Introduction: What is health promotion for children and adolescents?

Abstract

Health is a social concept that has changed throughout time. This is equally true for the concepts of childhood and child health. This introductory chapter begins with defining health and highlighting the difference between illness, health, and well-being. It then describes child health as a subspecialty and how children have their own considerations and determinants for what makes them healthy. Finally, what constitutes health promotion is explained in detail. The health of children is an important marker of the overall health of a society. Children represent the future, and their ability to grow up to be strong, healthy, and productive adults is critical if they are to carry society forward. In addition to future considerations, with almost a quarter of the US population under the age of 17 and nearly 14.6 million children having special health-care needs, child health is an important goal in and of itself (Health Resources and Services Administration—Maternal and Child Health Bureau, 2014). Children and adolescents are vulnerable and require the commitment of a wide range of individuals and organizations to ensure that they are looked after, from parents, to schools, to health-care providers, to policy makers. Health promotion for children and adolescents must address the vast array of influences on children’s health and well-being. This is not an easy task to undertake but one that is critical for the ability of society to take care of its most sensitive citizens. In order to best approach health promotion for children and adolescents, we must first understand what is considered health and more specifically child health. This chapter will define these two concepts and explain the dynamic nature of these definitions as they are placed in a historical context. Health promotion is then described as the actionable arm of public health, geared toward programmatic interventions. Finally, the definition of health promotion for children and adolescents is discussed, with an emphasis on the importance of participation of children in health promotion efforts.