Health Promotion International Advance Access originally published online on May 22, 2006
Health Promotion International 2006 21(3):238-244; doi:10.1093/heapro/dal016
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© 2006 The Author(s)
This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/uk/) which permits unrestricted non-commerical use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
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Contextualizing salutogenesis and Antonovsky in public health development
Folkhälsan Research Center, Health Promotion Programme Paasikivenkatu 4, FIN-00250 Helsinki, Finland 1 Folkhälsan Research Center, Health Promotion Programme Paasikivenkatu 4, FIN-00250 Helsinki, Finland
Address for correspondence: Bengt Lindström, MD, PhD Professor, Head of Research, Folkhälsan Research Center, Health Promotion Programme, Paasikivenkatu 4, FIN-00250 Helsinki, Finland E-mail: bengt.lindstrom{at}folkhalsan.fi
More than 20 years have passed since the American-Israeli medical sociologist Aaron Antonovsky introduced his salutogenic theory ‘sense of coherence’ as a global orientation to view the world, claiming that the way people view their life has a positive influence on their health. Sense of coherence explains why people in stressful situations stay well and even are able to improve their health. The origin of salutogenesis derives from the interviews of Israeli women with experiences from the concentration camps of the Second World War who in spite of this stayed healthy. Sixty years after the Holocaust this paper aim to shed light on the salutogenic theory in the context of public health and health promotion. In addition, other approaches with salutogenic elements for the explanation of health are considered. A potential direction for public health of the early 21st century is proposed. The historical paradox is to honour the victims of the Holocaust and see the birth of post-modern public health and the salutogenic framework through the experience of its survivors in the ashes of Modernity.
Key words: health promotion; salutogenesis; Antonovsky; sense of coherence
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