Health Promotion Development

The purpose of this background paper is to establish a common frame of reference for the participants of the Bangkok conference in August 2005. It provides a short review of the origins of the health promotion concepts and approaches, presents some major developments in health promotion since the adoption of the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion and highlights some of the major present day challenges in health and health promotion. It provides orientation for some of the key issues that will be presented and debated in the four tracks of the Bangkok conference and identifies issues that can inform the completion of the Charter to be adopted at the Bangkok conference. It should be noted that the scope of this background paper is neither to be extensive, nor to provide a health promotion handbook. The status of the paper is still a draft. It will capitalize on contributions made during the conference and can potentially also expand on items that cannot be accommodated in the Bangkok Charter. A final version will be compiled after the Bangkok Conference