Quick questions on Health promotion, prevention and advocacy: HSC Health and Movement Science Focus Area 1

The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion was adopted at the first International Conference on Health Promotion in Ottawa in 1986. It sets out five action areas that remain the dominant global framework for health promotion.

Primary prevention. Stops disease before it occurs by reducing exposure to risk or boosting protective factors. Examples: childhood immunisation, tobacco taxation, road safety regulation, sun protection campaigns, healthy school food policies.

The health-promoting schools approach, developed by the WHO, integrates the Ottawa Charter into schools: school policy (canteen, anti-bullying, sun protection), physical and social environment, curriculum (PDHPE / HMS), school health services, and community partnerships. The framework is a working example of multi-action-area health promotion in a single setting.

Advocacy is action to change policy, system or environmental conditions in favour of health. It overlaps with health promotion but is more specifically aimed at decision-makers (governments, regulators, employers, corporations).

Use legislation, taxation, regulation and procurement to make the healthier choice easier or the unhealthier choice harder. Examples: tobacco plain packaging, alcohol excise, mandatory food labelling, seatbelt and helmet laws, sugary-drink levies (where adopted).

Shape the physical, social, economic and natural environments that surround people. Examples: smoke-free public spaces, urban active-transport infrastructure, healthy school canteen policies, workplace mental health initiatives.

Support communities to set priorities, plan and act on their own health concerns. Examples: ACCHSs (community-controlled governance is the model in action), local Healthy Together coalitions, community-led suicide prevention.

Build health literacy, behavioural skills and decision-making capacity through education, information and skills training. Examples: school PDHPE and HMS programs, parenting programs, quitlines and self-help apps, peer education.

Shift the health system's focus from acute treatment toward prevention, primary care, community engagement and the social determinants of health. Examples: GP-led chronic disease management plans, the expansion of community mental health, integrated care models, NACCHO-led primary care.

Stops disease before it occurs by reducing exposure to risk or boosting protective factors. Examples: childhood immunisation, tobacco taxation, road safety regulation, sun protection campaigns, healthy school food policies.

Detects disease early when it is more treatable. Examples: BreastScreen Australia, the National Bowel Cancer Screening Program, the National Cervical Screening Program, blood-pressure and cholesterol checks at the GP.

Reduces the harm and complications of established disease through treatment, rehabilitation and chronic disease management. Examples: cardiac rehabilitation, diabetes self-management education, mental health relapse prevention, post-stroke physiotherapy.

Targets laws and regulations: e.g. Cancer Council and Heart Foundation work on tobacco plain packaging, advertising restrictions and excise; public health groups on alcohol pricing and gambling reform.

List the five action areas of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. [5 marks]

Distinguish between primary, secondary and tertiary prevention, with one Australian example of each. [6 marks]