Health promotion : disciplines, diversity, and development /

Ten primarily British contributors, including the two editors, present health promotion from the perspective of relevant disciplines, excluding the health professions. The major point is that health promotion has emerged in the last decade as an important force to improve the quality and quantity of people's lives. Often referred to as the ^D" health promotion seeks to support and encourage a participative social movement that enables individuals and communities to take control over their own health. These experts agree that the ^D" is no longer sufficiently broad to encompass the field of health promotion. New conceptual developments are being generated by the relevant disciplines, as amply illustrated by scholars from eight areas: psychology, sociology, education, epidemiology, economics, social policy, social marketing, and communication theory. Equally important is the final chapter that discusses health promotion from the perspective of philosophy of science. The authors seem to agree that health promotion is an emerging and distinct discipline, characterized by its multidisciplinarity. Highly recommended for practitioners, educators, researchers, and interested others. A. R. Davis U.S. Public Health Service