The use of health fairs in health promotion

Abstract

Health fairs have been a typical intervention for most worksite and community health promotion programs. They are often one of the first types of intervention selected for use. Historically, they can be traced back to public health interventions conducted at 19th century county and state fairs, and have shown considerable sustaining resilience over time. A proposed 21st-century modification includes the concept of virtual health fairs, which use the Internet and provide a cyber version of the traditional health fair. Various programming strategies are proposed that have the potential to enhance the behavior change, risk mitigation, and economic return associated with health fairs.