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Evidence-based health promotion: applying it in practice.
1Department of Community, Occupational and Family Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, National University of Singapore, MD3, 16 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597. cofwml@nus.edu.sg
Annals of the Academy of Medicine, Singapore
|October 25, 2002
Summary
Evidence-based health promotion is crucial for community health. This review highlights the complexity of evaluating health promotion interventions, emphasizing the need for multiple methods when randomized trials are not feasible.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Promotion
- Evidence-Based Practice
Background:
- Effective community health improvement relies on evidence-based interventions.
- This paper examines the core concepts, evaluation methodologies, and practical application of evidence in health promotion.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the concepts, evaluation, and use of evidence in health promotion.
- To discuss the complexities and limitations of evidence assessment in health promotion.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature search across multiple databases (Medline, SSCI, PsycLIT).
- Inclusion of evidence-based websites and hand-searching of key public health and health promotion journals.
Main Results:
- Evidence in health promotion is complex and multidimensional.
- Effectiveness is assessed by combining quantitative outcome data and qualitative process evaluations.
- Randomized trials face ethical, logistical, and practical limitations in community settings.
Conclusions:
- Randomized controlled trials are ideal for clinical settings but often infeasible for community-based interventions.
- Quasi-experimental designs offer strong evidence when randomized trials are not possible.
- Assessing health promotion effectiveness requires multiple methods, considering evidence quality, local values, and resources.