UNIT-2

HEALTH EDUCATION

Prepared by

Dr. Jeba Nesa Mahiba

 HEALTH EDUCATION

INTRODUCTION

Health education has its origin during the ancient period when principles of disease prevention and

health promotion were advocated and practiced. Health education information at that time was

communicated by face interaction. It is institutionalized and is organized within the health care delivery

system. It began with the establishment of health centers in rural and urban areas. Emphasis was given on

preventive, promotive and curative aspects of health.

DEFINITION

1. Health education is a process which affects changes in the health practices of people and in the

knowledge and attitude related to such changes.

2. Health education is the process by which individuals & group of people learn to promote, to

maintain, to restore health.

 3. Health education has been defined as "the sum of all experiences in school and elsewhere that

favorably influence habits, attitudes and knowledge, related to individual, community and national

health”.

4. The World Health Organization (WHO) defined Health Education as consisting of "consciously

constructed opportunities for learning involving some form of communication designed to

improve health literacy, including improving knowledge, and developing life skills which are

conducive to individual and community health."

OBJECTIVES OF HEALTH EDUCATION

 To make health an asset valued by the community.

 To encourage behavior which promotes & maintains health.

 To enlist support for public health measures & when necessary, to press for appropriate

governmental action.

 To encourage appropriate use of health services especially preventive services.

 To inform the public about medical advances, their uses & their limitations.

 To increase the knowledge of the factors that affect health

AIM OF HEALTH EDUCATION

 To develop a sense of responsibility for health 01 conditions as individuals, as members of family

and communities.

 Health promotion & disease prevention

 Easy diagnosis and management

 To promote & widely use the available health services

 To be part of education & to continue throughout whole span of life

CONCEPTS OF HEALTH EDUCATION:

 Changing human behavior

 Prevention of disease

 Promotion of healthy lifestyles;

 Modification of individual behavior to modification of "social environment"

 Community participation to community involvement

 Promotion of individual to Promotion of community

 Self-reliance

 Informing people

 Motivating people

 Guiding into action

 Primary Health Care Approach

PRINCIPLES OF HEALTH EDUCATION

1 Health education is primarily education and its purpose is to ensure a desired health related

behavior.

2. Health education should not become an artificial situation or formal teaching learning. It should be

within the community and as per the belief, culture, practices of the community. Then only it becomes

acceptable and meaning fully utilized.

3. It is necessary to discuss freely on the health problems and solutions and to ensure that both

advantages and disadvantages are dealt with.

 4. Education is the process or act employed to develop the mind, character and body by Planned

discipline.

5. The importance of a sympathetic and empathetic attitude has been emphasized on the Part of

health personnel.

6. It is necessary to have free flow of communication and should be two way communications.

7. The health educator should make himself acceptable.

8. The health education topic should suit the group. He has to get down to the level of the group.

9. Health educator have to employ all the methods of education.

10. Health education should be a planned program.

11. Use of AV Aids has its significance.

12. If any change of behavior is required from a wrong practice to a correct practice, the process of

health education should aim at removing wrong idea and its connecting attitude, and then introduce

correct ideas and their attitude and practices.

13. Understand the existing practices first then add new information with rationale.

14. The process of health education should be done stepwise and not all the information given at a

time.

APPROACH TO HEALTH EDUCATION

4 well known approaches to health education:

 Regulatory approach Service approach

Approaches of Health
education

Health education approach Primary health care approach

Regulatory approach

➤ It is either directly or indirectly by governmental intervention designed to alter the human

behavior.

➤ For Example: The child marriage restraint in India. Compulsory wearing of seat belt and

Helmet.

➤ No govt. can pass legislation to eat a balanced diet or not to smoke.

➤ The congress defeat in 1977 elections is due to enforcement of sterilization campaign in 1976.

Service approach

➤ This approach was tried by Basic Health Services in 1960’s.

➤ It aimed at providing all the health services needed by the people at their door steps but this

approach proved a failure because it was not based on felt-needs of the people.

Eg. When water seal latrines were provided by government, free of cost, many people in rural

areas did not make use of them.

 Health Education Approach

➤ People must be educated through planned learning experiences what to do and to be

informed, educated and encouraged to make their own choice for healthy life.

➤ Problems like cessation of smoking, use of safe water supply, fertility control can be solved

by health education.

Health education should be started among children and young population.

Primary Health Care Approach

 This is a new approach started from the people with their full participation and active

involvement in the planning and delivery of health services.

Eg. Community involvement and intersectoral coordination.

METHOD OF HEALTH EDUCATION

 Methods of health education

Individual Method Group Method Mass Method

Demonstration
Personal contact Symposium
Homevisit lectures
Group
Counselling discussion discussions
Panel discussion
Workshop
Seminar
Roleplay
Brainstroming

Individual method

 The method where receiver of message single individual and health education providers also

single or in sometimes may be more then one individual.

 This method involves person to person or face to face communication which provides

maximum opportunity of two way flows of ideas, knowledge and information.

a. Personal contact

• It is the most natural way of communicating with the people to share health, knowledge and

facts.

• Doctor/health personnel talks to to the patient/beneficiary

b. Home visit
  Most of the times health personnel visits beneficiary/patient’s house during domicilliary

visits.

 She/he can contact individual or family or small group of people about health.

c. Counselling

 Counselling is a confidential dialogue between a client and health care provider aimed

at enabling the client to cope with stress and take personal decisions related to disease.

 Helping the client to help him/herself.

Elements

G-Greet the client

A-Ask the needs

T-Tell about different choices

H-Help the client to make decision

E-Empathy/explain about chosen decision

R-Return/Revisit for follow up

2. Group Method

Different groups constitute a society. The groups could be antenatal mothers, school children,

industrial workers, patients etc. group teaching is more effective in educating the community. It must

relate directly to the internal of the group. We have to select suitable method of teaching including AV

aids for successful group health education.

For group health education following methods may be,

 a. Demonstration

“showing how is better than telling how”.

Focused on practical skills.

I hear, I forget

I see, I remember

I do, I know

b. Symposium

1. Series of speeches on selected subjects.

2. Each person presents an aspect of subject briefly.

3. No discussion among the members

4. At the end, audience may ask questions

c. Group discussion

• Group size:6-12 members

• Seated in a circle

• Group leader initiates the subject.

• Help the discussion to carry out in proper manner

• Prevents self converstion, encourages everyone to participate.

d. Panel discussion

• 4-8 qualified persons to discuss on a problem in front of large group of audience.

 • Panel comprises of moderator and panel members.

• Discussion should be spontaneous and natural.

e. Workshop

• Series of four or more meetings with the emphasis of individual work, within the group with

the help of consultants and resource persons.

• Learning takes place in friendly, happy and a democratic atmosphere, under expert guidance.

f. Seminar

 Seminar is an instructional technique of higher learning which involves paper reading on a

theme and followed by the group discussion to classify the complex aspects of the theme.

g. Roleplay

• A type of drama in a simplified manner.it portrays expected behaviour of the people.

• It is an unrehearsed acting out of real-life situations.

• It is a direct way of learning.

h. Brainstorming

Instead of discussing a problem at a great length the participants are encouraged to make a list

in a short period of time all the ideas that come to their mind regarding the problem without

discussing among themselves.

3. Mass Method

Communication is given to a community where the people gathered together do not belong to one

particular group. Health education program for the whole community can be done effectively, only
through mass media communication. The evolution of mass-media is rapid. Mass communication

depended largely on printed material such as posters, pamphlets, books, periodicals and newspapers.

Advantages

Large number of people can be reached.

Disadvantages

Oneway communication

• Various mass media are

1. Tv

2. Radio

3. News magazines

4. Social media

5. Posters

6. Health exhibitions

7. Booklet

8. Internet

PROCESS OF CHANGE/ MODIFICATION OF HEALTH BEHAVIOUR

A Change Process is a set of procedures that help teams to control change effectively. It’s not that you

have to prevent change from happening; it’s how you manage change once it occurs that really matters.

The Change Process allows to record change requests, and review and approve those requests, before

implementing them. Peoples health related attitudes and practices have their roots in century old customs,

beliefs, habits, style of living etc. Unhealthy practices give rise to many health problems. So, such
practices have to be changed to improve health. It is not an easy task to bring change and develop

sustained healthful behavior.

Stages of Change Process/ Planned Change

E.M. Roger’s and Lewin Kurt are two important workers who have studied the change process.

E.M. Roger’s Model of adoption suggests five sequential stages as follows

Awareness Interest Evaluation Adoption

Trial stage
stage stage stage Stage

1.Awareness stage

The individual knows about the new idea but lacks information.

2. Interest stage

The individual becomes interested and collects more information about it.

3. Evaluation-Application – Decision stage

The individual makes mental application of the new idea to his present and future situation and

makes a decision to try it or not to try it.

4. Trial stage

The individual uses the new practices on a small scale. In some cases this may not be possible.
5. Adaptation stage

 If the trial is to his liking than the individual will practice it on a full scale and it will become a

part o his life.

 Each individual takes his own time to pass through these stages.

OPPORTUNITIES FOR HEALTH EDUCATION

At Hospital

1. Out-patient department

 Exbiting the pictures, photos, charts and models in waiting hall

 Arrange group discussion

 Pamphlets

 Street play

2. In-patient department

At home:

o Information while looking after the patient

o Provide Health education to family member by live demonstration and group

discussion

o Family planning, prenatal, postnatal

o Diet, personal hygiene, nutrition, lighting, and ventilation, health checkup,

prevention of disease, health check-up

In community
 • Health education regarding environmental sanitation during community survey

• Schools, factories and home

SCOPE OF HEALTH EDUCATION

1. Human biology

 anatomy and physiology

 Importance of health

 Effect of smoking, drinking and drugs on the body

2. Nutrition

 Balanced diet

 Nutritive value of food stuff.

 Diet for pregnant and lactating mothers and others.

 Food sanitation

 Nutrition deficiencies disease and their prevention

 Motivation of good eating habits

3. Hygiene (personal and environmental)

 Personal hygiene

 Environmental hygiene

 Food hygiene

4. Mental health

 Preventive measures against mental disorder, hyper- excitability

 Development of proper relationship with mothers and child at birth, at the time child go to

the school, help at the time choosing a career

  Guidance and counseling

5. Prevention of disease and accidents

 Prevention of communicable Ex- TB, AIDS and non communicable disease Ex- D.M.,

C.H.D

 Useful information

 Knowledge about accidents industrial area offices, and their prevention

 Education regarding self-screening measures

 To detect and prevent cancer ex- Brest self - examination

6. Utilization of health services

To Inform the community about available health services, voluntary agencies participate in

national health

7. Family planning and maternal and child health

 Planned and unplanned family

 Immunization of pregnant women

 Growth and development of child, depression etc.

 Use of contraceptives

 To strengthen and improve the health of family as a unit rather than as an individual

8. Sex education

9. Health statistics
 • Health habits

• Safety rules

• Basic (K) of disease & preventive measures

• Proper use of health services

• Special education for groups (food handlers, occupations, mothers, school health etc.)

NURSES ROLE/RESPONSIBILITIES AS A HEALTH EDUCATION

 The nurse should consider following points during health education:

 To gain the confidence of people

 To arouse the interest in people bout good health

 To motivate them to bring about changes in habits in healthy living

 To develop sense of responsibility among people towards good health of the whole community

 Motivate or encourage them to use of health services

 co-operative feeling

 Select the subject matter according to need