuals with intellectual disabilities
• The impact of trauma on mental health and strategies for healing and recovery
• Promoting access to mental health services for survivors of domestic violence
• Addressing the impact of childhood adversity on health through trauma-informed care
• Promoting reproductive health education in communities with high rates of teen pregnancy
• Strategies for promoting physical activity in individuals with chronic pain
• The impact of social support on mental health outcomes
• Promoting access to mental health services for individuals with eating disorders
• Addressing the impact of discrimination on health through anti-discrimination efforts
• Promoting healthy eating habits in communities with limited access

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Haugan G, Eriksson M, editors. Health Promotion in Health Care – Vital Theories and Research [Internet]. Cham (CH): Springer; 2021.

Health Promotion in Health Care – Vital Theories and Research [Internet].

Part i introduction to health promotion.

• 1. An Introduction to the Health Promotion Perspective in the Health Care Services
• 2. The Overarching Concept of Salutogenesis in the Context of Health Care
• 3. The Ethics of Health Promotion: From Public Health to Health Care

Open Access This book is licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ ), which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license and indicate if changes were made.

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• Cite this Page Haugan G, Eriksson M, editors. Health Promotion in Health Care – Vital Theories and Research [Internet]. Cham (CH): Springer; 2021. Part I, Introduction to Health Promotion.

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Health Education and Health Promotion: Key Concepts and Exemplary Evidence to Support Them

• First Online: 09 October 2018

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• Hein de Vries 8 ,
• Stef P. J. Kremers 8 &
• Sonia Lippke 9  

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Health is regarded as the result of an interaction between individual and environmental factors. While health education is the process of educating people about health and how they can influence their health, health promotion targets not only people but also their environments. Promoting health behavior can take place at the micro level (the personal level), the meso level (the organizational level, including e.g. families, schools and worksites) and at the macro level (the (inter)national level, including e.g. governments). Health education is one of the methods used in health promotion, with health promotion extending beyond just health education.

Models and theories that focus on understanding health and health behavior are of key importance for health education and health promotion. Different classes of models and theories can be distinguished, such as planning models, behavioral change models, and diffusion models. Within these models different topics and factors are relevant, ranging from health literacy, attitudes, social influences, self-efficacy, planning, and stages of change to evaluation, implementation, stakeholder involvement, and policy changes. Exemplary health promotion settings are schools, worksites, and healthcare, but also the domains that are involved with policy development. Main health promotion methods can involve a variety of different methods and approaches, such as counseling, brochures, eHealth, stakeholder involvement, consensus meetings, community ownership, panel discussions, and policy development. Because health education and health promotion should be theory- and evidence-based, personalized interventions are recommended to take empirical findings and proven theoretical assumptions into account.

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de Vries, H., Kremers, S.P.J., Lippke, S. (2018). Health Education and Health Promotion: Key Concepts and Exemplary Evidence to Support Them. In: Fisher, E., et al. Principles and Concepts of Behavioral Medicine. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-93826-4_17

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EDITORIAL article

Editorial: insights in public health education and promotion: 2022.

• 1 School of Health Systems Studies, Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Deonar, Mumbai, India
• 2 Independent Researcher, Seven Lakes, NC, United States

Editorial on the Research Topic Insights in public health education and promotion: 2022

1. Introduction

The discipline of public health received much-needed attention with the pandemic of COVID-19 ( 1 , 2 ). However, current public health education still needs to be expanded to traditional teaching models that balance theory and practice. With time, public health is also trying to integrate new technologies, especially in education and promotion ( 3 ). Primary care and public health comprise the backbone of health systems, but their divergence has produced two groups of practitioners, either focused on individual health or population/public health ( 4 ). Public health education is a precursor to public health practice and essential to one's foundational knowledge and skillset. Thus, theoretical solid groundings are critical in public health education ( 5 ).

The world is now in the third decade of the 21st Century. The achievements in public health made by scientists have been exceptional, especially in the last few years, leading to significant advancements in the fast-growing field of Public Health Education and Promotion ( 6 ). It is essential to highlight the latest advancements in public health science and to shed light on the progress made in the past decade. In addition, its future challenges needs to be identified to provide a thorough overview of the status of the art of the Public Health Education and Promotion field.

For this Research Topic, we received all original research articles. They cover various topics, and each article has a unique study design. Authors were encouraged to identify the most significant challenges in the sub-disciplines and how to address those challenges. Out of 24 submitted manuscripts, 17 articles were selected for publication after a rigorous review. The majority of the articles, i.e., 10, are from China. As China's need for global health capacity grows amid a rapidly shrinking population of younger citizens, strategic investments in transnational public and global health programs may be of increasing value ( 7 ). Later, it is followed by two articles from the USA and one each from Ethiopia, Saudi Arabia, UAE, and Indonesia. One article was not country-specific though the authors were from Qatar and Australia.

The articles cover various public health-related subjects related to diseases and subjects like Reproductive issues, Thyroid diseases, Cancer, Drug abuse, Organ transplants, and others. Most article research findings have also addressed medicine/public health curricula, educational content improvement for different age groups, the performance of public health degree programs, and education to strengthen research capabilities.

Here, the author's works are summarized according to the study design.

2. Contributions according to study designs

2.1. reviews.

In Indonesian schools (both primary and secondary), reproductive health education is integrated into various subjects, including Science, Biology, Sports, and Health Education. Diarsvitri and Utomo conducted a qualitative study comparing the accuracy of the material related to reproductive health education to scientific evidence published in medical journals or medical textbooks. This study was done through a literature review and content analysis of School books of 5 to 12-year age groups. It was found that the schoolbooks were used as per Indonesia's 2006 minimum standard requirements of the subject matter curriculum. Still, the current provision for equipping young Indonesians with comprehensive reproductive health knowledge is inadequate. Schoolbooks must promote healthy lifestyles, prevent high-risk sexual behaviors, encourage openness and discussion about reproductive health in the family, improve self-confidence to refuse and avoid sexual harassment, encourage positive sexual behaviors, and increase awareness for treatment-seeking behavior.

A global video-sharing social media app—TikTok, provides information on Thyroid cancer (TC) which is becoming an increasing public health problem worldwide. However, the information quality of these videos still needs to be discovered. A search of TikTok was performed by Wang et al. with the term “thyroid neoplasm” and “thyroid cancer” in Chinese. The videos included were independently assessed using six predefined questions for content scores and DISCERN (a scale used to judge information quality). The VPI (Video Popularity Index) was calculated. Correlation analysis was performed among duration, presence of animation, VPI, DISCERN scores, and content scores. A total of 56 videos were included, of which 49 were uploaded by physicians, four by health organizations, and three by hospitals. It was seen that 43 videos were real content videos, and 13 were animated. The overall quality of the videos was satisfactory, and it varied greatly depending on the source type. Patients should take proper precautions when using TikTok as a source of TC-related information.

The USA is experiencing exponential growth in overdose fatalities over the past four decades. More than 22 million people in the USA live with a substance use disorder (SUD). The USA Cooperative Extension System (Extension) is recognized as an essential partner in addressing SUD in the communities. The scoping review by Hagaman et al. was performed to identify the range of Extension activities aimed at mediating substance misuse. The authors utilized the PRISMA-SCR model to complete this scoping review in February–July 2022. The scoping review covers a search of peer-reviewed databases, Extension websites for each state and the USA territory, and the utilization of a web search engine. Eighty-seven records meeting the inclusion criteria were included—seven peer-reviewed articles and 80 results from the gray literature. Additional 11 ROTA grantees responded to requests. It was seen that Extension had scaled multiple efforts to address SUD operating through a loose confederation of organizations. The volume of effort is significant. However, implementation at the community level has been slow, and there are significant opportunities for local adoption of evidence-based practices to mitigate SUD.

Applied practice experiences are essential to the Masters of Public Health (MPH) curriculum. The study by Pham et al. examined students' perspectives on the skills and expertise they developed in an MPH course offering applied practice opportunities. From 2008 to 2018, a total of 236 students took the course, and 104 gave their consent. The reflection essays were de-identified and analyzed using a rapid qualitative analysis approach. The essays addressed students' learning experiences and the application of the competencies for MPH programs set by the CEPH (Council for Education in Public Health). The critical lessons by each cohort of students were identified through deductive and inductive analytical lenses. Semi-structured guides and matrixes for essay analysis were created using assignment instructions and CEPH competencies. It was seen that the applied practice experience served as a valuable tool for knowledge and skills acquisition.

It also served as an opportunity for students to engage with the unique organizational cultures of their respective community partners and to deepen their understanding of the complexities of conducting meaningful community-engaged research. This study demonstrates the utility of analyzing students' critical self-reflection to explore learning experiences when training future public health professionals. The findings will be helpful to educators in designing future applied practice experiences.

2.2. Cross-sectional studies

The incidence of thyroid diseases has tripled globally in the last three decades, and the prevalence is also rising rapidly, irrespective of gender and genetics. The study by Alhazmi et al. was done to assess the knowledge, awareness of risk factors, and perceptions of thyroid disease among the Saudi Community in Saudi Arabia. An online cross-sectional study was conducted between November 2021 to January 2022 among 724 adult residents (18–50 years) living in Saudi Arabia. Saudi adults reported varying knowledge and perceptions of thyroid disease. Previous knowledge of the thyroid was found to be significantly associated with the current knowledge score. Educating people about this rising disease is essential.

Global contraceptive coverage has increased significantly. Still, high rates of unintended pregnancy are seen globally. A comparative analysis of KAP (Knowledge, Attitude, and Practice) of the Sexual and Reproductive Health (SRH) of both partners will be helpful. Liu et al. conducted a questionnaire survey of people (18–45 years age group) with unintended pregnancies, including women and their male partners (1,275 pairs) from October 2017 to October 2021. The study shows that unintended pregnancy occurs mainly in young people. The risk factors for not taking contraceptive measures are the low education background, the younger age of first sexual intercourse, and the lack of discussion of contraception between partners. Men's better knowledge and contraceptive practices than female partners, and poor male contraceptive knowledge and attitudes may lead to a higher risk of harmful contraceptive practices. The results suggest that male KAP is vital in promoting contraceptive use and reducing unintended pregnancy.

Life form and body composition may affect the health of college students. The study by Lin and Liu explores the relationship between the effects of health behavior and sports participation on 1,200 female college students' body mass index and healthy-promoting lifestyle using the questionnaire method and bioelectrical resistance measurement. Among female college students, there is generally a lack of sleep and leisure activities, a low proportion of regular fitness habits, a high number of snacks, and a high average daily online time. The overweight and body fat rates of female college students are also generally too high, and the standard rate of muscle weight is generally too low. Their health-promoting lifestyle has the highest score of self-realization, followed by interpersonal support, and the worst behavior of sports participation. Among older college students, sports participation and overall health-promotion behavior s quite worse. Those with regular exercise habits have a lower proportion of overweight and high body fat rates.

A study by Ma H. et al. was conducted to investigate the kidney transplantation knowledge of KT (Kidney Transplant) candidates and recipients and explore the related influencing factors. 170 KT candidates and 270 KT recipients were investigated from March to July 2022 in two tertiary and Grade A hospitals in Hunan Province, China, using the Kidney Transplant Understanding Tool (K-TUT). It is seen that the knowledge level of KT candidates and recipients could be more optimistic. Healthcare providers need to pay more attention to the health education of this population.

In China, the organ transplantation sector is facing a severe shortage of donors. The study was conducted by Chen et al. to understand young people's perceptions and attitudes toward organ donation and the factors that influence them and can positively impact the promotion of organ donation. Information was obtained through 501 valid questionnaires from the target group. It is seen that the young people knew about organ donation but needed a higher depth of awareness. The household registration type, education level, and religious affiliation are significantly associated with people's willingness to donate. The correct understanding of the organ donation process, the supportive environment for organ donation in society, and laws and regulations will influence people's willingness to donate.

The need for skilled medical practitioners in outbreak investigations and public health was demonstrated during the COVID-19 pandemic. The College of Medicine and Health Sciences at the United Arab Emirates University (UAEU) introduced a clerkship in public health. This consists of theoretical and practical sessions for 5th-year medical students in 2015. The study by Rahma et al. aims to explore the students' satisfaction with the public health clerkship, which is crucial for assessing and reforming the taught curriculum. A post-evaluation cross-sectional study was conducted from 2015–2022 via an online university system, and 174 students participated. It is seen that the medical students at the UAEU were satisfied with the activities and delivery of the public health clerkship. Conducting needs assessment and proposal writing gave them the knowledge, skills, and confidence to conduct research in their career. These findings may help and support other institutes to plan and develop a clerkship in public health.

As a convenient and promising care model, the public has gradually accepted community-based senior care. However, community services developed to facilitate older adults often need to achieve the expected effect. A study by Ma W. et al. further developed an extended Anderson behavior model by incorporating social psychological factors and vertical and horizontal fairness perceptions. The study used data from a survey of 322 urban area seniors in Shaanxi Province. The results showed that factors influencing older adults' satisfaction with service categories differ. Moreover, with the addition of the social psychological factors, it is observed that the vertical fairness perception of the survey respondents affected their satisfaction with senior care services significantly more than the horizontal fairness perception.

Population knowledge and attitudes toward Obstructive Sleep Apnea syndrome (OSA) are critical to public health initiatives to overcome the disease. Healthcare education is an appropriate approach to expediting the process of building active medical practice models in the public. Pan et al. in their study, aimed to assess the level of KAP regarding OSA and healthcare education demand among the Chinese general population. A cross-sectional survey was performed online via Wenjuanxing in mainland China between February and March 2022. The study enrolled 1,507 respondents, aged 18 to 68 years old. The findings indicated that even the higher educated and urban populations in mainland China needed more knowledge about positive attitudes toward and practices regarding OSA. They showed an urgent demand for health care education. A particular emphasis should be placed on appropriating population demand for health care education and promoting the benefits of active medical practice models in sleep medicine.

2.3. Secondary data (ecological study)

Public health education is essential for managing health risks. The study by Gao et al. empirically analyzed the effect of public health education on people's demand for commercial health insurance. The research is based on panel data from 31 provinces in China from 2009 to 2019. It is observed that public health education significantly increases people's demand for commercial health insurance. This effect remains significant when considering endogeneity and robustness. It is also seen that health literacy, health risk perceptions, and health risk attitudes cause the increased demand for commercial health insurance. The effect of health education on promoting people's demand for commercial health insurance is more evident in regions with high levels of urbanization, the proportion of men, education, medical resources, economic development, and social medical insurance coverage.

2.4. Retrospective cohort study

Among PLHIV (People Living with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus), Opportunistic infections (OIs) are the leading cause of morbidity and mortality. Nevertheless, there are few robust recent data on the rates of OIs and the risk factors contributing to their occurrence. Woldegeorgis et al. sought to determine the incidence of OIs and identify predictors among adolescents and adults after initiating Anti-Retroviral therapy (ART) in Ethiopia. A retrospective cohort study design was employed. The study population was 515 adolescents and adults who initiated ART between 1 January 2012 and 31 December 2021. The rate of OIs after the initiation of ART was relatively high. Moreover, being female, mild malnutrition, not taking ART, poor adherence to ART, and advanced HIV disease at presentation increased the hazards of developing OIs. Adherence counseling and public awareness can help improve this.

2.5. Quasi-experimental study (community trial)

The Chinese government released a national health education program in impoverished counties to promote health literacy among rural populations in 2018. Under this, an integrated health education program was implemented in Yunnan province. This included additional culturally sensitive educational components for the severely impoverished prefectures. Li et al. examined the differential effects of the health education program models on health literacy outcomes among 15-69-year-old residents in poverty-stricken areas. A quasi-experimental design was conducted with two arms. It included surveys at baseline (October 2019) and endline (June 2021) to collect individual-level health information, including the Chinese Resident Health Literacy Scale. The experimental group received the national health education program with the additional Yunnan-specific program, and the control group received only the national program. The findings highlight the importance of incorporating non-verbal visual aids and culturally-sensitive media tools in health literacy education to address healthy lifestyles and the living contexts of the populations in poverty-stricken areas.

2.6. Development of tools

The Sugar-Sweetened Media Literacy Scale (SSM-ML) has been shown to significantly assess the US population's SSB (Sugar-Sweetened Beverage) calorie intake. Long and Yoon conducted a cross-sectional study from September to November 2021 to describe the psychometric properties of the revised Chinese version of the SSB-ML (C-SSB-ML) and evaluate its validity and reliability. The results from 975 undergraduates at two of China's most prominent universities showed that the C- SSB-ML criterion-related validity was positively associated with the e-Health Literacy Scale (eHEALS). The findings provide evidence for a valid and reliable tool that can be used to assess sugar-sweetened media literacy in Chinese undergraduates. They will help organizations leverage media literacy in strategy formulation to ensure SSB intake is controlled as much as possible through practical efforts.

Selective biomedical and behavioral approaches still dominate health promotion practice. This is insufficient to reduce health inequities which are quite high due to the inequitable distribution of structural and systemic privilege and power. The RLCHPM (Red Lotus Critical Health Promotion Model) was developed to enhance critical practice. It includes values and principles that the health practitioners will be able to use to critically reflect on health promotion practice. Existing quality assessment tools primarily focus on technical aspects of practice and not on the underpinning values and principles. The purpose of the tool should be to support the reorientation of health promotion practice toward a more critical approach. A project by O'Hara and Taylor aimed to develop a quality assessment tool to support critical reflection using the values and principles of critical health promotion. Critical Systems Heuristics was used as the theoretical framework to develop the quality assessment tool. The pilot testing of the tool was done on nine graduate public health students in 2022. The Quality Assessment Tool for Critical Health Promotion Practice (QATCHEPP) includes ten values and associated principles. It provides theory-based heuristic support for practitioners to use critical reflection to assess the extent to which practice aligns with critical health promotion. The QATCHEPP can be used as part of the RLCHPM or as an independent quality assessment tool to support health promotion orientation toward critical practice. This is essential to ensure that health promotion practice enhances health equity.

3. Conclusion

The above studies provide insight into university medical and health science courses and have diverse contributions. This Research Topic is expected to inspire, inform and guide researchers in the field. The Research Topic reiterates the importance of the development of public health education considering local factors like social characteristics, demographic variables, and others. It also highlights the necessity of developing proper tools, educational material, and regular monitoring to sustain educational and promotional initiatives in the vast field of public health.

A new era of computer-assisted education has been opened by the introduction of AI in education has opened. It also brings new possibilities for teaching and learning in public health education ( 3 ). The importance of using the latest technological developments for improving public health activities is highlighted and cannot be undermined.

Author contributions

HT: Conceptualization, Writing—original draft, Writing—review and editing. AM: Conceptualization, Writing—review and editing.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

The author(s) declared that they were an editorial board member of Frontiers, at the time of submission. This had no impact on the peer review process and the final decision.

Publisher's note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

1. Kang S, Goodman MS, Thakur HP, Grivna M, Zodpey SP. Editorial: an insight into university medical and health science courses. Front Public Health. (2022) 10:1074966. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2022.1074966

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Keywords: public health, health education, health promotion, health sciences, insights, primary care

Citation: Thakur H and Meadors AC (2023) Editorial: Insights in public health education and promotion: 2022. Front. Public Health 11:1280357. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2023.1280357

Received: 20 August 2023; Accepted: 18 September 2023; Published: 03 October 2023.

Edited and reviewed by: Christiane Stock , Institute of Health and Nursing Science, Germany

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*Correspondence: Harshad Thakur, harshad@tiss.edu

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