In the 1969 inaugural issue of the "School Health Review", Douglass J.H. examined four major issues he felt were central to the question of choices one has about health: (1) problems with health care delivery methods; (2) persistent poverty in our population and its impact on health; (3) systemic problems inherent in social and institutional arrangements, what he referred to as the "network of health and health related pathologies"; and (4) difficulty communicating or clarifying values in society. To begin his thesis, he argued that a person must be understood as a totality rather than as a sum of component parts. To address this perspective, he believed that health professionals must embrace a multidisciplinary approach to health care. To provide some historical context for the time in which Douglass' paper was written, the authors gathered statistics on key health indicators such as poverty rate, life expectancy and infant mortality. The issues raised by Douglass about the limited health care choices available in the U.S. remains today. Addressing the contexts of health by focusing on issues of poverty, housing and education is still the key to improving the health conditions of all Americans. This is a renewed call for all in health education and health promotion to work together to achieve the goal of realizing a society where health promotion is a global priority.