The WHO Health Promotion Glossary was written to facilitate understanding, communication and cooperation among those engaged in health promotion at the local, regional, national and global levels. Two editions of the Glossary have been released, the first in 1986 and the second in 1998, and continued revision of the document is necessary to promote consensus regarding meanings and to take accou...

1. The section on blood groups and RH factors is limited, and the management of erythroblastosis is discussed only in relation to hydrops fetalis. 2. In breech presentations, external cephalic version under general anesthesia is advocated if an attempt without anesthesia has been unsuccessful, except in the case of an elderly primigravida or medical contraindications. The dangers of using gener...

ACCURACY and PRECISION. Accuracy is the extent to which a measurement reflects the true value. It is the tendency of test measurement to center around the true value. "Precise" means sharply defined or measured. Data can be very precise, but inaccurate. It would be precise but inaccurate to say that a meter equals 29.3748 inches. It would actually be more accurate to say that a meter equals a l...

valuable comments and suggestions. Of course, I am solely to blame for any errors or omissions.

Violence has been explicitly identified as a significant public health problem. This glossary clarifies widely used definitions and concepts of violence within the public health field, building on those promoted through the 2002 World Report on Violence and Health. We provide definitions and concepts that can be usefully applied to identify points for public health intervention to prevent the s...