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Health Education & Behavior, Vol. 33, No. 3, 290-304 (2006)
DOI: 10.1177/1090198105276221

Perspective: A New Ethic for Health Promotion: Reflections on a Philosophy of Health Education for the 21st Century

David R. Buchanan, DrPH

National Cancer Institute, Division of Cancer Prevention, 6130 Executive Blvd, Room 2149, Bethesda, Maryland; MD 20872-7317; phone: (301) 594-1578 buchanad{at}mail.nih.gov

This article describes two models for thinking about the purposes of health education—a medical model and an educationmodel—andtraces how concerns about the validity of research have driven preferencefor the medical model. In the medical model, the purpose of health education is to develop effective interventions that will prevent people from adopting unhealthy behaviors. Here, health educators are expected to replicate the methods identified by researchers to effect targeted changes in health behavior. The article then describes an alternative way of thinking about the purposes of health education. In pursuing a philosophy of education, the purpose of research and practice would be to clarify basic social values and to strengthen one's faculty for making value judgments. Practitioners here use research results as a stimulus for dialogue about the role of good health habits in living the kind of life that community members find most valuable.

Key Words: ethics • health education • health promotion • philosophy • research


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