From health education to healthy learning: implementing salutogenesis in educational science.

Scand J Public Health 39(6 Suppl):85-92 (2011) PMID 21382852

The aim is to scrutinise the concept of health education (HE) and to broaden the concept of health literacy (HL) towards a lifelong healthy learning concept. HL is a broader concept than HE. This paper dissects both the health and the education concepts, and puts them into the value system of health promotion (HP) of the Ottawa Charter (OC) using the core principles and values of HP, HL, and action competence (AC) in the light of the salutogenesis (SAL). Conceptually the salutogenic model focuses on the direction towards the healthy end of the health continuum. The salutogenic theory, based on resources and comprehensibility, manageability, and meaningfulness, can be integrated into a learning model. People are seen as active and participating subjects shaping their lives through their AC.