Education Initiatives for Health Promotion and Sustainable Development

Abstract

Health is a fundamental component of all the 17 SDGs adopted by the United Nations in 2015, while the promotion of good physical and mental health has been widely recognised as an indispensable element in the process of moving towards a sustainable and equitable future. The multiple connections of health with various SDGs, whether in direct or indirect linkages, have further reflected the complex and significant roles of health promotion in the development of an equitable society and realisation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In fact, findings from recent reports have also illustrated how the fundamental health promotion principles, including rights, empowerment, and partnership, are closely related to the SDGs. In this chapter, relevant studies from international journals in relation to health promotion and education for sustainable development will be reviewed to provide future directions for the development of health promotion and educational programmes. In addition, the success of health promotion programmes relies on the programme sustainability, which refers to various important aspects such as the continued programme impact, long-term maintenance of health benefits, and continuation of the health programmes in an organisation and within the recipient community. In this regard, the chapter also discusses the findings from studies investigating various factors influencing the sustainability of health promotion programmes. Identifying the barriers and facilitators affecting the programme sustainability would be important for policymakers and practitioners during the design, development and implementation of health promotion interventions to achieve sustainable health. Furthermore, recent development in the use of technology for health promotion and educational practice for sustainable development, as well as the challenges behind, will be discussed, with reference to reported literature and study findings, to provide further insights regarding a sustainability framework for health promotion in the post-pandemic time.