ABSTRACT
It is now 25 years since the influential Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion clearly outlined an agenda which positioned health as a valuable resource, and recognised the contribution of not just the health sector in promoting health and well-being:
Health promotion is the process of enabling people to increase control over, and to improve, their health. To reach a state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, an individual or group must be able to identify and to realize aspirations, to satisfy needs, and to change or cope with the environment. Health is, therefore, seen as a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities. Therefore, health promotion is not just the responsibility of the health sector, but goes beyond healthy life-styles to well-being.
(World Health Organization, 1986)