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PED22210.1177/1757975914534108EditorialD. V. McQueen
Editorial
Health promotion applied to infectious diseases
David V. McQueen1
In its brief history, health promotion, despite its
efforts to focus on health rather than disease, as a
field of research and practice has generally been
associated with efforts at disease prevention. In
addition and despite the broadening of the theoretical
underpinning of the field up to the present, the
disease emphasis continues and is largely focused on
the non-communicable diseases (NCDs) (1).
Meanwhile the greater field of public health
continued with its major emphasis and resource
commitment on infectious diseases. Even in advanced
industrial countries where the causes of death and
disabilities are overwhelmingly related to chronic
diseases and injuries, the allocation of funding
resources in the public health sector goes to the
classical infectious diseases. The emergence of HIV/
AIDS further exacerbated the secondary position of
NCDs and injuries in terms of resource allocations in
major public health institutions and in government
ministries. As a result, the marginalization of health
promotion approaches is the outcome. Or is it?
A recent study undertaken under the auspices of
the IUHPE (2) sought to examine in some depth the
thesis that health promotion approaches used on
NCDs would also be relevant and useful to consider
for infectious diseases in developed economies. To
begin with there are notable conceptual limitations
in undertaking to demonstrate this thesis. First,
infectious disease approaches in public health are
very much found in silos that are based on the
disease itself. Thus there is an enormous literature
on malaria, syphilis, tuberculosis, polio, AIDS,
various infections, parasites, etc. The list is long, and
large departments in schools and institutions of
public health are based on high specialization and
literatures and journals that often are very distinct.
In contrast, the NCDs are often lumped together in
single institutes, centers or departments around
cancers, heart diseases, injuries, etc. Another critical
aspect of this is that the behavioral and social
1. Correspondence to: David V. McQueen, Global consultant, 2418 Midvale Court, Tucker, GA 30084 USA. Email:
dvmcqueengc@comcast.net
Global Health Promotion 1757-9759; Vol 22(2): 3
4; 534108 Copyright The Author(s) 2014, Reprints and permissions:
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D. V. McQueen
References
1. McQueen DV. The health promotion argument:
NCDs and public health. In McQueen DV, Ed. Global
Handbook on Noncommunicable Diseases and
Health Promotion. New York: Springer; 2013,
Chapter 22, pp. 337342.
2. McQueen DV, Manoncourt E, Cartier Y. The added
value of Health Promotion and Health Education
methods and concepts in the prevention of
communicable diseases. Stockholm: European Centre
for Disease Prevention and Control [In press].
3. World Health Organization. Framework Convention
on Tobacco Control. Geneva, Switzerland: WHO; 21
May 2003.