1. Syllabus Content
The Ottawa Charter as an effective health promotion framework
Developing personal skills
Creating supportive environments
Strengthening community action
Reorienting health services
Building healthy public policy

2. The Ottawa Charter
In 1986, the Ottawa Charter marked the beginning of a new era of public health. Ottawa Charter became the first conference for international health where the initial goal was to achieve health for and beyond.
The Ottawa Charter recognised that in order for health to be achieved, it needed to focus on a collaborative approach.
The thrust of the charter was to establish health as a human right that should be incorporated in all public policy and decision making.
The Ottawa Charter clearly reflects the belief that health is socially based.

3. The charter is significant because it gave direction to health promotion through clear definitions, action plans and positive involvement.
Agreement to the principles of the Ottawa Charter saw countries across the world adopt the public health approach as a new way of approaching health promotion
It acknowledges the role of health and social factors, such as housing, water and food quality, education, transport, employment, government social support policy and access to health care.
Addresses

4. Action Areas of the Ottawa Charter

5. Developing Personal Skills (empower the individual to make positive health/lifestyle choices)
Building Healthy Public Policy (Policy and legislation that supports health)
Strengthening Community Action (Community working together to enhance health)
Creating Supportive Environments (creating safe, healthy, stimulating work, school and community environments)
Reorienting Health Services (taking the emphasis away from ‘curing’ disease to ‘preventing’ disease)

6. Developing Personal Skills
Health promotion supports personal and social development through providing information, education for health and enhancing life skills. By so doing, it increases the options available to people to exercise more control over their environment, and to make choices conductive to health.
Extract from the Ottawa Charter
These skills (communication, problem solving, planning, decision making, conflict resolution and goal setting) can be developed in schools, workplaces and in other community settings.

7. Developing Personal Skills (cont.)
Examples of this action in Australia include:
Health education in schools
Media campaigns encouraging healthy life choices
Anti-smoking programs
The work of NGOs, such as Cancer Council and the National Heart Foundation

8. Creating Supportive Environments
The overall guiding principle for the world, nations, regions and communities alike, is the need to encourage reciprocal maintenance- to take care of each other, our communities and our natural environment. The conservation of natural resources throughout the world should be emphasised as a global responsibility.
Extract from the Ottawa Charter
This action area focuses on the places where people live, work and play and on increasing people’s ability within these settings to make health- promoting choices.
Workplaces, support groups, health services, school the media and family can all help to provide supportive environments

9. Creating Supportive Environments (cont.)
Examples of this action area in Australia include:
The use of unleaded petrol
Alcohol free areas at sporting venues and in the community
Recycling programs conducted by local councils
Healthy school canteens
On the sporting field- padded areas, modified rules and protective equipment
The policy of speeding in school zones
In the home- smoke alarms, smoke free zone

10. Strengthening Community Action
Health promotion works through concrete and effective community action in setting priorities, making decisions, planning strategies and implementing them to achieve better health. At the heart of this process is the empowerment of communities- their ownership and control of their own endeavours and destinies.
Extract from the Ottawa Charter
The focus of this area is the empowerment of communities to identify and implement actions to address their health concerns.
Communities will respond more positively to initiatives that they have had a role in developing.

11. Strengthening Community Action (cont.)
Examples of resources that can work effectively together are schools, workplaces, self-help groups, local governments, community health centres, doctors and the media.
Examples of this action in Australia include:
Health promoting in schools
Self-help groups, such as Alcoholics Anonymous and CanTeen
Lions Club Driver Reviver stations

12. Reorienting Health Services
The responsibility for health promotion in health services is shared among individuals, community groups, health professionals, health service institutions and governments. They must work together towards a health care system which contributes to the pursuit of health. The role of the health sector must move increasingly in a health promotion direction, beyond its responsibility for providing clinical and curative services.
Extract from the Ottawa Charter
The reorientating of health services has focused on the wellbeing of the whole person: promoting ill health and supporting wellbeing. Simply, focusing on prevention rather than a cure.
Reorientation means adjusting the direction or focus of a service to create a fresh approach.

13. Reorienting Health Services (cont.)
Examples of this action in Australia include:
Increased funding for health promotion and research
Doctors working with child-care centres to promote immunisation programs
Pharmacists working with community health centres in order to engage in improved preventative strategies
Police working with schools to address issues such as drink-driving, bullying and other crimes.

14. Build Healthy Public Policy
Health promotion combines diverse but complementary approaches including legislation, fiscal measures (government spending), taxation and organisational change. It is coordinated action that leads to health, income and social policies that foster equity. Joint action contributes to ensuring safer and healthier goods and services, healthier public services and cleaner, more enjoyable environments.
Extract from the Ottawa Charter

15. This relates to the decisions made at all levels of government and by organisations that work towards health improvement.
The purpose of this principle is to guide public policy so that it provides an environment in which healthy choices are made easy.

16. Build Healthy Public Policy (cont.)
Examples of this action in Australia include:
Legislation to restrict advertising of cigarettes
Smoke-free workplaces and public buildings
Reduced tax on unleaded petrol and low- alcohol beer
Compulsory swimming pool fences
Incentives for private health insurance
Government employment programs, such as CentreLink

17. Activity/Questions

18. Activity/Questions (cont.)
Explain how the action areas of the Ottawa Charter can contribute to reduction in the incidence of a health concern (for example tobacco use or road injuries).
In small groups, choose a health issue or behaviour that you would like to address within our school community. Who will be your target audience? Will it be students, staff, parents, community members or all of these? Using the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion framework, propose strategies under each of the action areas to improve the health of your audience in relation to your chosen health issue or behaviour.

19. The Ottawa Charter has had considerable influence on the understandings of health promotion that have developed in Australia, the approaches that have been adopted and the people or organisations that have involved themselves in these approaches. Explain how the Ottawa Charter marked a change in approaches to health promotion in Australia.