Competing perspectives and debates about the meaning of health promotion and the best ways to evaluate the effectiveness of initiatives that focus on enhancing wellness pervade the literature. Given the emergence of health promotion, the impetus for outcomes-based practice in psychology, and the push for evidence-based care in the health system (Thorogood & Coombes, 2000), demonstrations of value and effectiveness are fundamental to the sustainability of mental health promotion activities. Psychology (and counseling as a sub-set field) needs to place itself as a profession vital to the sustainability of wellness initiatives. This paper proposes that psychologists’ awareness and understanding of six key concepts from health promotion evaluation are essential for advancing psychology as a profession and enhancing applied practice for wellness initiatives. The key concepts include: formative, process and outcome evaluations, the qualitative/quantitative debate, the ecological nature, the participatory approach, the focus on community and the underlying philosophies of empowerment and utilization. The use of key concepts from health promotion evaluation strategies support psychologists to a) deal with issues of major public health importance and b) collaborate with other disciplines for the benefit of the public (Sartorius, 1999). Finally, this paper makes recommendations to secure psychology’s place as a vital contributor to future research directions in health promotion, in part because of adherence to the scientist-practitioner model.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Albee, G. W. (2000). Commentary on prevention and counseling psychology. The Counseling Psychologist, 28(6), 845–853.
Allison, K. R., & Rootman, I. (1996). Scientific rigor and community participation in health promotion research: Are they compatible? Health Promotion International, 11(4), 333–340.
Atlantic Health Promotion Research Center (1999). Guidelines for preparing research proposals: Navigating the road to success. Halifax, N.S.: Maritime Center of Excellence for Women’s Health, Dalhousie University.
Austin, S. B. (2000). Prevention research in eating disorders: Theory and new directions. Psychological Medicine, 30, 1249–1262.
Broughton, W. (1991). Qualitative methods in program evaluation. American Journal of Health Promotion, 5(6), 461–465.
Carpintero, H. (2002). Early applied psychology: The early days of the IAAP. European Psychologist, 7(1), 39–52.
Corrie, S., & Callahan, M. M. (2003). A review of the scientist-practitioner model: Reflections on its potential contribution to counseling psychology within the context of current health care trends. British Journal of Medical Psychology, 73, 413–427.
Dehar, M. A., Casswell, S., & Duignan, P. (1993). Formative and process evaluation of health promotion and disease prevention programs. Evaluation Review, 17(2), 204–220.
Dignan, M. B. (1995). Measurement and evaluation of health education (3rd ed.). Springfield, IL.: Charles C. Thomas.
Dignan, M. B., & Carr, P. A. (1992). Program planing for health education and promotion (2nd edition). Philadelphia: Williams & Wilkins.
Dunst, C. J., Trivette, C. M., & Deal, A. G. (1994). Supporting and strengthening families: Volume 1: Methods, strategies and practices. Cambridge, MA: Brookline Books.
Fetterman, D. M. (2001). Foundations of empowerment evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.
Fetterman, D. M. (1999). Reflections on empowerment evaluation: Learning from experience. The Canadian Journal of Program Evaluation, Special Issue, 5–37.
Galbally, R., Allen, F., & Borthwick, C. (2001). Psychiatry, psychology and health promotion. In J. Milgrom & G. D. Burrows (Eds.) Psychology and psychiatry: Integrating medical practice (pp. 261–278). New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Glanz, K., & Oldenburg, B. (1997). Relevance of health behavior research to health promotion and health education. In D. S. Gochman (Ed.), Handbook of health behavior research IV: Relevance for professionals and issues for the future (pp. 143–161). New York: The Plenum Press.
Green, L., & Novick, L. (2001). Partnerships and coalitions for community-based research. Public Health Reports, 16 (Supplement), 20–31.
Hamilton, N., & Bhatti, T. (1996). Population health promotion: An integrated model of population heath and health promotion. Ottawa: Health Promotion Development Division.
Harrison, J., & Kitson, N. (1996). The health promoting school. Cambridge: Pearson Publishing.
Henwood, K. L. & Pidgeon, N. F. (1992). Qualitative research and psychological theorizing. British Journal of Psychology, 83, 97–111.
Higginbotham, J. C. (1992). Necessities for evaluating behavior change in health promotion/disease prevention programs: Knowledge, skill, and attitude. Family Community Health, 15(1), 41–56.
Isreal, B. A., Cummings, K. M., Dignan, M. B., Heaney, C. A., Perales, D. P., Simons-Morton, B. G., & Zimmerman, M. A. (1995). Evaluation of health education programs: Current assessment and future directions. Health Education Quarterly, 22(3), 364–389.
Jayaratne, T. B., & Stewart, A. J. (1991). Quantitative and qualitative methods in the social sciences: Current feminist issues and practical strategies. In M. M. Fonow & J. A. Cook (Eds.), Beyond methodology: Feminist scholarship as lived research (pp. 85–106). Indianapolis: Indiana University Press.
Judd, J., Frankish, C. J., & Moulton, G. (2001). Setting standards in the evaluation of community-based health promotion programmes---a unifying approach. Health Promotion International, 16(4), 367–380.
Koelen, M. A., Vaandrager, L., & Colomer, C. (2001). Health promotion research: Dilemmas and challenges. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 55(4), 257–267.
Learmonth, A. M. (2000). Utilizing research in practice and generating evidence from practice. Health Education Research, 16(6), 743–756.
Leger, L. H. (1999). The opportunities and effectiveness of the health promoting primary school in improving child health---a review of the claims and evidence. Health Education Research, 14(1), 51–69.
Leong, F. T. L., & Ponterotto, J. G. (2003). A proposal for internationalizing counseling psychology in the United States: Rationale, recommendations, and challenges. The Counseling Psychologist, 31(4), 381–395.
Macdonald, G., Veen, C., & Tones, K. (1996). Evidence for success in health promotion: Suggestions for improvement. Health Education Research, 11(3), 367–376.
Marsella, A. J., & Pedersen, P. (2004). Internationalizing the counseling psychology curriculum: toward new values, competencies, and directions. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 17(4), 413–423.
Marshall, C., & Rossman, G. B. (1995). Defending the value and logic of qualitative research (Chapter 2, pp. 143–151). Designing qualitative research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
McLoughlin, C. S., & Kubick, R. J. (2004). Wellness promotion as a life-long endeavor: Promoting and developing life competencies from childhood. Psychology in the Schools, 4(1), 131–141.
McQueen, D. V. (2001). Strengthening the evidence base for health promotion. Health Promotion International, 16(3), 261–268.
McQueen, D. V. (2000). Perspectives on health promotion: Theory, evidence, practice and the emergence of complexity. Health Promotion International, 15(2), 95–97.
National Health and Medical Research Council (1996). Effective school health promotion: Towards health promoting schools. NHMRC Health Advancement Standing Committee: Commonwealth of Australia.
Osborne, J. W. (1994). Some similarities and differences among phenomenological and other methods of psychological qualitative research. Canadian Psychology, 35(2), 167–189.
Parry, O., Gnich, W., & Platt, S. (2001). Principles in practice: Reflections on a ‘postpositivist’ approach to evaluation research. Health Education Research, 16(2), 215–226.
Patton, M. Q. (1997). Utilization-focused evaluation: The new century text (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Pirie, P. L. (1990). Evaluating health promotion programs: Basic questions and approaches. In N. Bracht (Ed.), Health promotion at the community level (pp. 201–208). Newbury Park, CA: Sage Publications.
Raphael, D. (2000). The question of evidence in health promotion. Health Promotion International, 15(4), 355–367.
Raphael, D. (1998). Emerging concepts of health and health promotion. Journal of School Health, 68(7), 297–300.
Reilly, S. (2000). A pragmatic approach to community health promotion. In M. J. Stewart (Ed.), Community nursing: Promoting Canadians’ health (pp. 386–402). Toronto: W. B. Saunders Canada, a division of Harcourt Canada Ltd.
Sainsbury, P. (2000). Promoting mental health: Recent progress and problems in Australia. Journal of Epidemiological Community Health, 54, 82–83.
Sartorius, N. (1999). The use of public health approaches in mental health programmes. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 14(3), S1–S5.
Schooler, C., & Flora, J. A. (1997). Contributions of health behavior research to community health promotion programs. In D. S. Gochman (Ed.), Handbook of health behavior research IV: Relevance for professionals and issues for the future (pp. 285–302). New York: The Plenum Press.
Smith, T. W., Orleans, C. T., & Jenkins, C. D. (2004). Prevention and health promotion: Decades of progress, new challenges, and an emerging agenda. Health Psychology, 23(2), 126–131.
Speight, S. L., & Vera, E. M. (2004). A social justice agenda: Ready, or not? The Counseling Psychologist, 32(1), 109–118.
South, J., & Tilford, S. (2000). Perceptions of research and evaluation in health promotion practice and influences on activity. Health Education Research, 15(6), 729–741.
Thompson, B., & Kinne, S. (1999). Social change theory applications to community health. In N. Bracht (Ed.), Health promotion at the community level 2: New Advances (2nd ed.) (pp. 29-58). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
Thompson, J. C. (1992). Program evaluation within a health promotion framework. Canadian Journal of Public Health (Supplement 1), 83, S67–S71.
Thorogood, M., & Coombes, Y. (2000). Evaluating health promotion: Practice and methods. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Tilford, S. (2000). Editorial: Evidence based health promotion. Health Education Research, 15(6), 659–663.
Tremblay, G. C., & Landon, B. (2003). Research in prevention and promotion. In M. C. Roberts & S. S. Ilardi (Eds.) Handbook of research methods in clinical psychology (pp. 354–373). Malden, MA: Blackwell Publishing.
University of British Columbia Institute of Health Promotion Research. (1995). Study of participatory research in health promotion: Review and recommendations for the development of participatory research in health promotion in Canada. Ottawa: Royal Society of Canada.
Varenne, H. (2003). On internationalizing counseling psychology: A view from cultural anthropology. The Counseling Psychologist, 31(4), 404–411.
WHO. (1986). Health and Welfare Canada, Canadian Public Health Association. Selected Proceedings, An International Conference on Health Promotion. Ottawa, November 1986. World Health Organization.
WHO. (1997). New Players for a New Era: Leading Health Promotion into the 21st century. [Conference Report.] World Health Organization.
WHO-European. (1998). Health promotion evaluation: Recommendations to policy-makers. Report of the WHO European Working Group on Health Promotion Evaluation. Denmark: World Health Organization.
Witherspoon, D., & Wilson, B. R. A. (1990). Evaluating research in worksite health promotion. Health Values, 14(4), 22–28.
Wright, L. (1999). Evaluation in health promotion: The proof of the pudding? In E. R. Perkins, I. Minett, & L. Wright (Eds.), Evidence-based health promotion. New York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
A special thanks to Dr. Nancy Arthur, Professor in the Division of Applied Psychology, for her editing contributions to this paper.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Whilst Psychology is the generic term used here to represent the broad field, counseling as a sub-set in the discipline is particularly relevant for the ideas and issues discussed. Rather than adding the sub-set qualifier each time the broad field is referred to, the reader in this context is encouraged to hold this perspective of the place of counseling in regard to psychology as they work through the materials presented.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Russell-Mayhew, S. Key Concepts From Health Promotion Evaluations: What Psychology Needs to Know. Int J Adv Counselling 28, 167–182 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-005-9011-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10447-005-9011-0