Health Promotion
Summary
Health promotion is the process of empowering individuals and communities to take control of the determinants of their health and to improve their well-being. Rather than focusing solely on the prevention or treatment of specific diseases, it addresses the broad social, economic, environmental and behavioural factors that shape health outcomes. Central to this approach is the recognition that health emerges from interactions across multiple levels—from personal skills and social networks to organisational policies and public governance. Health promotion strategies therefore combine educational activities, environmental modifications, policy development and community engagement to ensure that the healthy choice is also the easiest choice. A salutogenic perspective further emphasises the mobilisation of people’s existing resources—psychosocial, cultural and material—to strengthen their capacity to manage stressors and to navigate life on the continuum between ease and dis-ease. Across diverse settings—schools, workplaces, neighbourhoods and healthcare services—health promotion seeks sustainable changes by advocating supportive policies, enabling equitable access to resources, and mediating partnerships among sectors and stakeholders.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Area-level transport patterns have been linked to obesity prevention on a population scale. In a national linkage of travel and health surveys, regions where habitual car trips were replaced by at least 30 minutes per day of walking or cycling showed significantly lower rates of elevated waist circumference, suggesting that transport planning strategies can serve as a public-health lever. In older adults, objective sleep assessments by polysomnography and continuous activity monitoring revealed that higher daytime sedentariness was associated with disrupted sleep architecture, whereas low-intensity physical activity improved deep-sleep parameters. This bidirectional interaction underlines the importance of integrating sleep hygiene and movement promotion into healthy-aging initiatives.
Health Promotion publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in health promotion across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Health literacy: The ability to access, comprehend and use health information to make informed decisions and maintain well-being.
Socio-ecological model: A framework that situates individual health behaviour within interacting layers of interpersonal, organisational, community and policy influences.
Sense of coherence (SOC): A global orientation reflecting an individual’s confidence that life is structured, manageable and meaningful, guiding effective use of resources.
Generalized resistance resources (GRRs): Psychosocial, cultural, material or biological assets that help individuals cope with stressors and promote health.
Bidirectional association: A reciprocal relationship in which each variable both influences and is influenced by the other over time.
References
- Area-level associations of travel behaviour metrics with waist circumference: findings from linkage of travel and health surveys. Scientific Reports (2023).
- Bidirectional associations between physical activity and sleep in older adults: a multilevel analysis using polysomnography. Scientific Reports (2022).
- Barriers and facilitators to diet, physical activity and lifestyle behavior intervention adherence: a qualitative systematic review of the literature. International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (2023).
- Effects of a Theory-Based, Multicomponent eHealth Intervention for Obesity Prevention in Young Children from Low-Income Families: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Study. Nutrients (2023).
- An Introduction to the Health Promotion Perspective in the Health Care Services.
About these summaries
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