Pre-conference: Winds of change in health promotion to improve public health: from research to implementation

Wednesday 28 November, 09:00 - 13:30 

Organised by:

EUPHA Section on Health promotion, Bielefeld University, The European Health Promotion Alliance for Research

Background

Aims: This pre-conference workshop will explore the winds of change (four pillars) in Health Promotion in Europe by introducing:

  • (Research) new European Forum for Health Promotion Research (HP Forum)
  • (Training/Education) International School Health Network
  • (Policy) Health Promotion Intervention and Policy Research: The Case of Health Literacy in Children and Adolescents
  • (Practice) Health Research Practice:  Social Network Analysis and Health Literacy Practices.

As a result of the EUPHA comprehensive approach, we introduce the new HP Forum (European Forum for Health Promotion Research (HP Forum)) that is founded by the International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE), the European Public Health Association (EUPHA), EuroHealthNet, WHO/Europe and UNESCO’s Chair for Global Health and Education, the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and Steno Diabetes Center Copenhagen.

The goal is to bring together health promotion researchers across Europe to further develop health promotion research and initiatives. The alliance will foster synergy between different actors by emphasizing the development of common theoretical and methodological grounds and facilitating collaboration between all larger health promotion research organizations. The HP Forum also aims to keep politicians and policymakers in Europe abreast of advancements in health promotion practices, programs and research. The alliance is open to all European institutions engaged in health promotion research.

A new alliance for health promotion research is needed to effectively address several challenges. In a time when Western societies faces dramatic changes the meaning of health needs to be addressed. While the World Health Organization (WHO) claimed for strengthening individuals’ control over their own health and other life dimensions, by reorienting settings towards health promotion, the control over the lifeworlds has decreased significantly for an increasing number of persons. Concurrently, changing patterns of health, wellbeing, quality of life and disease in Europe and globally are driving dramatic increases in non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as diabetes, heart disease, cancer, chronic lung diseases and mental health disruptions. In addition, pressure from global migration is challenging health and healthcare systems in Europe, magnifying the impact on population health of NCDs. As a primary global challenge of the 21st century, NCDs directly affect the health, quality of life, and productivity of the rapidly increasing number of people who suffer from these and pose a threat to the economies and stability of countries in Europe - and around the world. Nevertheless, the good news is that if health promotion can play a key role, many NCDs are preventable and effects can be mitigated even among those who have NCDs.

However, the current state of health promotion practice in Europe (despite a history of more than 30 years of active research and practice) lacks both a clear identity and robust evidence base to help effectively solve identified problems, including NCDs. A closely related issue is the existing number of different, and often diffuse, health promotion research trends and traditions, which have provided insights, but do not contribute substantially or comprehensively to developing effective community-based health promotion approaches.

A number of organizations in Europe, such as IUHPE, EUPHA and ASPHER, include health promotion and public health as part of their portfolio, and they provide suitable venues for discussing health promotion and public health policies and practices at conferences. However, for many years, European health promotion efforts have suffered from the lack of an arena for discussing the fundamental basis of health promotion and health promotion research: theoretical foundations, models, definitions, research methodologies and translation of research into practice. Therefore, the varying health promotion research traditions lack a European or global anchor, making it difficult to achieve collaboration and synergy.

This major topic will be continued by focusing on the International School Health Network, where issues on Training/Education will be addressed. On a third moment Health Promotion Intervention and Policy Research will be explored trough the study case of Health Literacy in Children and Adolescents. The pre-conference workshop will be closed with the Practice perspective where social network analysis and health literacy practices will be the focus point.

Objectives

This Pre-conference workshop aims at discussing how health promoting four pillars (i.e. Policy, Practice, Research and Training/Education) are being developed. Introducing the audiences to a new European Forum for Health Promotion Research (HP Forum) addressing health promotion in European context we aim at characterizing the more preeminent changes during the last year. Secondly, looking at the International School Health Network we aim at opening up the discussion regarding advances in Training/Education. Thirdly, we aim to explore show cases on the role that health literacy can play in policy development and health promotion practices.

Programme

Opening Remarks and Welcome
09:00 - 09:05
Luis Saboga Nunes and Orkan Okan, EUPHA Health Promotion Section President and Vice-President

Session 1: The European Health Promotion Alliance for Research - Bringing Health Promotion Research Forward
09:05 - 10:00
Moderator: Luis Saboga-Nunes - (ProLiSa; Institute of Sociology, University of Education Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; CISP, National School of Public Health, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa; Isamb-FMUL, Lisboa, Portugal)

  • Introduction to the European Forum for Health Promotion Research (HP Forum): Challenges in HP Research
    Geir Arild Espnes (NTNU Center for Health Promotion Research, Norwegian University of Science and Technology)
  • The Alliance: How to use this new tool
    Bjarne Bruun Jensen (European Vice President of IUHPE Europe, Head of Research, Health Promotion, Steno Diabetes Center - Copenhagen, Denmark)
  • Perspectives from the UNESCO Chair
    Didier Jourdan (UNESCO Chair for Global Health and Education)
  • Perspectives from the EuroHealthNet
    Monica Aberg-Yngve (Research Senior Co-ordinator, EuroHealthNet)
  • Perspectives from the EUPHA
    Luis Saboga-Nunes (EUPHA Health Promotion Section President)

10:00 - 10:15 Coffee break

Session 2: Key Notes on Health Promotion
10:15 - 11:15
Moderator: Orkan Okan (Bielefeld University)

Key Note 1: International School Health Network
10:15 - 10:35
Douglas McCall (International School Health Network, Vancouver, Canada) 

The frameworks used to promote health through schools emerged in the late 1980’s. At their core, the different models were focused on key components such as policy, health/life skills education, services, healthy physical environment, and social support generated by involving parents, youth and the community. Research and practice has been focused on developing, testing and implementing problem-focused and multi-interventions on these issues. Often, single interventions, such as school food policy, drug education or parent involvement, are implemented without any coordination and sustainability plan, once the funding runs out. This presentation will introduce the dimensions of a paradigm shift for health promoting schools (HPS) in the 21st century and introduce a new WHO-UNESCO HPS standards initiative. If we are to end the constant churn of good projects and short-lived programs in the future, we will need to devise, test, and build a sustainable, systems-focused approach that enables local, regional and national actors to build that infrastructure through strategic, continuous improvement.

Key Note 2: From homo sapiens to homo salus: where is the vision? 
10:35 - 10:55
Luis-Saboga Nunes (ProLiSa; Institute of Sociology, University of Education Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany; CISP, National School of Public Health, Universidade NOVA de Lisboa; Isamb-FMUL, Lisboa, Portugal)

In Europe, there is a high variability of curriculum development/implementation in health promotion. School health policy & curriculum development in Health Promotion needs to move from fragmentation to consolidate a salutogenic society. Health promotion is the argument to move from sapiens (wisdom) to salus (heath) practise. In some countries fragmentation compromises an all settings/all policies approach jeopardizing health promotion efforts. Discussing where health promotion stands today in the school curriculum will help decision makers and legislators to reinforce a coherent vision/implementation towards a salutogenic society.

Key Note 3: Health Promotion interventions in the “real world”
10:55 - 11:15
Peter Bentsen (Steno Diabetes Center - Copenhagen & University of Copenhagen, Denmark)

Development and evaluation of ‘real-world’ interventions to improve children and young people’s health and education is today a must needed – but complex – approach. A multi-component, multi-level, multi-disciplinary, and multi-setting / community-wide school-based health promotion strategy needs to be clearly stated and broadly evaluated to reinforce policy-maker’s agenda in health promotion advancements. Making this change and taking this intersectoral and collaborative approach on board will open doors to improving health, education and social capital of children and young people at the local level.

11:15 - 11:25 break

Session 3: Research Examples from Health Promotion Projects
Moderator: Geir Arild Espnes (NTNU Center for Health Promotion Research, Norwegian University of Science and Technology)

Key Note 1: Health Promotion Intervention and Policy Research: The Case of Health Literacy in Children and Adolescents
11:25 - 11:45
Orkan Okan, Bielefeld University, Faculty of Educational Science, Centre for Prevention and Intervention in Childhood and Adolescence (CPI), Bielefeld, Germany

Based on the main results of the first funding period (2015-2018) of the German national “Health Literacy in Childhood and Adolescence” (HLCA) research consortium, the new objective of the second funding period of HLCA (2018-2021) is to develop, implement, and evaluate interventions and programmes to promote health literacy in children and adolescents. This keynote will present the new research framework, initial results, and a research road map regarding health promotion, mental health, and digital health in relation to health literacy and health literate policies.

Key Note 2: Social Network Analysis and Health Literacy Practices
11:45 - 12:15
Tetine Sentell, University of Hawai’i at Manoa, Office of Public Health Studies, Honolulu, United States

Little research quantifies individual health literacy within the context of social networks. Such empirical research is critical for designing interventions to promote better health literacy and better health generally among and cultural groups who have a communal perspective on health. This keynote will introduce into unique perspectives in health literacy research with a specific focus on the social and cultural components.

Closing Remarks
12:15 - 12:30
Bjarne Bruun Jensen (European Vice President of IUHPE Europe, Head of Research, Health Promotion, Steno Diabetes Center - Copenhagen, Denmark)
Orkan Okan, EUPHA Health Promotion Section Vice-President

Registration fee
The registration fee is € 70 which includes networking lunch and refreshments.