Health Promotion – Foundations for Practice, 2nd edition

Citation

Watkinson, G. (2001), "Health Promotion – Foundations for Practice, 2nd edition", Health Education, Vol. 101 No. 1, pp. 40-41. https://doi.org/10.1108/he.2001.101.1.40.1

It has been said that health promotion is the Angora sweater of the NHS, being warm and fluffy with a tendency to get up some people’s noses. This book builds on the success of the first edition published in 1994 and, just like a good sneeze, clears the head. Jennie Naidoo and Jane Wills provide the reader with a text that clarifies contemporary health promotion thinking. One of the important aspects of health promotion is that it is a core foundation for those working in health, social welfare and education. This book not only reflects the diversity of those who practise health promotion, but also encourages and challenges practitioners to see the potential for health promotion in their everyday work.

The second edition builds on the user‐friendly format of the first by providing examples, activity and discussion boxes interspersed throughout the text. Almost 100 extra pages have been incorporated with a new section examining “settings based” health promotion. Whilst the settings of school and workplace were covered in the earlier edition, health promotion in neighbourhoods, in primary and secondary care have been included. Issues around social cohesion and exclusion are discussed with a strong emphasis on partnership working, planning quality, audit and evidence based practice. All of these aspects are crucial when considering the huge health improvement agenda and Health Improvement Programmes (HImPs) involving multiple partnerships. The launch of the National Healthy School Standard (NHSS) in October 1999 (explored in some detail in this journal, March 2000) probably occurred whilst this book was at press. Nevertheless, the chapter on health promotion in schools gives a comprehensive overview, drawing on the wider body of knowledge developed within the European Network of Health Promoting Schools.

A key appeal of this book is that it relates theory to practice for a broad inter‐professional audience. People undergoing basic training/pre‐registration to qualify as professionals will be challenged, tested and hopefully enabled to promote health more effectively through this text. It is certainly a breath of fresh air to those irritated by Angora sweaters.