Based on a bibliographical survey on the background, concepts and practices of the promotion of health, we found a gap in its methodological dimension, i.e., in experiences demonstrably coherent with the line of discourse of the promotion of health. The purpose of this study, therefore, was to describe the practice of the seven principles that characterize health promotion initiatives, as defined by the World Health Organization (holism, intersectoriality, empowerment, social participation, equity, multi-strategy actions and sustainability), taking into account five experiences of public management in different areas, obtained from the database of the Public Management and Citizenship Program of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (EAPSP/FGV). Based on secondary data and the analysis of documents, we analyzed each one of the principles, its limits, possibilities and relevance for the promotion of health. The investigation led us to conclude that the principles mentioned are sufficiently universal and practicable to enable their identification in initiatives of a different nature and in which the health sector did not have a preponderant role. Raising issues for future studies, we look into the role that the health sector might take on as regards the policies of health promotion, such as it is conceived in this article, in order to have a greater impact on the conditions of daily life and the socioeconomic and environmental determinants of health, as the so-called "new promotion of health" preconizes.
Health promotion; public administration; social participation; intersectorial action
