Promoting Health through Internal Communication

Abstract

Health promotion is a task that must be undertaken by all individuals and communities.
The people and professionals who work within the health sector are called upon to be
its constant advocates. This means that all employees of the health sector have to be
knowledgeable, skilled, motivated and integrated to achieve this goal.
The current situation shows that different health care scenarios do not work under the
principles included in the Ottawa Charter for Health Promotion. This leads to re-think,
firstly, the importance of developing the philosophy behind the work carried out in the
area of health promotion, and secondly, the work which is done from the inside, regarding
internal audiences, so that each organization can find a strategic partner in each
of its employees so as to achieve its health objectives.
Based on organizational theories that have revealed what an important role internal
communications play in meeting an organization’s objectives, and taking into account
that health promotion is still a work in progress, it is argued that internal communications
within the health sector can help achieve this purpose through a policy-of internal
communications- that has health promotion as its main goal.
This is how this article develops the model of the "six Is" of internal communication for
the promotion of health, which includes: identification, information, integration, image,
instruction and research.