Challenges for Prevention and Promotion in the 21st Century
Margarida Gaspar de Matos *
FMH & ISAMB, School of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal.
Lucia Ramiro
FMH & ISAMB, School of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Prevention is now considered as a way to spread curiosity and commitment and has to do with the creation of communities where it is believed that "good things happen" and that people are part of them. Promoting people positive development, that is, promoting competence, motivation, opportunities and positive expectations is now considered the best prevention strategy, making prevention and promotion two sides of the same coin. Consequently, the approaches based on positive aspects are preferred and considered more effective in various contexts. In the field of health, this positive focus was represented in the "Model of Assets in health" which includes the mapping of resources of each community, both individually and collectively. It also aimed at the increasingly progressive participation of populations. Some aspects of the trajectory of knowledge in recent decades and their impact on interventions in Psychology, Public Health and Public Policies will be highlighted.
Keywords: Health promotion, prevention, child and adolescents health, public policy.