INTRODUCTION:
Health promotion is a core component of the Health and Wellness module for second-year medical students at Stellenbosch University. The curriculum is designed to expand on a theoretical foundation in health promotion that is intentionally paired with structured opportunities to apply health promotion principles in practice. Methods and

RESULTS:
Students are introduced to key health promotion principles, models, and determinants of health through interactive teaching that emphasises upstream drivers of health, community contexts, and the doctor’s role as a health advocate. This theoretical grounding is then reinforced through two scaffolded experiential learning activities: Campus Health Day and a Health Promotion Assignment. Campus Health Day aligns with World Health Day and provides a supported educational setting in which students collaboratively plan and implement a Campus Health Day for their peers and the broader campus community. Activities have included health screening initiatives and food security interventions. This initiative enables students to translate theory into practice in a supported, peer-focused environment. The second experiential component, the Health Promotion Assignment, situates learning within students’ longitudinal primary healthcare experience (LPHCE) contexts. Working in groups, students identify a relevant health promotion need within their assigned community, and then plan, design, implement and reflect on an appropriate intervention. This assignment emphasises students’ roles as health advocates working across individual, community, and population levels. Students disseminate their work through a conference-style poster presentation to peers and examiners, reinforcing reflective practice and scholarly communication skills.

CONCLUSIONS:
Together, these learning activities demonstrate a scaffolded educational approach to teaching health promotion, moving from theory, to practice in a safe educational setting, and finally to application within real-world primary healthcare contexts. This model offers a practical example of how undergraduate medical curricula can meaningfully integrate health promotion education to prepare future doctors for preventive, community-oriented practice.