Health promotion and disease prevention: individual's responsability or social responsability

Abstract

This article is about some theorietical assumptions that have guided helath promotion and disease prevention strategies. Some questions are raised in relation to the professional's interventions that consider health promotion as an individual responsability. It is suggested that the focus should be on social changes through the professionals' consciousness in social, political, behavioral and economic aspects that exert influences over the population's health. These ideas ought to be incorporated to the nurse-client interaction.