Addressing the contradictions: health promotion and community health action in the United Kingdom.

Within mainstream health education/promotion in the United Kingdom, the last few years have witnessed an upsurge of interest in community development, sometimes coupled with an undermining of the fundamental principles of this approach. This article addresses some of the contradictions and dilemmas that this development has presented for the community health movement. Current trends in health promotion policy and practice are examined in relation to broader health and welfare policy of the 1980s, the history of community development in health, and the background to the World Health Organization's "Health for All by the Year 2000" and health promotion initiatives. The possibilities and limitations of utilizing the rhetoric, to support community health action, are explored with reference to recent attempts by the community health movement to "reclaim" Health for All.