Global Perspectives on Health Promotion Effectiveness is intended to be a critical reflection on the state of health promotion effectiveness in practice around the world. It will define the meaning of health promotion from regional perspectives, and explore regional strengths and weaknesses in demonstrating effectiveness. The book will go on to consider issues in public health such as tobacco, mental health, obesity, urbanization, war, and social determinants in order to assess the role of effectiveness, and to examine methodologies for demonstrating effectiveness. Finally, the book will look at questions over the effectiveness of health promotion???the debate about the relationship between evidence, impact, and outcomes. The principal difficulty for the field of health promotion is how to show that it has a value???and to find an appropriate device that will enable valuation of its practices.

The International Union for Health Promotion and Education (IUHPE, based in Paris, France) initiated the Global Programme on Health Promotion Effectiveness, the methodology and initial findings from which are presented in the 23 articles of this volume. Written by 55 contributors from six continents, the articles include four on the Programme itself, seven case studies, five on specific issues, and seven on controversial aspects of the very notion of the effectiveness of health promotion. The case studies concern obesity prevention, promoting physical activity, mental health promotion, policy development, health in the schools, and alcohol and smoking prevention. The status of the contributors and focus on theoretical issues will ensure wide readership for the volume. Jones is with the IUHPE; McQueen is at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. Annotation ©2007 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)