Information about the Institute

The Institute of Health Promotion and Education was established 40 years ago to bring together professional workers on the basis of their common interest in Health Education and Health Promotion with a view to their sharing experience, ideas and information. The Institute is a recognised professional association offering Full or Associate membership to those engaged in the practice of Health Education and Health Promotion. It offers Affiliate membership for individuals of good standing with an interest in health education and promotion. The Institute concerns itself solely with professional interests and activities related to the practice of Health Education and Health Promotion and does not undertake any trade union activities. The President is John Kemm, President Elect is Professor Chitta Choudhury, and the Past Professor Jackie Green.

Our members' interests are varied including:- nursing, midwifery, health visiting, medicine, dentistry, public health, stress management, psychology and teaching.

The Institute of Health Promotion and Education has achieved a recognised role in the field of prevention and management of illness and promotion of health. Its activities have been mainly concerned with Health Education and following the Alma Ata Declaration they also include Health Promotion. The accepted differentiation between the two activities defines Health Education as the intervention on a personal level, whereas Health Promotion is considered to be concerned with interventions on a population level. This differentiation has in recent years contributed to a dynamic development in both areas including different disciplines in addition to medicine and public health, such as educational and social sciences. The Institute of Health Promotion and Education has been in the forefront of these developments with special contributions to the development of a settings approach within an organizational model. This has been reflected in recent publications which have dealt with health promoting settings, models of management and quality assessment as a part of evaluation.

Members are actively encouraged to exchange information and views, and the Institute provides a comprehensive information service. Meetings are held in various parts of Britain at which invited speakers eminent in their fields present papers and at which Health Education and Health Promotion issues are actively addressed. The International Journal of Health Promotion and Education is free to members and available to non-members on subscription. The journal is edited by Professor Stephen Palmer of City University and the Centre for Stress Management, London. Membership subscriptions are eligible for United Kingdom income tax relief.