Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Health Promotion

  • Reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Geropsychology

  • 56 Accesses

Synonyms

Behavior change strategies; Health education; Promoting healthy behaviors

Definition

Health promotion is “the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health” (World Health Organization 2009). Health promotion involves the development of individual, institutional, community, and policy-level strategies to influence health-related behavior and, ultimately, to create environments supportive of health. Health promotion for older adults is often focused on the prevention and management of disability and chronic disease in order to improve health outcomes and quality of life for those aged 65 years and older. Increasing healthy life expectancy, or the expected number of remaining healthy years, in addition to extending life expectancy, is of primary concern in health promotion for older adults (Haber 2013).

Introduction

The proportion of the population classified as “older adults” has increased dramatically in recent decades. Globally, the number...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 1,699.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 1,799.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179–211.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bartholomew, L. K., Markham, C., Mullen, P., & Fernandez, M. E. (2015). Planning models for theory-based health promotion interventions. In K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer, & V. Viswanath (Eds.), Health behavior: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 359–387). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beydoun, H. A., & Beydoun, M. A. (2008). Predictors of colorectal cancer screening behaviors among average-risk older adults in the United States. Cancer Causes & Control, 19, 339–359.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brownson, R. C., Tabak, R. G., Stamatakis, K. A., & Glanz, K. (2015). Implementation, dissemination, and diffusion of public health interventions. In K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer, & V. Viswanath (Eds.), Health behavior: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 301–325). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crome, L., & Li-Tzy Wu, R. (2015). Substance use and older adults. West Sussex: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dean, R. N., Farrell, J. M., Kelley, M. L., Taylor, M. L., & Rhodes, R. E. (2007). Testing the efficacy of the theory of planned behavior to explain strength training in older adults. Journal of Aging and Physical Activity, 14(1), 1–12.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Evidence-Based Leadership Council. (n.d.). About the evidence-based leadership council (EBLC). Retrieved from http://www.eblcprograms.org/about-us

  • Haber, D. (2013). Health promotion and aging: Practical applications for health professionals (6th ed.). New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Haynes, M., Hughes, S., Lorig, K., et al. (2014). Evidence-based leadership council – A national collaborative. Frontiers in Public Health, 2, 136.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • High, K. (2007). Immunizations in older adults. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 23, 669–685.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hochbaum, G. M. (1958). Public participation in medical screening programs: A socio-psychological study. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacobs, J. A., Jones, E., & Gabella, B. A. (2012). Tools for implementing an evidence-based approach in public health practice. Preventing Chronic Disease, 9, 110324.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kelder, S. H., Hoelscher, D., & Perry, C. L. (2015). How individuals, environments, and health behaviors interact social cognitive theory. In K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer, & V. Viswanath (Eds.), Health behavior: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 159–181). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lach, H. W., Everard, K. W., Highstein, G., & Brownson, C. A. (2004). Application of the transtheoretical model to health education for older adults. Health Promotion Practice, 5(1), 88–93.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Lis, K., Reichert, M., Cosack, A., Billings, J., & Brown, P. (Eds.). (2008). Evidence-based guidelines on health promotion for older people. Vienna: Austrian Red Cross.

    Google Scholar 

  • Montaño, D. E., & Kasprzyk, D. (2015). Theory of reasoned action, theory of planned behavior, and integrated behavioral model. In K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer, & V. Viswanath (Eds.), Health behavior: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 99–124). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • National Council on Aging. (n.d.). Offering evidence-based programs. Retrieved from: https://www.ncoa.org/center-for-healthy-aging/basics-of-evidence-based-programs/

  • National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, & The World Health Organization. (2011). Global health and aging. NH publication no. 11-7737. http://www.who.int/ageing/publications/global_health.pdf

  • Nicklett, E. J., & Kadell, A. R. (2013). Fruit and vegetable intake among older adults: A scoping review. Maturitas, 75(4), 305–312.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ory, M. G., & Smith, M. L. (Eds.). (2015). Evidence-based programming for older adults. Switzerland: Frontiers Media SA.

    Google Scholar 

  • Prochaska, J. O., Redding, C. A., & Evers, K. E. (2015). The transtheoretical model and stages of change. In K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer, & V. Viswanath (Eds.), Health behavior: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 125–148). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sallis, J. F., & Owen, N. (2015). Ecological models of health behavior. In K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer, & V. Viswanath (Eds.), Health behavior: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 43–64). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Skinner, C. S., Tiro, J., & Champion, V. L. (2015). The health belief model. In K. Glanz, B. K. Rimer, & V. Viswanath (Eds.), Health behavior: Theory, research, and practice (pp. 75–94). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass/Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Steinmo, S., Hagger-Johnson, G., & Shahab, L. (2014). Bidirectional association between mental health and physical activity in older adults: Whitehall II prospective cohort study. Preventive Medicine, 66, 74–77.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Stevens, A. B., Coleman, S. B., McGhee, R., & Ory, M. G. (2015). EvidenceToPrograms.com: A toolkit to support evidence-based programming for seniors. Frontiers in Public Health, 3, 18.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, F., Norman, I. J., & White, A. E. (2013). Physical activity in older people: A systematic review. BMC Public Health, 13, 449.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • White, S. M., Wojcicki, T. R., & McAuley, E. (2012). Social cognitive influences on physical activity behavior in middle-aged and older. The Journals of Gerontology. Series B, Psychological Sciences and Social Sciences, 67(1), 18–26.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • World Health Organization. (2009). Milestones in health promotion: Statements from global conferences. Retrieved from www.who.int/entity/healthpromotion/milestones.pdf?ua=1

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Health Behavior Research, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Julia Alber

  2. Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA

    Karen Glanz

Authors
  1. Julia Alber
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Karen Glanz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Julia Alber .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. The University of Queensland, Brisbane, QLD, Australia

    Nancy A. Pachana

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore

About this entry

Cite this entry

Alber, J., Glanz, K. (2017). Health Promotion. In: Pachana, N.A. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geropsychology. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-287-082-7_256

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation