Health Promotion and Ottawa Charter

Running head: HEALTH PROMOTION AND OTTAWA CHARTER
HEALTH PROMOTION AND OTTAWA CHARTER
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author Note

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HEALTH PROMOTION AND OTTAWA CHARTER
Introduction
Present life style is fast and the importance of travelling cannot be neglected. Hence, it
can be seen there are different factors related to the road travelling. It has been seen there are
different accidental issues which should be reduced with higher priority. Hence, it can be stated
that the reduction of the accidental fatalities and developing road safety frameworks are very
much important. Depending on this fact it has been seen that the road Safety 2010 was a
framework which focuses on the reduction of the road fatalities to the half of the present
condition within 2020 (HSC PDHPE, 2020). It has been seen that a total of $827 million per year
costs for the road crash incidents for the Australian government (HSC PDHPE, 2020). Thus, it
can be stated that the more cost effective and negative condition reduced situation should be
developed. Hence, the road safety framework is an appropriate health promotion plan which
developed with the consideration of five action areas of the Ottawa Charter focusing on the
development of the safe roads in the Australian context. In the following section the
effectiveness and the process of the health promotion will be described in details.
Discussion
The road safety framework is focused on the developed with the focus of reduction of the
negative situations of the road accident related mortality and the morbidity (Roads and Maritime
Services, 2020). Thus, it can be seen that the process of the road safety development is
dependent on different factors such as the education of the drivers and the safety measures
considered by the road maintenance authorities. However, the road safety framework is
developed with the consideration of the five areas of Ottawa Charter including, build healthy
public policy, create supportive environments, strengthen community actions, develop personal

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skills and reorient health services (Fry and Zask 2017). These factors are directly focused on the
development of the knowledge about the safe road habits. Hence, it can be stated that the process
of the health promotion for the road safety is crucial and it has been seen that the process is
progressing and effective in some ways (Wiebe et al. 2016). Thus, it can be stated that the five
areas of the Ottawa Charter are used in the health promotion program regarding road safety.
Build healthy public policy
It has been seen that most of the cases of the road accidents are occurred due to speeding.
Hence, the NSW government developed the legislative framework that limits the speed to 50 km
per hour. Based on the legislation the speed should not be more than 50 km per hour (HSC
PDHPE, 2020). It has been seen that reduction of the speed can reduce the mortality or morbidity
rate due to the road accidents whereas the increase in speed increases the risk of the cases. Thus,
it can be stated that the process of the road safety maintenance should be focused on the
legislative regulations regarding speed. It can also be seen that the health promotion plan is
focused on the development of the training programs for the people. The legislation is also
focused on the reduction of road rage, drinking and driving and also speeding issues. Based on
the legislation the NSW roads are installed with fixed speed measuring cameras which
determines the speed of the cars or two wheelers. Hence, it can be stated that based on the
Ottawa Charter the public policy development is focused on the reduction of the speeding issues.
Create supportive environments
There have been several social campaigns developed and conducted including the
‘Speeding: no one thinks big of you’ and also the ‘P plate speeding campaign’ by the police.
These campaigns focused on the reduction of the social acceptance of the speeding practices
among the young drivers. It has been seen that the ‘P plate speeding campaign’ focused on the

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fixed camera installation beside the school, traffic areas and includes warning signs for the
reduction of this malpractice. Intelligent Speed Adaptation systems have been installed in the
vehicles and also training has been provided to the drivers regarding the change of the situation
(HSC PDHPE, 2020). It has been seen that these devices are very much effective as these
effectively informs the driver about the speed limit of specific zones. The roads also have been
upgraded according to the safety standards. It has been seen that the for the safety of the cyclists
the cycle ways have been separated from the traffic to reduce the accident rates. Not only the
speeding control or road safety have been improved but also the focus is on the pedestrian safety
as well. There are different strategies implemented for the reduction of the pedestrian morbidity
or mortality due to road accidents. Thus, the focus of these campaigns and the safety measures
are dependent on the second area of Ottawa Charter and this area focuses on the environmental
resource development to reduce the negative impacts over the health.
Strengthen community actions
It has been seen that the community based sponsored health promotion programs also
conducted to change the attitude of people regarding the speeding. The road safety framework
sponsored the RTA SpeedBlitz Blues to develop awareness among the people for the attitude and
knowledge development regarding the elimination of the risks of the accident. On the other hand,
‘driver reviver’ has been provided to the people of the communities to reduce the negative
accidental situations due to the fatigue of the driver (HSC PDHPE, 2020). Hence, the community
based organisations focus on the effective improvement of the statistical context of the accident
rates. It has been seen that the community centred health promotion with the consideration of the
Ottawa Charter effectively reduce the risk of the accident development and the mortality rate and
morbidity rate regarding the situation. It is also helpful as the focus of the community strength

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development is awareness and education development among the community people. Hence, the
knowledge strength development among the people of the community is very much required and
it effectively reduce the accident rates.
Develop personal skills
There are different campaigns present for the people for the improvement of the driving
and reduction of the negative impacts of the speeding. It has been seen that the ‘speeding
campaign’ is focused on the training and education providence about the factor of the 5 km per
hour speed difference can develop negative situation. On the other hand, ‘country speeding
campaign’ reduces the stereotypic thought process regarding the road knowledge and the less
chances of accident (HSC PDHPE, 2020). This thought process has been seen to be prominent
and predominant among the people. Hence, the reduction of this thought process should be
considered with higher priority. Thus, the health promotion campaigns have been developed to
develop the personal skills of the drivers to reduce the negative impact. Moreover, the ‘notes
campaign’ targets the young people from the age group of 17 to 25 to develop awareness about
the speeding and the mortality chances. On the other hand, the campaign also focuses on the
development of the awareness about the think before act process. It can be stated that the
negative impact of driving in a high speed and also uncontrollable condition development
increases the risk of the death. Thus, the personal skill development is the factor which should be
considered for the betterment of the situation. In this context, it can be seen that the Ottawa
Charter is again effective in the process of the health promotion. Thus, it can be stated that the
health promotion campaigns regrading the road safety is very much important. Other than all
these, the Graduate Licensing Scheme is also a factor which has been implemented in order to

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increase the skills and the knowledge of the young people regarding the driving safety and also
maintaining the road safety process.
Reorient health services
The campaign of ‘Slow Down Roadshow’ is focused on the education providence to the
people by travelling the state. This education process is focused on the consequences and the
negative impacts of the accident (HSC PDHPE, 2020). This education program is the factor that
focuses on the reorientation health promotion strategies. It can be stated that the focus of the
reduction of the negative impact of the accidents are effectively focused on positivity
development as well. The negative situations regarding the accident that is the high death rate or
the morbidities such as the physical and mental disability development among the people
experienced accident should be considered with priority. The focus on the reduction of the
negative issues should be emphasised and should be considered with priority. The education
program for the peopleis about the reduction of the speeding and other hazardous practices
regarding the driving. On the other hand, the literacy development is very much effective as the
process is focused on the awareness build up which can shape the attitude of people regarding
the road safety. It can also be stated that the health promotion regarding the road safety would be
effectively reduce the disability or the mortality rate of the country. Hence, the Ottawa Charter
based health promotion would be effective for the people of the country and it will reduce the
negative aspects of the health related risks which can be developed due to the speeding or unsafe
driving (Tapera and Sekis Moseki 2018). Thus, the reorientation of the education and the
awareness of the people should be considered and the health promotion regarding the road safety
is focused on this factor only.

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Conclusion
Based on the above discussion it can be concluded that the health promotion program of
the road safety is focused on the effective education and skill development of the people. The
process is developed with the consideration of the Ottawa Charter. The five areas of the Ottawa
Charter have been implemented with the focus of different legislative and educational campaigns
which are effectively reduce the situation of the negative impact due to accident. However, the
cost effective procedure is challenging as the education program and the effective knowledge
development of people is dependent on the cultural and the behaviuoral factors of people. On the
other hand, the process of the effective regulation of the accident control and road safety increase
is one of the most important factor and the government is focused on the development of the
positive situation regarding health improvement, behavioural improvement, reduction of the
negative situations regarding mortality and morbidity and also the factor of the developing the
effective skills of the people regarding the safety control.

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References
Fry, D. and Zask, A., 2017. Applying the Ottawa Charter to inform health promotion programme
design. Health promotion international, 32(5), pp.901-912.
HSC PDHPE, 2020. Health Promotion Initiatives Related To Australia’S Health Priorities -
Road Safety. [online] HSC PDHPE. Available at: <https://www.pdhpe.net/health-priorities-in-
australia/what-actions-are-needed-to-address-australias-health-priorities/health-promotion-based-
on-the-five-action-areas-of-the-ottawa-charter/health-promotion-initiatives-related-to-australias-
health-priorities-road-safety/> [Accessed 20 March 2020].
Roads and Maritime Services, 2020. Road Safety. [online] Roads and Maritime Services.
Available at: <https://www.rms.nsw.gov.au/roads/safety-rules/road-safety.html> [Accessed 20
March 2020].
Tapera, R. and Sekis Moseki, J.J., 2018. The status of health promotion in Botswana. Journal of
public health in Africa, 9(1).
Wiebe, D.J., Ray, S., Maswabi, T., Kgathi, C. and Branas, C.C., 2016. Economic development
and road traffic fatalities in two neighbouring African nations. African journal of emergency
medicine, 6(2), pp.80-86.