The circle of health©: An interactive tool to guide the process of transformative change and rethinking health promotion

ABSTRACT

Given the many social and economic inequities that have been magnified globally by the COVID-19 pandemic, new approaches to leadership are required. The author shares her experience as a teacher and learner in Canada, Serbia, Brazil, and Germany, and proposes that the Circle of Health framework has the potential for guiding the transformative change required to rebuild social relationships and structures postpandemic. The Circle of Health was developed in 1996 on Prince Edward Island (PEI), Canada, through a unique government-community partnership in response to the need for transparent and multisector, interdisciplinary collaboration on health promotion. Training and development of supplemental materials were undertaken by the author and her colleagues to create a shared understanding of health promotion, to promote partnerships across sectors, and to engage in systematically integrating the many concepts of population health in policy and practice. Since its creation, it has been used globally by educators, policy makers, researchers, and students in many disciplines to holistically address complex societal issues. The innovative ways in which the Circle of Health continues to be embraced provide the foundation for this chapter, challenging the reader to be responsive, creative, and purposeful in rethinking and repositioning health promotion as an approach to global leadership. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022. All rights reserved.