INTRODUCTION TO HEALTH EDUCATION
💙 Introduction:
Health education is essential if people are to learn how to live healthy lives and avoid diseases.
It helps them understand what health is and how to care for it, and also about the need for health services and disease control programs.
Health education can show people good health and wellness.
Services are a basic human right; it can explain that health services are important for development.
Health education, as part of primary prevention, helps people understand their bodies and value their health, learn about diseases, and how to best use organized health services.
Definition:
💙 Health education:
The World Health Organization defines health education as “a set of consciously designed learning opportunities that involve some form of communication designed to improve health literacy, including the development of life skills that are conducive to individual and community health.”
💙 Concept of health education:
The modern concept of health education emphasizes health behavior and related actions of people.
The behavior to be adopted or changed can be that of individuals, groups such as families, health professionals, institutions and organizations, or the community as a whole.
💙 Changing concept:
Historically health education has been committed to the dissemination of information and to changing human behavior.
Since the Alma-Ata Declaration adopted in 1978, the emphasis has shifted from-
Prevention of disease to promoting healthy lifestyles.
Change in individual behavior and change in the social environment in which the individual lives.
Community participation to community involvement.
Promotion of individual and community self-reliance.
To discuss aim of health education:
To provide information about health and hygiene (आरोग्य और श्वाधानी में स्वाधाने To develop and promote mental and emotional health-
Mental and emotional health are equally important in a health program.
While physical health makes a student physically fit, mental and emotional health enables him to maintain an even temperament and a cheerful disposition.
To develop a sense of civics responsibility among people-.
People do not come to the aid of others in times of need and relieve their suffering.
Therefore, one of the objectives of health education is to develop a sense of civic responsibility.
Through health education, people will be made aware of social crimes, such as spitting anywhere, sneezing and coughing in the mouth of others, etc.
💙 To enumerate objectives of health education:
(1) To develop desirable health practices and health methods and health habits.
(ii) To develop an attitude towards health.
(iii) To appreciate the health programme undertaken by the school and the community and to improve the school and the community and the materials required for the implementation of that programme.
(iv) To create health consciousness in the school and the community.
(v) To teach the students the rules for the maintenance and development of their physical, mental and emotional health.
(vi) To eradicate diseases through health campaign programme.
(vii) To combat superstitions and prejudices in the community.
(viii) To provide a healthy environment for physical and mental development.
(ix) To improve the general living conditions in the community.
(x) To instruct children and youth so that they can maintain and improve their own health.
(xi) To influence parents and other adults through health-education programme for good habits and attitudes in children.
To explain principal of health education:
1.interest :
It is a psychological principle that people do not listen to things that are not in their interest. Therefore, health education should be related to the interests of the individual. Health educators must find out the real health needs of the people.
Participation is based on the psychological principle of active learning and group discussions, panel discussions, work shops – all provide opportunities for active learning.
Health education should include not only the personal element but also the social one.
However, individual and community health are closely linked and interdependent.
‘To live and to live well’ can be a very desirable motto for health education.
In health education, one should know the level of understanding for which the education is directed. One obstacle in communication is the use of words that cannot be understood. Especially children of lower grades do not understand the meaning of health.
Therefore, they should be led to practice certain health habits through concrete goals rather than some abstract rules of health that are difficult to understand. Therefore, education should be within the mental capacity of children
Reinforcement:
Very few people can learn what is new in a single period of time.
It helps in understanding and comprehension so health instruction needs reinforcement.
Motivation:
Every person has a basic desire to learn. Awakening this desire is called motivation
6.learning by doing:
Learning is an action process, not ‘memorizing’ in the narrow sense. The Chinese proverb “If I hear, I forget, if I see, I remember, if I do, I know” explains the importance of learning, so health habits, like other habits, should be developed through practice and by strictly following certain rules.
Known to unknown:
To provide health education, one should proceed from the known to the unknown, starting with where the children are and what they understand and then moving towards new knowledge.
💙 To interpret process of health education:
1.Establish communication:
Establishing communication is a very important step in this process for good interpersonal relationships with clients.
The teacher should be a good listener, understand the client’s point of view, answer their questions and meet their immediate needs to identify their level of learning and readiness.
Assessing learning needs:
Assessment involves finding out what patients already know, what they want and need to learn, what they are capable of learning, and what the best way to teach them would be.
Every member of the health care team has valuable information about the patient and their learning needs and abilities.
Collaborating with others who care for the patient can give you—and them—a better picture, allowing you to design more effective learning strategies for all.
3.developing learning objectives:
To develop objectives, you need to define the outcomes you and the patient expect from the teaching-learning process. Unlike goals, which are general and long-term, learning objectives are specific, achievable, measurable, and short-term. For example, for a newly diagnosed diabetic patient, an overall learning goal might be to learn how to maintain blood sugar levels between 70 and 150 mg/dl at all times.
Planning and implementing patient teaching
The next step in the process is planning and implementing an individualized teaching plan.
Determining what will be taught is a decision that you and the patient need to make together.
Although you start as a content expert, your goal is to make your patient as competent as they need to be to manage their own health care needs.
Start by looking at the information the patient needs to know and differentiate between what the patient needs to know and what is nice to know.
Evaluating patient learning:
Evaluation, the last stage of the teaching process, is the ongoing assessment of the patient’s learning progress during and after teaching. The goal of evaluation is to find out whether the patient has learned what you have taught.
Here are some ways you can evaluate learning:
Observe compensatory demonstrations to see if the patient has learned the psychomotor skills necessary for the task
Ask the patient to restate the instructions in his or her own words
Ask the patient questions to see if there are areas of the instruction that need to be reinforced or retaught
Give simple written tests or questionnaires before, during, and after teaching to measure cognitive learning
Documenting patient teaching and learning:
Documentation of patient learning should occur throughout the teaching process. Documentation is done for many purposes.
Documentation Promotes communication about the patient’s learning progress among all members of the health care team.
Good documentation helps maintain continuity of care and avoids duplication of education.
Patient education can be documented through flow-charts, checklists, care plans, traditional progress notes, or computerized documentation.
Whatever the method, the information should become a part of the patient’s permanent medical record.
💙 To discuss level of health education:
Levels of health education are-
Mass level
Community level
Group level
Family level
Individual level.
1.mass level:
This creates awareness among the people on a large scale. Education is imparted using mass media of communication.
These include-
Radio
Films
Television
Posters
Magazines
Newspaper
Booklets
Journals etc
2.community level:
Journals etc
2.community level:
It is for the defined community.
It is not only to create awareness but also to help people understand their health problems and find and implement solutions to their problems.
3.group level:
It is to teach health matters to specific groups in a defined setup. There can be various target groups for health education like eligible couples, pre-natal mothers, school children etc.
Method can be used-
Lecture method
Question answer
Demonstration
Play
Skit etc
4.family level:
The family is the unit of all health services. In the family setting that member faces their health needs and health problems. It is very important to conduct health education at the family level according to their learning needs to develop their abilities and competencies to be able to handle their health condition.
5.individual level:
It is done to help an individual learn and assimilate health information in order to change their attitudes and behaviors that are health promoting and protective.
💙 To explain method of health education:
Lecture method:
Lecturing is a teaching method that primarily involves an oral presentation given by an instructor to a group of students.
Many lectures are accompanied by some form of visual aid, such as a slideshow, word document, image, or film.
Some teachers may also use a whiteboard or chalkboard to emphasize important points in their lecture, but a lecture does not need any of these items to qualify as a lecture.
Advantages :
Teacher control
New material
Effortless
Disadvantages :
One-way
Passive
Group discussion:
Discription:
An opportunity to pool and test ideas, experience, and knowledge.
When used: Whenever greater group participation is desired.
Procedure:
Requires a pre-planned outline.
The facilitator encourages and guides participation.
Limitation:
Dealing with only 20 participants can become disorganized without careful planning of the material to be covered and skillful direction from the facilitator.
Buzz groups:
Description: Allows for full participation by group members through small subgroups of participants, followed by discussion among the entire group.
When used: Use with other group methods when participation from each group member is desired
Procedure: Prepare one or two questions on the topic to give to each group.
Divide the members into small subgroups of four to six people.
A leader is chosen in each subgroup to record and report relevant ideas to the entire group.
Limitation: Ideas should be provided for the group and the organization.
Panels:
Description: A conversational discussion between a selected group of individuals with a leader, in front of an audience that joins later.
When used: As a technique to stimulate interest and thought, a better discussion.
Procedure: The leader plans with four to eight panel members. The panel conducts an informal discussion without set speeches. The leader opens the discussion to the larger group, and summarizes.
Limitation: The discussion may be informal. The speaker’s personality may overshadow the content of the discussion. A vocal speaker may monopolize the program.
Symposia:
Description: A discussion in which the topic is divided into several parts. Each part is presented in a brief, concise speech by an expert or well-informed person.
When used: When you want to transmit specific information.
Procedure: The facilitator meets with three or four group members and plans an outline.
Participants are introduced and report.
Questions speakers at the end of the discussion.
Limitation: Speakers and groups can get off track.
The personalities of speakers can overshadow the content. One very vocal speaker can monopolize the conversation.
Role playing:
Description: A spontaneous acting out of a situation or event by selected individuals.
When used: As a basis for developing a clear understanding of people’s feelings and the forces in a situation that facilitate or hinder good human relations.
Procedure: The facilitator or group selects an appropriate situation or problem. The group defines the roles and general characteristics of each player, and then creates the scene. The facilitator observes and discusses specific behaviors, underlying forces, or emotional reactions.
Limitation: Requires skilled facilitation, so actors act out the roles seriously without self-consciousness.
Case studies:
Description: A factual account of a specific event and/or problem is presented to the class. How the case was resolved
When used: When a specific example is the best way to explain a topic. This method is often used to supplement traditional lecture approaches to a topic. It can be used to synthesize ideas and apply theory to practical problems.
Procedure: The facilitator documents the case study, changing real names and locations if necessary.
The case study is presented to the class and is usually followed by a discussion.
Limitation: Case studies require extra work by the facilitator to ensure that they are direct and appropriate examples of what is being presented.
Demonstration:
Description: A visual way of presenting information to a group;
Often complements a written presentation or lecture.
When used: When a topic or idea is presented visually, it will have a direct impact.
Procedure: The facilitator either prepares the demonstration or asks a guest to do so.
Limitation: All members of the group must be able to clearly see the demonstration. It must be rehearsed to work smoothly on the day of the presentation.
💙 To discuss scope of health education:
Health education is a very broad term.
It has a very wide scope.
It is dependent on and closely related to many other aspects besides health.
These aspects include housing, economic security, agricultural or industrial prosperity, etc. Generally, health education includes the following:
Food and its importance in the development of the human body.
Water, air, light, physical exercise, recreation, rest and sleep etc.
Abnormal conditions and bad habits. Their adverse effect on the physical and mental health of a person.
Various ailments and diseases. Their causes and methods and means
Mental health, sexual hygiene, domestic and community hygiene.
Emergency and first aid.
Family planning.
Human body systems.
Personal health.
In school
Thus we see that the scope of health education is really very wide. It touches all the branches of human life, i.e. personal life, school life and community life.
💙 To explain role of nurse in health education:
The nurse should gain the trust of the people.
The nurse should encourage them to change their habits for a healthy life.
The topic should be chosen carefully.
It is necessary to use appropriate audio visual aids to enhance the impact of health education.
Effective communication is very important in health education. It is necessary to remove the barriers in communication.
Health education should be planned and continuous.
It is the responsibility of the nurse to evaluate the health education program with the help of periodic tools and observation.