1. Capacities for Health Promotion and Health in All Policies:
Findings from the CompHP Project
Europe Day WHO 8th Global Conference
Helsinki, 13th
June 2013
Professor Margaret Barry
WHO Collaborating Centre for Health Promotion Research
National University of Ireland Galway
Ollscoil na hÉireann Gaillimh

2. Capacities for Health Promotion
• Strengthening capacity for the implementation of effective Health
Promotion action – global, European and national health policies
- Health 2020 policy framework
- NCD Action Plan
• Capacity development (Smith et al., 2006):
• Advancement of knowledge and skills among practitioners
• Expansion of support and infrastructure for Health Promotion in organizations
• Development of cohesiveness and partnerships for health in communities
 Systems inputs, outputs, governance and policy environment
• Capacity of the health promotion workforce in Europe to implement a
Health in All Policies approach and the promotion of citizens’ health
and wellbeing through effective action
 aligning capacity to the delivery of health goals in Europe

3. Capacities for Health in All Policies
• Health in All Policies (HiAP) approach
• whole of government approach – multisectoral policy
• whole of society approach – participation of the wider community
• Strengthening capacity to deliver on HiAP
• engaging a wider set of actors for intersectoral action
• collaboration and effective partnerships - policy and practice level
• identify and create synergies to promote and enhance health
• Implementation infrastructure
• Delivery mechanisms
• Leadership, advocacy and technical expertise
• Intersectoral working and partnership skills
• Translational research to inform and support policy and practice
• Human and organizational resources to achieve priority actions and
outcomes

4. Capacities for Effective Implementation
• Implementation and systems change
• implementation complexity – dynamic change in multi-level
systems
• sustainability – systems transformation for enduring change
• context specific planning, delivery and evaluation
• new research paradigms
• changing policy and political environments
• generate contextually sensitive practice-based evidence
• Skills of partnership working, cross-sectoral collaboration, leadership,
advocacy, communication, implementation and research
 developing capacity for effective implementation

5. Workforce Capacities for Health Promotion
• A competent health promotion workforce is critical to delivering on
improved health
- necessary knowledge, skills and abilities in translating policy, theory and
research into effective health promotion action
• Multi-skilled workforce - complex health challenges
- addressing health inequities and the social determinants of health through a HiAP
approach
- citizen participation and empowerment
• Flexible workforce capable of responding to rapidly changing
environments, social, economic and political conditions
- economic crisis; new and emerging health challenges
- changing competencies and new skills mix
 investing in health promotion workforce development

6. Health Promotion Capacity in the European Context
• Health Promotion is an evolving field of practice in Europe
o diverse health promotion workforce - fragmented and lacking a clear
occupational identity
o varying levels of professional training and career development within and
across countries
o varying levels of health promotion infrastructure
• Need for a coherent European approach
o Freedom of employment across the EU region
o Bologna Declaration and quality assurance in higher education in Europe
(EAQAHE)
o Quality assurance in practice and training in health fields
o Public accountability
• Need for a comprehensive but flexible pan-European framework
o workforce capacity development, including education and training
o distinctive contribution of health promotion to multidisciplinary public health

7. Research base for CompHP Project
• International literature on Health Promotion competencies,
standards and accreditation
• Australia, Canada, New Zealand, US and a number of European countries
• Galway Consensus Conference Statement (Allegrante et al., 2009;
Barry et al., 2009) - international collaboration to identify domains of core
competency in hehalth promotion - IUHPE, SOPHE, CDC
• IUHPE European Regional Sub-Committee research including:
• Scoping study on Accreditation and Professional Standards in Health Promotion
across the European region (Santa-María Morales & Barry, 2007)
• Pilot feasibility study on implementing a pan-European accreditation system
(Battel-Kirk & Barry, 2008)
Both reports accessible on www.iuhpe.org

8. •Funded by the Health Programme of the European Union (EAHC Project Number 20082109) for the
period 2009-2012
•Aim: to develop a shared vision for health promotion workforce capacity building in Europe through
establishing the core competencies, professional standards and accreditation mechanisms for quality
assurance in the education, training and practice of health promotion.
•Acknowledge the contribution of the CompHP Project Partners, the International Expert Advisory
Group and the Project Stakeholders to the development of the CompHP project

9. CompHP Project
• Identified, agreed and published core competencies for Health Promotion practice,
education and training in Europe
• Developed and published competency-based professional standards for Health
Promotion practice
• Promoted quality assurance through the development of a Europe-wide
accreditation system
• Mapped competencies and standards in academic courses across Europe and
consulted on accreditation for academic settings
• Piloted competencies, standards and accreditation with practitioners in a range of
settings across Europe
• Engaged in consultation with key stakeholders and disseminated information on
the project outcomes throughout the 27 member states and candidate countries

10. CompHP Process
• Systematic and consensus-building approach
- extensive and wide ranging consultation process
- grounded in the core concepts and principles of Health Promotion
• Mobilization of interest, dialogue and consensus concerning Health
Promotion workforce development
• Over 700 stakeholders from across the policy, practice and academic
Health Promotion community in Europe have been engaged in
CompHP – 300 actively
•- Delphi technique with national experts across the EU region
•- online consultations with a broad base of practitioners
•- focus groups and workshops at country and pan-European level
•- International Expert Advisory Group
•

11. CompHP Project Handbooks
For further information on CompHP reports and Handbooks:
http://www.iuhpe.org/index.html? page=614&lang=en#compHPpublications

12. CompHP Core Competencies Framework for
Health Promotion

13. 3. Mediate through Partnerships
Work collaboratively across disciplines, sectors and partners to enhance the impact
and sustainability of health promotion action.
A health promotion practitioner is able to:
3.1 Engage partners from different sectors to contribute actively to health
promotion action
3.2 Facilitate effective partnership working which reflects health promotion values
and principles
3.3 Build successful partnerships through collaborative working, mediating between
different sectoral interests
3.4 Facilitate the development and sustainability of coalitions and networks for
health promotion action

14. CompHP Project Outcomes
• Shared understanding of the core competencies and standards that need to
be incorporated into academic core curricula-> enhanced education and
training programmes in Health Promotion across Europe
• Engaging practitioners and professional bodies in the development of
quality standards and accreditation systems-> the promotion of workforce
development and best practice in Health Promotion
• Active project consultation and wide ranging dissemination process ->
greater cooperation and coordination in Health Promotion practice,
education and training across Europe
• Improved quality of practice based on agreed competencies and standards

15. Implementing the Framework
The IUHPE is taking forward the work of the CompHP Project in Europe
• Piloting and implementation of the CompHP Pan European Accreditation
Framework
 IUHPE Global Working Group on Competencies and Workforce Development
(CWDG)
 EU funding accessed for Operating Grant to IUHPE to undertake piloting January-
December 2013 of the IUHPE European Health Promotion Accreditation
Framework
 Mantaining and updating CompHP Website
http://www.iuhpe.org/index.html?page=614

16. • CompHP was developed on the basis of a process which was sensitive
to the multi-faceted contexts in which Health Promotion operates,
testing and implementing the frameworks within different contexts
• All of CompHP phases were developed on the basis of a participatory
process where participation did not mean ‘to inform’ but ‘to consult’
and involve stakeholders from the initial stages of its development
• CompHP kept the European dimension of its work as one of its core
principles. The diverse Health Promotion policies and practices across
Europe were seen as an added value rather than a limitation to the
Project’s processes and outcomes
Elements that Contributed to Project Success

17. Capacities for Sustainable Health Promotion Action
• Galvanizing action and strengthening leadership
• Infrastructures for Health Promotion
• Resources
• Education and training
• Strategic coordination at European and country level
• Engage the participation of the wider community
• engaging and building capacity in other sectors – education, primary care, pre-
schools, workplaces, welfare, transport, housing, employment, sports, local
authorities, health services, media
• engaging community groups, families and individuals
• Promoting a deeper understanding of health and health
promotion
• concern with how social values, culture, and public policies impact on health and
wellbeing
• mobilising political commitment and a public demand for a healthy society