Health Education Flashcards
- the process of providing learning experiences with favorable influence on understanding, attitudes and conduct relating to individual and community health.
- helping individuals and groups to achieve better health by means of providing them with knowledge, attitude and skills so that they can make intelligent health decisions and become competent to carry out activities and take the necessary adaptation in the face of the challenges of this ever-changing environment.
- the process whereby learning situations and experiences are created with and for the people so they may be influenced to change favorably their undesirable health knowledge, attitudes and practices for the improvement of personal hygiene, family and community health.
- the process of providing or utilizing experiences for favorably influencing understanding, attitudes, and practices relating to individual, family and community health.
Health Education
You can tell people what to do about their health but you cannot force them to do what you say for it is only when people realize the need for changing/modifying their behavior that they will apply the principles of healthful living.
“You can lead the horse to the water but you cannot make the horse drink”
Health education can contribute to the achievement of our country’s developed goals by producing a more conscious, self reliant, responsive and responsible people in matters relating to the prevention of disease, preservation and promotion of health. A healthy population can be more energetic, alert, productive and contributing members of the society.
Philosophy/Goals of Health Education
- To persuade people to adopt and sustain healthful life practices
- To use judiciously and wisely the health services/resources available to them.
- To take their own decisions, both individually and collectively, to improve their health status and environment.
The General Aims of Health Education
- The availability and accessibility of health services rendered by agencies in which the individuals have trust.
- The economic feasibility of putting into practice the health measures being advocated.
- The acceptability of the proposed health practice in terms of their customs and traditions that the individual, families and groups observe, the beliefs that they hold, and the attitudes of their peers.
- The extent to which people already have the kinds of learning experience needed to enable them to understand the desire and benefits to be derived from a new or modified health behavior, which may often require a considerable personal sacrifice of a financial, social or psychological nature.
Factors Affecting the Attainment of Health Education:
- An understanding of the culture and the way of life of people including beliefs, superstitions, traditions, value systems, religious practices, etc.
- Knowledge of the problems that the people recognize.
- Knowledge of the leaders and leadership patterns in the community.
- Knowledge of the socio-economic level of the people.
- Knowledge of the channels of communication in which the people have confidence.
- Knowledge of the community resources whether human, natural, financial, institutional and/or technical
- An understanding of the past experiences of people with respect to health and illness and with public health workers and other indigenous workers like hilots.
- An understanding of the motivations of the people.
- Knowledge of educational methods and media and their effectiveness.
Factors to be considered in Putting up Health Education Programs
- Health education is a teamwork endeavor. All members of the pubic health team have health education responsibilities. Health education is everybody’s business.
- The health education programs must be an integrated part of health planning.
- Health education is concerned with the changes in the knowledge, attitudes, feeling and behavior of the people.
- Health education program must be built on already existing structures. This needs a preliminary survey of what has been done and what needs to be done.
- Programs should be based on clearly stated values/goals.
Principles of Health Education
- Health education is concerned with “working with” rather than working for the people.
- The needs and interests of people should be considered in initiating individual, family and community activities in solving problems.
- All communities, no matter how small, have an organizational structure in which to build.
- There is no single pattern for solving community problems since problem solving is a creative process.
- Knowledge of the attitudes, beliefs, customs, traditions and habits in relation to health and to everyday living is essential in health education program as in any other health programs.
Principles of Health Education
- Use existing community leadership whenever possible.
- Planning should be related to the present facilities and personnel.
- Start with a simple educational measures or project most likely to succeed in a short time to gain the confidence of the people.
- Secure the coordination and cooperation of the people and existing organizations to help realize the solution of the problems.
Principles of Health Education
- Start the project in a pilot area rather than on a wide scale basis.
- Provision of funds for the health education program may be obtained from official or voluntary sources at national, provincial or local levels.
- A fundamental faith and belief in people’s ability to contribute to the solution of their own problems is essential for effective and lasting health education.
- Health education program should have a baseline data against which results, both qualitative and quantitative may be measured.
Principles of Health Education
a) Clinical Setting
b) Community Setting
c) School Setting
d) Occupational (Industrial) Setting
Settings of Health Education
- focuses on teaching clients and their kins while clients are hospitalized; teaching occurs during the entire period of hospitalization and immediately before discharge of the clients from the hospital.
- aim: to teach clients to prevent further injuries or complications or to follow rehabilitative regimens.
- clients are instructed on healthy measures and practices that can be continues at home and the resources they can rely on while being care for at home after discharge from the hospital.
Clinical Setting
the focus of health education is the client who is not hospitalized, but would need to be knowledgeable about health promotion and illness prevention; the client maybe found at home, barangay health center, a multi-purpose hall and the like; his family serve as the unit of care. The nurse educator gives a dimension of specific community service which directly influences the over-all health of the community.
Community Setting
- The nurse educator is working either in a public or private school.
- The nurse educator need to understand the behaviors of the individuals.
- The nurse educator provides part of a school program for children.
School Setting
implies the sum of all the efforts to improve the health of workers in the community and its industries; it involves the reduction of injury and disease in industry and efforts to promote the quick return of workers to productive activity. The basic objective is prevention at all levels, employing the coordinated efforts of a group of specialists.
Occupational (Industrial) Setting
