How has The Ottawa Charter Influenced Health Promotion?

The World Health Organization Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion (1986) remains one of the most impactful frameworks in global health and is known as the gold standard for health promotion! The five action areas continue to provide a foundation for both national and international health promotion efforts (Thompson et al., 2018).

Click here: The Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion

---

---

The Charter moved from an individual perspective to a more systemic approach with considerations to the social determinants of health.   Despite these advances, implementation has often been uneven. Health promotion initiatives sometimes fall into a short-term goal, with localized projects failing to create long-term systemic change (Thompson et al., 2018). Nonetheless, the Charter’s enduring influence lies in its adaptability to new global health threats and its insistence on equity-driven, multi-sectoral collaboration. The Charter’s lasting impact comes from its ability to adapt to new health challenges and its focus on equity and collaboration across sectors.

The Population Health Promotion Model (Government of Canada, 2001), which is highly influenced by the charter, integrates health determinants, health promotion strategies, and levels of action, assisting in the importance of evidence-based decision-making.

Political ideologies have shown to create inconsistencies by influence how promotion is framed; governments with an individual responsibility focus often emphasize behavior change, while those aligned with equity push systemic and policy-level interventions (Thompson et al., 2018).

In my role managing a virtual care program the Ottawa Charter’s influence is evident. The Charter called for health services to be reoriented toward health promotion and prevention rather than solely acute care (WHO, 1986). Our virtual care team expresses this shift by providing post-surgical patients with remote monitoring kits and nursing follow-up. Patients are supported with technology to track vitals, receive education, and connect with nurses who can intervene early if complications arise.

This program creates supportive environments by extending the hospital’s safety net into the patient’s home, reducing unnecessary emergency visits and readmissions. It develops personal skills by ensuring patients understand their discharge instructions, medications, and follow-up care. Finally, it strengthens community action by engaging patients and families as partners in recovery, empowering them to take an active role in their health.

For example, one of our cardiac patients expressed relief knowing a nurse would call to check on pain management and sternal wound healing. Without this reassurance, they may have returned to the emergency department prematurely.

Government of Canada. (2001). Population health promotion: An integrated model of population health and health promotion. Public Health Agency of Canada. https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/health-promotion/population-health/population-health-promotion-integrated-model-population-health-health-promotion/developing-population-health-promotion-model.html

Mikkonen, J., & Raphael, D. (2010). Social determinants of health: The Canadian facts. York University School of Health Policy and Management. https://thecanadianfacts.org/

Thompson, S. R., Watson, M. C., & Tilford, S. (2018). The Ottawa Charter 30 years on: Still an important standard for health promotion. International Journal of Health Promotion and Education, 56(2), 73–84.

World Health Organization. (1986). Ottawa charter for health promotion. World Health Organization, Regional Office for Europe. https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/phac-aspc/documents/services/health-promotion/population-health/ottawa-charter-health-promotion-international-conference-on-health-promotion/charter.pdf