Health Promotion Initiative Alberta Region, Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative First Nation Inuit Health
What is Health Promotion?
Health Promotion is the process of enabling individuals (and communities) to increase control over, and to improve, their health. It is:
- Holistic: Looking at physical, emotional, mental and spiritual health
- About Mobilizing the Community: Schools, health centre, band office, business and others
- Focused on the Determinants of Health: Health services, education, income, clean air, water, land, culture, social supports, personal health practices and coping skills
- Building on Strengths: The assets, gifts and skills of the community
The Health Promoter Initiative is a community-driven initiative which means it is essential that the community determines the local priorities and all sectors collaborate and work together to create vision, movement and change.
The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, developed in 1986 through the support of the World Health Organization, identifies five key strategies that can be employed at the level of the individual, family, community, sector and society to improve health.
- Strengthening Community Action
- Building Healthy Public Policy
- Creating Supportive Environments
- Re-orienting Health Services
- Developing Personal Skills
For more info see: http://www.who.int/healthpromotion/conferences/previous/ottawa/en/
Why was the Alberta Region Health Promoter Initiative developed?
The Aboriginal Diabetes Initiative (ADI) subcommittee of Co-management developed the Health Promoter Initiative (HPI) to start up in January 2008. The focus of the HPI is to increase health promotion activities that target the determinants of health impacting three chronic disease risk factors; poor nutrition, physical inactivity and tobacco misuse
The Determinants of Health are factors that affect the health status of a population. Health is a product of the complex interactions between social and economic factors, the physical environment and individual behavior. The following 12 determinants of health have been recognized by the Public Health Agency of Canada:
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Income and Social Status |
Social Support Networks |
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Education and Literacy |
Employment/ Working Conditions |
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Social Environments |
Physical Environments |
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Personal Health Practices and Coping Skills |
Biology and Genetic Endowment |
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Healthy Child Development |
Health Services |
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Gender |
Culture |
How was the HPI implemented in the region so far?
During the first phase of the HPI (2008-2010) the main priority of the project was to:
- Engage and develop internal and external partnerships, both health and non-health, establishing linkages between key sectors.
- Create awareness and understanding of the role of the health promoter and health promoter interventions in community
- Develop and/or improve knowledge and skills by attending regular Health Promotion training sessions as developed and facilitated by Blue Quills College and the University of Alberta.
- Complete a needs assessment or utilize an existing community needs assessment to indicate community health needs and guide project priorities.
- Begin the initial stages of community program planning and implementation based upon the needs assessment and in collaboration with partners.
In phase 2 of this initiative (2010-2012), project priorities will build upon program implementation and focus further on:
- Public policy development where health promoters will collaborate with partners in facilitating and promoting the health impacts of policy.
- Building supportive environments and advocating for changes to improve the determinants of health.
- Growing and developing sustainable health promotion projects through strengthened community action where there is community involvement in the planning and implementation of activities.