Community action for health promotion and prevention

Abstract

According to the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion of 1986, [h]ealth promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. To reach a state of complete physical mental and social wellbeing, an individual or group must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment. Health is, therefore, seen as a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. In commu-nities, various problems and challenges arise in public, semi-public and private set-tings. Addic-tions, littering, vandalism, but also violence, other social problems and even mental health are challenges that communities have to face.