Foundation Work: The Health Promotion Program of the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

In 1986, the Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation, a private philanthropy located in Northern California, launched a new national program to improve the health of the American people through health promotion and disease prevention. The Health Promotion Program employs a public health rather than a medical approach emphasizing the methods of community organization, social marketing, and public interest advocacy to take its message to the American people. Five leading causes of preventable illness, disability and premature death in the United States are targeted for intervention by the Program: cardiovascular disease, cancer, injuries, substance abuse and adolescent pregnancy. Since the Program was initiated, the Kaiser Family Foundation has been joined by eight other U.S. foundations to make the Program a multifoundation endeavor. The Program also has been endorsed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.