Good health is a state of physical and mental well-being necessary to live a meaningful, pleasant and productive life. Achieving good health means not just reacting to ill health, but proactively promoting health and preventing diseases. There is general support (David BYRNE, A reflection process for a new EU Health Strategy 15 July 2004) for making EU-citizens more responsible for their health, promoting health and treating diseases in order to “empower citizens” to take a pro-active role in managing their health. Lifelong learning encompasses learning for personal, civic, social purposes and not least learning how to protect own health. Organisation of awareness-raising activities in health prevention and development of information, guidance and counselling services for adult learners is the start point of the project pro-health.
The general ageing of the population requires increased attention to all possibilities for increasing citizens’ working and functioning capacity, or more broadly, the health potential, of the population. Individual behaviour and lifestyle choices influence the development and course of chronic conditions. Unhealthy behaviours, such as a poor diet, lack of physical activity, overweight, stress, and tobacco use are risk factors for many chronic conditions and diseases.
The project “proHealth” focuses on health education and information and strenghtens responsibility for personal efforts to achieve health, balance and well being with a holistic approach. The project wants to motivate own responsibility for self well-being and promoting health and preventing diseases.The specific aim of the project is improvement of the accessibility and attractiveness of learning and information opportunities for adults in order to enforce awareness in health issues and help them to gain knowledge and competence in order to preserve their own health.
Objectives
- to develop sensitive lifestyle, own responsibility for health prevention and to create an international network in order to sensitise the public
- to inform about basics in health-prevention, risk factors and interaction between health and lifestyle, habits, nutrition etc.
- to explain and discuss the foundation of herbal/traditional medicine incl. cultural backgrounds and its complementary to modern medicine, to identify what makes herbs work, to create and use herbal remedies for optimal health
- to create a platform for communication between the modern medicine, traditional medicine, agriculture, agro tourism and lifelong learning in partner countries; developing this way a synergetic effect
- to understand different cultural habits and history in a unifying EU and to save cultural heritage
We expect the increase of awareness and sensitivity in issues of health prevention, basic knowledge of diseases and risk factors. The traditional medicine and cultural aspects will be a good bridge to bring European people together and to develop a corporate feeling and a feeling of affiliation. The holistic approach will help to understand the roots of problems.
