1.1. Explain the relationship between health promotion and health education

This guide will help you answer 1.1. Explain the relationship between health promotion and health education.

The terms “health promotion” and “health education” are often used together, but they are distinct concepts. Understanding their relationship is essential for providing effective health and social care, as both play a role in improving individual and community health.

What is Health Promotion?

Health promotion is a broad concept and aims to enable individuals and communities to take control of factors that affect their health. In essence, it focuses on improving the overall conditions and environments that influence people’s wellbeing, both physically and mentally. This approach recognises that health is determined by several factors, such as social, economic, environmental, and cultural influences.

Health promotion often addresses issues like:

• Reducing health inequalities
• Advocating for healthier public policies
• Creating supportive living environments
• Encouraging access to healthcare services

There are three main areas of health promotion:

1. Health education – providing knowledge and information that equips people to make better health choices.
2. Preventive measures – this includes vaccinations, screenings, and other interventions that safeguard public health.
3. Community and infrastructure development – promoting changes in societal systems such as housing, transport, and employment to support health.

Health promotion goes beyond merely telling people to change their behaviour; it actively seeks to understand and address the wider determinants of health.

What is Health Education?

Health education falls within the broader umbrella of health promotion. It involves sharing health-related knowledge to empower people to understand specific health issues or risks. The aim is to improve skills, attitudes, and behaviours that enhance personal wellbeing.

Methods used in health education can include:

• Verbal communication, like one-to-one discussions or group sessions
• Written materials, such as leaflets and posters
• Digital resources, like videos or apps

Health education programmes are usually designed to provide accurate and evidence-based information. This could include teaching someone about the risks associated with smoking or the benefits of eating a balanced diet.

An effective health education plan encourages individuals to:

• Recognise potential health risks
• Understand how their behaviour affects their health
• Take proactive steps to improve their wellbeing

Examples include public awareness campaigns about breastfeeding benefits or training programmes about stress management.

The Relationship Between the Two

Health promotion uses health education but goes further. While health education equips people with the knowledge they need, health promotion provides the tools, support, and environment for them to act on this information.

A Combined Approach

For health promotion to succeed, health education plays an important role. Information about health risks and preventative behaviours needs to reach individuals in a clear and accessible way for positive changes to occur. Similarly, health education relies on health promotion to make its message effective, as understanding alone isn’t always enough to change behaviour.

Examples of their overlap include:

• Anti-smoking campaigns – These not only inform people about the dangers of smoking (health education) but also create smoke-free environments, offer cessation programmes, and influence public policies to reduce tobacco use (health promotion).
• Vaccination initiatives – Health education provides knowledge about the benefits and safety of vaccines. Health promotion ensures vaccines are accessible and affordable, while addressing cultural or systemic barriers.

Complementary Goals

Both aim to improve health but in slightly different ways. Health promotion focuses on the bigger picture, such as policies and societal change, while health education zooms in on individual understanding and behaviour. They work in tandem to address health issues effectively.

For example:

• Health education might encourage people to eat more fruit and vegetables.
• Health promotion could ensure affordable, fresh produce is available in every community.

Another way to understand this is that health education targets “what to do,” while health promotion looks at “how to make it happen.”

Practical Application in Social Care

In health and social care settings, professionals use both health promotion and health education to influence positive outcomes for patients and clients.

Promoting Health in a Care Setting

Care workers may use health promotion techniques to reduce barriers individuals face in living healthy lives. For instance, a care worker supporting a client at risk of diabetes might:

• Provide practical advice (health education) on choosing healthier meal options.
• Help the client access community exercise groups or ensure their employer accommodates regular breaks for managing blood sugar levels (health promotion).

Creating Behavioural Change

Behavioural change theories, such as the Health Belief Model, are often used in conjunction with health promotion and health education. This involves understanding what motivates people to change and combining education with support for long-term action.

For example:

1. Care workers explain the risks of obesity (health education).
2. They provide ongoing support to remove obstacles, like financial or time constraints, so clients can adopt healthier lives (health promotion).

Barriers and Challenges

Achieving success through health promotion and health education isn’t always straightforward. There are several challenges professionals in health and social care may face:

• Lack of engagement – Some individuals may not be ready to make changes, even with education.
• Inequality – People in deprived areas may struggle to access the resources health promotion offers.
• Cultural differences – Practices need adapting to respect diverse beliefs and values.

These challenges highlight the need for persistence and creativity in the delivery of health education and health promotion initiatives.

Health Promotion Without Education?

While health promotion encompasses health education, the reverse isn’t true. This means health promotion can occur without formal education—for instance, adding fluoride to water supplies improves oral health without requiring people to learn or change anything.

Health Education Without Promotion?

Conversely, health education without health promotion may leave individuals unsupported in applying what they’ve learned. For example, people might know they should exercise but may lack local facilities, money, or confidence to make it a routine.

Examples in UK Policy

In the UK, both health promotion and health education feature prominently in public health strategies. Campaigns by bodies such as Public Health England (PHE) often embody the relationship between the two.

• The Change4Life campaign informs people about healthy eating and exercise (health education) while providing accessible resources to act on this advice, such as online meal planners and free local activities (health promotion).
• Efforts to combat alcohol misuse involve raising awareness about recommended alcohol limits (health education) and introducing measures such as increased taxation on alcohol to discourage excessive consumption (health promotion).

Final Thoughts

Health promotion and health education are interconnected and interdependent. By combining education to build awareness with promotion to ensure supportive conditions, they empower individuals to achieve better wellbeing actively. This collaboration is especially relevant in health and social care, where workers often facilitate both aspects through person-centred approaches.