Health Promotion Research

The Salutogenic model for health, i.e. the study of health and determinants of health in the human context, is the main research objective of the health promotion research. Core areas of research are mental health promotion, life span research, health literacy and healthy learning. After five years research we are able to state, with confidence, that people and systems that develop the ability to implement the salutogenic way of living will not only live longer but perceive they are in good health, enjoy a better quality of life and mental wellbeing. In addition, they can stand stress better than the average and have more constructive health behaviours.

Even if they become ill or get a chronic disease they will do better than the average. At present we are involved in the implementation of the model on a system level turning psychiatry into salutogenic mental health in Norway.

At present we are doing a worldwide ten year follow up study of our previous research report in 2007 and at the same time we are building a web database to make the results more available to research and practice (www.salutogenesis.fi ). Both initiatives and activities are not available elsewhere. Two international EU funded research projects have recently been connected: Building Competences for Health Promotion and Comparative Studies of Culture and Birth.

The WHO study on Health Behaviour in School Age children (HBSC) on the Swedish taking population is based here.  Further it is the center of a world wide research network, the Global Working Group on Salutogenesis, of the IUHPE. The research team is multidisciplinary in cooperation with other European Health Promotion Research and Development Centers. Training and education is a natural part of the implementation of our research in practice.