Abstract
Background: Health promotion and lifelong learning are often addressed as separate policy domains, despite their shared goal of strengthening individuals’ and communities’ capacity to respond to changing social, technological, environmental, and demographic conditions. Fragmented governance limits their potential contribution to equitable well-being and sustainable development. Objective: This conceptual study develops an integrated framework that conceptualizes lifelong health learning as a continuous capability-building process across the life course. Methods: An integrative review and framework synthesis were conducted across scholarship on health promotion, health literacy, adult learning, the capability approach, social determinants of health, and sustainable development. Foundational theories and international policy frameworks were systematically compared across four analytical dimensions: purpose, agency, context, and outcomes. Results: The synthesis identifies a recursive pathway linking structural enablers, lifelong health learning, human capabilities, and sustainable human development. Lifelong learning enhances individuals’ capacity to access, understand, appraise, apply, reflect on, and co-create health knowledge, while health promotion provides supportive environments, participatory governance, and action addressing social determinants. Their integration can strengthen personal agency, resilience, social participation, and adaptive livelihoods when equitable access, digital inclusion, cultural relevance, and institutional responsiveness are embedded as core conditions. A multi-level implementation model is proposed across schools, workplaces, health services, community organizations, learning cities, and digital platforms, supported by an evaluation architecture encompassing inputs, processes, capabilities, outcomes, and equity. Conclusions: Sustainable human development requires more than episodic health information or isolated adult education. It requires inclusive learning ecosystems in which individuals and communities continuously develop the knowledge, confidence, relationships, and decision-making capabilities needed to build healthy lives, participate meaningfully in society, and shape supportive environments. The proposed framework provides a conceptual basis for integrating lifelong learning and health promotion within sustainable and equity-oriented policy systems
References
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