Types of Health Promotion
There are five main categories of health promotion, organized around the level of individual and community involvement: Health Education, Health Protection, Preventive Health Services, Health Promotion Programs, and Community Development.
Main Categories
- Health Education — focuses on providing individuals with the knowledge and skills necessary to make informed decisions about their health, as seen in the American Heart Association's Heart-Healthy Eating Plate campaign, which aims to educate people about healthy eating habits.
- Health Protection — involves measures to protect people from health hazards, such as the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) standards for workplace safety, which require employers to provide a safe working environment for employees.
- Preventive Health Services — provides services aimed at preventing disease and promoting health, including regular check-ups and screenings, as offered by the National Breast and Cervical Cancer Early Detection Program, which provides breast and cervical cancer screenings to low-income women.
- Health Promotion Programs — designed to encourage healthy behaviors and lifestyles, such as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Diabetes Prevention Program, which provides a lifestyle change program for people with prediabetes.
- Community Development — involves working with communities to identify and address health needs, as seen in the World Health Organization's (WHO) Healthy Cities initiative, which supports cities in creating healthy and sustainable environments.
Comparison Table
| Category | Cost | Scale | Speed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Education | Low-Moderate (e.g., $100-$1,000 per campaign) | Individual-Community | Medium (e.g., 6-12 months per campaign) |
| Health Protection | Moderate-High (e.g., $1,000-$10,000 per regulation) | Population-Based | Fast (e.g., immediate implementation of regulations) |
| Preventive Health Services | Moderate (e.g., $500-$5,000 per service) | Individual-Community | Medium (e.g., 3-6 months per service) |
| Health Promotion Programs | Moderate-High (e.g., $5,000-$50,000 per program) | Community-Population | Slow (e.g., 1-2 years per program) |
| Community Development | High (e.g., $50,000-$500,000 per project) | Community-Population | Slow (e.g., 2-5 years per project) |
How They Relate
The categories of health promotion often overlap and feed into each other, such as Health Education and Health Promotion Programs, which both aim to encourage healthy behaviors, but differ in their approach, with Health Education focusing on providing information and Health Promotion Programs focusing on providing support and resources.
- Health Protection and Preventive Health Services are often confused, but Health Protection focuses on protecting people from health hazards, while Preventive Health Services focuses on preventing disease and promoting health.
- Community Development and Health Promotion Programs are closely related, as Community Development provides the foundation for Health Promotion Programs by creating a supportive environment for healthy behaviors.
- The American Cancer Society and American Heart Association are examples of organizations that provide Health Education, Health Promotion Programs, and Preventive Health Services, demonstrating the interconnectedness of these categories.