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HPPXXX10.1177/
1524839911432008Hou / Global Community Health PromotionHealth Promotion Practice / January 2012

Book and Media Review

Foundation Concepts of Global Community


Health Promotion and Education
Su-I Hou, DrPH, CPH, MCHES, RN

Hernandez, B. L. M. (2011). Foundation Concepts of Global


Community Health Promotion and Education. Sudbury,
MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. ISBN 978-0-7637-8168-2.
Paperback, 299 pp. $71.00.

Foundation Concepts of Global Community Health


Promotion and Education provides a solid introduction
on underlying concepts in the global health promotion
and education field. It also addresses professional
competencies and preparation with both entry and
advanced level responsibilities geared to the Certified
Health Education Specialist (CHES) with a global viewpoint. Topics are logically sequenced with sufficient
background as well as terminology definitions to orient
public health and community health students and
practitioners. At the end of each chapter, the author
includes helpful summaries, conceptual learning,
reflective thinking, as well as enhanced readings and
relevant websites as additional resources to broaden
the educational learning experience. Global resources
for health and related careers are also provided, along
with a timely e-portfolio section. The book is a comprehensive and well-written resource for faculty and students interested in the global community health
promotion and education profession.
Keywords:

career development/professional preparation; health education; healthpromotion

Health Promotion Practice


January 2012 Vol. 13, No. 1, 1013
DOI: 10.1177/1524839911432008
2012 Society for Public Health Education

10

The book author, Dr. Barbara Lorraine Michiels


Hernandez, PhD, CHES, CDE, is a professor and Eta
Sigma Gamma advisor at the Lamar University, Beaumont,
Texas. Dr. Hernandez is the founder of the Delta Omicron
chapter at Lamar University. She received her PhD from
Texas Womans University and had a long teaching
history in a number of universities throughout the
United States. Her research areas include womens
health, teacher certification and standards, and dancers health. Her professional service activities have been
at the international, national, state, and local levels.
This book is organized into eight chapters and three
appendices. It discusses underlying concepts of the
health promotion profession, global health surveillance
and epidemiological history, health program planning
models, theoretical principles, strategic planning for
administering programs, health philosophy development, professional certifications and competencies, as
well as future health professional career options.
Appendices include a competency-based framework for
health educators, code of ethics, and career and health
resources. A particular helpful feature for prospective

Associate Editors, Book and Media Review Department


Sarah J. Olson, MS, CHES, is Associate Director of Partnership
Development & Coordination in the Division of Partnerships
and Strategic Alliances at the National Center for Health
Marketing, Coordinating Center for Health Information
and Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in
Atlanta, Georgia.
Su-I Hou, DrPH, CPH, MCHES, RN, is an Associate Professor
and OSL Service-Learning Senior Scholar in the Department
of Health Promotion and Behavior, College of Public Health at
the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia.

Book and Media Review


health educators is the listing of specific objectives from
the entry and advanced level health education competencies in each chapter, along with learning objectives using Blooms (1956) Taxonomy of Educational
Objectives terminology for clarity. The conceptual definitions pertinent to each section included in the base
margins provide understanding to important content and
specific health-related terms. In addition, the reflective
thinking section of each chapter further encourages students to apply what they have learned to real-life situations, using decision making and critical thinking skills.
Chapter 1 provides an overview of the health education and promotion profession. It introduces Certified
Health Education Specialist (CHES) as a designation of
the profession and the Comprehensive School Health
Education as a formal core curriculum subject in the
public schools with content derived from the National
Health Education Standards. It also describes application of the eight components of the Coordinated School
Health Program Model, developed by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which meets the
health/safety needs of K-12 students and suggests use of
the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance Survey (YRBSS)
to monitor priority risk behaviors for young people and
adolescents. In addition, the author discusses the Healthy
People initiatives as a government effort to provide a
vision for health in the United States. Finally, the chapter highlights the concept of healthy communities in
terms of appropriate health literacy, prevention, promotion, protection, access, enhancement, and maintenance.
The chapter concludes with a brief survey of determinants of health including culture and acculturation, measurement used in epidemiology for surveillance of the
population health, and relevant national health surveys
for designing health promotion programs.
Chapter 2 examines global health surveillance and
epidemiological history. Global health refers to worldwide cooperation and interaction across national borders, extends to relations beyond governments to include
individuals and groups within societies, to protect and
improve the health of entire populations, communities,
and neighborhoods, through education and promotion of
healthy lifestyles (Buckingham, 2001). This chapter
details a timeline of global health history and epidemiology from early civilizations to AD 2000 and beyond.
It identifies past and future societal changes affecting
health education practitioners, including biostatics,
environmental factors, health threats, quarantine, sanitation, and immunizations. In particular, the two recent
cooperative surveillance efforts, the founding of the
World Health Organization (WHO) in 1946 and the
International Sanitary Regulations (1951) are both significant international health events in recent history.

The chapter elaborates on the three greatest public


health achievements in the world (WHO, 2007), including plague and quarantine, cholera and sanitation, and
smallpox and immunization. In the United States, CDC
identified the 20th centurys ten great public health
achievements (CDC, 2008) responsible for increasing
the life span of Americans by approximately 30 years
(Turncock, 2004). Replication of these achievements in
other countries where each achievement is still lacking
and is recommended for leading to improved health.
Issues on global health security, including weatherrelated events, disease monitoring and surveillance,
and bioterrorism threats are also briefly discussed.
Chapter 3 details some of the more rigorously tested
health program planning models for change and prevention. Some of the models included in this chapters
are Healthy People 2010, CDCynergy, EMPOWER,
Health Analysis for Planning Prevention Services
(Healthy Plan-it), Healthy Communities and/or Healthy
Cities, Mobilizing Action Through Planning and
Partnerships (MAPP), Multilevel Approach to Community
Health (MATCH), Planned Approach to Community
Health (PATCH), PRECEDE-PROCEED, Social Marketing,
Ecological Models, Health Communication Process
Models, The Community Tool Box (CTB), and Intervention/
Concept Mapping. Among these, CDCynergy (CDC, 2003)
and EMPOWER (Gold, Green, & Kreuter, 1998) are both
interactive technological tools, based on effective health
communication and PRECEDE-PROCEED models, respectively. Healthy Plan-it (CDC, 2000) can also be ordered as
a CD-ROM that contains manual, PowerPoint files with
embedded video clips for each module, and is a tool for
planning and managing public health programs using a
data-based decision-making process. All these models or
program plans define appropriate steps for successful
and proper evidence-based health program planning
(National Cancer Institute, 2005). Each model is unique
and used for different situations, problems, populations, and types of strategies; at the same time, all
health program planning models possess a generic set
of tasks, including assess the needs of the population,
identify the problem, develop appropriate goals and
objectives, create an intervention, implement the intervention, and evaluate the result. A cultural model,
PEN-3 (Airhihenbuwa, 1995), consists of three elements (cultural identity, cultural empowerment, and
relationships and expectations) is discussed in-depth
and is recommended in combination with all planning
models. In todays diverse society, the PEN-3 model
provides important cultural construct and perspectives
for planning culturally appropriate health programs.
Chapter 4 discusses theoretical principles and
processes in health programs. The author explains the

Hou / GLOBAL COMMUNITY HEALTH PROMOTION AND EDUCATION

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characteristics and components of a theory and why theories are essential planning elements. This chapter discusses key health behavior theories grouped into four
categories, namely intrapersonal, interpersonal, community, and cultural theories. Four prominent intrapersonal
(or individual) theories are discussed: (a) Transtheoretical
Model, which involves ones readiness to change to
healthy behaviors; (b) Health Belief Model, which helps
establish the factors affecting ones ability to perform
preventive health behaviors; (c) Consumer Information
Processing Theory, which uses the process by which
consumers acquire and use information for decision
making; and (d) Theory of Planned Behavior, which
helps explain ones behavioral intention, the result of
attitudes toward the behavior, and perceptions of subjective norms. Social Cognitive Learning Theory is the
key representative of interpersonal theories, based on
reciprocal determinism that helps identify the personal characteristics as they relate to environmental
influences and behaviors. The five community theories
covered are (a) Community Organization Theory, which
emphasizes empowerment, active participation, and
development of communities; (b) Media Advocacy,
which uses the mass media as a resource to advance a
social or public policy initiative; (3) Diffusion of Innovation,
which delineates the process of how new products and
messages are introduced and widely distributed to the
audiences; (d) Organizational Development Theory,
which recognizes the organizational social processes
and structures that influence the behavior and motivation of participants, and finally, (e) Empowerment
Model, which suggests that a problem-proposing process can help participants feel more powerful, thus freeing them to make healthier choices. One of the valuable
aspects of this chapter is the specific recognition of the
cultural theories. Although one could argue that cultural theories could be viewed as part of a community
theory, one distinguishing factor is its focuses on the
factors that are embedded in the society such as traditions, beliefs, and practices that influence the health of
the population. Finally, the author brings back the
broader perspective of using ecological models with the
combinations of theories at multiple levels of influence
to yield multiple solutions.
Chapter 5 examines strategic planning processes for
administering comprehensive health education programs. This chapter has an in-depth review of the Hire,
Assess, Build, Implement, Test (HABIT) model, a new
model developed by the author for administering and
strategic planning programs. The author provides a
detailed view of each of the five stages: (a) Hire the
program staff and team, including job descriptions and
budget development; (b) Assess and identify the needs

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HEALTH PROMOTION PRACTICE / January 2012

of the community, including defining participants and


forming advisory committees; (3) Build the program
model, theories, and strategies, including defining goals
and objectives, timetable, solutions, as well as evaluation plan and piloting programs; (d) Implement the
program, including performing process and impact
evaluations; and (e) Test the strengths and weakness of
the program, including performing outcome evaluation,
making recommendations, disseminating results, and
so on. This chapter ends with the CDC sociocultural
framework for addressing health disparities to provide
an outline that embodies the tolerance, respect, and
responsibility principles that health educators should
always embrace.
Chapter 6 provides philosophical reflections on
health and describes some prominent philosophers
through the ages. The Ottawa Charter is discussed as a
global environmental health promotion philosophy of
cooperation and help among nations. Of particular
interest, the author provides a template for forming a
healthy philosophy and encourages each health educator to develop his or her own personal health philosophy and back up with reputable sources.
Chapter 7 discusses professional preparation, certifications, ethics, and competencies for the profession.
The chapter describes the history and future of the
Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES) credential and the Master Certified Health Education Specialist
(MCHES), as well as the competency-based frameworks
for health educators. In addition, ethical principles and
human subject issues are also covered.
Chapter 8 discusses technology and future health
profession career options as well as various undergraduate and graduate (masters and doctorate) health degrees.
Major types of career settings and job titles with sample
job descriptions from field health practitioners are featured. Of particular value is a comprehensive list of
criteria for developing an electronic resume and portfolio to meet todays multimedia and technology trends
and needs. The chapter also provides quick tips for
evaluating credible articles and research on the Internet
and beyond and a list of selected general health databases and information resources.
This book has several strengths. The terminology
definition at the base margins is a particularly helpful
feature for those new to the health education and promotion profession, and serves as a very nice recap and
review of the key concepts discussed. The author also
provides refreshing perspectives and insights to some
existing and old time-tested models. The reflective thinking scenarios at the end of each chapter are well developed and thought provoking. One important feature is
the emphasis on the importance of cultural factors as

Book and Media Review


these traditions, beliefs, and practices might have been
in place for years and sometimes centuries. The author
argues that change of cultural beliefs could be daunting
task and much more difficult than ordinary behavior
change, thus culture warrants in-depth examination as
its own category in addition to be considered along
with intrapersonal, interpersonal, and community theories or models. Unfortunately, existing health-related
theories or models are very limited in addressing cultural variables specifically. This is an area where interdisciplinary collaboration could be strengthened, so
that health behavioral researchers can learn and benefit
from the perspectives of related disciplines such as sociology, anthropology, history, art, religion, or other fields.
Although the content of this new text is current, it is
somewhat unfortunate that the book was published
prior to Healthy People 2020 and the final competencies of the new MCHES certification were formally
released. This text also suffers a few obvious errors
missed during the editorial proof process (e.g., the
missing appendix D that was mentioned in the text,
and a couple of misplaced definitions in the bottom
margin terminology boxes, etc.). Although the template
for forming a personal health philosophy is valuable
and encourages readers to develop their own, it would
be nice if the author could also provide a complete
sample of philosophy based on the template to further
assist and enable readers in developing their personal
health philosophies. Moreover, an increased depth and
coverage on issues related to global aspects of the community health promotion field could further strengthen
this text as global health becoming more prominent
area of the profession.
In summary, this book covers a comprehensive aspect
of issues in the global health promotion and education
field. Students and practitioners who are not experienced
or familiar with the field can gain a solid understanding

of the profession. Researchers or practitioners in the


field would also find this text a refreshing read with a
number of insightful perspectives and coverage. Despite
some limitations discussed above, this textbook is
instrumental in advancing the practice of health promotion to provide students and practitioners with updates
on the progress of the health promotion and education
profession, as well as knowledge and skills needed for
developing a successful health career and serving as a
resource person for the profession.
References
Airhihenbuwa, C. O. (1995). Health and culture: Beyond the
Western paradigm. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Bloom, B. S. (Ed.). (1956). Taxonomy of Educational Objectives.
New York, NY: David McKay.
Buckingham, R. W. (2001). A primer on international health.
Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2000). Healthy
Plan-it: A tool for planning and managing public health programs. Sustainable Management Development Program. Atlanta,
GA: Author.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2003). United States
Department of Health and Human Services. CDCynergy 3.0: Your
guide to effective health communication (CD-ROM). Atlanta, GA:
Author.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2008). The 20th centurys ten great public health achievements in the United States.
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, 43, 761-762.
Gold, R. S., Green, L. W., & Kreuter, M. W. (1998). Enabling methods of planning and organizing within everyones reach
(EMPOWER). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
National Cancer Institute. (2005). Theory at a glance: A guide for
health promotion practice. Washington, DC: Author.
Turncock, B. J. (2004). Public health: What it is and how it works
(3rd ed.). Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.
World Health Organization. (2007). Evolution of public health
security. Global public health report in the 21st century (pp. 1-14).
Geneva, Switzerland: Author.

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