Helpful Resources Health Promotion Tools and Resources

Note: In this toolkit, the term “health promotion” is used in a broad sense to describe a wide range of efforts from educational and outreach programs, to promotion through mass media outlets. The following describes initiatives that were implemented in Hungary and Romania, including Health Promotion programs.

Broadly defined, health promotion describes a wide range of efforts—from educational and outreach programs to use of mass media—that enable people to increase control over and to improve their health. The AIHA partnerships that have utilized the Healthy Communities methodology have made health promotion an important component of their interventions. AIHA partners have realized that an important method of improving the health of their communities is educating citizens about healthy lifestyles, the availability of enhanced healthcare services and resources, and the important role that each individual plays in both his or her own health and the well-being of the greater community. For example, AIHA partners in Hungary and Romania have implemented health promotion activities in different and innovative ways to help share vital information with the communities they serve.

Case Study: Hungary

• An outreach education program at the local public swimming pool where they shared healthy lifestyles information with more than 350 people in one week;
• A weekly quiz in the county newspaper, each focused on a different women’s health topic and accompanied by an article that included a short summary of the partnership and its activities. Entries were collected and winners were randomly selected from the correct entries;
• Peer education training for 17 high school students from five schools. These student peer educators conducted outreach sessions with their contemporaries on a number of reproductive health topics;
• Outreach classes for young couples planning to be married that covered topics such as communication, healthy relationships, sexuality, family planning, and contraception;
• An adolescent pregnancy prevention campaign that focused on responsible relationships, safe sex, and other related issues targeting girls between the ages of 14 and 18 in Gyor, with a special focus on socially disadvantaged and less-educated groups. As part of the campaign, local gynecologists, school nurses, and peer educators gave presentations at 11 local schools. The campaign included three Information Points throughout the city at locations frequented by young people where district nurses, peer educators, and volunteers were on hand to distribute campaign information and to answer questions. The campaign concluded with a teen disco event that included a panel of two Hungarian television personalities and a gynecologist and was moderated by a reporter from Radio Gyor discussing the campaign topics.
• Till Human Voices Wake Us, a play about teen pregnancy and pregnancy prevention, was shared by the Pittsburgh partners, translated, and adapted for use in Gyor schools. Three participating drama teachers presented the play at their schools. The play is being presented at schools throughout Gyor, using students from each school as performers. After each performance, a discussion is led by peer educators and nurses who are part of the project.
• As part of the annual “health markets” held in Gyor each April, the Hungarian partners set up eight interactive booths in eight different city neighborhoods to provide health information to the public. Approximately 1,800 people visited the health market booths, which held various educational activities, including presentations on health topics, quizzes, games, demonstrations, and children’s activities.
• In March 2004 the partners celebrated the grand opening of For Women’s Health, the women’s health information and resource center in Gyor. The center provides women in the community with access to important information about issues such as family planning, healthy childbirth, healthy lifestyles, and mental health. The center staff also offers classes on a variety of topics. The partners also opened two satellite centers and eight information kiosks at key sites throughout Gyor, including healthcare sites, a pharmacy, the cultural house, the shopping mall, the business park, the public library, and the family and marriage institute. These additional centers/information points are able to reach target populations throughout the city, especially women who may not be able to visit the main center. In its first six months of operation, For Women’s Health held 54 health classes attended by 1,146 people. More than 150 additional individuals visited the center. Center staff loaned resource materials to 183 people and distributed 10,900 leaflets on a variety of topics.

Case Study: Romania

In Romania, similar health promotion programs designed to support and promote partner Healthy Communities initiatives were established. A partnership between Bucharest, Romania, and Lexington, Kentucky, focused on developing and implementing health communications as well as community mobilization strategies essential to the implementation of health reform efforts, including a new health insurance system.

Bucharest partners received training in communications and, once they mastered the principles, they implemented several health communications and advocacy activities. In addition, they developed a training package for health education and communications.

The partnership culminated with a health communications campaign that utilized a range of mass media outlets—television, radio, newspapers, magazines, brochures and posters—to communicate valuable information about available healthcare services and the best ways to access these services.

The campaign was publicly launched on June 26, 2002 with a various activities, including a press conference at the National Health Insurance House in Bucharest. Partners distributed a press kit containing all of the relevant information and printed materials to the media representatives covering the launch. National and local media outlets, including three television stations, two radio stations and three newspapers covered the campaign.

Many of the printed materials from this campaign were distributed to general practitioners, the local insurance houses, and public outpatient clinics throughout the country. In addition, the partners developed a Web site that was heavily advertised, containing health services information and contact information for local public providers. From the launch of the campaign through October 7, 2002, there were an impressive 17,635 visits to the Web site.

The experiences cited above from Hungary and Romania highlight just a few examples of how AIHA partners utilized the Healthy Communities approach and assistance from their US partners to implement effective health promotion activities. AIHA partners in communities throughout Central and Eastern Europe and Eurasia have similarly armed their citizens with the information and resources they need to lead healthier lifestyles.

Tools and Resources:

• Healthy Communities Media Relations Guide

Additional Reading:

• Mayor Mobilizes Community Change (AIHA CommonHealth, Spring 1996)
• Community Health in Inner-City Cleveland (AIHA CommonHealth, Spring 1996)
• Celebrating Healthy Cities (AIHA CommonHealth, Spring 1996)
• Mobilizing for Healthy Communities (AIHA CommonHealth, Summer 1996)
• Slovak Town Targets Traffic Injuries (AIHA CommonHealth, Spring 1997)
• Study Assesses Risky Behaviors of Slovak Teens (AIHA CommonHealth, Spring 1997)
• Reaching Out to Patients and Communities (AIHA CommonHealth, Summer 1997)
• Latvian Teens Steer Community to Healthier Living (AIHA CommonHealth, Summer 1997)
• CEE Conference Disseminates Healthy Communities Successes (AIHA CommonHealth, Winter 1998)
• Community Health Center Opens in Turcianske Teplice (AIHA CommonHealth, Winter 1998)
• Healthy Communities Dissemination Conference Stress Mobilization, Empowerment (AIHA Connections, November 2002)
• Healthy Cities Start from Healthy Communities: AIHA Partners Share Experience in Empowering Health Promotion and Social Safety (AIHA Connections, December 2003)
• Involving Businesses to Strengthen Health of Communities: Pecs/Harrisburg Partners Sponsor Two Workshops (AIHA Connections, March 2004)
• Moving Beyond Traditional Structures: Russian CLDP Graduates Use Community Mobilization Techniques to Bring Health to Their Cities (AIHA Connections, June 2004)