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Health Education Research Advance Access published online on September 7, 2007
Health Education Research, doi:10.1093/her/cym035
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© The Author 2007. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org

The forgotten dimensions in health education research

Steven R. Hawks*, TeriSue Smith, Heather G. Thomas, Hillarie S. Christley, Noelle Meinzer and Abbi Pyne

Department of Health Science, College of Health and Human Performance, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT 84602, USA

Correspondence to: * Correspondence to: S. R. Hawks. E-mail: steve_hawks{at}byu.edu

This paper evaluates the content focus of health education research as presented in the professional literature over a 6-year period (2000–2005). The majority of research (1365 papers) addresses the physical dimension of health (79%), while other health dimensions receive less attention. It is argued that the current content focus of research in health education fails to harmonize with the multidimensional, dynamic and functional nature of health as generally defined. The goal of health education, positive behavior change, also seems less reachable without a better understanding of how nonphysical dimensions of health influence wellness behaviors. At present, there exists an opportunity for health educators to move toward research agendas that more fully appreciate the interconnectedness of various dimensions of health and that evaluate them evenhandedly. Practical application of this approach will require a partial break from the biological orientations of other health professions, new research agendas that clarify multidimensional health relationships and new programs that seek to influence outcomes in a variety of dimensions.

Received on January 25, 2007; accepted on May 23, 2007


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