Supportive environments for health
Supportive environments for health offer people protection from threats to health and enable people to expand their capabilities to address the determinants of health. They encompass where people live, their local community, their home, where they work and play, including people’s access to resources for health, social norms and opportunities for empowerment.
Actions to create supportive environments for health have many dimensions, and may include: direct political action to develop and implement policies and regulations that help create supportive environments; economic action, particularly in relation to fostering sustainable economic development; and community action for health.
As defined in the World Health Organisation "Health Promotion Glossary of Terms 2021"
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[edit] External links
Sundsvall Statement on Supportive Environments for Health. Geneva: World Health Organization; 1991
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