Why A Community-Based Health Promotion Approach?
Community-Based Health Promotion A comprehensive, systematic, coordinated approach to affecting long-term health behavior change by influencing the community (cultural) norms through education and community organization. Studies show that most Americans want to lead healthy lives and are eager to improve their lifestyles. In fact, many continuously attempt to change unhealthy behaviors, only to fail. Most health promotion strategies assist individuals in changing health risk behaviors: self-help pamphlet distribution, individual counseling, group education classes, support groups, and health risk appraisals. Careful evaluation of these strategies has shown that long-term behavior change is very difficult for most participants. The failure rate can be 80% or more. The best predictor of health behavior and long-lasting successful behavior change is often the “culture” in which a person lives. Health promotion programs need to make it possible for the community to support healthy behavior
