Clinical health promotion and family physicians: a Canadian perspective

Many attempts have been made recently in North America to increase the activities of physicians in clinical prevention and health promotion. This article reviews: (1) the development of guidelines by both the Canadian Task Force on the Periodic Health Examination and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force; (2) attempts at dissemination and implementation; (3) definitions of health promotion concepts, including clinical health promotion; (4) factors facilitating and limiting the incorporation of clinical prevention and health promotion into family practice; and (5) principles of learning and behavior change which can assist family physicians to practise clinical health promotion. Family physicians are best advised to focus on facilitating behavior change with their own patients, utilizing a triage strategy to determine which patients to target.