Settings for Health Promotion: Linking Theory and Practice

 

"This comprehensive publication balances theory with practical examples and suggestions for the student, the professional and the policy-maker who are interested in promoting the health of populations… The inclusion of commentary with the essays is a brilliant innovation that encourages the reader to think critically about the topic" -- CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

 

Settings for Health Promotion is the first full-length in-depth treatment of settings as a focal point for planning, implementing, and evaluating health promotion. The concept of ′setting′ is fundamental to theory and practice in health promotion. Settings also frame the context within which health is influenced, so that the setting itself becomes a target of intervention.

Internationally renowned authors from the United States, Canada, Europe, the United Kingdom, and New Zealand describe the state of the art in the theory and practice of health promotion as they analyze programs for their efficiency within specific settings. Following each chapter, two professionals comment upon the program from differing perspectives. Case studies provide practical applications throughout the book. Settings for Health Promotion is important reading for practitioners in public health, nursing, and allied health fields as well as anyone interested in health promotion.

Dr Blake Poland is a professor in the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, current co-Director of the Environmental Health Justice in the City Research Network (www.EHJiC.ca) and former Director of the Collaborative Program in Community Development (2007-2008) and MHSc Program in Health Promotion (1999-2007). Trained in social/health geography (PhD McMaster 1994), Blake’s research has focussed on the settings approach to health promotion (see Settings for Health Promotion, Sage, 2000), the health of marginalized groups, the sociology of tobacco control, and community development as an arena of practice for health professionals (see www.hospitalcommunitycollaboration.ca). More recently his attention has turned to environmental health promotion and building community resilience for the transition to a post-carbon society, including work in the global Transition Town movement (see www.TransitionOakville.ca). Blake also teaches introductory qualitative health research methods (see ‘Teaching’, below). His research is inspired by the work of Paulo Freire, Pierre Bourdieu, complexity theory, arts-enabled and community-based participatory approaches. He has led or worked on projects employing visual methods (photovoice), participatory research, research-based theatre, interactive multimedia installations.

Lawrence Green is a Professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California at San Francisco. A former Director of the federal Office of Health Promotion under the Carter Administration, Vice President of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, and Director of the Office of Science and Extramural Research for CDC, Dr. Green has published broadly on program planning, evidence and evaluation issues, public health, and policy. His awards include the highest distinctions of the American Public Health Association, the American Academy of Health Behavior, the Society for Public Health Education, and the UC Berkeley School of Public Health. Dr. Green holds an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Waterloo and is an elected member of the Institute of Medicine.