How does health promotion differ from health education?

Health promotion encompasses a broader range of activities aimed at enabling individuals and communities to improve their health, while health education is a specific component of that broader effort. Health promotion includes not only education but also the creation of supportive environments, policy advocacy, and community engagement that facilitate healthy choices and behaviors.

In this context, health education specifically refers to the process of imparting knowledge and skills to individuals so they can make informed health decisions. It is an essential aspect of health promotion but does not encompass all the strategies employed to improve health at the community or population level. Therefore, recognizing that health promotion includes health education, along with various environmental and policy interventions, clarifies the distinction between the two concepts.