Abstract
Given the recognized burden that NCDs pose in societies today, public health faces the need to develop appropriate responses that help to reduce its occurrence and alleviate its consequences. While it appears obvious that theoretical guidance is needed in particular to support new research directions, we observe that the current theory base is rather poor in NCD research and public health practice including health promotion. The aim of this chapter is to open up new ways of thinking about the issues around theory development for NCDs and health promotion. In this chapter we suggest developing a new theory-based approach that starts with a social definition and theoretical account of the problem of NCDs and health promotion and integrates epidemiologically based knowledge and other empirical data on NCDs into a social science framework. To connect this body of knowledge to action for social change for better health at the population level the framework should include a link to health promotion action. Starting from a social science definition of health, establishing context as the frame of reference for NCD research and action, including all relevant resources and risk factors, is one way of opening up for new approaches in NCDs and health promotion.
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Abel, T., McQueen, D.V. (2013). Current and Future Theoretical Foundations for NCDs and Health Promotion. In: McQueen, D. (eds) Global Handbook on Noncommunicable Diseases and Health Promotion. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7594-1_2
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