Browse by tag "health promotion"

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SUMMARY

The spectrum of tasks for health promotion has widened since the Ottawa Charter was signed. In 1986, infectious diseases still seemed in retreat, the potential extent of HIV/AIDS was unrecognized, the Green Revolution was at its height and global poverty appeared less intractable. Global climate change had not yet emerged as a major threat to development and health. Most economists forecast continuous improvement, and chronic diseases were broadly anticipated as the next major health issue.

Today, although many broadly averaged measures of population health have improved, many of the determinants of global health have faltered. Many infectious diseases have emerged; others have unexpectedly reappeared. Reasons include urban crowding, environmental changes, altered sexual relations, intensified food production and increased mobility and trade. Foremost, however, is the persistence of poverty and the exacerbation of regional and global inequality.

Life expectancy has unexpectedly declined in several countries. Rather than being a faint echo from an earlier time of hardship, these declines could signify the future. Relatedly, the demographic and epidemiological transitions have faltered. In some regions, declining fertility has overshot that needed for optimal age structure, whereas elsewhere mortality increases have reduced population growth rates, despite continuing high fertility.

Few, if any, Millennium Development Goals (MDG), including those for health and sustainability, seem achievable. Policy-makers generally misunderstand the link between environmental sustainability (MDG #7) and health. Many health workers also fail to realize that social cohesion and sustainability—maintenance of the Earth's ecological and geophysical systems—is a necessary basis for health.

In sum, these issues present an enormous challenge to health. Health promotion must address population health influences that transcend national boundaries and generations and engage with the development, human rights and environmental movements. The big task is to promote sustainable environmental and social conditions that bring enduring and equitable health gains.

Article abstract:

The scienti?c evidence for anthropogenic climate change has been established with increasing precision andthere are widespread concerns about its potential to undermine the public health gains of the past century.There is also a growing consensus across private and public sector organisations at national and internationallevel that carbon reduction should be a policy aim. Various international nursing organisations have madestrong position statements on the issue, arguing that nurses should be actively engaged as part of theirroles in both health promotion and clinical practice. We point to education for sustainability initiatives inother health professions and share resources for curriculum development in nursing. The nurses of tomorrowwill make a unique and signi?cant contribution to protecting population health in an unstable climate, if today's nursing educators can help prepare them for this role