The Health Promotion Model and Seniors

The number of seniors is increasing in Canada. According to physiopedia (https://www.physio-pedia.com/Older_People_-_Health_Promotion_and_Public_Health, 2022), health promotion aimed at the older generation only started in the 1990s even if their risks are higher having chronic conditions and multi-morbidities. The Health Promotion Model of health is a multilevel model of health that can help individuals to make choices for their health to reduce the risks of disease considering all health determinants. This model can be applied to the senior population. Health promotion toward seniors differs from health promotion with the younger population. The process of aging can naturally impact one's health and the life span also needs to be considered at this point. Health promotion should focus on results that will be more immediate compared to the promotion when it comes to a younger generation.

Figure 1 pictured below, explains how the health model works (Government of Canada, https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/population-health-promotion-integrated-model-population-health-health-promotion/developing-population-health-promotion-model.html, 2001). The front side of the cube is the what, that is where the model determines the full range of health determinants. For the senior population, the health determinants could be income and social status, the social support network, education, the physical environment, genetics, personal health or health services. All of these health determinants will affect the health of a senior. For example, a senior whose physical environment is a senior's home where they have a gym facility and track to walk inside might be more tempted to stay active rather than a senior who lives in a small apartment has no vehicle and needs to take public transport to travel to a gym facility which might not be senior-friendly

One of the back sides of the cube is the who, which is the various levels of action. This is where we determine if we're influencing an individual, a group of people, a community or even a society. We could choose to influence seniors as individuals, seniors as a community or even have different groups of seniors (for example, francophone seniors, immigrant seniors or women seniors).

The 3rd side of the cube is the how that represents the comprehensive action strategies. This is where we can find different strategies for health promotion. This could represent a supportive community, for example, a group of seniors who decide to meet up every day to walk for 30 minutes.

The Health Promotion Model is very interesting as it focuses on the underlying factors to opt for healthy behaviours. It's a complicated model with many factors and it shows how they all work in conjunction. The role of the person, to work on their health is the spotlight. Health professionals and others are there to influence and educate individuals, but unless the person itself decides to opt for healthy behaviours nothing can be done. As a worker for Aging at Home, this model is very pertinent to my work. I can educate, influence and use different health promotion strategies in the community, and among groups of individuals. It is still left to the seniors to put those strategies into action to preserve their health and minimize some of the negative effects of the aging process. 

Figure 1 : The Health Promotion Model

Reference 

N.A. (2001). Population Health Promotion: An Integrated Model of Population Health and Health Promotion. Government of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/population-health-promotion-integrated-model-population-health-health-promotion/developing-population-health-promotion-model.html

N.A. (2022) Health Promotion and Public Health. Physiopedia. https://www.physio-pedia.com/Older_People_-_Health_Promotion_and_Public_Health