Apply the action areas and the enable, mediate and advocate strategies of the Ottawa Charter to plan health promotion that improves community health outcomes

What this dot point is asking

WACE wants you to use the Charter as a planning tool. A strong answer selects action areas that fit the health issue in the stimulus, explains a specific action for each, and links it back to the determinants driving the problem. Marks reward matched, justified application, not a memorised list.

The five action areas

Build healthy public policy means using laws, regulations, taxes and organisational rules to make the healthy option the easier option. Examples include tobacco taxes, mandatory food labelling and smoke-free venues.

Create supportive environments means shaping the physical and social surroundings so health is supported by default, such as building footpaths and parks, providing healthy food in canteens, or creating safe workplaces.

Strengthen community action means empowering communities to identify their own priorities and act on them, so solutions are owned locally and are more likely to last.

Develop personal skills means building the knowledge, health literacy and life skills that let individuals make informed decisions, often through education and skill-building programs.

Reorient health services means shifting the focus of the health system from treatment toward prevention, early intervention and health promotion, and making services accessible and culturally appropriate.

The three strategies: enable, mediate, advocate

Enabling means giving people and communities the resources, skills and opportunities to take control of their own health, reducing the gap between groups. Mediating means bringing together different sectors and interests, such as government, industry, schools and community groups, to coordinate action, because no single sector can address health alone. Advocating means speaking and acting publicly to make health a priority, influencing decision-makers and challenging the conditions that damage health. These three strategies cut across all five action areas and are especially important for reducing inequities, because they target the groups and structures where disadvantage is concentrated.

Applying the Charter to reduce inequities

Good application starts with the determinants. Identify what is driving the issue, then choose action areas and strategies that address those drivers for the disadvantaged group. If cost is the barrier, healthy public policy (subsidies) and enabling strategies fit. If a community feels powerless, strengthening community action and enabling fit. The justification should explain why the chosen action will work for that specific group, not just that it relates to the issue.

How this maps to the exam

Expect a stimulus describing a health issue or a proposed program. You may be asked to classify actions into the correct action area, to plan a multi-area response, or to evaluate how well a program uses the Charter. Always tie each action area to a determinant and to the group experiencing the problem.