About us
‘HEALTH in BALANCE’ is a health promotion and educational initiative, which has evolved through the teaching within the further education and adult college centres since 1988 in both East London and London Borough of Havering.
The programme has developed further as a prescription exercise in collaboration with medical practitioners in 1992 in response to the Government’s strategy for health outlined in the White Paper, which emphasised the significance of building the partnerships working together to improve general health and taking action to prevent illness within our communities.
General feedback on the programme effectiveness and its role within the national strategy for health and preventative care, has been outlined at the interviews carried out by the Department of Health in January 2006, as part of the consultation ‘Your Health, Your Care, Your Say’ White Paper listening exercise, at which the public, patients, service users, and staff were asked to express their views on how to improve the services provided in the community by the NHS and social care.
Each programme has a multidimensional framework, which is modified and adapted to a person’s needs, age, gender, and general health status. Its conceptual structure, analysis of the outcomes, and the feedback from both, the participants and their referring medical practitioners, testify to the benefits of the programme and the significance of preventative care methods to reduce long-term ill health effects.
Individuals can choose the method of support, which depends on the advancement and complexity of their general health status.
Our work continues to make a significant contribution to the development of future model of health and preventative care that is based on building people’s capacity to improve and increase control of their general health, which integrates the physical, cognitive and social aspects of their health.