1st semester 

Learning objectives

By successfully completing the course, students are expected to:

• Understand the concepts, principles, and ethical foundations of health promotion as defined by the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (WHO, 1986) and subsequent charters and declarations.
• Recognize the concepts of equity in health, social justice, and health as a human right and basis for action in health promotion.
• Describe the determinants of health and their impact on health promotion efforts.
• Understand current models and approaches to effective program implementation (including needs assessment, design, implementation, and evaluation) in health promotion.
• Identify trends in the use of theories in health promotion practice.
• Describe health promotion approaches that support empowerment, participation, collaboration, and equity to create environments that promote health.

Course Content

The course covers fundamental principles and strategies of health promotion internationally and modern approaches to health promotion in various contexts and settings. The theories of behavior change are presented at the level of the socio-ecological model of health, and the connection between theory and practice is made. Models and approaches to effective health promotion and education programs – assessment of needs, design, implementation, and quality evaluation, impact, outcomes, and sustainability - supporting empowerment, participation, alliances, and advocacy as a basis for action in health promotion. The course includes the following units:

• Historical milestones in Health Promotion and Education.
• The social  determinants of health and social inequalities
• The socio-ecological model of health.
• Theories at the intra-personal, inter-personal, and community levels.
• Models of intervention design and evaluation (PRECEDE-PROCEED, ReAIM, etc.).
• Best practices in Health Promotion - the EQUIHP framework.
• The European framework of competencies for Health Promotion practice (COMPHP).