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Ideas on Writing a Paper That Is a Reflection of Change in Health Promotion

As defined by the World Health Organization, health promotion is "the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health." Health promotion strategies do not target a particular population or set of illnesses, but rather apply a broad approach of combined behavioral, educational and policy-related interventions to improve the public health of a group or region. A paper on health promotion can take one of several approaches to examining a reflection of change in related policies and health behaviors.

  1. Case Study

    • Create and analyze a case study. A health-promotion case study is an in-depth report on how a certain campaign worked to identify a health problem and then develop an intervention. A case study reviews the strengths and weaknesses of the campaign by assessing the goals and outcomes. For instance, in a health promotion effort that targets teenage smoking, a paper should discuss how the program attempted to reduce smoking rates as well as whether, and to what extent, the approach was successful.

    Intervention Specific

    • Examine a specific type of intervention and compare its efficacy across a range of cases. Assess in which instances the intervention was successful and discuss the reasons ifor its success. Alternatively, discuss the reasons why a particular intervention failed to stimulate the desired change in health behavior or policy. Develop suggestions for improving an intervention and raise questions for future research. For example, many health promotion campaigns use public education to stimulate changes in health behaviors. Analyze how public education is developed, what sort of outreach methods are used, and which types of health education prove most effective in stimulating positive changes.

    Problem Specific

    • Focus on a particular health problem and then compare how campaigns have addressed this problem, as well as their merits and limitations. One example of this style of paper is the examination of drunk driving, and how different health promotions have addressed the issue in a way to minimize its harms. This writing approach should consider the types of interventions developed, as well as the scope of the target group. For instance, some campaigns educate drivers about safety, while others focus on legislative reforms.

    Target Population Specific

    • Identify a particular at-risk group and analyze how health promotion campaigns have effectively altered policy or behavior for that population. Certain social groups are at greater risk for illnesses and harmful exposure than others. Examine how health promotion campaign address the problems in a specific population through education, policy reforms and outreach. For example, New York City health officials have identified low-income dwellers as vulnerabale to health problems. In response they have launched campaigns that address nutrition, obesity, reproductive health and safe housing.

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