Health Promotion Services at Oberlin College

Need help finding a campus or community health promotion resource? 

We are a safe, private place to access information and support. We can help you locate the services you need, when you need them.

We have student employees, volunteers, and campus and community professionals that are here to help you develop healthy habits of living while at college.

Health promotion is defined as “the science and art of helping people change their lifestyle to move toward a state of optimal health.  Optimal health is defined as a balance of physical, emotional, social, spiritual, and intellectual health.   Lifestyle change can be facilitated through a combination of efforts to enhance awareness, change behavior and create environments that support good health practices.  Of the three, supportive environments will probably have the greatest impact in producing lasting change.”(American Journal of Health Promotion)

Health education is defined as “consciously constructed opportunities for learning designed to facilitate changes in behavior towards a predetermined goal, and involving some form of communication designed to improve health literacy, knowledge, and life skills conducive to individual  and community health” (PAHO, 1996; WHO, 1998). 
   

What are "Life Skills"?

Oberlin College defines life skills as the ability to effectively navigate the challenges of college life through knowledge, motivation, and practice in order to develop positive habits of living.