Approaches to health promotion: the medical or preventative, behaviour change, educational, empowerment and social change approaches, what each aims to do and its strengths and limitations.

What this dot point is asking

CCEA wants you to describe the approaches to health promotion and to judge their strengths and limitations. The recognised approaches are the medical or preventative approach, the behaviour change approach, the educational approach, the empowerment approach, and the social change approach.

The five approaches

The medical or preventative approach aims to prevent disease by medical means, led by health professionals, through immunisation, screening and health checks. The behaviour change approach aims to persuade individuals to change unhealthy behaviours (for example stop-smoking or healthy-eating campaigns). The educational approach aims to give people knowledge and understanding so they can make informed choices (for example school health education). The empowerment approach aims to give people the skills and confidence to take control of their own health, working with them rather than directing them. The social change approach aims to change policy, law and the environment to make healthy choices easier (for example smoke-free laws or sugar taxes).

Strengths and limitations

A key insight CCEA tests is that no single approach is best: each has trade-offs, and the choice depends on the aim, the group and the cause being addressed. The medical approach is top-down and disease-focused; the empowerment and social change approaches are bottom-up and address the wider determinants and autonomy. The most effective campaigns usually combine approaches, for example education plus a behaviour change campaign plus a supportive change in the law.

Examples in context

Example 1. Cervical and breast screening (medical/preventative). These national programmes invite people for regular checks to detect disease early, before symptoms appear. They are professional-led and effective at preventing deaths, illustrating the medical approach, though uptake depends on people attending, which links to the access barriers studied in A2 3.

Example 2. The smoking ban (social change). Legislation making enclosed public places smoke-free changed the environment for everyone at once, protecting non-smokers and reducing smoking. It shows the social change approach tackling a health problem through policy rather than relying on individuals to change.

Try this

Q1. Name the five approaches to health promotion. [5 marks]

• Cue. Medical (preventative), behaviour change, educational, empowerment, and social change.

Q2. Give one example of the medical (preventative) approach. [1 mark]

• Cue. Immunisation, screening, or health checks.

Q3. Explain one limitation of the behaviour change approach. [2 marks]

• Cue. It can blame the individual and ignore the social factors that shape their behaviour.