Health-Promoting Community

-Automatic translation

Health-Promoting Community is a comprehensive approach that the Directorate of Health works on in cooperation with municipalities, public institutions, non-governmental organisations, etc.

Why Health-Promoting Community?

Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity (WHO, 1948). Public health includes all organized measures (whether public or private) to prevent disease, promote health, and prolong life among the population. (WHO). Its activities aim to provide conditions where people can be healthy and focus on entire populations, not individual patients or diseases.

People are living longer while the birth rate is decreasing. This includes opportunities for communities but also various challenges. Governments must choose efficient ways to maintain and improve people's health and skills at all stages of life. Targeted public health work, based on the best knowledge at any given time, has multiple values ​​for the state, municipalities, individuals, and other interested parties. If the implementation of a Health-Promoting Community is successful, it can be expected that the mental, physical, and social health and well-being of the population will be better, with increased equity, safety, and quality of life in general.

The main goal of a Health-Promoting Community is to support communities in creating an environment and conditions that promote healthy lifestyles, health, and well-being of all residents.

Guiding principles for Health-Promoting Communities:

• Active participation of society as a whole, including stakeholders from all sectors.

• The work is based on the best knowledge and experience at any given time.

• Do no harm

• Equity in health through general measures that consider the needs of vulnerable groups.

• Sustainability, emphasis on planning, and long-term success.

Health and well-being are paramount in all policy-making and actions in a Health-Promoting-Community. We work with the determinants of health and well-being, such as social, economic, and cultural conditions, and artificial and natural environments to create the most optimal conditions in life, play and work for people at all stages of life. The healthy choice must be as easy as possible, such as exercising, eating healthy, promoting mental health, and practising a green lifestyle while at the same time preventing risky behaviour such as consumption of tobacco, alcohol, and other drugs. Collaboration with Health-Promoting Preschool, Health-Promoting Primary Schools, and Health-Promoting Upper Secondary Schools is essential to the Health-Promoting Community.

Systematic public health work in Health-Promoting Communities

Municipalities themselves take the initiative to become Health-Promoting Communities. The conditions for participation are that the local authority/mayor signs an application for participation and a multidisciplinary steering committee is appointed, ensuring the involvement of key stakeholders. By signing an agreement on a Health-Promoting Community, local authorities commit themselves to carry out systematic public health work according to the goals and guidelines of a Health-Promoting Community and with support from the Directorate of Health. In routine public health work, the gap between data, policy, and action is bridged by using public health indicators, checklists, and other data to assess and prioritise according to the needs of each community.

What is the Health-Promoting Community based on?

The ideology and work of the Health Promoting Community are based on the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion, Health in All Policies, Healthy Cities, and Health Promoting Schools developed by the World Health Organization, as well as previous experience of other comparable work in Iceland and abroad.